Locus Felicis
| Wall near Amstetten | |
|---|---|
| Alternative name |
a) Loco Felicis b) Lacufelicis |
| limes | Noricum |
| section | Route 1 Noricum (back line) |
| Dating (occupancy) | 2nd to 4th century AD |
| Type | Horsemen or cohort fort, supply depot and fortified civilian settlement |
| unit |
a) Legio X Gemina ? b) Legio II Italica ? c) Legio I Noricorum ? d) Equites Sagittarii |
| size | approx. 160 m × 200 m (2.5 ha) |
| Construction |
a) wood-earth fort?, b) stone fort (multi-phase) |
| State of preservation | Not visible above ground, NW side washed away from the Url |
| place | Wall near Amstetten |
| Geographical location | 48 ° 5 '44 " N , 14 ° 47' 53" E |
| Previous | Wallsee Castle (northwest) |
| Subsequently | Arelape Fort (northeast) |
Locus Felicis is the name of a Roman settlement in the area of today's Austria, probably in the federal state of Lower Austria , district Amstetten , municipality Mauer-Öhling . It is one of the most important ancient sites in Austria and has become known nationwide primarily for its massive fortifications from late antiquity and the discovery of the inventory of a Jupiter-Dolichenus temple. The fortified settlement probably served as a road watch post, possibly also as a supply depot for the Limes garrisons, and was continuously inhabited until the early Middle Ages. There are no visible remains today. According to more recent research by Hannsjörg Ubl, however, it is more likely that Locus Felicis is equated with the auxiliary fort in Wallsee.
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Surname
Due to the first documentary mention of the place in a deed of donation from Conrad II from the year 1034, in which there is talk of a royal Freihof at the Url, the place in the older research was initially equated with the Fort Ad Mauros . In 1111 a claim of ownership, " ad Mure ", of the St. Florian monastery was confirmed in a document. In older research the place was still referred to as Mauer an der Url, today the place name Mauer bei Amstetten is officially in use. In an article published in 2017, Stefan Groh tried to equate the name of the fort in Mauer an der Url with Adiuvense and provided sound arguments based on the latest research (georadar, geomagnetics) also with regard to the fort's building history.
location
The village of Mauer is about six kilometers southwest of the district capital of Amstetten . The Roman settlement was located between the districts of Mauer and Öhling, on the right bank of the Url, about ten kilometers from the nearest fort in Wallsee . At the confluence of the Url in the Ybbs a basin landscape spreads out, which is bounded in the northwest by the foothills of the Strengberge . The settlement was directly at the union of the two valley floors. Since the Url has changed its course several times since ancient times, the north-western area of the area was completely washed away over time. Today the area is partly built over or is used for agriculture. In Roman times, the settlement was in the province of Noricum and administratively belonged to the urban territory of Lauriacum .
Research history
The knowledge of the ancient fortifications was never completely lost in the local population, as their area was known under the field names of the farmstead "Burgner" or "in the castle" . According to a three-volume writing by Josef Schaukegl, Father of the Seitenstetten Abbey , at least the late antique fence was still relatively well preserved at the end of the 18th century. Schaukegl also had a copper engraving of the floor plans - in his opinion the "Ad Mauros" camp - made (Rudera Fortaliti Romani AD MVROS) . The monks of the monastery subsequently came into possession of other Roman finds, including the tombstone fragments of the veterans Aelius Valens (1788) and Vibius Tocionis (1840), as well as another tombstone, brick stamps and, above all, a large number of coins which they stocked the collection of their "Archaeological Cabinet". At that time, the site was - after Carnuntum - one of the most productive in Austria. The clergyman Josef Gaisberger visited the place in the early 19th century and reported that around 1825 the walls were gradually demolished or blown up by the landowner and the moats and ramparts were thereby completely leveled. At a shallow depth, only the foundations could be determined. When tilling the fields, wall remnants, screeds, hypocausts, square hollow bricks (tubuli) and large square brick slabs kept coming to light.
