Roman Museum Stettfeld
The Roman Museum Stettfeld is an archaeological museum in the Baden-Württemberg community of Ubstadt-Weiher on the western edge of the Kraichgau near Bruchsal. The museum houses archaeological finds from the former Roman settlement in the Stettfeld district, which has been excavated since the 1970s. During the excavations, a large Roman villa, highways and a large burial ground were found and scientifically examined. The museum shows a wide range of Roman glass and ceramic objects as well as sculptures made of sandstone and impressively documents a flourishing provincial Roman community at the site of today's Stettfeld with up to 800 inhabitants in its heyday, which was abandoned around 260 AD as a result of the Alemanni raids has been.
exhibition
In its permanent exhibition, the Roman Museum shows finds that were made when a large burial ground was discovered. These include clay jugs and urns, valuable Terra Sigillata crockery, glass vessels as well as coins and metal objects. The rich finds made in 1982 also include the pottery and brickwork center, which is presented on the upper floor of the museum. Interesting stone carvings are also shown, including a. a statue of Hercules. The upper floor of the museum is dedicated to the palatial monumental building discovered in 2003 through geophysical measurements with its impressive floor plan dimensions of approx. 120 m × 60 m and various auxiliary buildings. The excavations in the period 2007–2012 showed that the size of the facility far exceeds previous assumptions. This industrially working business enterprise has created a large sales area with its products, also outside of Stettfeld. Bricks with the manufacturer's stamp LPL can be detected within a radius of approx. 40 km.
history
The district of Stettfeld is one of the oldest places in the vicinity. Traces of settlement are revealed by the discovery of vessel fragments from the time of the so-called cord ceramics to 5000 BC. Dated. Around 3000 years later, people of the urn field culture settled in the Stettfeld district. The Celts followed from the 5th century BC. A Roman settlement emerged around 120 AD at the intersection of the important highways Basel – Mainz and Augsburg – Speyer, after the Roman Rhine Valley Road had been relocated eastward to the nearest flood-proof hill in the Kraichgau. The Roman trunk road running in north-south direction has already been proven several times in the local area. One of the most important finds is a Hercules torso made of green sandstone. A cemetery with four hundred graves and valuable grave goods in the area of today's Albert-Schweitzer-Strasse testifies to the size of the "vicus" Stettfeld at that time. On a sand dune near today's Stettfeld, a large civilian brick factory specializing in bricks and pottery was built in the middle of the 2nd century on an area of five hectares, which archaeologists excavated on a large scale in the recent past. After the Romans withdrew around AD 260, the place was not inhabited for a long time.
museum
On the ground floor there are ceramic, glass and metal finds, sculptures made of sandstone and much more from the Roman past of Stettfeld. Evidence from many individual excavations and the large Roman burial ground prove a wealthy place at the intersection of two Roman highways from approx. 100 - 260 AD. The basement shows that there was lively life in and around Stettfeld even in prehistoric times thanks to water and fertile soil gave. The upper floor reminds of the Roman villa discovered in 2003 in Stettfeld through geophysical prospecting . With its impressive floor plan dimensions of approx. 120 m × 60 m with various ancillary buildings, it can be addressed as a special feature in the settlement area on the right bank of the Rhine, as its external dimensions are almost larger than the front of the Bruchsal Palace and only comparable to excavations on the left bank of the Rhine. The originally painted pieces of plaster from earlier excavations of a Roman bath at the same location are real. They are integrated in an imaginatively designed mural based on the Pompeii model. A short film shows the visitor the dimensions and possible significance of the Roman palace. The focus of the original colors of antique sculptures documented in the special exhibition in 2009 has been included in the permanent exhibition.
Roman Villa - A monumental building in the Gewann Hecken
In 2003 and 2006, geomagnetic measurements were carried out by the Stuttgart Regional Council in the Gewann Hecken, which is about 1.5 km northeast of the town. The aim was to obtain information about a Roman site that has been known since the end of the 19th century. The investigations carried out by Wilhelm Bauer in 1958 brought some light. At the time, it was believed that the bathroom belonging to an estate and two farm buildings had been cut. During the investigations, the remains of the building turned out to be partly very well preserved: the walls were up to two meters high and the hypocaust (underfloor heating) was also in very good condition. The measurements mentioned showed that the image obtained at that time had to be corrected again. The corrections start with the size of the plant. For now, with a width of 60 m, a building complex with a side length of 120 m can be assumed, which corresponds more to a Roman villa. Previously, a villa rustica with a portico and two corner projections was assumed, but the measurements showed that the complex had a portico and four corner projections. It also became apparent that the bathing building, which was uncovered in 1958, was integrated into the villa and did not form a separate building. Addressing the individual rooms has so far only been possible in this case. It cannot be ruled out that there was another (earlier or later) bathing facility in the villa. Several outbuildings were also found. The reconstruction is difficult, as the building was certainly not erected at once and therefore the various construction phases can only be determined by excavation. For the time being, it also remains unclear whether this magnificent villa, which was previously unique on the right of the Rhine, was one or two-story. For aesthetic reasons and because of its size, a two-story building should be assumed. A similarly imposing comparable building ("Villa von Nennig") was found in the municipality of Perl in the Merzig-Wadern district in Saarland. A first inspection of the finds showed that the extensive property existed from about the middle of the 2nd to the middle of the 3rd century AD. Information about the builder or owner of this luxury villa in Stettfeld is not yet available. However, the excavations of 1958 showed that the walls were decorated with wall paintings and the floor with mosaics, which undoubtedly points to a Roman who was extraordinarily wealthy for the province.
Freundeskreis Römermuseum Stettfeld eV (FRM)
In 1984 the Freundeskreis Römermuseum Stettfeld e. V. founded. Well-known are the annual special exhibitions, which the Freundeskreis Römermuseum Stettfeld mainly conceives and realizes independently under scientific guidance. In addition, the Circle of Friends regularly organizes the Stettfeld evening lectures, which are well known beyond the Kraichgau region, as well as guided tours through the museum and the original locations. In addition, schools within the region are offered events accompanying lessons and museum educational activities.
literature
- Peter Knötzele : On the topography of the Roman Stettfeld, excavations 1974–1987 . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-8062-2040-7
- Joachim Wahl, Mostefa Kokabi: The Roman burial ground of Stettfeld. Vol. 1 Osteological examination of the bones from the burial ground . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0788-7
- Peter Knötzele: On shoemaker's pony - Roman footwear. Roman Museum Stettfeld, Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe. Karlsruhe 1996 (exhibition catalog)
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 10 ′ 55.3 " N , 8 ° 38 ′ 34.1" E