Ricciacum
Ricciacum (also vicus Ricciacus ), located in Dalheim , is a Gallo-Roman settlement ( vicus ) in the province of Gallia Belgica , which was established as a stage along the Roman highway Via Agrippa around 17 BC. Was founded. After a long period of prosperity, the place was destroyed several times during the Germanic invasions in the second half of the 3rd century , but remained populated until the first half of the 5th century. Only then was the settlement abandoned.
Ricciacum had impressive public buildings that gave it the appearance of a small Roman town . These include a Gallo-Roman theater , a large temple district and public baths .
location
The Roman settlement Ricciacum is located in today's Dalheim in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg . In Roman times the vicus was in the province of Gallia Belgica in the Civitas Treverorum , the former tribal area of the Treveri . The Gallo-Roman settlement extended both over the high plateau south of today's town and in the valley adjacent to the north below today's town center. The main part of the vicus extends to the right and left of the trunk road named after its planner Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa , which led from Lyon via Mâcon , Chalon-sur-Saône , Dijon , Langres , Toul , Metz , Dalheim, Trier through the Eifel to Cologne .
The location of the settlement on the plateau sloping gently to the south-west allowed an impressive view, and so in Roman times the 23 km straight road could be overlooked. The trunk road forked in Dalheim. It continued in an easterly direction to Stadtbredimus and from there to the right side of the Moselle , while it led to the west through the “Buchholz Forest” in the direction of Medingen . This strand met another trunk road that led from Reims over the Vici of Orolaunum / Arlon , Mamer and Andethanna / Niederanven to Augusta Treverorum / Trier and crossed the Moselle at Wasserbillig .
history
A large number of Celtic finds indicate that the plateau was founded in the late Latène period before the Roman settlement . However, due to the strong Roman-era overbuilding, this could not be localized more precisely.
Nonetheless, the Gallo-Roman vicus seems to be a completely new foundation, which began around 17 BC in connection with the planning and construction of the Via Agrippa . BC originated. This is supported on the one hand by its strategic positioning at a fork in the road at the end of a straight section and on the other hand by its location halfway between the two central locations Divodurum / Metz and Augusta Treverorum / Trier. The first phases of the development consisted of simple, long rectangular wooden buildings with stone cellars, so-called strip houses , which were located on both sides of the road and were typical of the Roman vicus development. Its location gave the vicus a certain wealth and importance very early on. After the Batavian uprising (69/70 AD), the building was extensively restructured. The main street was widened, the buildings were gradually built out of stone, and the large public buildings such as the theater, temple district and thermal baths gave the settlement more and more the appearance of a small Roman town. This massive expansion as well as the type of facilities suggest that Dalheim was not only an important trading post, but also the central location of a pagus from this time at the latest .
At the end of the 2nd / beginning of the 3rd century, the place reached its greatest extent with an area of about 35 hectares and an estimated population of 1500 to 2000 people. As a street station, it lived primarily from the sale of commercial products as well as the food and accommodation of travelers and pilgrims. Despite the destruction during the Germanic invasions in the 2nd half of the 3rd century and the associated decline in population, there has been evidence of continuous settlement of the place until the 5th century.
Naming
The ancient name of the place Ricciacum or vicus Ricciacus is passed down by several sources. On the one hand there is a mention of a street station called Ricciaco on the Tabula Peutingeriana , a medieval copy of a late antique map of the entire Roman Empire . Since this place is registered along a street on the right side of the Moselle, it was not associated with Dalheim for a long time. A lengthy research discussion about the location of the street station took place.
Finds of small lead disks ( tesserae ) with the inscriptions RICC and RICCIAC as well as an inscription found in 2008 in the area of the thermal baths in which the vicani Riccienses , i.e. the inhabitants of vicus Riccius , are named, clearly identify Dalheim with Ricciaco . The slight modification of the name on the inscription either suggests that the settlement was known by both names, Ricciacum and Riccium , or it is a typographical error. In addition, the ancient name has been preserved in the field name "a Rëtzeg" (formerly "Ritzig") not far from the Gallo-Roman settlement.
