Vicus Wareswald
The Vicus Wareswald is a Roman settlement remnant ( vicus ) located in the municipalities of Oberthal , Marpingen and Tholey in the St. Wendel district in northern Saarland . Extensive excavations have been taking place here since 2001 with the aim of clarifying the appearance, structure and chronology of the settlement.
Location and origin
The settlement has its origin in the first half of the 1st century AD at the intersection of two heavily frequented streets from Roman times. One connection ran from Strasbourg via the Roman vicus in Schwarzenacker (city of Homburg) to Trier, the second came from Metz via Dillingen-Lachten, the ancient Contiomagus , through the vicus in the Wareswald to Mainz. The settlement was in the Roman province of Germania superior in the southeastern border area of the civitas of the Treverians to the civitas of the Mediomatriker , but still on Treverian territory. Many travelers used the streets and created, according to the common explanatory model for genesis , a demand for goods and services that was satisfied by the traders and craftsmen who settled here. Possibly the road followed an Iron Age trade route, as small remains of a Celtic predecessor settlement could be observed, as evidenced by finds from the late Latène period .
Extension and Chronology
Extensive geomagnetic investigations and intensive surface inspections have made the extent of the vicus largely known. It extended for a length of about 1000 meters on the ridge along the road. In addition, the settlement area was extended in terraces down the slope to the south and north.
The settlement core founded in the 1st century AD grew gradually and reached its greatest extent in the heyday of the 2nd century, which was up to about 20 hectares.
The economic decline in the course of the 3rd century AD also affected the settlement in the Wareswald.
A renewed upswing that took hold in the region when Trier became the imperial residence at the beginning of the 4th century AD can also be seen in the Wareswald. In this phase it can be observed that some buildings have undergone a fundamental repair (see section Mars Temple). Until the end of the 4th century AD, settlement activities can be recorded archaeologically. At the end of the 4th century the vicus was finally abandoned and fell desolate . There was no medieval or modern overbuilding.
Findings
Settlement core
So far, an area of around 2500 square meters has been excavated in the core of the settlement. The development with buildings stretched along the Roman road with a sewer ditch running parallel to it and an arcade . So far, three building complexes with different construction phases can be distinguished.
In its early construction phase, the so-called building D had a basement measuring approx. 12.50 x 7.50 meters, which was later cut in half by inserting a transverse wall. Due to its size, it can be assumed that it served a trader as a warehouse for his goods. In a further expansion phase, the cellar was abandoned and filled with clay. A representative room with underfloor heating ( hypokaustum ) was built above the cellar, decorated with wall paintings and glazed windows. To the south-west, two bathrooms measuring approx. 3.50 x 3.50 meters were built, the tubs of which consisted of a waterproof mixture of white lime mortar and broken bricks, the so-called terrazzo . Another small annex measuring approx. 2 × 2 meters in the same construction phase in the south-eastern area also had underfloor heating and is interpreted as a heated bathroom. At this stage of construction, the building had a purely residential character.
The buildings to the southwest and northeast, on the other hand, probably served traders and craftsmen not only as living space, but also as an office , because here there were half-finished bronze statuettes and a stone weight of 99 Roman pounds (approx. 30 kilograms) of a heavy beam balance, which was probably not in one Household was used.
Since no building has yet been fully recorded in the floor plan, little statements can be made about the typology of the floor plans. Obviously, however, there was no strip house development in the exposed part, as is so common in the street vici.
In late antiquity, a red chalk pen developed in the excavation area investigated . The mineral dye, which was mined only a few kilometers away until the 20th century, was cut into colored pencils and put on the market.
The Mars Temple
200 meters southwest of the excavations in the core of the settlement lie the remains of a temple of the god Mars , which was probably built in the 2nd century AD and completely renovated at the beginning of the 4th century AD. It seems obvious to link the resumption of construction activity on public buildings in the settlement with the rise of nearby Trier to the imperial residence, but there are no direct indications. The walls that have been uncovered so far were each centered in front of an external pilaster . The floor plan follows the type of the Gallo-Roman temple. The otherwise white plastering of the outer courtyard wall had a plinth painted red. The discovery of two figures of Mars of the youthful, naked Mars type with helmets and helmets as well as numerous lance tips make an assignment of the temple to the god of war appear justified. As with the excavations in the center of the settlement, the finds, in particular the series of coins found, end at the end of the 4th century AD. There has been no further overbuilding to this day.