Most of the findings and findings (south wall, gates) could be obtained in the first scientifically accompanied excavations of the Austrian Limes Commission (headed by Max Nistler ) between 1906 and 1910. During these campaigns, the foundations of several interior buildings were exposed or cut. In 1910, however, the Limes Commission stopped digging. Due to the modern development, the SE and NE corners of the ancient area could no longer be recorded. The custody find on the south wall, documented by Josef Schicker in 1937, caused a sensation, which, among other metal implements, mainly contained cult objects from a Jupiter shrine and can be dated to the late 3rd century (see also below). In 1971 the Federal Monuments Office ( Herma Stiglitz ) was able to carry out a further investigation during sewer construction work on the main road . Here, above all, the soil was discolored, which came from smaller pointed trenches and were interpreted as defensive and palisade trenches of an early Roman wood-earth fortification.
development
Eduard Polaschek and Rudolf Noll assume, based on various brick stamps , terra sigillata ceramics (Lezoux and Rheinzabern types) and tombstones from the late first and early 2nd century AD, a predecessor fort in the Trajan and Hadrian times. Abbot Adalbert Dungel took the view that this fort was expanded or enlarged in the course of the Marcomann Wars. After evaluating the building findings and especially the coin series (up to Theodosius and Arcadius ) the fortified settlement was almost certainly not founded until the 3rd century. The fortress is believed to have suffered several severe attacks. Roof tiles (tegulae) with stamps of Legio I Noricorum and Dux Ursicinus suggest a renovation or reconstruction in the 4th century under Valentinian I go. Although it was likely to have been largely destroyed again shortly afterwards, Heinrich Zabehlicky was able to prove that there was continuity of settlement into the early Middle Ages.
The fortress could also have served as a supply base for the Limes garrisons, but this was certainly not their primary task. Since it was on the main connecting route between Lauriacum , Cetium (St. Pölten) and Vindobona , it must have had a certain strategic importance. According to Eduard Polaschek, their crew secured a defensive position on the second line 10 km from the actual border, which was established in the course of the Diocletian-Constantinian military reforms (see also Pannonian inland fort ). From here, the soldiers presumably also monitored the Limes hinterland between the confluence of the Ybbs and Enns rivers, on whose banks a route into the Alps and a road link ran from the Url valley to the Steyr river valley . At the same time, the base served as a flank protection for the Lauriacum camp , which prevented the legionary camp in the east from being bypassed. Presumably, even in poor visibility conditions, an optical connection to the neighboring Limes forts on the banks of the Danube could be established or maintained via this base.
Wood and earth fort
Nothing is known about the time, construction features and scope of the previous building - possibly a wood and earth fort.
Fortified settlement
In older research, a fort was suspected in the remains of the wall, but since no vicus belonging to the camp could be found up to now, it is assumed today that a fortified settlement is present instead. If a vicus actually existed, it is assumed to be on the west bank of the Url, in the Öhling district. Altogether, two construction periods were observed, separated by a layer of fire, which, however, could not be chronologically classified. The settlement was protected by a solid wall, broken through by several gates and with rectangular intermediate towers; several buildings inside, the function of which could not be clearly determined, probably also belonged to different construction phases. The fence was probably in the form of a 160 × 200 m, oblique-angled rectangle with rounded corners. Today, however, this can no longer be determined precisely because - as already mentioned - the north-western sector was completely eroded by the river. The area of the fenced area was probably 2.5 hectares. The flank towers of two gate systems in the west and east as well as four intermediate towers built into the south wall at regular intervals were uncovered.
Defensive wall and towers
Max Nistler was able to capture the southern fort wall over a length of 160 m. During the excavations of the Limes Commission, part of its four-meter-wide foundation pit was also found. In the excavated part, a total of four rectangular intermediate towers (I-IV) were recognized, each protruding 1.5 m over the wall. On the east side, a tower-like projection was excavated “north of the arable field”, possibly another, fifth, intermediate tower. Otherwise no traces of towers could be found in the east and west, in the wall sections to the southern corners. Max Nistler believes that such towers never stood here. To the south of the fort wall, about twelve meters long search cuts were made, but they did not reveal any defensive trenches.
