Roman bath (Wurmlingen)

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Reconstruction of the Roman bath in Wurmlingen around 200 AD

The Roman bath of Wurmlingen is the archaeologically and historically outstanding part of a group of buildings that is commonly interpreted as Villa rustica and is located near Wurmlingen , a municipality in the Tuttlingen district in Baden-Württemberg . This Roman thermal bath is one of those ancient buildings that were used by the Alamanni during the migration period.

location

The group of buildings is located on the southwestern outskirts of Wurmlingen, in the area of ​​today's Etterweg.

In ancient times, the courtyard was located in the Roman province of Germania superior ("Upper Germany") and probably belonged to the administrative district of the municipium Arae Flaviae ( Rottweil ). The property was here about three kilometers northwest of the presumed Tuttlingen fort and thus near two Roman highways that meet at this fort . Near Tuttlingen, the Kinzigtalstrasse , which leads from Argentorate ( Strasbourg ) via Arae Flaviae and possibly only a few hundred meters away, met the Donausüdstrasse leading from Brigobannis ( Hüfingen Fort ) via Guntia ( Günzburg ) to the Balkans .

The courtyard buildings were located at 680 to 685 meters above sea level in an exposed position on a dry slope facing south / south-east, only 200 m from a spring and not far from the Elta river . The source should have been the decisive factor for the choice of location.

Research history

As early as 1879, in a "Description of the Tuttlingen District Office", the assumption of a Roman settlement near Wurmlingen was expressed. In 1924 the discovery of a Dupondius of Marc Aurel and an ace of Trajan was mentioned in the archaeological literature and in 1932 the place was included in Oscar Paret's "Directory of Roman Settlements in Württemberg and Hohenzollern" . After that, Wurmlingen slipped away from the attention of Roman provincial archeology for a few decades.

It was only through an aerial survey in 1989 that experts became aware of the place again. The first site inspection took place in 1990 and after the municipal council had drawn up a development plan in 1992, which also affected the area of ​​the presumed Roman settlement, the archaeological excavations of the Baden-Wuerttemberg State Monuments Office took place from 1993 , which ultimately led to the uncovering and research of the presumed to be Villa Rustica, as well as the partial conservation and protection of the bathing building by 1998.

Courtyard building

The Wurmlingen estate consists of a group of three houses in total, which were inhabited and managed by the Romans in four construction phases between around 100 and 260 AD, and then under the Alemanni for a further 100 years economic use.

The largest building in this group is the residential building or mansion, which had a partial basement and at least temporarily and partially had underfloor heating , water connection and representative rooms.

Only a good eight meters south of the main building was a smaller house, which initially served as a purely farm building and later as a farm and residential building.

The last building, finally, is the bathhouse, which has gained national fame due to the singularity of seamless use from the Roman period to the early migration period. Nowhere else in southwest Germany is there archaeological evidence of the secondary use of Roman buildings by the Alemanni, who usually avoided the former Roman stone buildings and built their wooden structures apart from them.

Whether the group of buildings was a villa rustica in Roman times is not entirely clear from the current state of research. Possibly it was also a mansio (hostel) and / or a mutatio (horse changing station) for the nearby Roman highway. What is certain, as evidenced by the finds, is that this street represented a not insignificant economic factor for the settlement.

Roman bath

Roman bath building with the post holes of the Alemannic building during the excavation (excavation 1995)
Schematic sketch of the Roman bath building

With its external dimensions of around 9.20 × 7.70 m, inside 6.65 / 6.75 m × 7.90 / 8.00 m, plus a rectangular extension, the bathing building has a total of around 78/79 m² of built-up area the smallest structure on the property. It is a block-type thermal bath in which all the facilities required by the Roman bathing drain have been brought together in a compact manner.

The entrance was on the northern side, where you first entered the apodyterium (changing and relaxation room, marked with "A" in the sketch). From there one could get into the adjoining room to the south, the tepidarium (leaf room , in the sketch "T"). The tepidarium was heated to about 25 ° C using a hypocaust system . It was used to warm up the body before the next step was to go to the caldarium (hot bath room, in the sketch "C") adjoining it to the west .

