Fort Zeiselmauer

Fort Zeiselmauer
Alternative name	Cannabiaca
limes	Limes Noricus
section	Route 1
Dating (occupancy)	late Flavian, around 80 to 400 AD
Type	a) Alenkastell b) Cohort fort
unit	a) Legio II Italica (vexillation) b) Legio X Gemina (vexillation) c) Cohors I Asturum  ? d) Cohors V Breucorum , e) Cohors II Thracum f) Limitanei / Ripenses?
size	150 × 135 m = approx. 2.2 ha
Construction	a) Wood and earth fort. b) Stone fort
State of preservation	square system with rounded corners surrounded by a ditch, extensive adaptations in late antiquity, Foundations of the Principia , a southern horseshoe and the SW fan- shaped tower, parts of the southern fortification. Architectural monuments: ruins of the "Burgus" and the NE fan- shaped tower, east or box gate, former Porta principalis dextra , almost completely preserved.
place	Zeiselmauer-Wolfpassing
Geographical location	48 ° 19 '44.3 "  N , 16 ° 10' 37.5"  E Coordinates: 48 ° 19 '44.3 "  N , 16 ° 10' 37.5"  E
Previous	Comagena Castle (west)
Subsequently	Klosterneuburg Fort (east)

Sketch of the floor plan of the stone fort II

Reconstruction attempt of the last construction phase of the late antique fort, view from NE, on the right the Burgus / remaining fort in the NW corner

The condemnation of St. Florian by the governor Aquilinus, relief on the gate of the St. Laurentius basilica, Enns / Lorch

Exposed remnants of the western wall near the primary school building

Sketch of the wall of the southern horseshoe tower in the basement of the elementary school

Passage on Tullner Straße, it marks the former location of the west gate

Remainder of the fort wall at the SE through-town

Reconstruction model of the Burgus with approaches to the west and north wall, view from the south-east ( Römermuseum Tulln )

View from the south

Sketch of the existing wall and the individual construction phases of NW Burgus

Burgus show ground

View of the eastern entrance gate, restored to its original size

View from the southwest (2011)

The remains of the south wall (2009)

Outside of the south wall

Arched window in the south wall

Quarry stone conglomerate of the western wall

The remains of the north wall with a preserved slit window

Remnants of the wall of the NW fan tower

Hook-shaped foundations of the inner atrium, view from SE

Roman tour Zeiselmauer

Inner wall of the Burgus running from east to west

Grain box, view from the north

Grain box, remains of the archway of the former Porta Principalis Dextra

NE fan-shaped tower, view from the north-east

View from the north-west of the so-called neck (connection to the camp wall)

View from the south

Attempt to reconstruct the NE fan-tower, as it was in the 4th century

Roman ceramics from Zeiselmauer

Drawing of an amphora stopper from the 1st century AD, found in the Burgus

The Zeiselmauer fort , possibly the ancient Cannabiaca , was part of the fortress chain of the Roman Danube Limes in Austria and is located in the federal state of Lower Austria , Tulln district , Zeiselmauer-Wolfpassing municipality / Zeiselmauer district.

Zeiselmauer is one of the best researched auxiliary forts in Austria. The fort was part of the chain of fortifications in the Noricum province , was the western flank protection for the Arrianis / Klosterneuburg fort in Upper Pannonia and the eastern flank protection for the neighboring Comagena / Tulln fort . It was occupied alternately with about 500 strong infantry and cavalry units. The fort floor plan still influences the structural design of the town center today. Burgus, grain box and fan tower are due to its excellent state of preservation unique on the Danube limes . After Carnuntum, Zeiselmauer has the largest stock of late antique buildings in Austria. A civil settlement belonged to the fort, which presumably extended to the current route of the Franz-Josefs-Bahn . In its heyday, up to 1,000 people lived and worked here. Most of their houses had a high standard of living. The grave fields were located near Wolfpassinger Strasse and Königstättnerstrasse. Only in the last few decades have archaeological investigations by the Austrian Federal Monuments Office expanded knowledge about the Roman Zeiselmauer and, with a high degree of probability, also identified the actual Roman place name.

Surname

Its ancient name could not be assigned to this fort with absolute certainty. But as it is on the eastern border of the former Roman province of Noricum is, the match is the only in the Notitia Dignitatum mentioned Cannabiaca very likely. The findings of the excavations on the church square of Zeiselmauer in the 1990s also speak for cannabiaca. The older doctrine that it was the Citium listed in the Tabula Peutingeriana was soon rejected. This place was probably only a stage stop of the imperial courier service ( cursus publicus ) near today's Tulln .

The archaeologist Erich Polaschek (1885–1974) originally traced Cannabiaca back to a Cohors Canafatium or Cannefatium . However, since he found a place called Cannabaca in the Tabula Peutingeriana , he finally revised his derivation from a Cohors Canafatium . Polaschek attempted a further interpretation based on the Cohors I Aelia Sagittariorum , although "... of course there is no naming element here." Since this troop, like the great majority of Roman archers, could originally have been recruited in the east, from where, by the way, a similar place name , Cannaba , east of the Euphrates in the Osrhoene region , it was not absurd for Polaschek that the origin of the ancient name of Zeiselmauers is to be found there, since "... its basic element cannot be explained in Celtic terms."

The classical philologist Gerhard Rasch assigned Cannabiaca to the Celtic language area, since the suffixale - äcum was mainly used to denote belonging to a clan or to a person. Furthermore, he was of the opinion that the name could also come from Canabarum vicus ( sutler shop for the army) or from can (n) aba (camp village). The residents of the Zeiselmauer camp village were said to have been referred to as Cannabiaci and later their place - based on the Latin feminine cannaba - as Cannabiaca .

The philologist Alfred Holder (1840-1916) saw in Cannabiaca again a plural o-strain to sing. - econ . In this sense he derived Cannabiaca from the Latin cannabetum (Breton canabek , Kymrisch canabauk , canabaca ) and also from the Germanic can (n) abi-s (run) (or for Canavi-acum from Canavus ?). The historian Eduard Böcking (1802–1870) derived Cannabiaca from Cannabis and Joseph Aschbach (1801–1882) from Cannanefatium castra . The linguist Hermann Gröhler (1862–1958) even considered a connection with the Latin can-nabis (hemp), but this seems more than unlikely.

