Teriolis

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Zirl Castle
Alternative name a) Teriolis ,
b) Teriolia
limes Danube-Iller-Rhine-Limes, Raetia II
section Route 5 (back line)
Dating (occupancy) a) 1st century AD
b) 3rd – 5th century AD . Century AD
Type a) Street fort
b) Supply depot
unit a) Legio III Italica ,
b) populares?
size approx. 2.55 ha
Construction Wood and stone construction
State of preservation square, deep-tiered system,
rectangular defense tower,
gate system ?,
three storage buildings?
no longer visible above ground
place Zirl
Geographical location 47 ° 16 '24 "  N , 11 ° 14' 29"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 16 '24 "  N , 11 ° 14' 29"  E hf
Previous Veldidena Castle
Subsequently Fort Foetibus
Historical representation of the Martinsbühel around 1700, which particularly illustrates the dominant position of the fort hill in the Inn Valley, view from NE
View from the northeast of the Martinsbühel
Findings from excavations on the south-west terrace of Martinsbühel, 1993–1997
Reconstruction sketch of a bronze strap end of a notch cut furniture, found in 1987 at Martinsbühel
Findings from the SW tower from 1995
Find sketch of a late Roman dart tip, found on the Martinsbühel

Teriolis ( Teriola ) is a late Roman fort and road station in the area of ​​the market town of Zirl in the district of Innsbruck-Land , Tyrol in Austria .

The fort served to protect a trunk road into the Rhaetian provincial capital and was a supply depot for the garrison troops on the Danube-Iller-Rhine-Limes . Teriolis was thus one of the most important Roman military bases in the Inn Valley , along with the Veldidena fort in today's Wilten , and was occupied by a vexillation of the Legio III Italica . It stood on the territory of the province of Raetia , after the provincial division under Diocletian the fort belonged to the administrative area of ​​the newly created Raetia II . There is also evidence of an early Christian church from the 5th century at this location. The fort itself could only be excavated in small sections. Today nothing can be seen of the fort. Evidence for the Roman settlement of this place are rich finds of tools and coins.

Surname

The name of the fort is handed down in the Notitia Dignitatum as Teriola . It was first transferred to the road station by the Romans and later also to the fort. In the course of the migration of peoples and two sound shifts, it changed to today's Zirl. Around 799 the place is mentioned in a document as " Cyreolum ".

location

The village of Zirl is located at the southwest end of the Karwendel Mountains about ten kilometers west of Innsbruck in the Inn Valley at the southeast end of the Zirler Berg ( 1057  m ). It lies on the north bank of the Inn on the alluvial cone of Ehnbach and Schloßbach . The late antique fort was located on the 25 m to 30 m high, 2.5 ha large Martinsbühel, near the banks of the Inn (Aenus) . From a geological point of view, the rock material of the hill consists of alpine shell limestone and so-called Partnach layers. Until the river was regulated in the 1950s, the river still washed around the hill on all four sides during flooding. This was probably also the case in ancient times. Due to its steeply sloping slopes in the north and south, the Martinsbühel was ideally suited as a site for a fort. From here, the crew also had visual contact with the fort in Veldidena ( Wilten ) to the east, around ten kilometers away .

function

In Roman times, Zirl was an important stage stop on the Roman road via Claudia Augusta Altinate (now known as Via Raetia ) to Augusta Vindelicum ( Augsburg ). The road between Veldidena and Teriolis probably ran on the right bank of the Inn. The steep ascent to the Seefelder Sattel began here , but the course of the Roman road can no longer be clearly identified today. At Teriolis there was a river crossing, probably a ford, ferry or bridge at the southeast end of the hill, which was monitored by the fort crew. The supplies brought in via the Brenner in pack animals were probably first temporarily stored by the soldiers and militiamen of the fort before they escorted it to the Seefelder Sattel and there handed over to the cohort from Füssen ( Foetibus ) for onward transport. From Füssen it could be shipped down the Lech Valley by boat to supply the units on the Danube Limes.

Research history

The librarian and chronicler Anton Roschmann from Hall reported in 1756 about a hunter who is said to have brought a whole hat full of Roman coins from Zirl to Innsbruck. When building a retaining wall on the Zirl-Seefeld road, a Roman milestone from the time of Emperor Decius was encountered . From 1881 to 1882 Franz von Wieser observed the excavation of Roman masonry (tower and surrounding wall foundations) and three skeleton graves in the quarry on the western slope of Martinsbühel. The masonry was photographed. In the late 19th century, numerous small finds, masonry and graves repeatedly came to light. Richard Heuberger saw the ruins only as the remains of a fortified civil settlement, roadblock and stage station.