Gates
On the west and east sides a gate was discovered, which was flanked by two square, inwardly attached towers. The east gate is almost exactly opposite the west gate (here the foundations of the defensive wall also continued under the passage), but it is shifted a little further north. The passage of the west gate measured 3.45 m, the dimensions of the side towers were 9.10 m × 9.70 m × 7 m. On the south side of the northern gate tower a wall niche (1.1 m × 2 m) could be observed, the function of which - door or position of the gate post - is disputed. The construction of the east gate largely coincided with that of the west gate, but the foundations of the defensive wall on the gate towers broke off here. No gate system could be found in the south.
Interior development and road connections
In the course of the street research of the Limes Commission from 1906 to 1910, excavations were also carried out in the interior, which led to the uncovering of building remains (walls, foundations, screeds, hypocausts , praefurnias ). Despite traces of earlier buildings, the findings excavated by Nestler could only be assigned to late antiquity. Coins and bricks in particular came mainly from the 4th century AD. In the area of the north wall, the remains of a larger building (H) were excavated. To the north of a street running from west to east, the foundations of building C, with its inner courtyard, (21 × 10 m) were exposed. Most of the remains of the even larger building H (House of the Prefect?) Were washed away. In the eastern part of the interior of the camp, north of the street, building I with portico was excavated; it was severely disturbed by today's road to Öhling and the excavator dated it to a later construction phase. In addition, the remains of seven other buildings (A, B, D, E, F, G and K) could be detected, some of which were equipped with hypocaust heating. Some remains of the wall from a later period lay directly over the findings of the street. Remnants of a floor screed were also discovered south of the road. The 3.7 m wide Limesstraße in the interior of the area, cut in 1907, connected the west and east gates. Between the railway crossing and a junction to Öhling, another piece of the Limesstrasse leading out of the east gate was discovered on the Lechner property in 1925. Their course could be followed up to a length of one kilometer (Waidhofenerstraße - Westbahn).
garrison
Due to the low level of research in this regard, the question of the origin of the occupying troops of this military site can hardly be solved satisfactorily. According to the evidence of the brick stamps found here, vexillations of the Legio X Gemina , Legio II Italica and Legio I Noricorum could have been stationed here in alternating succession . There is some security only for the late antique crew, according to the Notitia Dignitatum , Lacufelicis had Equites Sagittarii , a unit of mounted archers.
population
The people of Locus Felicis probably lived in a rather poorly equipped, small military base, on a very restless and dangerous section of the imperial border at that time. The nearest major town, Lauriacum , was up to six hours' walk away. According to the few clues that could be obtained mainly from the inscriptions on the treasure trove (see below), it was not a closed indigenous community, but a settler community with a very mixed origin. Besides people from Noricum (e.g. a woman with the Celtic name Matugena) most of the immigrants probably came from the south or even more distant provinces in the east of the empire. The upper class undoubtedly included a Decurio , Postumus Celer, and a veteran , Marius Ursinus, who represent the soldiers stationed in the village. Small craftsmen, farmers and day laborers made up the largest proportion of the population. The high proportion of women who, according to the votive inscriptions, must have been very active in the cultural life of the place is particularly striking. Most of the finds, however, also came from humble backgrounds. Although some of them had obviously been imported (e.g. ceremonial sieves, speed scales and bronze lamps), the many signs of repair on the bronze dishes and consecration gifts make it clear that its owners only had a limited income and therefore only rarely made new purchases in this direction could become. Nevertheless, 75% of the silver votives in the hoard find were labeled, which suggests that the local population was already deeply rooted in Romanization.
