Szekszárd Castle

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Szekszárd Castle
Alternative name Alisca  ?
limes Pannonian Limes
section 8th
Dating (occupancy) unknown
Type Cohort fort
unit a) Cohors III Lusitanorum  ?
b) Vexillation of the Legio II Adiutrix  ?
size unknown
Construction unknown
State of preservation speculative, archaeologically not proven fort site
place Szekszárd
Template: Infobox Limeskastell / Maintenance / Untraceable
Previous Tolna Castle (Alta Ripa?) (Northeast)
Subsequently Alisca Castle (south-east)
Burgus Őcsény-Soványtelek (south)
The location of the presumed fort on the Lower Pannonian Danube Limes.

Fort Szekszárd , which was also known under the name Alisca , is a presumed, archaeologically unsecured Roman military camp , which is said to have guarded a section of the Pannonian Danube Limes ( Limes Pannonicus ) as a cohort fort . The location of this disputed facility is said to have been in or around today's southern Hungarian city ​​of Szekszárd , which is located in Tolna County .

location

Szekszárd is located in a lowland stretching between the Szekszárd Mountains and the Danube. The square, which was once located on the edge of the Danube floodplains and swampy sections of land, was already settled in Celtic times. With the final Roman occupation of the country in the first decades of the 1st century AD, which brought many new settlers to Pannonia in addition to the soldiers, a rapid Romanization began among the local population . Szekszárd, now a border settlement, developed into an important local town due to the positive economic development, the population of which could afford some luxury. The connection to the Limes Road, which along the Danube was one of the most important trade and military routes in the country, contributed to this. North of Szekszárd, the Limes Road crossed the Sió River via a bridge, which  flowed into the Danube northeast of the Roman settlement area - monitored by a late antique Burgus . Before the road going south reached the buildings of Szekszárd, it crossed a burial ground. Another road branched off to the south-east on its northwestern edge, crossed the subsequent marshes on a high dam and ended, around seven kilometers as the crow flies from modern Szekszárd, in front of the western gate of the Őcsény-Szigetpuszta fort . This garrison may have been established around AD 100 at the earliest.

Surname

The only source for a relative specification of the ancient names in this region, the Itinerarium Antonini , a directory of important Roman imperial roads and settlements, dates from the 3rd century AD.Unfortunately, the miles are missing between some of the forts, so this is also the case von Szekszárd an unambiguous address of this place with one of the Latin names known for this region is not possible, especially since the long suspected Roman military camp has not yet been discovered.

The Alisca ad latus mentioned in the directory is hotly debated among experts. Some researchers have broken down the traditional expression into two parts and the word Alisca applied to the alleged castle square of Szekszárd while Ad Latus , which roughly away , sideways means was used for the structural remains of Őcsény-Sziget Puszta. The Limes expert Zsolt Visy also supported the hypotheses of the archaeologists Mór Wosinsky (1854–1907) and József Csalog (1908–1978) who called Őcsény-Szigetpuszta ad latus . Most researchers have rejected these theses in the past and - like Sándor Soproni  - equated Őcsény-Szigetpuszta with the ancient Alisca, which Visy also believes is more likely today. The archaeologist also asked whether the fort missing in the early Limes chain was actually to be found in Szekszárd or its vicinity.

Nevertheless, many researchers believe that the early Alisca castle is still in Szekszárd. Therefore, the theory of equating Szekszárd with Alisca was also advocated in 2001 by the epigraphist Barnabás Lőrincz (1951–2012), who at that time attempted to rearrange the Roman military line-up for Pannonia.

Research and construction history

The extensive Roman settlement under the old town of Szekszárd with its rich burial grounds speaks in favor of the hypothesis that a fort could have stood there, especially since the Limes Street ran right through the middle of today's city, but to the west of the modern street. Instead of the current route, there was a river bed in ancient times. The scholar Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli reported in the 17th century about a ruined castle on the hill that is now occupied by Bélaplatz, from which numerous Latin inscriptions came. These had obviously been built in as spoilers . In the 19th century, some stone buildings are also mentioned in the vicinity of this hill, which are said to have been of Roman origin. Numerous graves from the middle and late imperial period are also known from the area around Bélaplatz, but these have rarely been scientifically examined. Outstanding was a marble sarcophagus discovered in 1845, which housed an early Christian burial in secondary use. From this sarcophagus, the most beautiful burial object was a late antique slide glass with a Christian saying. The Limes road probably left the ancient settlement west of the current road and only intersected with this route again at the level of the old customs house of Szekszárd.

Troop

In the past, based on the topographical enumeration of troops in the military diplomas found in many places, the occupation of the presumed fort was the Cohors III Lusitanorum (3rd cohort of Lusitanians ), which could have stood here until the 4th century. Subsequently, a vexillation of the Legio II Adiutrix (2nd Legion "the helper") is said to have replaced the auxiliary force unit.

In 2001 Lőrincz put together a completely new constellation for Szekszárd:

Time position Troop name comment
AD 113 / 114–118 / 119 Cohors II Augusta Nervia Pacensis milliaria Brittonum The 2nd double cohort of the British was moved to Pannonia in 113/114 and stationed in Alisca. Around 118/119 the unit was transferred to the province of Dacia Porolissensis .
118 / 119-180. A.D. Cohors I Noricorum equitata The first partially mounted cohort of the Noriker was deployed in Pannonia as early as the 1st century AD. Its original location was probably Brigetio Castle there . The subsequent location between 89 and the division of Pannonia in 106 can no longer be determined. After that she belonged to the Lower Pannonian Army, was possibly in Lugio between 106 and 118/119 and was relocated to Alisca until the end of the Marcomanni and Sarmatian Wars. Subsequently, she could have been stationed in the Ad Statuas fort (Várdomb) . Around 260 the unit was dishonorably disbanded and the Damnatio memoriae imposed on it because it had proven to be too fickle in the power struggles of the frequently changing military emperors.
from 180 AD Cohors I Lusitanorum ? The locations of the 1st cohort of the Lusitanians are unknown. Presumably it was in the Matrica fort until 118/119 and in the Kölked fort between 118/119 and 180 . Based on the grave inscription of a cohort centurion of the Cohors I Lusitanorum discovered in 2000 , which comes from the burial fields of the Cuccium Fort to the south, this unit would also be present there instead of in Szekszárd. Lőrincz places the Cuccium inscription at the end of the 2nd century AD.