The caldarium took up the largest area of ​​the entire thermal complex. It was heated to around 35 ° C via a second, separate prefurnium (in addition to the furnace for the tepidarium (“Pt” in the sketch) (furnace of the caldarium ; “Pc” in the sketch). In the small, rectangular apse to the west of the main room was the hot water basin, the water temperature of which was around 40 ° C and which was also heated from the praefurnium of the caldarium (sketch Pc). After completion of the hot bathing procedure, the next room to the north, the frigidarium (cold bath, marked with "F" in the sketch) was used by bathers to cool off. Then the apodyterium was visited again, which also served as a rest and relaxation room. As with today's sauna, this process could be repeated several times.

This building was only used for bathing during the first three construction phases of the villa rustica, between around 100 and 220/240 AD. After a fire disaster around 220/240 AD, it was converted and used for residential purposes. This other use of the former thermal baths is not unusual in the late period of the Roman presence in southwest Germany. The Wurmlinger Therme is remarkable for the fact that it was used almost seamlessly by the Alamanni after the Romanians were driven out. After the existing stone structure had been redesigned, a wooden building, presumably a granary, was brought into the former thermal baths.

Until recently, research assumed that this Wurmlinger building construction would be a unique finding. Such a targeted secondary use of Roman stone buildings by the Germanic peoples, who only used wood construction, had only been proven in Wurmlingen up to this point in time during the migration period in southwest Germany. In the meantime, other archaeological findings, for example the Villa Rustica in Bietigheim , testify that the Alamanni continued to use the former Roman settlements, whose favorable geographical locations they apparently appreciated.

Archaeological findings and building history

Timber construction phase

Roman, A.D. 100/110 - 160/180

Since only a good 5% of all findings originate from this time , only a few reliable statements can be made about the external appearance of the system. The main building and farm buildings were probably designed as wooden or half-timbered buildings, the bathhouse, on the other hand, was already built as a stone building made of two-shell limestone masonry, its hypocaust system was made of bricks. It covered an area of ​​78.6 m². Find material from this phase - in contrast to the findings - is abundant. Due to the lack of coin finds, dating was done exclusively using sigillates . and primers

Stone construction phase 1

Roman, A.D. 160/180--190/210

The archaeological situation of this phase is a reversal of the situation in the timber construction phase: few finds are contrasted with many findings. The plant underwent a fundamental change. The main building and the farm building were demolished and replaced by stone structures made of two-shell limestone masonry. The bathing building was preserved in its old form. A Dupondius of Antoninus Pius is found under the sparse finds .

Stone construction phase 2

Roman, A.D. 190/210 - 220/240

The second phase of stone construction can be seen as the heyday of the property, which after extensive expansions reached its greatest state of development at the beginning of this phase. Two rooms in the main building were equipped with a hypocaust system, and the main building received a separate fresh water supply. The area of ​​the farm building was almost doubled. High quality small finds speak for a certain prosperity of the residents. Below is an ace by Septimius Severus for Geta and the bronze eagle head attachment of a traveling wagon. The bathing building, however, hardly changed during this time. Only the rectangular apse of the caldarium was made slightly smaller. In addition, the brick pillars of the hypocaust complex were replaced by sandstone pillars.

This heyday of the Wurmlinger Hof ended abruptly in a fire disaster in which the main building of the property was completely destroyed.

Stone construction phase 3

Roman, A.D. 220/240--250/260

No subsequent reconstruction followed the fire in the main building. The former farm building was now also used for residential purposes. A metalworking workshop was also built here. First half of the cellar of the ruined house was filled with rubble. A simple heating system was installed in the remaining half, which was used to operate a kiln . A small oven was built in the courtyard.

The bathing operation of the thermal baths was probably stopped. The water supply lines as well as the wall and floor coverings of the cold water basin were dismantled, the drains closed. The bathing building was probably used as living space in the last phase of Roman use.

With a total of six coins, a relatively large number of coin finds date from this period. Further finds suggest that despite the rebuilding that has not been tackled and the remodeling measures that appear to be provisional, it cannot be assumed that there will be a noticeable decline in the prosperity of the residents.