Hoard find
On March 8, 1937, an ancient hoard was discovered about 40 m south of the central section of the fort wall at only a shallow depth. Although the seizure was carried out without specialist scientific control, the original entire inventory should have been largely preserved. This was also due to the fact that one of the finders was involved in the excavations of the Limes Commission in 1907–1910 and ensured that even small parts were carefully recovered. It was thanks to another lucky coincidence that the curator of the Central Office for Monument Protection, Josef Schicker, learned of this sensational find in good time and, by making an inventory, prevented the vast majority of the found objects from falling into the wrong hands. Everything we know today about the details of the find goes back to Schicker's notes at the time. A subsequent excavation by the Austrian Archaeological Institute under the direction of Erich Swoboda, which lasted from March 15 to 17, 1937, did not reveal any traces of a temple or other walls, only a few insignificant stray finds were recovered. Between 1943 and 1971, it was also possible to buy back those pieces (silver votives, iron objects) that were kept by those involved as “souvenirs”. Only one bronze cauldron has been lost to this day. All artefacts are now kept or exhibited in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna .
The pit, which was filled with dark earth, contained up to 100 Roman metal cult objects, various household appliances and tools. However, the votive offerings for the Jupiter-Dolichenus cult were of particular scientific interest. The artifacts were still astonishingly well preserved, of great craftsmanship and showed only minor damage. However, some objects had already dissolved into their components and had to be reassembled and re-soldered. The bronze objects were covered with a patina that was heavily corroded from iron, but still had a stable metal core and was preserved. About a third of the metal objects clearly had a cultic function. Due to the position of some small finds (sieves, lamps, Medusa reliefs), Schicker got the impression that they must originally have been kept in a box or sack. The pit contained only objects made of bronze, silver and iron. Your facility indicated a high level of care and compliance with a principle of order when depositing the objects.
Several statues of gods and cult objects could be salvaged, including
- the first completely preserved representation of Jupiter Dolichenus that became known,
- the only known group of figures of Juno Regina with Jupiter Dolichenus ,
- a statuette of the goddess of victory Victoria ,
- the first - completely recovered - triangular votive tablets,
- bronze relief fragments,
- various bronze sheets,
- 27 silver votives in palm leaf shape with 25 dedicatory inscriptions and
- a bronze hand of oath
- bronze oil lamps and
- Bells.
At household utensils and tools were
- beautifully crafted kitchen strainers,
- some metal kettles,
- a pot
- a pan,
- Scales,
- Weighing pans,
- a tripod,
- a gridiron,
- Knife,
- Axes,
- a sickle and
- Meat hook
ensured. A little further away from the place of discovery, there was only a rubbish pit, it mainly contained broken ceramics and animal bones. However, these finds were in no way related to the metal hoard. The most prominent position in this hoard is certainly the groups of gods. A dedicatory inscription by the donor was also attached to the Jupiter-with-Taurus group:
I (ovi) o (ptimo) m (aximo) D (olicheno) Marr (ius) Ursinus veter (anus) ex ius (su) pos (uit) l (aetus) l (ibens) m (erito)
"The veteran Marrius Ursinus happily, gladly and deservedly donated (this) to the best, greatest Jupiter Dolichenus."
Marrius was obviously a soldier, unfortunately the name of his unit is not given in this inscription. It is therefore unclear whether he served in the garrison of Locus Felicis or possibly with the Legio II Italica in Lauriacum.
Not a single one of the objects can be dated to the 4th century, which is why Rudolf Noll ruled out hiding the objects after the destruction of the sanctuary by Christian fanatics. In many details, this hoard can be compared with that of Fort Weissenburg ; they were found near the fortifications and were carefully deposited and buried. In both cases no coins were found, which made dating much more difficult. The metal objects themselves come from different time periods. The cult of Dolichenus reached its heyday under Emperor Septimius Severus , after the end of his dynasty it fell back clearly out of fashion. Rudolf Noll suspects that the temple inventory was buried in the course of the great Alemanni invasion of 233 AD. During this time there were massed coin treasures , especially in Raetia , the easternmost of which came to light in Seewalchen am Attersee in Upper Austria .
Dolichenus temple
The location of the sanctuary could not be located until today. Rudolf Noll also takes into account that there could not have been a separate building built for the cult. An identification of the previously uncovered buildings as a Dolichenus temple is difficult and in the absence of further conclusive findings, such as z. B. stone monuments, altars or a relief, hardly possible, since no specific floor plans of such temples are known.