In 1913, Osmund Menghin recognized the location as the Roman military station specified in the Notitia. In 1950 he came across a hypocaust system (antique warm air heating ) northwest of the Martin's chapel . The first archaeological investigations by Alfons Wotschitzky took place in 1964 at the Martinskapelle. Liselotte Zemmer-Plank uncovered the remains of wooden and stone warehouses on the south-eastern hilltop in 1987 ( Horrea ) . From 1993 to 1997 parts of the fort walls were repeatedly cut into during emergency excavations. In the course of this decade, a total of 15 wall remains, 19 body burials and a square tower from late antiquity could be observed. In 1995 a sewer and a dome furnace belonging to the fort were discovered in the west of the hill area. The findings were, however, disturbed by numerous modern interventions, some of which reached down to the natural rock.

Find spectrum

Noteworthy are Lavezgeschirr , glazed Mortars, glass Nuppenbecher , a fragment of a Sigillata -Tellers, a folding tray made of green glass (center 5. Century) as well as the discovery of coins (32 v. Chr. To 423 n. Chr.). Most of them date from the 4th to 5th centuries. On militaria, the tip of a projectile, a so-called Plumbata mamillatae of type 1, came to light. Furthermore, fragments of bronze belt notch trimmings such as those worn by Germanic mercenaries were found. The discovery of 15 lead bulls stamped with imperial titulatures confirmed the existence of a supply depot on the Martinsbühel. They were probably used to seal purses for pay.

development

The region around Zirl has been settled since pre-Roman times. Finds of urn grave burials suggest that the Breonen / Breuni immigrated to the Inn Valley in the Bronze Age (2000–1000 BC). Their settlement, which only consisted of simple huts, was probably located on the gravel terrace near the Zirler Berg, which was raised by the Schlossbach and Ehnbach .

Presumably a Roman military post (Statio Teriolis?) Was first established under Augustus at Martinsbühel . It is also assumed that the farmland along the road and on the right bank of the Inn was used as state agricultural domains ( ager publicus ) for the supply of the state courier service ( cursus publicus ) . Under Tiberius (14–37 AD) or Claudius (41–54 AD), the areas between western Lake Constance, the Danube and the Inn and northern Tyrol became the military district of Raetia et Vindelicia - later the province of Raetia - incorporated.

In the middle imperial period, the hill does not seem to have been populated on a large scale. From 180 or 195 there was a well-developed road that could be used almost all year round, a so-called via publica (more than five meters wide), starting from Vipitenum ( Sterzing ) over the Brenner Pass and the Zirler Berg to Parthenum ( Partenkirchen ). Eight milestones found also came from this time. In 215 the last phase of construction could be completed. Just a few years later, a connection to Telfs was also put into operation.

In the 3rd century, the main traffic was shifted from the Via Claudia Augusta to the Brenner route . In order to better secure and monitor this now most important north-south transit route to the provincial capital and the Danube Limes , the military built a fort or a fort on the Martinsbühel after the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes had been abandoned ( Limesfall and Imperial Crisis of the 3rd century ). Supply depot to supply the garrison troops on the Danube-Iller-Rhein-Limes , the new border line of the empire. Anton Hock thought that the castle in the reign of Aurelian or Probus established, then I Constantine and the last time under Valentinian I was further developed. The reason for the construction of a fort at this location was probably its dominant position at a river crossing and the Zirler Berg road ascent over the Ausserfern to the neighboring Fort Foetibus (Füssen). Foetibus stood right at the end of the mountain section of the Via Claudia Augusta trunk road . Teriolis could have replaced Veldidena as the main town of the Breonen at that time .

The fate of Teriolis from the middle of the 4th century is largely in the dark due to a lack of historical sources. It could have been destroyed or at least badly damaged by the Germanic invasions of 357/358. Judging by the finds, Roman soldiers were still stationed here until the middle of the 5th century. The Roman civil and military administration in the Inn Valley finally dissolved after the middle of the 5th century and Raetia fell to the Ostrogoth empire under Theodoric (439-526). The Rhaetian bishop Martinus probably also stayed here for a short time in the 6th century. An early Christian church building on the Martinsbühel from this time can be proven archaeologically. The Breonen or Romanes can be traced back to 765 AD in the region around Zirl. Bishop Arbeo of Freising reports a free landowners ( nobilis ) named Dominic, who lived in the "Preonenes" in the Upper Inn Valley, " its origin and its appearance after a Romanus was ."

