Kisoroszi small fort

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Kisoroszi small fort
Alternative name Kisoroszi-Kápolna (Kisoroszi Chapel)
limes Pannonian Limes
section 3
Dating (occupancy) late antiquity
Type Small fort
size around 40 × 50 m
Construction stone
State of preservation not preserved above ground
place Kisoroszi
Geographical location 47 ° 48 '34.7 "  N , 19 ° 0' 3.8"  E
height 108  m
Previous Visegrád-Sibrik Castle (Pone Navata) (southwest)
Subsequently Burgus Verőcemaros-Dunamező (north)
Kastell Dunabogdány (Cirpi) (south)
Burgus Tahitótfalu-Balhavár (southeast)

The small fort Kisoroszi , also called the small fortress Kisoroszi-Kapelle or Kisoroszi-Kápolna , is a little-known former Roman military camp , which secured the Pannonian Limes as a late antique fortification at the northern end of the Hungarian Danube island Szentendrei (Sankt Andrä) . Building remains were discovered in the southern part of the island village Kisoroszi at a chapel.

location

The Limes Pannonicus on the Pilis Mountains
The western arm of the Danube near Kisoroszi. View from the Danube Island Szentendrei to the Danube Bend and the northern end of the island (center). The Kisoroszi border fort stood there. On the opposite bank (left in the picture) there were at least two burgi in late antiquity .

To the west of the fortification, the Danube divides into two branches and in the middle forms the large Danube island of St. Andrä, on which the late antique fortification was located. From here, the two arms of the Danube flow around the Pilis Mountains in a wide curve that extends southwards .

From the small fortress, which was located at the northernmost point of the Danube Bend on a flood-proof hill, the Danube flowing past from the south-west could be controlled. The fort had visual contact with the Visegrád-Sibrik fort on the south bank of the Danube, on a hill, and with the dense chain of watchtowers along the river below. In addition, the crew was able to establish contact with the towers on the Danube Island themselves and also monitor the northern Barbaricum .

Research history

The archaeologist Lajos Nagy (1897–1946) was the first to report in 1932 about the ruins of the chapel. Certainly he did not make this discovery himself, but learned about late Roman brick temples that had come to light there. In 1933 the archaeologist Ákos Szalay also mentioned the remains of the building, but without going into detail. In the same year, the dissertation by János Szilágyi (1907–1988) was published. There is also mentioned a brick stamp of the " Frigeridus dux", which came to the Hungarian National Museum in 1886 and probably came from the place of discovery at the chapel. The archaeologist István Paulovics (1892–1952) wrote two notes in 1934 and 1938. One dealt with treasure hunters on the site by the chapel, the other reported on the removal of late Roman brick stamps. These were then walled up in a wall of the Kisoroszi parish hall. In addition to Paulovics, the archaeologist Albin Balogh (1887–1958) also mentioned the site in 1934. However, neither of them went into the details in detail. An excavation carried out by János Kalmár at the chapel is not further documented. Under the direction of the archaeologist Sándor Soproni (1926–1995), another small excavation took place in 1974 at one of the corners of the camp. The complex, thought to be a burgus before the excavation , was now interpreted as a small fort. Without more detailed investigations, however, no further confirmatory analysis of the structure can be carried out.

Building history

The curved wall section of a corner tower, which possibly belongs to a fan-shaped tower, was partially excavated from the approximately 40 × 50 meter large Kisoroszi Fort. It seems that this complex was similar to the small fortress of Visegrád-Gizellamajor . Brick stamps of the Frigeridus dux from the rubble of the roof covering have become known as finds . Frigeridus officiated between 371 and 373 AD as military commander in chief of the province of Valeria ( Dux Valeriae ripensis ) , to whose territory Kisoroszi belonged.