Burial grounds
To the south and south-east of the settlement area were two grave fields, in which mainly body burials with coins up to Valentinian I , Gratian and Arcadius , but only a few cremation graves were found. In the north-west of 1907, a brick-plate grave was observed, albeit a looted one . In 1925, workers discovered an ancient body burial with a Probus coin on the stretch of road leading out of the east gate . The finding could no longer be precisely localized afterwards.
Monument protection
The facilities are ground monuments within the meaning of the Monument Protection Act. Investigations and targeted collection of finds without the approval of the Federal Monuments Office are a criminal offense. Accidental finds of archaeological objects (ceramics, metal, bones, etc.) as well as all measures affecting the soil must be reported to the Federal Monuments Office (Department for Ground Monuments).
literature
- Josef Gaisberger: Archaeological gleanings. Volume 1, Reports on the Museum Francisco-Carolinum 24, 1864.
- Max Nistler: The excavations in Mauer-Öhling (= The Roman Limes in Austria. 10). Vienna 1909.
- Kurt Genser: The Austrian Danube Limes in Roman times. A research report (= The Roman Limes in Austria. 33). Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-7001-0783-8 .
- Rudolf Noll: The inventory of the Dolichenus sanctuary of Mauer an der Url (Noricum) (= The Roman Limes in Austria. 30). Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1980.
- Marianne Pollak: The Roman grave fields of Mauer an der Url, VB Amstetten, Lower Austria. In: Archaeologia Austriaca 72, 1988.
- Manfred Kandler, Hermann Vetters (ed.): The Roman Limes in Austria. A leader . Vienna 1989.
- Eva Steigberger: Wall at the Url - Locus Felix (?). Auxiliary 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. 188–190.
- René Ployer: The Norwegian Limes in Austria. Find reports from Austria, Materialhefte series B 3, Österr. Federal Monuments Office, Vienna 2013.
Web links
Remarks
- ^ Hannsjörg Ubl: Wallsee in Roman times . In: Market community Wallsee-Sindelburg (Hrsg.): Wallsee-Sindelburg . 1st edition. 2017, p. 24-41 .
- ↑ Kurt Genser: 1986, p. 202.
- ^ "... ad Murum iuxta fluvium Urula ", Rudolf Noll: 1980, p. 9.
- ^ Stefan Groh: Castrum Ad Iuvense (?) New research on the Noric inland fortress of Mauer near Amstetten. The geophysical prospecting 2014-2015 . In: Roman Academy Institute of Archeology and History of Cluj (Ed.): Ephemeris Napocensis . tape XXVII . Bucuresti 2017, p. 71-122 .
- ^ Find reports from Austria. Volume 10, 1971, p. 71.
- ↑ Rudolf Noll: 1980, p. 13.
- ↑ Kurt Genser: 1986, p. 214.
- ↑ Kurt Genser: 1986, p. 215.
- ↑ Rudolf Noll: 1980, p. 12.
- ^ Rudolf Noll: 1980, p. 9.
- ↑ Kurt Genser: 1986, p. 216.
- ↑ Rudolf Noll: 1980, p. 14.
- ↑ Kurt Genser: 1986, p. 210.
- ↑ Kandler / Vetters: 1989, pp. 117–119.
- ↑ Max Nistler: 1909, p. 123f .; Pollak: 1988, p. 159.
- ^ Find reports from Austria. Volume 8, 1961-1965, p. 96.
- ^ ND Occ., XXXIV, 33
- ↑ Rudolf Noll: 1980, p. 25.
- ↑ Rudolf Noll: 1980, p. 19.
- ^ AE 1939, 265
- ↑ Rudolf Noll: 1980, p. 27.
- ↑ Rudolf Noll: 1980, p. 115.
- ↑ Rudolf Noll: 1980, p. 116.
- ^ Find reports from Austria , Volume 1, 1930-1934, p. 55.
- ↑ Monument Protection Act ( Memento of the original dated November 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the side of the Federal Monuments Office
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