In the 15th century, a hunting lodge for Friedrich IV and Duke Sigmund was built over the ruins of the fort .

Fort

Today nothing can be seen of the fort and the road station above ground. The fort hill was accessible via inclined ramps on the slope. The layout, dimensions and construction features of the camp are largely unknown. It was probably a square, approximately 2.55 hectare large, multi-phase system adapted to the terrain. A small fort with intermediate towers, barracks, command office etc. was probably first built on the central plateau of the hill, which was then enlarged considerably to the west and south. Apparently the fortress only had one entrance gate on the western wall. The wall sections cut off during the excavations in the 1990s probably belonged to this gate construction and the buildings of the interior development (wall 1–9). However, this assignment is purely speculative, as only very little masonry could be exposed. Parts of the enclosing wall were also found in the west of the hill. It consisted of a cast mortar plant, its core, which was filled with lime quarry / unprocessed creek rubble and mortar, was framed with limestone. The heads of the brook pebbles on the face of the wall had been chopped off occasionally. Large stone bolts were used for the foundations. The width of the foundations of the previously excavated wall sections varied between 0.75 m and 1.8 m. No horizontal construction joints or spoilage could be observed.

SW intermediate tower

From the fortifications of the so-called administrator building on the south-west terrace of the hill, the lowest foundation layer of a square tower (tower 1995 in plan) from the late Roman construction period (west and south wall, inner edge of the north wall) could be excavated almost completely. The findings were severely disturbed by recent interventions. The width of the wall was 1.3 m to 1.6 m. The cast masonry was made up of conglomerate lime mixed with yellowish mortar. The interior measured 2.5 m to 2.7 m × 2.5 m to 2.7 m, external dimensions: 5.3 m × 5.5 m. Rising masonry had only been preserved in the north, under the administrator's building, which sat there directly on the tower wall. A 1.6 m wide wall was seamlessly connected to the southeast. It was exposed over a length of four meters and sat directly on the natural rock. The remains of the tower masonry were removed after the archaeological investigation to create a septic tank. Such towers of comparable size can often be found in Raetia (Innsbruck-Wilten, Bregenz, Irgenhausen, Schaan). What is striking about Martinsbühel is its location within the fence. He probably secured an inner wall ring, which was obviously created during the expansion of the camp under Valentinian I. This section would have been the oldest part of the fort.

Interior construction

Most of the walled area was probably taken up by three 7.5 m / 10 m × 40 m large hall buildings (warehouses / horrea ), which were situated on the west and south-east part of the hill and were only accessible from the inside of the fort (interior building II) . Multi-phase wooden buildings (late Constantinian, 4th century) on stone foundations could also be located on the south terrace. They probably served as crew quarters (contubernia) and were divided into chambers approximately 3 mx 4 m. The discovery of a large number of ledge bricks (tegula) suggests that the buildings were covered with such bricks. The floors of the fort buildings consisted of wood and layers of screed (with and without rolling).

channel

At a distance of 25 m south of the tower, one came across the sewer of the fort, which must have been built at the same time as the tower. Its cover consisted partly of roof tiles, the strips of which had been knocked off before they were laid. Limestone and stones were mainly used for the side edging. The floor consisted of casting mortar and showed clear signs of fire. The walling of the canal at the connection to the cast mortar floor consisted of burnt tuff. Its gradient was about twelve centimeters from the excavated northern edge to the cast mortar floor, that is two percent. As additional finds came u. a. 16 coins (minted between 320 and 387) to daylight.

garrison

Nothing is known about occupation units before the 4th century. Only the garrison of late antiquity is definitely documented. Teriolis is specified in the Notitia Dignitatum as the official seat of two officers - a tribune and a legionary prefect - of the Rhaetian provincial army (exercitus Raeticus) under the command of a Dux Raetiae . Possibly up to 700 men were stationed in the fort.

Time position Troop name comment
4th to 5th century Tribunus gentis per Raetias deputatae . It is still controversial whether the gens refer to the Breonen. Presumably, the tribune only commanded a militia (populares or gentiles ) that had been raised on site .
4th to 5th century Praefectus legionis tertiae Italicae transvectioni specierum deputatae ("a prefect of the III. Italian Legion, assigned to secure supplies"). Since the end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century, the Rhaetian Legio III Italica, originally stationed in Regensburg, no longer appeared as a closed unit. Rather, they had been reorganized into six larger vexillations . One of them was probably stationed in the Inn Valley from 300 onwards to secure supplies. Their prefect may also have been responsible for managing the warehouses in Veldidena .
The quarry on the western slope of Martinsbühel, photo from 1881
Inscription from the milestone of Decius, found in the 19th century on the Zirler Berg
Courtyard in front of the Martinskirche

Vicus

If the number of soldiers stationed here by Anton Höck is correct, a correspondingly large camp village must have existed in the vicinity of the fort. However, it has not yet been proven. Anton Höck suspects it to be on the area of ​​today's Zirl-Kirchfeld, as the place has continued its naming tradition without interruption since the early Middle Ages.