Limes course from the small fort Kisoroszi to Burgus Verőcemaros-Dunamező

Traces of the Limes structures between Kisoroszi and Verőce on the Danube island of St. Andrä
route Name / place Description / condition
3 Kisoroszi Pusztatemplom (Burgus Solva 36)
Digitally guided plan based on the original Sopronis findings drawing from 1958. The subsequent coloring is intended to clarify the situation
At the northern end of the island of Szentendrei, Soproni investigated this site in the bank area of ​​the main arm of the Danube in November 1958. The site was on the Gaziwiesen (Gazi-rétek), on the edge of the Pusztatemplom (Heidekirche) corridor belonging to the municipality of Kisoroszi. After the river was flooded, two remains of the wall came to light from the edge of the edge of the bank. The excavations at that time lasted three days. Here five search cuts were made at some distance. Under a 30 centimeter thick layer of humus there was sometimes an equally thick layer of rubble. The obvious extension of the stump of the wall found to the west in the bank was observed again 4.20 meters further south in section 2. Both in the bank area and in this section, the remains of the wall with a thickness of 0.60 meters could be measured. The remains of rubble stone had been set with an inferior mortar. A little south-east of these two wall stumps, a wall could also be identified in two further sections (section 1 and 4). This was oriented in an approximate east-west direction and, in its presumed extension, did not form a right angle with the wall to the west. The second wall was about a meter wide and partly heavily fragmented due to a later disturbance. The site hid Roman roof tiles, including a fragment with the remains of a brick stamp bearing the inscription … V] P DVX . In addition, some fragments of gray pottery came to light from the cuts. Stratigraphic age determinations were as good as impossible, since the area of ​​the presumed watchtower was used as a cemetery in the Middle Ages and possibly beyond and had been excavated again and again through sunk-in graves. However, based on the poor quality of the mortar, it was possible to make a cautious statement that the two 60-centimeter-thick remains of the wall had to belong to a more recent period. In this sense, the east-western wall was probably the last remnant of the actual Burgus, which, according to surface findings, may have been around 10 × 10 meters in size. Since it was no longer possible to determine the age of this complex more precisely, it could, however, be assigned to the Valentinian era on the basis of its partly presumed dimensions. Should the stamp fragment ... V] P DVX dissolve into the well-known stamp FRIGERIDVS VP DVX , there would also be an indication of construction or renovation activities under Emperor Valentinian I. A review of the finds is no longer possible. Soproni mentions that they came to the Károly Ferenczy Museum in Szentendre , of which he was then director. However, they can no longer be found there.

In 1964, the archaeologist István Stefaits observed not just two, but five remains of the wall emerging from the same edge. These were about a meter thick. In addition to medieval finds, Stefaits was able to recognize the remains of burials that belonged to the cemetery established in the Middle Ages on the steep bank. A late Romanesque or early Gothic column base, which he also found, could not be clearly assigned in terms of time. Another important find Stefaits found was a fragment of a late Roman brick temple with the imprint … P DVX | X . The rear X was located within the actual stamp, but was clearly separated from it by the extra recessed impression of the … P DVX . The stamp was inventoried and is preserved. Stefaits believed that he had found the brick in a secondary location. However, this did not rule out the existence of a Roman watchtower in this area. An important observation was that the legs of one of the skeletons protruding from the edge were under the foundations of one of the walls. Soproni, too, had already assigned the stump of the wall in the bank that he recognized to a later stage than the postulated Valentine Burgus must have owned. One year after Stefaits, in 1965, the archaeologist Zsuzsa Lovag visited the site. In addition to the medieval finds and graves, she also mentions Roman ceramic shards in her report. These unspecified fragments were unfortunately not added to the museum holdings.

In 2009 and 2011, the archaeologist Dénes Jankovich-Bésán and the archaeologists Attila János Tóth and Gábor Varga investigated the edge. Like Soproni, they too could only observe two stumps of the wall sitting on the steep bank. In addition to numerous medieval shards, however, no Roman pottery could be recognized. Rubble was found in the field of the Gazi meadows above the river. Much of it consisted of Imbrex fragments. These differed somewhat from the models common in Roman times. They were thinner and there was a nub on one of them, like those found in the monk and nun system . Several roof tiles showed traces of mortar on the inside and outside, which could indicate secondary use.

3 Kisoroszi – Hosszú-rét (Burgus Solva 37) The next, east of the previously discussed building, Burgus, was also examined by Soproni after Flóris Rómer (1815–1889) had already seen and described the ruin, which was still in good condition at the time. In Rómer's time, the remains of the wall on the main arm of the Danube were still 1.20 meters high. He was able to determine that the 12.33 × 12.33 meter wide fortification had been carried out up to this height in a 2.85 meter thick stone construction, above it he found two layers made of bricks, whose thickness was 62 centimeters weaker was than the lower tower set. The Burgus, built from the locally occurring andesite , was located on the Hosszú-rét (Pásztorkert) corridor, which also belongs to Kisoroszi, and was directly opposite the Verőcemaros-Dunamező state castle on the other bank of the Danube. Numerous brick stamps of the tribunes Caris and Lupicinus (Caris trb., Lupicinus trb.) Came from the Burgus, which was not built parallel to the river bed . These high staff officers served under the rule of Emperor Valentinian I. Lupicinus was active as a tribune in the province of Valeria, to which this section of the Danube belonged, after 368 and before 377. Today only a one meter high, disturbed rubble mound can be seen on the square. Soproni assumed that this complex was probably the remains of a country castle.
3 Verőce (Burgus Solva 38) On the opposite bank of the main arm of the Danube is the Burgus Verőcemaros-Dunamező .