Structures
Vicus development
Between 1977 and 1986 excavations were carried out in a neighborhood in the center of the vicus along the trunk road. The area encountered corresponds to the typical scheme of Roman street signs: narrow parcels with striped houses, the narrow side of which is oriented towards the street and contains shops or taverns in the front area . A covered portico allows sun and rain-protected access to the buildings. At the beginning of the settlement in Augustan times , these structures were made of wood, only the cellars were made of stone. After several renovation phases, the wooden buildings were finally laid down and systematically expanded in stone in the time of Vespasian in the second half of the 1st century AD. The material found during the excavations indicates a lively craft activity in this area of the vicus. The workshops, but also kitchen gardens, wells and ovens were located in the rear part of the elongated parcels. In Dalheim, this plot area was only cut in small sections during the excavations, so it is difficult to make any statements about the actual use. However, they all have quite a large number of wells. This is not surprising as it was the only access to water on the high plateau. In the 3rd century the vicus was destroyed several times during Germanic invasions. Horizons of destruction and layers of fire that run through the entire vicus are evidence of this. However, the settlement did not end and the buildings were regularly repaired. At the beginning of the 4th century, the intersection was secured with a fortified post, a burgus , which was excavated in the mid-19th century. The massive blocks of the rows of seats of the theater, which was no longer in use at the time, were used for the construction.
Temple precinct
Already in the 19th century excavations were undertaken in the temple area by the notary scribe Ernest Dupaix. Among other things, the plan of an octagonal temple can be seen on the plans made at the time. In addition, a large number of testimonies to Roman cult events come from this area.
It was not until the 1970s that aerial photographs showed that the temple was part of a large temple district with at least two other cult buildings. These were excavated between 1986 and 1998. It is a podium temple and a Gallo-Roman temple , both of which were probably made around 130 AD and were used until the 3rd century. Among the two large buildings, the floor plans of two previous buildings emerged, which are also Gallo-Roman temple temples, which were probably built in the second half of the 1st century.
The large temple district with its three documented, diverse temples suggests that Ricciacum played a major role in the cult events of the region. So it may have been a pilgrimage shrine along the highway. To whom exactly the temples were dedicated can no longer be determined. However, the large number of statues and dedicatory inscriptions for Minerva , Mercury and Epona suggest that it was mainly these deities who were sacrificed here. In addition to these, a large number of other Roman and Celtic deities were worshiped in Dalheim. They include Fortuna , Ceres , Vesta , Victoria and Nemesis .
theatre
The Gallo-Roman theater of Ricciacum is located on a steep slope called "Fielsgaart" north of the high plateau. Its discovery dates back to 1985 and was evidence that the vicus also extended in the valley below the plateau. It was subsequently able to be examined almost completely in several excavation campaigns between 1999 and 2007/2008.
In the first quarter of the 2nd century AD, a former quarry on the slope was used to build the Gallo-Roman theater, which in its first phase was equipped with a stone outer wall and wooden benches. Several renovations took place during the period of use. The stone tiers, which are still visible today, were introduced towards the end of the 2nd century AD. At the same time, the corners of the wall were massively reinforced to absorb the additional pressure on the slope. The first two tiers - of which the front was added at the beginning of the 3rd century - had backrests or armrests and backrests. These are places of honor, the first reliable evidence of which is in Gaul here in Dalheim. In its final phase, the theater offered space for over 3,500 people. The altar foundations in the orchestra also indicate that Gallo-Roman theaters were primarily multifunctional buildings . They prove cultic acts that probably took place between the first tiers and the stage. The presence of a theater and its size suggest that the Roman Dalheim was the central location of a pagus .
A layer of destruction from the end of the 3rd century AD could be detected on the outside. In that, in addition to fire rubble from the vicus, there was also a skeleton with clear marks of blows on the skull, which is considered a victim of the Germanic invasions. After these events, the theater does not seem to have been used in its original function. The massive stone blocks of the upper rows of seats were excavated in the course of the 4th century for the foundations of a burgus (military road post) built on the upper edge of the plateau . However, the area seems to have been used until the 5th century.
Thermal baths
A public bathing facility was located in the vicinity of the theater . The first Roman walls came to light in 1962 and 1978 during road works in the Hossegaass. In 2003/2004 several rooms were found during special excavations in the inner courtyard of the former Café Simon, which were examined more closely in 2008/2009 after some extensions were demolished.
Several of the rooms uncovered in Dalheim so far can be assigned their function in the Roman bathing process. On the one hand there is the frigidarium with its pool ( piscina ) and on the other hand the tepidarium with underfloor heating, which connects to the northwest. The complex also had an open outdoor area, which was surrounded by an open colonnade, a portico.
The thermal baths in Dalheim were built at the end of the 1st or the beginning of the 2nd century and underwent several renovation phases during their long period of use. The bath was destroyed in a fire in the middle of the 4th century and was not rebuilt afterwards. A consecration altar with an inscription from the middle of the 3rd century, which mentions a repair of the portico after a “barbarian attack”, was recovered from this layer of fire . This relief block is one of the most important finds from Dalheim and has a supra-regional scope thanks to its inscription. Both the name of the village and a "barbarian storm" ( vi barbarorum ) are noted on it.