Heating system

In the north-east of the Martinsbühel the remnants of a collapsed wall and a multi-period canal heating (furnace chambers) of an ancient building were found. A total of three construction phases could be distinguished from one another. From phase I (330/335 to 348/350) a praefurnium ( praefurnium III) and remains of the canal walling damaged by fire have been preserved. The praefurnium was oriented north-south, the heating duct was fired from an opening in the north. In phase II (348/350 to 364/378) the praefurnium ( praefurnium II) - rotated by 90 degrees - was rebuilt and aligned to the west-east. The heating channel was lit from the west. The main heating channel ran at right angles to the main heating channel of phase III. The bottom (mortar bed with a high proportion of sand) of the canal was raised twice. The last phase of conversion can be read on Praefurnium I. It was - slightly shifted - directly above Praefurnium III . The heating system had been rotated again by 90 degrees and now oriented north-south again. The y-shaped heating channel was fired from the north. A roof tile with chipped strips was used as the base for the firing. Since no further remains of the wall could be discovered, it is assumed that the praefurnia were also covered by a protective roof made of wood (evidence of post holes).

In addition to late Roman coins (334–378), animal bones and various glass dishes from the 4th and 5th centuries could also be recovered from the praefurnia I – III.

Dome furnace

In the mid-1990s, a late antique dome furnace was discovered in the area between the canal and a modern stone pit . Its substructure was square and its builders set it directly in the clay subsoil. The clay plaster was covered with a brick layer from the fire. According to coin finds, the furnace was in use in the 4th or 5th century.

Early Christian Church

The remains of a 13.85 x 8.35 m basilica from the 5th or 6th century have been excavated under today's St. Martin's Chapel . It was oriented to the east, was built as a hall church with the inclusion of an ancient predecessor building and covered an area of ​​200 m². It was rounded off by a rectangular apse on the outside, but semicircular on the inside . The rectangular casing could also come from a later period. A reliquary was found in front of the remains of a priest's bench ( cathedra ) . The altar area was originally separated from the rest of the church by a wooden barrier. The building fell victim to a fire. The original assumption that this building was actually a kind of reception or audience hall is controversial.

Burial grounds

In the courtyard in front of the Martinskirche, 14 body graves were found during excavation work. They were oriented from west to east and were 0.3 m to 0.9 m below the asphalt of the courtyard. The inventory of eight graves was partially recovered. According to the radiocarbon analysis of the bone material, the graves are likely to have been dug in the high Middle Ages (970-1020). They are probably the descendants of those novels who held on to their place of residence even after the Roman military had left. Some graves without graves were already observed by Osmund Menghin in the 19th century at the hypocaust complex. Presumably they belonged to the same burial ground.

The so-called NE depression is located north of the fort hill and is separated from the Martinswand by the route of today's federal road. In 1917 and after the Second World War, ancient body burials were also found at the east end of the hill. During cultivation work in the NE Depression, five more graves were found. Three of them could still be recorded in situ. Graves 3 and 4 were oriented east-west, while grave 5 was oriented from west to east. Most of the graves had been changed in their location by flood events. The grave pits were rectangular and had rounded corners. Graves 4 and 5 were also framed with limestone. The burial ground was almost certainly part of the fort, since among the grave goods (fragments of glass vessels, women's jewelry, coins) there was also an iron belt buckle from Elbe or East Germanic origin, as worn by Germanic mercenaries. According to the grave goods, the graves were dug in the 4th and 5th centuries.

Monument protection

The facilities are ground monuments within the meaning of the Austrian Monument Protection Act . Investigations and targeted collection of finds without the approval of the Federal Monuments Office are a criminal offense. Accidental finds of archaeological objects as well as all measures affecting the soil must be reported to the Federal Monuments Office (Department for Archaeological Monuments).