The current place name goes back to the Passau henchman Zeizo. Around 971 it was called Zeizinmurus ("Wall of Zeizo" - Zeiselmauer).

location

Zeiselmauer is located on the eastern edge of the Tullner Basin , around one kilometer south of the Danube . In the east rises the low mountain range of the nearby Vienna Forest , which marked the border between Noricum and Pannonia in ancient times . The embankment of the flood terrace, on which the camp was protected from flooding , can still be seen in part from the course of the Römergasse. In ancient times, an arm of the Danube reached right up to the camp. The fort was located on a branch of the Limes road, which connected this section of the Danube border with the nearest larger city, Aelium Cetium ( Sankt Pölten ). A Roman milestone in Nitzing , which is believed to have been preserved at its original location, indicates the distance from Aelium Cetium to be 26 Roman miles (39 km). In the parish church of Königstetten a milestone dedicated to the emperor Maximinus Thrax can be seen, which must have stood around 236 AD in the area of ​​today's Tulln ( Comagenis ). He gives the distance to Aelium Cetium as 22 miles.

Research history

Early on, attempts were made to determine the dimensions of the fort that was presumed to be in Zeiselmauer . The Bohemian court secretary Johann Christoph von Jordan († 1748) described the fort - with the remains of the towers - as a rectangular wall with a side length of about 480 feet and an area of ​​6400 fathoms . The archaeologists Guido Kaschnitz von Weinberg and Wilhelm Kubitschek also thought of a square structure, but rejected the connection with a Roman fort , since "... the arched window" and the "corner rondelle" would rather indicate a medieval fortification. Kaschnitz felt that this was confirmed by the discovery of a Limes tower measuring 5.69 × 6 m, since it was now certain “that a Roman fort at the point where the medieval fortification was later built, at least during the time the Limesturm was in use, has not passed ”. Individual stray finds from Roman times have been known since the 18th century. Grave finds and the remains of a building wall indicated a larger Roman settlement . Dean Petrus Priesen knew about Roman finds around the first half of the 18th century (coins, golden pendant in the shape of a fish). For some of these artifacts, however, the exact location can no longer be determined. So z. B. the gravestone of P. Aelius Germanus used both by Zeiselmauer and by Tulln . In addition, a large number of Roman finds from Zeiselmauer probably came into the hands of antique collectors in the 18th century.

It was not until the middle of the 19th century that the attention of experts was slowly drawn to Zeiselmauer . In 1854 several gold coins from the time of Emperor Valentinians III were sold during the construction of the railway in a field south of Zeiselmauer . (425–455), in 1889 found a lamp with a stamp and a badly worn coin from Roman times. In 1895, 1897, 1898 and 1900 ancient graves were repeatedly discovered south of the village in the direction of St. Andrä . A coin hoard allegedly recovered around 1900, mainly denarii from the 2nd and 3rd centuries, has been lost to this day. Wilhelm Kubitschek pointed a. a. point out that "... Zeiselmauer or more precisely the square wall there and the strip of land with evidence of Roman settlement and, above all, evidence of a Roman necropolis that extends up to the railroad track is not barren ...", and further that "... a lot of finds are ignored and Undiscovered and - depending on the nature of the private relationships - find different resting places and thus escape studying. ”According to the reports of Guido Kaschnitz von Weinberg , Roman-era building remains were observed during earthworks for the construction of the station building in 1907 and 1908, which were the remains of the civil settlement of Cetium were viewed. The associated finds, the fragment of a tombstone for a soldier, another tombstone with relief decoration and a ceramic shard with incised letters, were given to the Lower Austrian State Museum.

On behalf of the Kk Central Commission for Research and Conservation of Art and Historical Monuments , Kaschnitz von Weinberg carried out another investigation in Zeiselmauer in 1910 . It was the first scientific recording of the remains of the fort visible above ground. At three corners of the village he found "roundel-like towers" with an almost triangular floor plan (the fan-shaped towers), of which the south-western and north-eastern ones still serve as farm buildings. On the north-west side he described a rectangular residential building, the east and south walls of which have been preserved up to the eaves (the burgus ). In the east, Kaschnitz mentioned another residential building, the Körnerkasten, into which a cross vault was drawn on the ground floor , bearing the coat of arms of Urban von Trennbach (Bishop of Passau), and an entrance gate whose arch bore the year 1581. Kaschnitz also noted the use of spoils (tombstones in secondary use) and moved the construction period to the Middle Ages . From the beginning to the middle of the 20th century, Kaschnitz recognized the Roman origins of the north-west Burgus and the south-west and north-east fan-shaped towers. However, he interpreted the grain box as medieval. In the course of the 20th and early 21st centuries, it was finally possible to prove the castle archaeologically without any doubt . The numerous remains of the wall, which are still visible above ground and are unique in their state of preservation (Burgus, fan towers, camp wall, principia ) have been preserved and, if possible, made accessible to the public.

The archaeologist Eduard Nowotny was convinced that the ruins, due to their unmistakable typology, are part of a late antique camp. Gertrud Pascher and (initially) also Hermann Vetters suspected only a watchtower and a civilian settlement in Zeiselmauer . Herma Stiglitz supported the fort theory, since the free-standing church in Zeiselmauer in the middle of a square and the city walls has great similarities with the building arrangement in Traismauer , only there the former Roman fortifications have a square floor plan. At first Stiglitz did not want to commit himself to it, but later took the outdated view that the walls, if not partly still ancient, at least follow Roman fort walls. This is also because the unusual shape of the towers strongly resembled fan-shaped towers from the late antique period.

According to the findings of the Federal Monuments Office from 1969, the structure, which is essentially still medieval, is surrounded by a late antique fortification system, which is delimited by three towers at its northeast, southeast and southwest corners (fan-shaped towers) and by an intermediate tower on the east side. Together with the Doppelspitzgraben observed in the north of the area, Ubl recognized an auxiliary camp for a Cohors quingenaria . Graham Webster determined the area for a 500-man camp with approx. 2.2 hectares, which also applies to Cannabiaca .