Early migration phase

Alemannic, 260/270 - about 350 AD

The end of the Roman and the beginning of the Alemannic settlement of the courtyard can only be narrowed down relatively. The discovery of a "Rheinisches Spruchbechers" , which must have been made in this form between 260 and 265, as well as an Antoninian , which was minted in the first half of the year 261, both point as a term post quem to an end of the Roman presence after this Period out. In addition the Fund two Germanic crossbow fibulae , which until 260 were in use in this form and thus point in the same direction.

Bath building with the traces of the Alemannic postings

The residential buildings of the Alemannic newcomers were not in the direct area of ​​the Roman settlement, but presumably a little above, closer to the source. The former Roman buildings were used economically by the Alemanni. They built a furnace for smelting scrap and pig iron in the ruins of the former residential building. Further findings suggest that textile production in this area is also possible.

The former farm building does not seem to have been used by the Alemanni, but fundamental changes have taken place in the former bathing building. The hypocaust system of the caldarium and the tepidarium as well as the dividing wall between these two rooms were broken out, the level of the walk was lowered by removing the Roman screed floor. On the new area of ​​6.3 m by 3.6 m (= 22.68 m²) obtained in this way and located within the remaining outer walls, a two-aisled, wooden structure was erected, which could be verified on the basis of a total of 19 postings . In the following period, this building was probably used as a storage facility for agricultural products.

The end of the Alemannic settlement cannot be precisely defined with the current state of research. The series of coins from the unambiguously attributable findings is quite wide and makes the assumption of settlement continuity up to the middle of the 4th century seem possible, but not necessarily certain.

Preservation of findings, lost property and monument protection

Refuge of the bathing building

After the significance of the Wurmlinger findings became clear in 1995, the originally planned development of the site was no longer considered. The foundation walls of the bathing building were preserved and built over with a shelter, which has been open to the public since May 1998.

A visit is possible after prior registration at the mayor's office in Wurmlingen. In addition to the findings in situ , excavation finds from the Roman property are shown in the shelter , including a follis of Emperor Gordian III. and the bronze attachment of a Roman traveling cart in the shape of an eagle's head. In addition, the Roman and Alemannic history of the settlement is presented and explained. Most of the finds from Wurmlingen are in the holdings of the Württemberg State Museum and in the Freiburg Colombischlössle .

The ground monument "Roman Bath (Wurmlingen)" is protected as a registered cultural monument within the meaning of the Monument Protection Act of the State of Baden-Württemberg (DSchG) . Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to approval, and accidental finds are reported to the monument authorities.

Trivia

51 cent stamp
(Deutsche Post, 2002)

The German Post AG was the importance of Wurmlinger findings by justice, that they will be in 2002 postage stamps , a stamp with the picture of the exposure of the Wurmlinger bath house hung series "Archeology in Germany".

literature

monograph

  • Marcus Reuter : The Roman-Early Migration Period settlement of Wurmlingen, Tuttlingen district. With contributions by Thomas Becker and Guntram Gassmann . (Material booklets for archeology in Baden-Württemberg, 71). Theiss, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-8062-1865-X .

Essays

  • Marcus Reuter: Wurmlingen. Protective building "Roman Bath" with wooden structure dating from the early migration period. In: Dieter Planck (Ed.): The Romans in Baden-Württemberg. Theiss, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8062-1555-3 , pp. 376-379
  • Marcus Reuter: From antiquity to the early Middle Ages: The DFG project “The Roman-Early Migration Period settlement of Wurmlingen” , In: Preservation of monuments in Baden-Württemberg. News sheet of the State Monuments Office, 2000; 1, 1/2000, pp. 42-44
  • Marcus Reuter: Aspects of the early Germanic conquest of the former Limes area: Coins of the Gallic sub-kingdom in a Germanic find context using the example of the villa rustica of Wurmlingen . In: Bridger, Clive; Carnap-Bornheim, Claus v. (Ed.): Römer und Germanen - Neighbors over centuries, BAR International Series 678, Oxford 1997, ISBN 0-86054-867-8 , pp. 67-72
  • Marcus Reuter: The Roman estate Wurmlingen . In: Tuttlinger Heimatblätter 1997 (1997), pp. 24-30
  • Marcus Reuter: Romans and Alamanni in the villa rustica of Wurmlingen: on the excavations 1993–1995 . In: F. Schray (Ed.): 2000 years of local history Wurmlingen, Oberndorf 1997, pp. 26–35
  • Marcus Reuter / Jürgen Trumm: Harness fittings and figurative carriage attachment from a Roman estate near Wurmlingen (district of Tuttlingen ), In: Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 26, 3, 1996, pp. 295-306.

