Vicus Petinesca
Coordinates: 47 ° 6 ′ 42 " N , 7 ° 17 ′ 27" E ; CH1903: five hundred eighty-eight thousand seven hundred and eighty-one / 217876
First as a Celtic fortification, then as a small Roman town, Petinesca formed from the 2nd century BC. The center of the region until the 4th century AD. The Vicus Petinesca was a Roman place ( vicus ) that could be assigned to the modern place Studen in the Swiss canton of Bern on the basis of late Roman road maps . It was an important place on the north-south and east-west transversal that connected it with the cities of Aventicum in the southwest and Vindonissa and Augusta Raurica in the northeast. The place was also located near the navigable Aare . The station was manned until 380 AD. The first excavations were carried out as early as the 19th century. The remains of a temple precinct and a gate system have been preserved. New excavations unearthed an artisan quarter , a burial ground and three wells . So far, five parts have been examined in Petinesca. They include a gate system, two terraced settlements, the temple district and the “Keltenweg” burial ground.
The Roman gate system
The Roman gate system was excavated by the Pro Petinesca company during the first systematic explorations. It consists of the gate and the remains of the fortification wall . Apparently the late Roman tower was expanded into a street fort with accommodation in the 4th century AD .
First traces of settlement - 1st century
The first Roman road (Talstrasse) rises from the plain in the direction of the lower slope terrace and flows into the Vorderbergstrasse; which leads from Unterdorf towards Aegerten . The latter is protected on the valley side by a wooden palisade . At this point in time, massive debris was deposited west of the Talstrasse, interspersed with pottery waste. Two slope support structures will be built in quick succession to stabilize the backfills. These embankments require a gradual shift of the valley road to the east (green phase).
Older stone building - 2nd / 3rd centuries century
At the latest with the abandonment of the more recent slope support structures, the wooden palisade of Vorderbergstrasse will be removed, filled in and covered with the new road towards Unterdorf. At the beginning of the 2nd century, the older stone building was laid south of the Vorderbergstrasse, over partly thick layers of plan. The difference in level between the northeast and southwest wing is approx. 4 m. The almost square stone building is affected by a fire around the middle of the 3rd century. The fountain standing across the walls was built with the stone building or possibly earlier. It is abandoned and backfilled while the older stone building is in use. To the north-west of the new Vorderbergstrasse, a wooden house (with a beam construction ) was built around the turn of the 2nd century .
Younger stone building - 3rd / 4th centuries century
For the construction of the late Roman torture facility, massive earth shifts are carried out again. The two outside walls on the tak side and the inside walls of the older stone building will be demolished and replaced by new walls up to 3 m thick. The two existing outer walls on the slope will be integrated into the new building. Due to the ceramics found, the construction of the complex can be dated to the second half of the 3rd century. At this point in time the Vorderbergstrasse and presumably also the Unterdorf near it were abandoned. The valley road now leads through the gate tower. A late Roman coin found outside the tower suggests that the gate tower was also used in the 4th century.
Post-Roman Canal
After the massive south-eastern outer wall of the late Roman stone building was partially demolished, a water channel was built on the remaining foundation.
The temples
Excavations carried out in the 1930s uncovered Roman temples and chapels on the Gumpboden hilltop of the Jensberg. The temple complex comprises two groups of three Gallo-Roman temple temples as well as three chapels and a cult house, built between the 1st and 4th centuries AD.
The complex was originally in a wall with three gates, of which a section of the south-eastern wall has been preserved. The foundation walls of the western temple are very well preserved and have been partially reconstructed. However, its protective roof had to be removed due to weathering.
The excavators could no longer find any traces of certain parts of the buildings in individual temples. The stones were exploited for the extraction of building material from the Middle Ages . Fragments of architecture have been found in the Biel- Mett church , probably from Petinesca.
The architectural style of two of the six so-called “temple” temples probably go back to Celtic models. These consist of a covered walkway (ambitus) and the central temple area ( cella ). Access to the cella was only allowed to the priests.
In 2012 the Roman temple district was extensively renovated. The walls were traced with marker stones and the inner surfaces of the temple were made recognizable with marl stones . Wherever possible, the markings from 1937 have been retained. The new system therefore does not offer a uniform picture.