In 1973 the restoration of the camp wall began. In 1974 the north-west tower was excavated and restored. In the early 1980s, the primary school was rebuilt; The foundations of the horseshoe tower that were still in good condition were found in a newly excavated cellar that once stood on the southern wall of the camp. During the general renovation of the parish church in 1981, the Carolingian predecessor church was excavated. Several rooms of an ancient building complex could be documented and this could be identified as the principia of the fort. In 2005 the investigation and restoration of the northeast fan-shaped tower was carried out by the Federal Monuments Office . During excavations in 2010, the foundations of the northern gate system were discovered.

development

Judging by the research results so far, the early wood and earth fort seems to have been built in the late Flavian period (80 AD). Since the Tullner Feld enabled direct access to the Vienna Basin , the Romans put particular emphasis on the effective military protection of this area. Cannabiaca was part of the left safety belt for the fort chain in Upper Pannonia and subsequently flank protection for Fort Comagena (Tulln). After this burned down almost completely in the early 2nd century, it was rebuilt as a rectangular stone fort with rounded corners under Emperor Marc Aurel (161–180). This complex suffered destruction during the Juthung invasion of 270 AD.

The Legend of was Cannabiaca the birthplace of Christianity revered saint and patron , Florian . Florian was the head of the office of the Uphernorian governor / praeses . When he refused to make the prescribed sacrifices for the imperial cult, he was executed on May 4, 304 in Lauriacum . During the first half of the 4th century, the previous four corner towers, which stood in the inner corners of the corners, were replaced by mighty fan-shaped towers, whose rounded front protruded far from the bond of the surrounding wall. Fan towers are typical structural elements on the middle Danube Limes. Many forts in the Pannonian provinces and in Noricum have been retrofitted accordingly, whereby regional differences can be seen. A coin salvaged from the filled-in moat of the principate's time in connection with the same modifications to the Annamatia fort , which was minted during the reign of Emperor Constantine II (337–340), could provide the term post quem . In Hungarian archeology, this coin is considered to be the earliest evidence of corresponding construction work on the Danube forts. These conversions must have been part of a more or less long, coherently organized construction campaign. Further renovation work took place until the time of Valentinian I (364–375), as numerous brick stamps show. At this time, the fan-shaped tower in the northwest corner must have been torn down again and replaced by the Burgus (remaining fort).

After a last renovation campaign in the late 5th century, the complex was probably finally destroyed by the Rugians around 460 AD . Herbert Mitscha-Märheim, on the other hand, blames the Ostrogoths and Heruli for the downfall of Cannabiacas . Ubl starts the destruction of the fort around 453 AD and refers to coins found by Valentinian III. as well as ceramic shards found in Zeiselmauer with smooth decoration. Heinrich Zahbehlicky assumes that Cannabiaca was still inhabited beyond the 5th century, although it is not mentioned in the vita of Severin von Noricum . Some grave finds even indicate contacts between the local population and Slavic tribal groups. Since early medieval finds are known from this area, a continuous settlement of this place or its immediate surroundings also seems possible. Nevertheless, an up to 80 cm thick, empty humus layer was found during the excavations above the last Roman horizon. This is an indication that the fortifications have been completely overgrown by vegetation and have not been used for a long time.

Settlement of the fort area on a larger scale did not begin again until around 791 AD, in the course of Charlemagne's Avar War . In that year the Franks subjugated the Avar Empire and incorporated it into the Duchy of Bavaria as the so-called "Ostland". A large part of the sparsely populated land was donated to Bavarian monasteries for colonization and development. In the course of these colonization measures, more and more Bavarian settlers immigrated and assimilated the Slavs who lived here. One of these monasteries that received land donations was Passau , to which the eastern Tullnerfeld was transferred for reclamation in 836 . Its center was initially the Kirichbach estate (today's St. Andrä vor dem Hagenthale ), the area of ​​which stretched between today's Greifenstein, Königstetten and Langenlebarn . While St. Andrä advanced to become the spiritual center, the administrative center of the Passau estates established itself in the Zeisel wall, which was then still surrounded by the Roman wall. The fort, apparently still in good condition, was an easy-to-defend settlement area. Around 971 a certain Zeizo and his entourage settled there and gave the place its current name (" Zeizinmurus "). The manor of the Bishop of Passau later emerged from his court and housed the property administration ("Hofmark"). The east gate of the camp ("Körnerkasten") was probably converted back then to accommodate the tithe grain . At the end of the Middle Ages the place lost its importance. The episcopal official seat was moved to Vienna, property management and regional court were moved to Königstetten. The reason for the decline were the frequent floods of the Danube, which increasingly affected the place.

Fort

The fort floor plan shapes the town center to this day. The 500-year history of the fort's construction can be documented very well using the findings of the numerous remains of the wall and the excavation results (especially for late antiquity).

Wood-earth period

The Romans initially set up the camp using their tried and tested wood and earth construction as standard. Its floor plan was rectangular and measured 150 × 135 m (playing card shape) with an area of ​​about 2–5 hectares and had observation towers attached to the inside at the rounded corners. The camp had four gates that were connected by the two main streets of the camp. The fortifications were also surrounded by a roughly 2 m deep pointed trench, the excavation of which was used to fill the wall. A wooden palisade served as a parapet.

The command and administration building, the Principia, was in the middle of the camp . Accommodation for soldiers and officers as well as stables for horses and pack animals were lined up along the camp streets. These very simple buildings stood on rubble foundations with a mortar spread. The upper part consisted of a wooden framework construction, the walls of which between the posts were filled with rods plastered with clay. At first the roofs were covered only with straw or reeds, later with fired roof tiles. The floors consisted of rammed screed. However, due to the transience of the building material and several fire disasters, only a few remains of this first expansion phase have survived.

