Zienerbichl

The Zienerbichl ( coll. ) Or Zenobichl (coll.), Actually called the St. Zeno Hill, is a prominent elevation in the southwest of the Tyrolean municipality of Serfaus . It was already associated with the location of a " robber baron's castle " in regional legends . The name comes from the St. Zeno Chapel, which was formerly located on the hill and is related to the patronage of Bishop Zeno . The chapel was demolished in 1813 and rebuilt in another location north of the hill in 1843.

First finds and emergency excavation

In 1972, when the Tschugmall family was building their homes, they came across wall structures and cultural layers that point to medieval building activity on the Zienerbichl. During the subsequent emergency recovery in the same year, fragments of a late Roman mortar were also recovered. The laying of a television cable in 1989 brought more relics to light, especially medieval stove tiles. The evaluation of the small finds from the emergency recovery of 1972 yielded further interesting results. The ¹⁴ C dates of the charcoal samples from a layer of fire indicate the 3rd / 4th century AD. Furthermore, the animal bone remains from the Zienerbichl in the Tyrolean State Museum Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck were examined more closely. The remains are sheep, goats, pigs and cattle slaughtered at a relatively young age. Also some of the bones turned out to be human remains. The researchers recognized individual bones as fragments of the skull and the upper and lower extremities, which are believed to have come from a male individual between the ages of 25 and 45. The ¹⁴ C dating indicated a presumed date of death around 1200 AD.

Excavation campaign 2000–2001

The planned expansion of the Tschugmall family's property made it possible for the archaeologists to take a closer look at the summit of the Zienerbichl. The excavations under the direction of Thomas Reitmeier were carried out in autumn 2000 and July 2001.

Medieval findings

The remains of three wall sections were excavated. On the south side of the slope there was an approx. 6 m long, two-layer and mortared wall. A north-south running wall (largely excavated by modern house construction in 1972) ends in an approx. 7 m long east-west wall in the northeast corner. The masonry has a thickness of 150 to 190 cm and was partially layered. These wall structures result in a trapezoidal interior of a presumably tower-like building.

In this interior there was a partially bricked layer with a massive layer of charcoal ash under the fall layer. Numerous small finds such as stove tiles , spindle whorls , Nuppenbecher , non-ferrous metal and iron objects came to light, which suggest a date of this horizon to the 13th century AD. In addition, the expected walking level could be fixed by screed residue on the wall cheeks.

All these findings and written sources allow the archaeologists to conclude that a medieval aristocratic residence was being built on the Zienerbichl. Due to the stratigraphic findings, however, the duration of the occupation is assumed to be relatively short and violent destruction of the facility cannot be ruled out.

Late antique findings

In addition to the previously mentioned fragments of a late antique mortar, an increasing number of late antique relics were found in a further culture layer northwest of the tower foundation. Among them was a fragment of a Lavez vessel and wall pieces of vessels from North African pottery (so-called terra sigillata chiara ) as well as a fragment of a bowl with rattle decoration. This bowl was imported from Asia Minor and is dated to the 2nd half of the 5th century AD. Such remains show us the still functioning trade connections in a time afflicted with crises and major changes. Furthermore, the findings point to a fortified hilltop settlement from late antiquity, which was located on a branch route of the Via Claudia Augusta .

Museum hideaway

The archeology museum Refugium St. Zeno (also short Refugium ) is designed as a protective structure and stands over the found remains of the wall of the presumably tower-like building. The object finds are presented in the exhibition room. The concept for the museum comes from Margarethe Greiner.

literature

• Martin Bitschnau : Castle and nobility of Serfaus. Archaeological-historical search for traces on the Zenobichl . In: Klien, Robert (Ed.): Serfaus (Serfaus 2002), pp. 102–118.
• Harald Stadler, Thomas Reitmaier: Archaeological excavations at the "Zienerbichl" . In: Klien, Robert (Ed.): Serfaus (Serfaus 2002), pp. 95-101.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Margarethe Greiner: The Refugium in Serfaus - St. Zeno. State of Tyrol, accessed on November 16, 2015 . 

Coordinates: 47 ° 2 ′ 15 ″  N , 10 ° 36 ′ 5 ″  E