The total costs for forest clearance and restoration amounted to 439,000 francs. The Federal Office of Culture contributed CHF 76,000 and the lottery fund to CHF 128,500.
The rampart
Petinesca has a pre-Roman rampart, of which the western Celtic rampart is best preserved. The wall is an embankment reinforced by tree trunks and a dry stone wall. He once protected an oppidum .
The rampart was examined in 1898 and recognized as a Celtic fortification ( Murus Gallicus ). The north, south and east sides of the oppidum were well protected by the natural, steep hillsides. For fortification, they were content with palisades . Traces of palisade terraces are still visible over long stretches. The inner area of the entire facility was around 35 hectares.
So far, there is a lack of detailed information on the time of origin, the duration and structure of settlement of this oppidum. We know from comparable systems that only a small part of the fenced area was built on. Such fortresses probably served as refuges . In addition, such an imposing complex also made the power and wealth of the ruling upper class visible.
The Roman vicus, which emerged around the turn of the times, was largely outside the oppidum. Settlement continuity has not yet been proven, but it is likely. After all, the Roman village kept the Celtic name Petinesca.
Hardly any Celtic objects have been found in the oppidum area. However, numerous metal objects from the Latène period came to light during the first correction of the Jura waters in old counters between Port and Schwadernau . They were probably given to the river as offerings.
The wells
The origins of the three wells, up to 12 meters deep, were dated between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD. Its abandonment and backfilling took place in the 3rd century AD. The ceramic found belongs to the well-known reference complexes of the 3rd century from the Swiss plateau. It clearly shows the development of glossy crockery in the 3rd century . Due to the composition of the animal remains, archeozoology can prove that chamois tannery was used . The finds show that Feingerber were active around the turn of the times. While a pit from the l. Century points to the tanning of sheepskin , the well finds from the 3rd century document the production of goatskin. The animals required were brought in from the surrounding farms ( villa rustica ) or come from the settlement itself. In Port, excavations that have been taking place since 2014 have found a farm with a luxurious villa .
An emerging trend towards comfort raw materials for the production of high-quality clothing, accessories and household textiles is possibly supported by the inclusion of other animal skins. The large Mittelland transversal connected the production facility with the viable cities of Aventicum in the southwest and Vindonissa and Augusta Raurica in the northeast.
The burial ground
Due to a planned new building, plot 560 at Keltenweg 1/3 was investigated in Studen in 1991. Roman cremation graves were discovered. The area was then archaeologically examined. A Roman road running in north-south direction and 52 graves were uncovered. These included 5 graves without additions, 3 Roman children's skeletons and 44 embankment graves. Thanks to the graves, the graves could be found in the second half of the 1st century AD. date.
The harbor
At Wydenpark, right next to the train station in Studen, archaeologists came across the remains of a bridge, a street and a dam with wooden piles and massive wooden structures in 2010. The dam follows the course of a road up to seven meters wide, which has also been partially exposed. Three graves with well-preserved skeletons were found parallel to the dam. Further excavations confirmed that there must have been a Roman port on the old course of the Aare.
literature
- Alfred Hirt: Petinesca. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Rudolf Zwahlen a. a .: Vicus Petinesca, Vorderberg. Vol. 1-4. Staatlicher Lehrmittelverlag, Bern 1995–2007.
Web links
- Studen-Petinesca, Jensberg - Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern
- Association Pro Petinesca - Association for the preservation of the archaeological site Petinesca
Individual evidence
- ↑ Studen-Petinesca, Jensberg - Education Directorate
- ↑ Press release Bern Education Directorate June 19, 2012 .
- ↑ Studen-Petinesca, Jensberg - Education Directorate
- ↑ Roman villa uncovered in Port - open excavation day. Media release from the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern. In: Website of the Canton of Bern, June 21, 2016, accessed on September 10, 2016.
- ^ The Petinesca wells.
- ^ The Petinesca burial ground.
- ^ The port of Petinesca in Studen. In: Der Bund, July 23, 2010.
- ↑ Press release Bern Education Directorate July 22, 2010.