Stone period I

After the wood-earth phase, the stone was built in stages, which should have been completed around 150 AD. The area and shape of the camp were not significantly changed. The new fortification wall was placed directly in front of the earth wall, which in turn formed a somewhat elevated, circumferential camp road, the via vallaris . Their level can still be seen today at the entrance gate of the late antique remainder of the fort in the Augasse. A narrow earth ramp was piled up behind the wall as a battlement. The wall was only one meter thick. Its outside and inside consisted of hewn blocks, the space in between was filled with a rubble-mortar mixture. A remnant of the late antique wall has been uncovered and made visible at a narrow point in the through-town, opposite the Gasthof Zum funny Bauern.

The corner towers were also rebuilt in stone, but were still on the inside of the wall. Furthermore, this time a double pointed trench (depth 2 m) was dug around the camp. Accommodation, command building and stables were also completely renovated in stone construction and provided with tiled roofs. Some were even equipped with underfloor heating (hypocaustum) . Mainly sandstone from the Vienna Forest was used for this construction project. A quarry from this time was located near Sankt Andrä-Wölker in the Hagenbachklamm . Most of the bricks were fired in the legionary brickworks of Vindobona ( Vienna ) and from 200 AD in Lauriacum ( Enns ). A late antique brick stamp that has been preserved has an inscription that mentions a Magister Bonus . The first stone camp existed almost unchanged until the 4th century AD. However, noteworthy building remains have not been preserved. The first name of Magister Bonus was either already at the end of the era of Constantius II or in the subsequent Valentian era. Since the stamp abbreviations AR , ARN and ARAN cannot be clearly explained for the time being, the previous translation suggestions remain speculative.

Stone period II

From 300 AD, as a reaction to the dramatically deteriorating military situation on the Limes, the medieval fortifications were fundamentally modernized. At the corners of the camp, instead of the old inner towers with bastions, similar fan-shaped towers protruding far from the wall were built. Between these, to better protect the wall and the gates, additional horseshoe-shaped intermediate towers about ten meters high were built. Probably there were up to 20, 4 fan, 8 horseshoe and 8 gate towers that gave the camp an imposing appearance in late antiquity. In the Römergasse the substructures of the northeast fan-shaped tower are still well preserved. Of its counterpart on the south-west corner, only the foundations could be observed; nothing of the horseshoe towers is left above ground. Remnants of the foundations of such an intermediate tower could be excavated and preserved in the basement of the elementary school building.

Probably around 370 AD the last phase of the fort's expansion began. Since the garrison had been reduced further and further over the years, in the end probably to a tenth of its original strength, the fort was too large to be effectively defended with the remaining soldiers. A large part of the walled area was therefore left to the civilian population of the surrounding area who had fled the turmoil of the migration . The former military base was transformed into a fortified settlement (oppidum) . Either completely new houses were built or barracks that were still habitable were , as best as possible, adapted to the needs of its new residents (installation of stoves, floor heating, etc.) The interior of the fort was for the most part randomly developed and not adhering to the previous grid scheme. In some cases the buildings were erected across Lagerstrasse. For the occupation, a so-called "rest fort" ( burgus ) was built in the northwest of the area , and the east gate was also converted into a small fortress.

Architectural monuments

Burgus

Until the 1970s, the ruin was integrated into the building of a farm and not fully recognizable. After an examination of the masonry on the north-west tower by HJ Ubl, he was able to identify it without a doubt as a Roman Burgus . In 1970 the municipality of Zeiselmauer acquired the property. The ancient walls were freed from the modern additions and examined again scientifically. They were then preserved and the site was redesigned into a freely accessible archaeological park.

At the place of the small fort there was originally a fan tower, which was removed again around 370 AD. The weir system has a slightly east-west square ground plan with 20 × 21 meters and protrudes in the north about 1.50 meters over the fort wall. The cast masonry ( opus caementitium ) stands on about two meters wide foundations and was faced with ashlar on the front and back. The outer walls, 1.9 meters thick at the base, taper towards the top and consist of a mixture of mortar and rubble stones, with an outer shell made of large ashlar stones. On the inside, the cast core is completely exposed today, the original stone cladding fell victim to stone robbery over the centuries. Only on the base of the east wall, which was not visible until the excavation, have the stones, some of which were laid in a herringbone pattern ( opus spicatum ), been preserved. The building, originally around ten meters high, had no windows on the ground floor. Only the upper floor was ventilated or illuminated by small, slit-like or arched windows that widen conically towards the interior. Four (two walled up) can be seen on the south wall. There was probably a rampart walk around the wall covered with tiles. It is also possible that the fortification was completely covered with a pyramid-shaped tile roof. The southern outer wall, 1.90 meters thick, had a total of four slotted windows at the top. Only one window opening has survived on the north wall; on the east wall, on both sides of the entrance gate, two windows are also suspected. Access was only possible from inside the camp through the archway (originally over two meters wide) still preserved today. This entrance opening was once closed by a double-leaf gate.

All internal structures (room partitions, false ceilings, stairs, etc.) were probably made of wood without exception. The four main pillars of the roof structure stood on brick, angular foundations (thickness of the masonry: 0.85–1.05 m, dimensions: 1.80 × 1.85 m or 1.95 × 1.90 m). They enclosed an area of ​​6.70 × 5.70 meters and thus formed a 3.87 × 4.80 m atrium. Most of the building material was obtained from previous buildings, e.g. B. the fan tower, grave and consecration stones were used for the construction such. B. an altar for Lucius Verus (see below). This can be viewed in the municipal office of Zeiselmauer. A tombstone was also built into the cheek of a window in the north wall. In the course of the investigations by Ubl, the remainder of a 0.85 m thick wall was found, the orientation of which deviates from the line of the Burgus and could be a remnant of the previous building, the fan-shaped tower.

In the 5th century the building was rebuilt again. The gate was narrowed to 1.20 meters, some windows on the southern upper floor were bricked up again and a one meter thick wall running from east to west was erected inside, the purpose of which has not yet been clarified. A short time later, either an earthquake or a flood disaster caused the entire western wall to collapse. Their remains can still be seen.

The Burgus is next to that of Oberranna , Wallsee ( Traismauer ) and perhaps also Mautern , one of the few known buildings of this type in Austria. There are comparable facilities in Pannonia ( Gerulata Fort ), on the Lower Danube, in the Middle East and in North Africa.