Burial grounds
As with every Roman place, Ricciacum also had extensive burial grounds . So far, the ground plans of two grave monuments as well as about forty cremation graves and two body graves are known from the small valley of Hossegronn, in which people were buried from the 2nd half of the 1st century.
A late antique burial ground of the 4th century, with a strong Frankish influence, was in the area of today's parish church of St. Peter. Other large burial fields are likely to have been on the arterial roads of the vicus. The gravestones , which were found in the fields around Dalheim in the 18th and 19th centuries, are likely to come from there .
Milestones
Two milestones originate in the Dalheim area , both of which were discovered at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. One was probably near the present-day place Filsdorf, south of Dalheim, another was found northwest of the place in the "Buchholzer Forest" along the road to Medingen.
The first milestone was found in the last third of the 19th century, probably between 1870 and 1900, southwest of Dalheim. Two small fragments of the originally columnar stone with a total of 4 lines of text are preserved, which allow the stone to be dated to the time of Philip the Arab .
[I] MP CAES M
[P] HILIPPO P [IO]
[F] EL INVIC [TO]
[A] B AVG TR [EV]
XVI
The milestone from “Buchholz” came to light in 1934 while working on the edge of the CR 153 road. Following the description, the column must have been tilted in the ditch. The still recognizable remains of inscriptions allow the stone to be dated to the time of Hadrian , approx. 121 AD.
[IMP CAESARI DIVI]
T [RAIANI PART FIL]
D [IVI NERVAE NEP]
TRAIA [NO HADRIANO]
AVG [PONTIF MAX]
TRIB POTEST [V COS III PP]
A COL AV [G TREV]
XXV
Street sanctuary in the "Buchholz Forest"
A small sanctuary in the form of a Gallo-Roman temple is located along the CR 153 road in the direction of Medingen in the “Buchholzer Forest”. The modern street runs exactly above the Roman one and thus the 8 m × 7.50 m measuring temple was located directly on the Roman road that led via Wasserbillig to Trier. The sanctuary has been known since 1934, when another, conspicuous area was examined in the course of the discovery of a milestone.
The special finds from the temple area include two heavily fragmented, stone statues of gods, which were found at their respective original locations. It is a seated statue of the Roman god of merchants (Mercury) as well as that of a female deity who probably represents Rosmerta . She was Mercury's Celtic companion and often appears with him. Mercury also names a piece of an inscription plaque found in the temple. Accordingly, the small temple seems to have been a sanctuary for Mercury.
Research history
The Roman site is mentioned as early as the 17th century in the works of the Jesuit father Alexander Wiltheim on Roman monuments from Luxembourg and the surrounding area.
However, research did not really experience a real boom until the middle of the 19th century when the Société archéologique de Luxembourg carried out excavations prior to the construction of the Drei-Kantons-Straße (today's N13). These excavations were promptly published in three reports in the Publications de la Section Historique between 1852 and 1856 and already indicated that this was a place of extraordinary importance. This also led to the nickname "Luxembourg Pompeii" at home. However, the first explorers assumed that they had found the remains of a Roman military camp on the plateau. Only later did it become clear that there was a purely civilian settlement here. As a result, private antique collectors soon began to seek their fortune on the site. One of the best-known is probably the notary scribe Ernest Dupaix, whose numerous finds still testify to the extent of his passion for collecting. His work mainly concentrated on an area along the Roman roads in which there was a large temple, the floor plans of which he also had in plan drawings.
Systematic excavations were then started from 1977 by the archaeological department of the Luxembourg National Museum of History and Art . The investigations focused primarily on an area along the highway in the center of the settlement and on the temple area on its eastern edge, which had already been excavated by Dupaix. The discovery of the theater in 1985 expanded the excavation activity to include the area under today's village of Dalheim. Several excavation campaigns, probes and construction-accompanying investigations, both on the plateau and in today's center of Dalheim, as well as prospecting through aerial photographs , geomagnetics and ground radar make it possible today to draw a relatively detailed plan of the Roman settlement. This is mainly due to the fortunate fact that large parts of the settlement have never been built over since ancient times.
Since 2016, a Center Régional de Recherche Archéologique has been opened on site, which deals with the systematic processing of the ancient history of Dalheim.
literature
General
- Jean Krier: The Gallo-Roman vicus of Dalheim. Imprimerie Hengen, Luxembourg 2010, ISBN 978-2-87985-137-2 .