For the establishment of this list of troops, however, Lőrincz assumed that Őcsény is to be equated with Ad Latus and Szekszárd with Alisca . Therefore, according to his consideration, u. a. the Cohors I Noricorum stationed in Szekszárd. He explained the stamps of the Cohors I Noricorum and the Cohors II milliaria Brittonum found in Őcsény-Szigetpuszta by saying that the bricks of these units were transported from Alisca to Ad Latus in order to use them to erect buildings there.

At Szekszárd, near the Sió, the now-lost grave inscription of a soldier who once served in the Cohors I Noricorum was found.

Lost property

The above-mentioned marble sarcophagus came to Buda by ship as soon as it was found and is now in the Hungarian National Museum . Most of the finds, including a light blue statuette of the ibis-headed god Thoth , probably made during the late Egyptian period , remained in Szekszárd and can be seen there in the Wosinsky Mór Múzeum (formerly: Balogh Ádám Múzeum).

Monument protection

The monuments of Hungary are protected under the Act No. LXIV of 2001 by being entered in the register of monuments. The Roman sites from Szekszárd and the surrounding area, as archaeological sites according to § 3.1, belong to the nationally valuable cultural property. According to § 2.1, all finds are state property - regardless of where they are found. Violations of the export regulations are considered a criminal offense or a crime and are punished with imprisonment for up to three years.

See also

literature

  • Jenő Fitz (ed.): The Roman Limes in Hungary. (= Az István Király Múzeum közleményei. Series A, Volume 22). Fejér Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága, Székesfehérvár 1976
  • Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary. Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 .
  • Zsuzsanna V. Péterfi: The uncovering of the late Roman watchtower in Őcsény-Soványtelek. In: Gaál Attila (ed.): Pannoniai kutatások. A Soproni Sándor emlékkonferencia előadásai. Bölcske, 1998. October 7. Szekszárd 1999. pp. 161-200.

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b c Zsolt Visy: The results of recent aerial photography research on the Pannonian Limes. In: Hermann Vetters, Manfred Kandler (ed.): Files of the 14th International Limes Congress 1986 in Carnuntum. Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1990. ISBN 3-7001-1695-0 . Pp. 547-560; here: p. 554.
  2. ↑ a b Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary. Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3806204888 , p. 117.
  3. ^ Sándor Soproni: Tabula Imperii Romani . Aquincum, Sarmizegetvsa, Sirmium. Hakkert, Amsterdam 1968, p. 27.
  4. ↑ Jenő Fitz (ed.): The Roman Limes in Hungary. Fejér Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága, 1976, p. 111.
  5. ^ Zsolt Visy: The results of recent aerial photography research on the Pannonian Limes. In: Hermann Vetters, Manfred Kandler (ed.): Files of the 14th International Limes Congress 1986 in Carnuntum. Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1990. ISBN 3700116950 . Pp. 547-560; here: p. 553.
  6. ↑ Zsolt Visy: Newer investigations on the auxiliary troop lists of Roman auxiliary diplomas. In: Military Diplomas. The research contributions to the Bern Talks in 2004. Steiner, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 3515091440 , p. 252.
  7. ↑ Zsolz Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary. Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3806204888 , pp. 119-120.
  8. ^ Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary. Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3806204888 , p. 119.
  9. ↑ Barnabás Lőrincz: The Roman auxiliaries in Pannonia during the Principate's time. Part I: The Inscriptions. Forschungsgesellschaft Wiener Stadtarchäologie, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3902086025 , p. 32.
  10. ↑ Barnabás Lőrincz: The Roman auxiliaries in Pannonia during the Principate's time. Part I: The Inscriptions. Research Society of Vienna City Archeology. Vienna 2001, ISBN 3902086025 , p. 40.
  11. ↑ Barnabás Lőrincz: The Roman auxiliaries in Pannonia during the Principate's time. Part I: The Inscriptions. Research Society of Vienna City Archeology. Vienna 2001, ISBN 3902086025 , p. 80.
  12. ↑ Barnabás Lőrincz: The Roman auxiliaries in Pannonia during the Principate's time. Part I: The Inscriptions. Forschungsgesellschaft Wiener Stadtarchäologie, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-902086-02-5 , p. 52.
  13. ^ Barnabás Lőrincz: On the crews of the auxiliary fort in Eastern Pannonia. In: Miroslava Mirkovic (ed.): Roman cities and fortresses on the Danube. Filozofski fakultet, Belgrade 2005, ISBN 86-80269-75-1 , p. 63.
  14. ↑ Barnabás Lőrincz: The Roman auxiliaries in Pannonia during the Principate's time. Part I: The Inscriptions. Research Society of Vienna City Archeology. Vienna 2001, ISBN 3902086025 , p. 112.
  15. ↑ CIL 3, 3300
  16. ^ Pál Lakatos: Contributions to the spread of Egyptian cults in Pannonia. (Acta Universitatis Szegediensis: Ata antiqua 4) Szeged 1961, p. 9.
  17. ↑ Zsolz Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary. Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 , p. 120.