Grain box

The so-called "grain box" - one (besides the horseshoe towers of Mautern an der Donau , Traismauer and Tulln ) to the best preserved Roman monuments in the Austrian section of the Danube limes . This small fortress was probably built around the same time as the northwestern Burgus (second half of the 4th century AD). Because of the year 1581 above the small archway, the building was considered medieval for a long time, but it only refers to the installation of the gate and a cellar vault. It is now referred to as the Kastentor, although it is uncertain whether it was used as a passage or as a mere fortification in the late Roman period.

The east gate ( Porta Principalis Dextra ) with its two side towers was torn down (or integrated) and replaced by a rectangular, tower-like structure with carefully rounded corners, which now protruded far beyond the camp wall. The slits in the wall date from the time it was built, the larger windows and the broken door on the left are modern. One of the arches can still be seen on its west side, which was probably bricked up in late antiquity. Because of the approximately 2 meter high embankment, only the upper part is visible. This fact could also explain the sudden bend of federal road 14 at Kirchplatz to the south, which otherwise exactly follows the course of the former main camp road. Remains of the former fort wall can still be seen on the north and south sides of the building. Its northern course up to the fan tower can be seen very well from the houses along Römergasse, which stand on the substructure of the wall. The masonry of the building is late antique up to the eaves. It used to be assumed that it came from a much later period, as the year 1581 is written above the main entrance. However, this date probably relates to the installation of the new gate and the cellar vault.

The excellent state of preservation of the complex can be explained by its later use as a grain store (tithe grain) by the Diocese of Passau , which held the manorial power in this region from the Middle Ages until the 19th century. Today it is privately owned and has therefore not yet been scientifically examined in detail.

Fan tower

The ruins of the tower stand on private property in the center of the village. It dates from the middle of the 4th century and is the only structure of this type in Austria that has been preserved above ground. The northeast fan-shaped tower of Canabiaca belongs to the group of subsequently added buildings of the “neckless” type (i.e. with the side walls attached directly to the original, square corner tower). The outer lines of its side walls are approx. 5 m apart, which corresponds roughly to the width of a corner tower from the Middle Imperial period. The flank walls are each about eight meters long and enclose an angle of 57 degrees. The original height of the tower was nine meters. The connection to the camp wall is still preserved on its west side. The wooden pegs mark the bracing holes of the former scaffolding. This type of fan tower was restricted to Noricum and Pannonia with a few exceptions. Width 12.40 m, depth (up to the fort wall) 10.20 m. Today it is the oldest Roman building in Zeiselmauer.

Horseshoe tower

The southwestern horseshoe tower of Cannabiacas dates back to the first half of the 4th century. Dimensions: 6 × 11.70 m, in a ratio of 1.95, the projection to the fort wall is 7.50 m, the recess, approx. 3.30 m. The thickness of the front arch measures 1.40 m, that of the sides 1.20 m, at its rear 1.30 m. The inside dimensions are approx. 3.60 × 9 m, the projection of the foundation from 0.10–30 m. Its rising masonry has been preserved up to a height of four meters.

Flag Shrine / Principia

The parish church of Zeiselmauer

The flag sanctuary ( Aedes , Sacellum ) was located and excavated in 1981. With the introduction of a concrete ceiling and the construction of a separate entrance, it has also been open to the public since 2001. As the investigation in 2003 was able to determine (see excavations), the remains of the command building (Principia) are partly under the main road and parish church of Zeiselmauer.

The complex consisted of a forecourt surrounded by a colonnade and the actual main building with a larger, centrally located room, which was closed on its south side by an apse. The latter was separated in the 10th century by the construction of the Carolingian hall church (the oldest verifiable church building in Lower Austria) by settlers from Bavaria . Its foundations today are outside the church. The large central room served as a cult room and a sanctuary with a flag; in the apse three steps led to a raised plinth on which the statue of an emperor was probably placed. Several fragments of a bronze sculpture were found next to the base. It was probably smashed in late antiquity, and some bronze fragments were also found on the camp road. The screeds exposed in the flag shrine reflect the individual construction phases of the fort from the 1st to the 4th century.

In late antiquity, the Principia were partially converted into a residential building and equipped with a primitive hose heater. One of the heating channels can still be seen right next to the entrance. It is possible that the building was also used as a church from the 4th century onwards, since the Bavarian colonists rebuilt their church exactly above the Principia . Meaningful archaeological finds are still missing today.

garrison

Cannabiaca probably housed a mixed cohort ( Cohors equitata = infantry / cavalry) of auxiliary troops (auxilia) with a strength of 500 men, which in the early days was subordinate to the Legio X Gemina in Vindobona . Subsequently, the garrison was assigned to the section of the Legio II Italica in Lauriacum . Finds of brick stamps of the II. Italica and X. Gemina suggest that vexillations of the two legions contributed to the construction of the fort. The following units are known or likely for this location:

Illustration	Time position	Troop name	comment
Fragment of a military diploma from Ovilava (Wels City Museum)	1st century AD	Cohors prima Asturum (the first cohort of Asturians )	See also : Zwentendorf Castle In the absence of relevant epigraphic evidence, it is difficult to make any useful statements about the occupation of the early period. Sometimes the attempt was made to assign "... a cohort not divided into the Legion" , even a "... Cypriot cohort ..." or the Cohors I Asturum to this base. The latter should also have given the fort its name. The cohort is also attested by a number of inscription finds in Noricum . It is mentioned for the first time in a military diploma from Wels from the year 106 AD , inscriptions by a member of the troops, Ti. Claudius Ingenuus, a charity tribune and a tombstone (all from Virunum ) are known. In addition, the unit is mentioned on the tombstone of a soldier ( miles ) from Smartno (St.Martin) near Celeia and on inscriptions by Centurions, L. Naevius Proculus from Iuvavum and M. Annius Marcellinus ( Seggau Castle near Flavia Solva ). So far, no such finds have been made known from Zeiselmauer. With the exception of the brick stamps of the legio XV Apollinaris and the Legio II Italica , only a fragment of a grave epigram was recovered that calls an " eques cohortis ". In Zeiselmauer three brick stamps with the imprint CIAST could be recovered, which could be interpreted as COH (ors) I AST (urum) . This suggests that the cohort may have stayed at this location for some time in the late 1st century AD (also in connection with the above-mentioned tombstone fragment).
	early 2nd century AD	Cohors quinta Breucorum (the fifth cohort of the Breuker)	The unit was originally stationed in Pannonia , possibly it was only used here for a short time for construction work.
The consecration altar for Lucius Verus	2-3 Century AD	Cohors secunda Thracum equitata pia fidelis (the second mounted cohort of the Thracians , the pious and faithful)	The troops came to Noricum from Britain around AD 122 . Under the Julio-Claudian emperors, she belonged to the Rhine Army. After the Batavian uprising , the cohort was in the camp of Maurik ( Germania inferior ). After 80 AD it appears in Britain , where it can be found in Gabroson (Parton / Cumbria ) in the 3rd century . Ubl, on the other hand, is of the opinion that it was only moved to Britain after 89 AD, since the honorary title " pia fidelis " mentioned on the altar inscription by Zeiselmauer could have been bestowed on it with other units in Lower Germany this year. The last reference to their membership in the British provincial army comes from the year 122 AD, the altar inscription by Zeiselmauer dates from the years 163 to 164 AD.Ubl concludes from this that the cohort was between the years 122 to 163/164 AD Was assigned to Noricum due to the impending Marcomannic War . In 122 AD, several other units were also moved from the island to the Danube border. Ubl believes that the time of the arrival of the 2nd Thracian cohort can be narrowed down to the period from 122 to 125 AD. Their soldiers completed the rebuilding of the fort in stone and donated an altar for the co-emperor Marcus Aurelius , Lucius Verus . The unit was relocated back to Britain before 178 as it is again evidenced there by diplomas dated 178.
OFARNBONOMAG brick stamp of the late Roman military administration	4th century AD	limitanei / ripenses (border guards / bank guards)	From late antiquity onwards, Cannabiaca was home to a cohort of Limitanei or Ripenses that was not known by name . On the brick stamps of Ursicinius and those of the officina Arlapensis, as well as in the Notitia Dignitatum , only their commanding officer, a Tribunus cohortis , who was subordinate to a Dux Pannoniae Primae et Norici Ripensis , is mentioned. The spectrum of finds from graves from this time indicates the presence of numerous Germanic tribes in the camp. Since the border troops were thinned out more and more during this time, the unit certainly achieved little more than a nominal strength of 500 men. Most recently, only around 50 men were stationed in the castle's burgus .

Civil settlement and burial ground

In the south and south-west was the civil settlement ( vicus or cannabae ) that was built in the early imperial era, including a cemetery, the extent of which, however, has not yet been fully explored. The vicus should have been continuously populated from the 2nd to the 4th century AD. Especially the old field name, "Steinfeld", is an indication that the foundations of the ancient civil settlement were a constant nuisance for the farmers when they were working in the fields. The vicus extended roughly from today's Schulgasse over the line of the Franz-Josefs-Bahn to Hagengasse and was therefore much larger in extent than the fort . The quarter of the civil settlement in the south-west, which is a little deeper than the fort , is likely to have been hit by floods several times, as evacuated sand deposits in this area showed.

As far as researched, the burial sites were located in the southwest. A 1.70 m high gravestone was found immured in the Burgus from this burial ground. The stone shows the portraits of a married couple in a heavily weathered relief. Aelius was a veteran of the border troops, his wife Amuca probably came from Noricum or Pannonia, which is also indicated by her name and the headgear. To date, they are the only residents of Cannabiaca known by name. The stone is now in the anteroom of the Zeiselmauer municipal office, a copy is set up on the Burgus show ground. Towards the end of the 4th century, the vicus was abandoned and the civilian population withdrew behind the walls of the fort. Presumably, some buildings were deliberately demolished in order to gain the building material for the new dwellings inside the fort. The graves were now dug closer to the fort or partly directly in the former vicus . Especially during the construction of railways and houses in the 19th century, more and more wall remains, graves and litter finds of the vicus came to light.

Limes course between Castel Cannabiaca and Castel Klosterneuburg

Illustration	ON / name	Description / condition
Copy of the consecration altar inscriptions (1909)	Watchtower / street station Maria Gugging	Maria Gugging is a cadastral community of Klosterneuburg and is located in the Kierlingtal on Bundesstraße 14. In ancient times, the Limesstraße ran through the Vienna Woods here, shortening the route to Cannabiaca . In 1909 two consecration altars dedicated to the god Silvanus were found here, one donated by a member of the Legio X Gemina . It is believed that they come from the sacellum (sanctuary) of a road watchtower on the border between Pannonia and Noricum. However, there is no structural evidence for this.
	Greifenstein watchtower	Greifenstein is a cadastral community of Sankt Andrä-Wölker and is located on the south-eastern edge of the Tullnerfeld , about nine kilometers from Klosterneuburg in the foothills of the Vienna Woods in Lower Austria. In antiquity, the Limesstrasse passed here coming from the Kierlingtal. In 1938 Anton Ehrenstrasser recovered a bronze coin from the time of Hadrian (minted in Rome) at Eichberg. In 1969, during excavation work on the plateau below the medieval castle from the 11th century, Roman finds were made, but no remains of the wall could be observed. Ancient written sources about this location are not known. Due to the favorable location, the presence of a Roman watchtower is very likely.

Hints

From Vienna you can get to Zeiselmauer by car via the B 14, the Klosterneuburger Bundesstrasse. The rapid transit line S 40 (ÖBB) runs from Vienna every 1/2 hour (Vienna-Franz-Josefs Bahnhof - Zeiselmauer-Königstetten). The center of the village can also be reached via the Danube cycle path and several connecting roads through the wetlands (around two to three kilometers).

