Roman age villa (St. Pauls)

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The covered excavation areas
The area of ​​the excavated foundation remains
The representative wing

The Roman-era villa in St. Pauls ( South Tyrol ) was discovered in spring 2005 above the town center during excavation work for the construction of a new house. The significant archaeological find is evidence of the old age of settlement around St. Pauls.

Dating

The villa was dated to the 4th century AD. The chronological classification of the building results from a few small finds, including fragments of fine tableware, as well as from the radiocarbon dating of the wooden beams that still exist. Further dating information is provided by some decorative motifs of the preserved mosaics , which correspond , for example, to those in Aquileia .

Emergence

The villa was built during an economically difficult time when most of the land was concentrated in the hands of a few latifundists (large landowners). Increasing fiscal and economic pressure forced large parts of the late antique population to place themselves under the protection of a local gentleman, which was also reflected in the architecture. The major political and economic changes meant that particularly high-quality reception and representation rooms were built.

State of preservation

By 2010, 27 rooms were uncovered during the excavations. The villa was originally much larger in size. The remains extend both to the north and into the adjacent ground to the south, while the eastern part of the complex was largely destroyed. The western part (on the mountain side) is much better preserved. On the valley side, the walls have been almost completely destroyed, as they have been systematically removed in modern times. Presumably they were used to extract building material. However, the looting trenches trace the course of the walls.

Division of the villa

Bathing facility

The bathing facility is located in the southern part of the facility. It was excavated in 2007 and, in accordance with Roman customs, is provided with a calidarium (hot bath room ), a tepidarium (room with mild heat) and a frigidarium (cold bath room). Both the calidarium, which is 3 × 2 meters in size and decorated with frescoes, and the tepidarium, which is also decorated with floor mosaics, are equipped with underfloor heating. The adjacent heating system, the praefurnium , was used to heat the rooms. There was a connection between the two rooms which allowed the warm air to circulate. In view of its small size, it is assumed that a very high temperature could be reached in the calidarium. The water basins still have remains of the original marble cladding.

Adjacent to the valley, there is a round wall structure approx. 1.5 m thick with a particularly deep foundation, the exact function of which has not yet been clarified.

On the mountain side of the calidarium and the tepidarium runs a carefully executed masonry canal, the base of which consists of flat laid bricks and of which two marble slabs of the cover are still preserved at the place of origin ( in situ ). The canal has a connection to a splendidly furnished room with a round floor plan. Its floor was originally clad with marble slabs that rested on a massive layer of brick chip screed. Only small fragments have survived of the wall cladding, which is also made of white marble slabs. The room probably served as a water basin. To the north-west of this, the foundation of a very dilapidated building structure was uncovered, which presumably served as a water reservoir.

Representation wing

In the representation wing, several splendidly furnished rooms emerged, including a room with a black and white mosaic. In addition, another area under a massive layer of rubble was exposed. The room had an apse and is of considerable size. The auditorium has a size of 9 × 8 meters, the apse has a diameter of 6 meters. The thickness of the wall is 0.60 m, in the vestibule area 1.10 m. This special room is decorated with a colorful floor mosaic that is almost completely preserved today. Furthermore, several parts decorated with mosaics were uncovered. The mosaics have both ( polychrome ) and black and white geometric and floral patterns.

Current owner

After the first excavations in 2005 and due to the special nature of the find, the State of South Tyrol acquired the property in 2006/07. Due to its extraordinary importance, the Roman villa is now being turned into a museum. The decisions were made in consultation with the state of South Tyrol and the municipality of Appiano , which will enable public access to the site in the future.

The work was financed by state funds from the lottery revenues.

literature

Web links

Commons : Roman Age Villa (St. Pauls)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 46 ° 28 ′ 11.8 "  N , 11 ° 15 ′ 30.2"  E