See also

literature

  • Benjamin Flöß: Zirl in words and pictures. Steiger Verlag, Innsbruck 1983, ISBN 3-85423-021-4 .
  • Anton Höck: The late Roman fortification Teriola am Martinsbühel (MG Zirl): Emergency excavations on the south terrace 1997. In: Fritz Blakolmer, Hubert D. Szemethy (Ed.): Files of the 8th Austrian Archaeological Day at the Institute for Classical Archeology of the University of Vienna from 23 April to April 25, 1999 (= Viennese research on archeology. Volume 4). Phoibos Publishing House, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-901232-28-1 .
  • Wolfgang Sölder: On prehistory and Roman times in North Tyrol. In: Witnesses of the Past. Archaeological items from Tyrol and Graubünden. Rätisches Museum Chur and Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum Innsbruck, Innsbruck 2002, ISBN 3-9500278-6-6 , pp. 19–76.
  • Anton Höck: Archaeological research in Teriola. Rescue excavations on the Martinsbühel near Zirl from 1993–1997. Late Roman finds and findings on the fort . (= Find reports from Austria material booklet A 14). Berger, Horn 2003, ISBN 3-85028-370-4 .
    • therein u. a .: Thomas Reitmaier: Bridge, ford or ferry? - A contribution to the Innübergang at Teriola / Martinsbühel in ancient times. Pp. 101-103 ( full text ).
  • Franz Glaser : Castra and hill settlements in Carinthia and North Tyrol. In: Heiko Steuer , Volker Bierbrauer (ed.): Hill settlements between antiquity and the Middle Ages from the Ardennes to the Adriatic Sea (= Real Lexicon of Germanic Antiquity. Supplementary volumes . Volume 58). Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-020235-9 , pp. 595–642 (on Teriolis : pp. 614–616; excerpt from Google Books ).

Remarks

  1. ↑ Notitia Dignitatum Occ. XXXV, 22, 31.
  2. ↑ Benjamin Flöß: Zirl in words and pictures. Steiger Verlag, Innsbruck 1983, ISBN 3-85423-021-4 .
  3. ^ Anton Höck: 2001, p. 165. Franz Glaser: 2008, p. 615.
  4. ^ Anton Höck: 2003, p. 77.
  5. ^ Anton Höck: 2003, p. 9; Thomas Reitmaier: 2003, p. 102.
  6. ↑ Inscription: CIL 3, 5988 .
  7. ^ Anton Höck: 2003, pp. 11-12.
  8. ↑ Terra Sigillata from North Africa, Hayes type 61b.
  9. ^ Anton Höck: 2001, p. 167. Franz Glaser: 2008, p. 614.
  10. ^ Franz Glaser: 2008, p. 614.
  11. ^ Franz Glaser: 2008, p. 616.
  12. ^ Anton Höck: 2001, p. 175.
  13. ^ Franz Glaser: 2008, p. 614.
  14. ↑ Wolfgang Sölder: 2002, p. 59.
  15. ^ Anton Höck: 2003, p. 81.
  16. ↑ Andreas Otto Weber: Studies on the viticulture of the old Bavarian monasteries in the Middle Ages. Old Bavaria, Austrian Danube region, South Tyrol. (=  Quarterly for social and economic history. Supplement 141), Steiner, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-515-07290-X , p. 65; and Walter Leitner, Josef Fontana: History of the State of Tyrol. Volume 1: From the beginning to 1490. Athesia, Bozen 1985, ISBN 88-7014-390-2 , p. 235.
  17. ^ Anton Höck: 2003, pp. 13-27 and p. 77.
  18. ^ Franz Glaser: 2008, p. 616; Anton Höck: 2003, p. 80.
  19. ^ Anton Höck: 2001, p. 167, Franz Glaser: 2008, p. 615.
  20. ^ Franz Glaser: 2008, p. 616.
  21. ↑ a b Martin Bitschnau , Hannes Obermair : Tiroler Urkundenbuch, II. Department: The documents on the history of the Inn, Eisack and Pustertal valleys. Vol. 1: Up to the year 1140 . Universitätsverlag Wagner, Innsbruck 2009, ISBN 978-3-7030-0469-8 , p. 4 No. 4 .
  22. ^ Franz Glaser: 2008, p. 614.
  23. ^ Anton Höck: 2003, p. 79.
  24. ^ Franz Glaser: 2008, p. 616. Anton Höck: 2003, p. 77.
  25. ↑ Anton Höck: 2001, pp. 170-173.
  26. ^ Anton Höck: 2001, p. 169.
  27. ^ Franz Glaser: 2008, p. 616; Anton Höck: 2003, p. 12.
  28. ↑ Anton Höck: 2003, pp. 19-23.