Web links

Commons : Römisches Bad Wurmlingen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ According to Marcus Reuter: The Roman-Early Migration Period settlement of Wurmlingen, Tuttlingen district. With contributions by Thomas Becker and Guntram Gassmann . (Material booklets for archeology in Baden-Württemberg, 71). Theiss, Stuttgart 2003, p. 14. According to Heiligmann ( Jörg Heiligmann : Der Alblimes. A Contribution to the Roman Occupation History of Southwest Germany. (Research and Reports on Pre- and Early History in Baden-Württemberg, 35). Theiss, Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3- 8062-0814-X , p. 187 f.), The Tuttlingen area can possibly also be assigned to the province of Raetien. A precise reconstruction of the borderline is absolutely impossible with today's knowledge.
  2. ^ Oscar Paret: The settlements of the Roman Württemberg . In: Hertlein / Paret / Goessler: The Romans in Württemberg . Part 3, p. 396. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1932. All other information in this paragraph according to Marcus Reuter: The Roman-Early Migration Period settlement of Wurmlingen, district of Tuttlingen. With contributions by Thomas Becker and Guntram Gassmann . (Material booklets for archeology in Baden-Württemberg, 71). Theiss, Stuttgart 2003, p. 11f.
  3. ^ After Marcus Reuter: Wurmlingen. Protective building "Roman Bath" with wooden structure dating from the early migration period. In: Dieter Planck (Ed.): The Romans in Baden-Württemberg. Theiss, Stuttgart 2005, p. 377ff.
  4. ↑ Martin Kemkes : The Limes. Rome's border with the barbarians . 2nd, revised edition. Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2006. ISBN 3-7995-3401-6 . P. 254.
  5. ↑ Drag can be found and clearly assigned . 18/31, 27, 33, 35, 37, 38 and 40.
  6. ↑ Including datable sigillates of the drag types. 32 and 37.
  7. ^ Vera Romeu: Pre- and early history. A rarity awaits behind armored glass . In: Schwäbische Zeitung from December 14, 2009
  8. ↑ Also Helvetic sigillata bowls with “egg stick” E 1 and E 2. Undecorated goods are mainly drag. 32 before, also individual pieces from Drag. 33, 35, 38 and 43.
  9. ^ Sesterce of Antoninus Pius , struck between 141 and 161; As of Commodus of 183/184; Sesterce of Commodus from 187/188; Denarius of Septimius Severus from 197; Sesterce of Septimius Severus from 196 to 211; Antoninian of Gordian III. from 238/239.
  10. ↑ On datable material including picture bowls of the Drag type. 37 from Rheinzabern production. Furthermore, undecorated goods of the Drag types. 33 and 43 as well as "Niederbieber" 6a, 24a and 27. A "Rheinischer Spruchbecher" from the time from 255 to 260 AD.
  11. ↑ The construction of an Alemanni-era pit is peculiar, in which the skeletons of a rooster and a hen could be recovered together with two Roman coins. This finding is possibly the testimony of a Germanic sacrifice to drive away evil spirits. According to Thomas Becker: The animal bone finds from the Roman-Early Migration Period settlement of Wurmlingen, won 'Burgsteig', Tuttlingen district. In Marcus Reuter: The Roman-Early Migration Period settlement of Wurmlingen, Tuttlingen district. With contributions by Thomas Becker and Guntram Gassmann . (Material booklets for archeology in Baden-Württemberg, 71). Theiss, Stuttgart 2003, pp. 205f, and p. 69f.
  12. ↑ sestertius of Hadrian from the period from 117 to 138; Hadrian's Sesterce of 138; Sesterce of Marc Aurel from the period between 161 and 176; Antoninian des Postumus from 261; Antoninian of Tetricus II from the years between 272 and 274; Follis des Constans from 347/348.

Coordinates: 47 ° 59 ′ 53 "  N , 8 ° 46 ′ 12.7"  E