- Jeannot Metzler, Johny Zimmer: Contributions to the archeology of Dalheim. Hémecht 30.3, Saint-Paul, Luxembourg 1978.
- Jean Krier, Raymond Weiller: At the beginning of the Roman settlement on "Pëtzel" near Dalheim. Publications de la Section Historique de l'Institut grand-ducal de Luxembourg XCIV, Imprimerie Joseph Beffort, Luxembourg 1980, pp. 141–194, ill.
- Laure Juncker, Joseph Heisbourg, Joseph Mangerich (Red.): Ricciacus: 30 Joer Ricciacus Frënn Duelem 1977–2007 . Imprimerie Central SA, Luxembourg 2007, p. 202, ill.
- Robert Vandivinit, Gust Linden, Sandy Linden, Aloyse Estgen, Victor Loos: Vu Ricciacus via Dalahem op Duelem . Fanfare Gemeng Duelem, Luxembourg 2001, ISBN 2-87996-944-1 .
Naming
- Jean Krier: DEAE FORTUNAE OB SALUTEM IMPERI. Nouvelles inscriptions de Dalheim (Luxembourg) et la vie religieuse d'un vicus du nord-est de la Gaule à la veille de la tourmente du IIIe siècle. Gallia - Archeologie de la France antique 68.2, 2011. CNRS Éditions, Paris 2011, pp. 313-340, ill. ISBN 978-2-271-07269-6 .
- Nena Sand: Ricciacus, Riccium or Ricciacum? One place, many names - Dalheim's ancient name. Archaeologia luxemburgensis 4, 2017–2018, 46–53. ISSN 2354-5526.
- Jules Vannérus: Ricciacus et Caranusca. Publications de la Section Historique 62, 1928, 3-31.
Vicus development
- Jean Krier: The pre-Roman and early Roman Dalheim (Luxembourg). In: Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier (ed.): Trier - Augustus city of the Treverians. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1984, ISBN 3-8053-0792-6 .
theatre
- Peter Henrich : The Gallo-Roman theater of Dalheim "Hossegronn" Luxembourg. Dossiers d'archéologie XV. Imprimerie Central SA, Luxembourg 2016, ISBN 978-2-87985-317-8 .
- Franziska Dövener: Ista quidem vis est ... Murder in Dalheim! In: Under our feet. Archeology in Luxembourg . Exhib. Luxembourg 2011 (Luxembourg 2011), 119–121.
Thermal baths
- Heike Pösche: New excavations in the thermal baths of the vicus Ricciacus . Empreintes - Annuaire du Musée national d'histoire et d'art. Imprimerie Faber, Luxembourg 2011, ISBN 978-2-87985-149-5 , pp. 40-47, ill.
milestone
- Paul Medinger: Borne milliaire romaine trouvée entre Dalheim et Medingen . In: Ons Hémecht , 40, 1934, pp. 310-314.
- Charles Marie Ternes: Inscriptions antiques du Luxembourg . In: Hémecht , 17, 1965, N ° 62 p. 75.
Street sanctuary
- Paul Medinger: Sanctuaire gallo-romain trouvé sur la route romaine de Dalheim au Bois de Buchholz . In: Ons Hémecht , 41, 1935, pp. 75-79.
Web links
- History Society "Ricciacus Frënn"
- Center national de recherche archéologique Luxembourg
- Musée national d'histoire et d'art Luxembourg
- Dalheim community
Individual evidence
- ↑ For the further course through the Eifel: see Römerstraße Trier – Cologne
- ↑ This discussion was summarized in the 1920s by the Belgian-Luxembourg historian Jules Vannérus. Jules Vannérus: Ricciacus et Caranusca. Publications de la Section Historique 62, 1928, pp. 3-31.
- ↑ Jean Krier: DEAE FORTUNAE OB Salutem Imperi. Nouvelles inscriptions de Dalheim (Luxembourg) et la vie religieuse d'un vicus du nord-est de la Gaule à la veille de la tourmente du IIIe siècle . Gallia - Archeologie de la France antique 68.2, 2011.
- ↑ The current field name "Pëtzel" (from the Luxembourg word "Pëtz" for well) still reminds of these wells and shows that they have been known in local history for a long time.
- ↑ A total of 6 phases could be identified.
- ↑ A copy of the stone was set up at the site.
Coordinates: 49 ° 32 ' N , 6 ° 15' E