Roman time grave find in Weißenbacher Oberhof

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The Roman grave find in the Oberhof of the community Weißenbach am Lech is considered an important archaeological find in Tyrol . The grave, which is dated to the late Imperial Era, was systematically salvaged and documented in autumn 1948 as the first excavation from the Ausserfern .

Finding, location and recovery

In the course of the reconstruction of two burned down farms (Kerlyhof, Oberhof), the said grave was cut in 1948 when the foundation walls of the Oberhof were lowered. After the workers found the skull and a stone bowl, construction work stopped. When rumors of a crime began to spread, the then commandant of the Weissenbach gendarmerie post, patrol leader Sinz, took the matter up and issued a formal ban on work. It is also thanks to him that the finds, some of which have already been taken from the grave, could be collected together again. The skeleton was then excavated by the Federal Monuments Office, a sketch was made and the additions removed. The Weißenbacher grave find is a skeleton grave in a stretched supine position with the skull facing east. The grave was deepened approx. 80 cm, the filling of the grave could hardly be distinguished from the ground. While the width of the grave was approx. 50 - 60 cm, the length can no longer be determined because the head end has already been destroyed by the construction workers. A sketch (Fig. 1) should illuminate the location of the additions. Due to the Lavez stone vessels , the grave is dated to the late imperial period.

Grave goods

  • To the left of the head (according to the construction workers) a partially preserved soapstone bowl was found.
  • A cup (13 cm high) lay over the left ankle: This is decorated with circumferential grooves and is surrounded by three bronze bands like barrel staves . Further vertical bronze bands were used to attach a handle. The state of preservation of the bronze bands is poor, as they have already been used secondarily on the vessel. Today the object is exhibited in the Tyrolean State Museum Ferdinandeum .
  • The grave also contained a phalanx, two fragments of a bronze ring (on the phalanx), bovine ribs and two human incisors .

Anthropological investigation

Fortunately, this skeleton has been thoroughly anthropologically studied. The male characteristics predominate in the examinations, which are clearly evident, especially on the skull and pelvis . The results suggest a well-developed, healthy musculoskeletal system. The deceased apparently did not suffer from an illness , provided that the bone material allows a statement. The age at death is likely to be at the end of the third decade of life. Similarities can be compared with other anthropological findings of the Tyrolean population in the late Imperial Era. This fact allows the assumption that it is a member of the local population.

literature

  • Osmund Menghin, Adolf Rosenauer: The Roman grave find from Weißenbach in the Lechtal. Wagner, Innsbruck 1953, DNB 453305997 . (Schlern writings, Volume 94)