The monuments can be viewed on the 500 meter long so-called Roman tour . Information boards are attached to each of the five stops. The tour begins at the church square. On the green area there are two display boards that provide information about the fort in general and the crypt of the parish church with the flag shrine. However, a visit to the lower church is only possible with a guide and by appointment. From Kirchenplatz (1), a few meters on the main road towards Tulln lead to Florianiplatz. The building of the Floriani Chapel, which protrudes slightly over the right sidewalk, marks the location of the western camp gate (Porta principalis sinistra) . Right along the Augasse (brown sign, direction arrow Roman walls) you will soon reach the Burgus showgrounds (2). From there the Römergasse begins on the right, in which you come to the ruins (3) of the NE fan-shaped tower (Römergasse No. 6) after about 150 meters. Then a footpath branches off to the right, which climbs gently to Passauerplatz with the Körnerkasten (4) and back to the starting point at Kirchplatz (5). From there you can walk in 5 minutes through Schulgasse to the municipal office in Bahnstraße, where the showroom for the Roman finds (6) is located.

In the basement of the elementary school, which is not generally accessible, the foundations of the horseshoe tower (see above) of the southern camp wall have been preserved, right next to it in the courtyard a piece of the southern camp wall was exposed and preserved. In the entrance area of ​​the municipal office is u. a. As a testimony to the troops once stationed here, the Cohors II Thracum , the consecration stone dedicated to Lucius Verus and the tombstone of Aelius Aemilius from the 2nd century AD are erected.

Exhibition in the showroom of the municipal office

In 2015 a free showroom was set up in the municipal office (Bahnstraße), financed by members of the "Friends of Zeiselmauers". The small exhibition shows finds from all epochs of the Roman settlement of Zeiselmauer. Finds not previously shown can also be seen here, which were loaned by the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, the Province of Lower Austria-Archaeological Park Carnuntum and the Federal Monuments Office. All objects were found in Zeiselmauer and date from the time between the 1st and 4th centuries AD.

Illustration	Time position	Artifacts
	2nd century AD	Consecration altar of the Cohors II Thacorum for Lucius Verus , 164 AD, the only written evidence of the presence of this military force in Noricum.
	2nd century AD	Gravestone of Aelius Aemilius, soldier of the 2nd Thracian cohort and his wife Amuca, Wienerwald sandstone, 2nd century AD. Portrait busts in arched niches, the woman wears a Noric hood, her name also indicates a Celtic descent. Aelius wears the typical Roman hair and beard costume of that time and a military scarf ( focale ). Above the niche, two dolphins swimming downwards that guide the souls of the deceased into the realm of the dead. The head of Medusa is supposed to ward off demons.
	3rd century BC BC to 4th century AD	Bronze pewter fittings (2nd century), found at Kirchenplatz, hemispherical glass beaker (grave find at Königstettnerstrasse, late 4th century), bronze decorative fittings of a metal vessel in the form of e. Woman's head, 2nd to 3rd century (church square), onion button gable, grave find Wolfpassinger Straße, 4th century, property mark ( tessera ) of soldier Flavius ​​Emeritus, 1st century (church square), two amulets (faience) of Egyptian deities, grave find 1.– 3. Century BC Chr.
	2nd century AD	Medusa relief to ward off demons on a ridge beam (Wienerwald sandstone) from a Roman grave temple.
	1st to 4th century AD	Brick ensemble, hollow brick e. Wall heating ( tubuli ), semicircular roof tiles ( imbrices ), roof tiles with stamps of the late Roman-Noric military administration ( OFARNBONOMAG = OF (ficinia) A (uxiliares) R (ipenses) N (orica) BONO MAG (ister) ).
	4th century AD	Iron utensils (household inventory, found at Bahnstrasse), from left to right: lamp holder with hanging device and bowl, bucket handle (bronze), hook, frying pan, candlestick, scoop, tree knife, lifting and sliding key, hook wrench, pickaxe.
	2nd to 3rd century AD	Ceramics: pot, Germanic gray ware, 2nd to 3rd century, terra sigillata bowl, imported from Central Gaul (Lezoux), 150–180 AD, mortar, imported ware, 2nd century.

See also

• List of forts in Noricum and Upper Pannonia

literature

• Franz Raffelsberger : General geographical-statistical lexicon of all Austrian states. Vienna 1845.
• Guido von Kaschnitz : Roman finds in and next to Zeiselmauer. In: Jahrbuch für Altertumskunde 4, 1910, pp. 111–113.
• Guido von Kaschnitz: Zeiselmauer. In: Jahrbuch für Alterthumskunde 5, 1911, pp. 28–31.
• Hannsjörg Ubl : The late Roman Burgus of Zeiselmauer. Excavation and restoration. In: Studies on the military borders of Rome. Lectures of the 10th International Limes Congress in the Germania Inferior. Rheinland Verlag, Cologne 1977, pp. 251-262.
• Robert Waissenberger (Ed.): Vindobona. The Romans in the Vienna area. Historical Museum of the City of Vienna, Vienna 1978.
• Herwig Friesinger , Brigitte Vacha: The many fathers of Austria. Romans - Teutons - Slavs. A search for clues. Vienna 1987.
• Information from the mayor, communications from the large community of Zeiselmauer, Zeiselmauer 1988, therein:
  • Hannsjörg Ubl: The Roman camp of Zeiselmauer. Its structural development within the framework of Roman military architecture.
  • Hannsjörg Ubl: The archaeological excavations of the Federal Monuments Office in Zeiselmauer.
  • Hannsjörg Ubl: The Roman history of our hometown.
• Wolfgang Pietsch: A typology of the camp and fort towers on the Noric and Pannonian Limes. Diploma thesis, Vienna 1993.
• Kurt Genser : The Austrian Danube Limes in Roman times. A research report . Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1986, ISBN 3-7001-0783-8 , (Der Römische Limes in Österreich 33), pp. 376–396 (finding a name pp. 410–411).
• Hannsjörg Ubl: Zeiselmauer cannabiaca? Fort and vicus. In: Herwig Friesinger, Fritz Krinzinger (Hrsg.): The Roman Limes in Austria. Guide to archaeological monuments . Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-7001-2618-2 , pp. 231-234.
• Verena Gassner, Sonja Jilek, Sabine Ladstätter : On the edge of the empire. Austrian history 15 BC Chr. – 378 AD Vienna 2002.
• Friends of Zeiselmauer, Konrad Schröder, Marianne Schröder, Raimund Mair, Josef Langer (eds.): Cannabiaca. The Roman Zeiselmauer . Zeisel wall 2006, 2nd edition.
• Rene Ployer: Zeiselmauer - Cannabiaca. Fort - vicus. In: Verena Gassner, Andreas Pülz (Hrsg.): The Roman Limes in Austria. Guide to the archaeological monuments. Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2015, ISBN 978-3-7001-7787-6 , pp. 234–237.
• René Ployer: The Norwegian Limes in Austria. Find reports from Austria, Materialhefte series B 3, Österr. Federal Monuments Office, Vienna 2013.
• Kira Lappe: Greifenstein - watchtower (?) And Maria Gugging - watchtower (?). In: Verena Gassner, Andreas Pülz (Hrsg.): The Roman Limes in Austria. Guide to the archaeological monuments. Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2015, ISBN 978-3-7001-7787-6 , pp. 238–239.