Monument protection

The monuments of Hungary are protected under the Act No. LXIV of 2001 by being entered in the register of monuments. The Kisoroszi small fort as well as all the other Limes facilities belong to the nationally valuable cultural property as archaeological sites according to § 3.1. 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 (= Bulletin du musée roi Saint Etienne. Series A, Volume 22). Fejér Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága, Székesfehérvár 1976.
  • Sándor Soproni : The late Roman Limes between Esztergom and Szentendre. Akademiai Kiado, Budapest 1978, ISBN 9630513072 .
  • Sándor Soproni: The last decades of the Pannonian Limes. CH Beck, Munich 1985, ISBN 3406304532 .
  • Gábor Varga: A Szentendrei-sziget római kori erődítettségéről. In: Archaeologiai Értesítő 137 (2012), pp. 145–174.
  • Zsolt Visy : Definition, Description and Mapping of Limes Samples. CE Project "Danube Limes - UNESCO World Heritage" 1CE079P4. Budapest 2010. pp. 26-27.
  • Zsolt Visy: The ripa Pannonica in Hungary. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 2003, ISBN 9630579804 , pp. 53-54.
  • Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 .

Remarks

  1. ^ Gábor Varga: A Szentendrei-sziget római kori erődítettségéről . In: Archaeologiai Értesítő 137 (2012), pp. 145–174; here pp. 160–161.
  2. ↑ János Szilágyi: Inscriptiones tegularum Pannonicarum . Dissertationes Pannonicae . Ser. II. Budapest 1933.
  3. ^ Gábor Varga: A Szentendrei-sziget római kori erődítettségéről . In: Archaeologiai Értesítő 137 (2012), pp. 145–174; here p. 161.
  4. ^ Zsolt Visy: The ripa Pannonica in Hungary. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 2003, ISBN 9630579804 , pp. 53-54.
  5. ↑ a b c Zsolt Visy: The ripa Pannonica in Hungary. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 2003, ISBN 9630579804 , p. 54.
  6. ↑ Jenő Fitz (ed.): The Roman Limes in Hungary . Fejér Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága, 1976, p. 71.
  7. ^ Sándor Soproni: The late Roman Limes between Esztergom and Szentendre. Akadémiai Kiadó. Budapest 1978, ISBN 9630513072 , p. 72.
  8. ↑ Notitia Dignitatum, IN PARTIBUS OCCIDENTIS, XXXIII.
  9. ^ János György Szilágyi: Inscriptiones tegularum pannonicarum . DissPann II. Budapest, 1933, plate XXVIII, pp. 53-58.
  10. ^ Barnabás Lőrincz : A későrómai hídfőállások bélyeges téglái Valeriában. In: Attila Gaál (Ed.): Pannoniai kutatások. A Soproni Sándor emlékkonferencia előadásai (Bölcske, 1998. October 7th) . Szekszárd 1999, pp. 53-68.
  11. ↑ Route = numbering follows Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary (Theiss 1988) and Zsolt Visy: The ripa Pannonica in Hungary. (Akadémiai Kiadó 2003)
  12. ↑ Burgus Solva 36 at 47 ° 48 '53.62 "  N , 19 ° 0' 5.69"  O .
  13. ↑ a b c d Sándor Soproni: The late Roman Limes between Esztergom and Szentendre. Akadémiai Kiadó. Budapest 1978, ISBN 9630513072 , p. 73.
  14. ↑ a b Gábor Varga: A Szentendrei-sziget római kori erődítettségéről . In: Archaeologiai Értesítő 137 (2012), pp. 145–174; here p. 157.
  15. ↑ a b c d e Gábor Varga: A Szentendrei-sziget római kori erődítettségéről . In: Archaeologiai Értesítő 137 (2012), pp. 145–174; here p. 159.
  16. ^ Gábor Varga: A Szentendrei-sziget római kori erődítettségéről . In: Archaeologiai Értesítő 137 (2012), pp. 145–174; here p. 160.
  17. ↑ Burgus Solva 37 at 47 ° 48 '48.29 "  N , 19 ° 3' 2.49"  O .
  18. ↑ a b Sándor Soproni: The late Roman Limes between Esztergom and Szentendre. Akadémiai Kiadó. Budapest 1978, ISBN 9630513072 , p. 74.
  19. ^ Barnabás Lőrincz: A későrómai hídfőállások bélyeges téglái Valeriában. In: Attila Gaál (Ed.): Pannoniai kutatások. A Soproni Sándor emlékkonferencia előadásai (Bölcske, 1998. October 7th) . Szekszárd 1999, pp. 53-68. Footnote 12.
  20. ↑ Jenő Fitz (ed.): The Roman Limes in Hungary. Fejér Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága, 1976, p. 73.
  21. ↑ Ländeburgus Verőcemaros-Dunamező at 47 ° 49 '6.71 "  N , 19 ° 3' 5.15"  O .