Roman Villa Borg

Portal building of the Villa Borg

The Roman Villa Borg is an archaeological open-air museum in the Borg district of the Saarland municipality of Perl in the Merzig-Wadern district . The open-air museum consists of an excavated and reconstructed Roman villa rustica . The facility is supported by the Merzig-Wadern Cultural Foundation .

The Villa Borg Archaeological Park is a stop on the Roman Road .

Excavation findings and reconstruction

After almost 100 years ago archaeological finds in Borg indicated a villa rustica, planned excavations were started in 1987 . It turned out that a so-called protovilla had been built here on the site of a late Celtic homestead in the early imperial period . This was then followed by a stone construction phase. After evaluating and assessing the excavation findings, it was decided in 1994 to reconstruct the entire historical complex according to the findings . Overall, the structure, which including the courtyard area extends over an area of 7.5 hectares, has three wings. The first buildings, the tavern and the villa bathroom, were completed in 1997. The manor house with the museum furnishings and the inner courtyard were opened to the public in 1999. The third wing of the building with residential and commercial areas was completed in 2001. The gatehouse was also rebuilt.

The mansion, the reconstruction of which is also being used as a regional museum for archaeological finds, lies across the center axis of the complex. It has a large lobby with an area of 100 m²; the furnishing was made on the basis of found remains from Borg as well as the general state of knowledge about such Roman buildings. The furniture as well as the doors, windows and the hot water boiler in the boiler room are based on ancient models. The reconstructed Roman bath demonstrates, among other things, the function of a hypocaust . The restaurant in the Roman tavern offers dishes based on recipes from Apicius .

In 2000, as part of the Gardens Without Borders project, a Roman-style garden, also open to the public, was integrated into the complex.

From July to September 2013, a Roman glass workshop was reconstructed, which was then operated experimentally for the first time in October 2013 as the 'Borg Furnace Project'. Research projects with Roman glass took place in June 2014, May and June 2015, May and June 2016 and June 2017. The upcoming project is planned for June 2018. The experimental archeological work area of the Roman Villa Borg archeology park is currently being expanded to include a pottery workshop, a metal workshop with a forge and a second glassworks. These workshops are then available for demonstrations, mediation and research projects.

Events

With the support of a development association , a number of events take place on the grounds of the villa every year. The spectrum ranges from special exhibitions to garden tours, literary and culinary evenings, baking demonstrations and concerts. Particularly noteworthy are the International Reenactment Fair IRM in spring and the Roman Days on the first weekend in August. Regular guests in the program of the Roman days are legions from Bitburg and Switzerland and a group of gladiators from Pannonia . In 2011 Roman horsemanship was demonstrated for the first time . There are also many stands, exhibitions and a Roman canteen operated by the development association.

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Roman horsemanship with Eporedos
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Gladiator fights: 1. Retiarius against Secutor 2. Thraex against Murmillo (gladiators from Pannonia)
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Gladiator fights: 1. Murmillo against Hoplomachus 2. Laquearius against Secutor 3. Murmillo against Murmillo
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Legionnaires at the drill
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Rain break

literature

Bettina Birkenhagen: The Roman Villa Borg. A companion through the complex. Cultural Foundation for the Merzig-Wadern District, Merzig 2004.
Bettina Birkenhagen: Borg estate: food like the Romans. In: Vera Rupp , Heide Birley (Hrsg.): Country life in Roman Germany. Theiss, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-8062-2573-0 , pp. 121-124.
Martin Frey: The Terra Sigillata of the Gallo-Roman villa complex near Borg, Merzig-Wadern district. State Conservator's Office, Saarbrücken 2001.
Andrei Miron : The bathing building of the Roman villa of Borg. Cultural foundation for the district of Merzig-Wadern, Merzig 1997. ISBN 3-923754-32-9
Andrei Miron and Franz-Josef Schumacher: The Roman villa complex of Borg. State Institute for Education and Media (LPM), Dudweiler 1991.
Frank Wiesenberg: Experimental archeology: Roman glass furnaces. Reconstruction and operation of a glassworks based on the Roman model in Villa Borg. Borg Furnace Project 2013. Cultural foundation for the Merzig-Wadern district, Merzig 2014.
Christina Wustrow: The animal remains from the Roman villa of Borg, Kr. Merzig-Wadern . Habelt, Bonn 2004. ISBN 3-7749-3276-X

Movie

Roman luxury - Villa Rustica in Borg. Documentation, Germany, 2009, 30 min., Director: Katharina Fiedler, production: SR , series: Schätze des Landes, first broadcast: October 24, 2009, summary of the SR and SWR