Remarks

1. ↑ OFARNBONOMAG = OF (ficinia) A (uxiliares) R (ipenses) N (orica) BONO MAG (ister).
2. ↑ Guido Kaschnitz thought the foundations were still those of a watchtower in 1905.
3. ↑ AE 1977, 603 :> IMP (eratori) CAES (ari) / L (ucio) AURELIO / VERO AUG (usto) TRIB (unicia) P (otestate) IIII / CO (nsuli) II / COH (ors) II THR ( acum) / EQ (uitata) P (ia) F (idelis) ( To the emperor and emperor Lucius Aurelius Verus Augustus in his fourth year of reign and his second consulate, the second mounted Thracian cohort, the obedient and faithful ), RIB 803 .
4. ↑ AE 2005, 1176 : D (is) M (anibus) / AEL (io) (A) EMILIO / VET (erano) AN (norum) LXV / AEL (ia) AMUCA / CON (iux) MAR (ito) F ( aciendum) C (uravit) ( To the gods of the dead, to the Aelius Aemilius veteran (deceased) at the age of 65, Aelia Amuca (had) the wife of her husband (this stone) erected ).

1. ^ Tabula Peutingeriana, segment V.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Kurt Genser : The Austrian Danube Limes in Roman times. A research report . Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1986, ISBN 3-7001-0783-8 , (= The Roman Limes in Austria 33), pp. 410–411; here: p. 411.
3. ↑ J. Oehler: 1912/13, p. 14.
4. ↑ Kurt Genser : The Austrian Danube Limes in Roman times. A research report . Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1986, ISBN 3-7001-0783-8 , (= The Roman Limes in Austria 33), pp. 376–396, here: p. 379.
5. ↑ Hannsjörg Ubl 1986, p. 302 ff.
6. ↑ Guido Kaschnitz: 1907/07, p. 144.
7. ↑ Verena Gassner, Stefan Groh u. a .: The Mautern - Favianis fort. (= The Roman Limes in Austria 39), Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-7001-2781-2 , p. 376.
8. ^ Péter Kovács : Annamatia Castellum. In: Zsolt Visy (ed.): The Roman army in Pannonia. Teleki Lázló Foundation 2003, ISBN 963-86388-2-6 , p. 120.
9. ↑ Endre Tóth : Group C. Fortifications with fan-shaped corner and U-shaped intermediate towers. In: Endre Tóth: The late Roman military architecture in Transdanubia. In: Archaeologiai Értesitő 134, 2009, p. 44.
10. ↑ Geza Alföldy: 1974, pp. 222-223, Friedrich Lotter: 1976, p. 217 and 1979, p. 65.
11. ↑ Ádám Szabó , Endre Tóth (ed.): Bölcske. Roman inscriptions and finds - In memoriam Sándor Soproni (1926–1995) Libelli archaeologici Ser. Nov. No. II. Hungarian National Museum, Budapest 2003, ISBN 963-9046-83-3 , p. 80.
12. ↑ Hannsjörg Ubl: 1977, pp. 253–254 Fig. 2–5 and Fig. 88.
13. ^ Hannsjörg Ubl: The late Roman Burgus of Zeiselmauer. Excavation and restoration. In: Studies on the military borders of Rome. Lectures of the 10th International Limes Congress in the Germania Inferior. Rheinland Verlag, Cologne 1977, pp. 251-262.
14. ^ Find reports from Austria, 13, 1974, p. 121.
15. ↑ Wolfgang Pietsch 1993, p. 100.
16. ↑ Investigation of the Federal Monuments Office (unpublished), Hannsjörg Ubl 1989 from W. Pietsch p. 179 and cadastral plan of the community of Zeiselmauer.
17. ↑ Friedrich von Kenner 1868/69, pp. 204–205.
18. ↑ J. Aschbach: 1860, p. 10.
19. ↑ CIL 3, 4839
20. ↑ CIL 3, 4842
21. ↑ CIL 3, 5292
22. ↑ CIL 3, 5539
23. ↑ H. Ubl, 1977/78, p. 241.
24. ↑ See J.Bogaers, C. Rüger: 1974, 68, No. 13, Fig. 19.
25. ↑ ND Occ. XXXIV
26. ↑ See also Wilhelm Kubitschek 1909, R. Münsterberg 1909, Gertrud Pascher 1949, p. 13, Herma Stiglitz 1965, p. 91.
27. ^ Franz Hutter: Find reports from Austria , 3, p. 19
28. ↑ Johann-Wolfgang Neugebauer 1970, p. 182, Hannsjörg Ubl 1975 (1), p. 156.

Web links

Commons : Kastell Zeiselmauer  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Location of the fort on Vici.org
• Location of the tower in Greifenstein on Vici.org
• Fort Zeiselmauer - The Roman Limes in Austria
• Animated film of the Roman Limes in Tullnerfeld
• Zeiselmauer municipal office
• Roman Museum Tulln
• Association for the preservation and promotion of the cultural heritage of the Roman town of Zeiselmauer