The pillar tomb
When building a parking lot in the excavation reserve, hewn sandstone blocks were initially discovered. The discovery of more than 1000 relief fragments and especially an approx. 40 centimeter high pine cone then showed that one was dealing with a grave monument, more precisely a pillar tomb. Numerous fragments of the relief decoration show unclothed figures of mythological scenes, but there are also fragments of clothed figures, probably a representation of the family who had this monument built, as well as scenes from the sea, but also from the vineyard. The inscription can be identified by only two, albeit quite large, letters. At the base, the pillar had an edge length of 4.20 × 3.80 meters. The examination of the recovered architectural elements suggested that the entire monument was once about 10-12 meters high. Located directly on the Roman road, the pillar served not only for the cult of the dead , but also to represent the family of the builder, who certainly held a high-ranking position in the Vicus Wareswald. Also and especially through this pillar tomb, the prosperity that prevailed in the settlement during the heyday is attested. It is expected that planned excavations will provide further information on the settlement.
A pillar tomb was visualized in its dimensions abstractly in steel and concrete according to the specifications of the State Monuments Office with EU funding.
As part of the archaeological investigations, in addition to the grave pillar, at least three other foundations and rubble fields with relief sandstones from grave architecture were discovered along an ancient road. Furthermore, a circular ancient shaft that was examined up to a depth of 5 m and an unusual Roman period drainage system.
literature
- Edith Glansdorp / Eric Glansdorp, weights and a lead label from the Roman vicus Wareswald near Oberthal, in: E. u. E. Glansdorp (Ed.), Traces of prehistory and early history in the middle Primstal. Archaeological exhibitions in the local history museum Neipel from 1997 to 2012. Archaeological finds in Saarland 2 (Tholey 2013) 557–575. ISBN 978-3-00-039212-2
- Edith Glansdorp / Eric Glansdorp, Gräberstrasse, shaft and Roman house. Finds and findings from the "car park excavation" in the vicus Wareswald. In: Celts and Romans in the Sankt Wendeler Land ([Heusweiler] 2010), 216–264. ISBN 978-3-941095-04-5
- Eric Glansdorp, Roman age red chalk stick and red chalk powder production in northern Saarland. [Red chalk pencils from the Roman vicus Wareswald near Oberthal] In: E. u. E. Glansdorp (Ed.), Traces of prehistory and early history in the middle Primstal. Archaeological exhibitions in the local history museum Neipel from 1997 to 2012. Archaeological finds in Saarland 2 (Tholey 2013) 253–271. ISBN 978-3-00-039212-2
- Klaus-Peter Henz / Edith Jäckel / Eric Glansdorp / Johannes Schönwald / Christian Hübner / Reiner Schmitt: Roman vicus Wareswald: Wareswald excavation - first results. Pirrot Verlag, Saarbrücken 2002, ISBN 3-930714-80-9 .
- Klaus-Peter Henz: Vicus Wareswald. In: Archeology in Germany . Issue 3/2002, pp. 53-54.
- Reiner Schmitt, found coins in the Roman vicus Wareswald 2002–2006. E. u. E. Glansdorp (Ed.), Archäologische Funde im Saarland 1 (Tholey 2008) 17–132.
- Reiner Schmitt, Catalog of Fund Coins [2001–2002]. In: Römischer vicus Wareswald. First results (Saarbrücken 2002) 129–156.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ↑ Edith Glansdorp / Eric Glansdorp, weights and a lead label from the Roman vicus Wareswald near Oberthal, in: E. u. E. Glansdorp (Ed.), Traces of prehistory and early history in the middle Primstal. Archaeological exhibitions in the local history museum Neipel from 1997 to 2012. Archaeological finds in Saarland 2 (Tholey 2013) 557-575.
- ↑ EP Glansdorp, Roman age red chalk stick and red chalk powder production in northern Saarland. [Red chalk pencils from the Roman vicus Wareswald near Oberthal] In: E. u. E. Glansdorp (Ed.), Traces of prehistory and early history in the middle Primstal. Archaeological exhibitions in the Neipel local history museum from 1997 to 2012. Archaeological finds in Saarland 2 (Tholey 2013) 253-271. ISBN 978-3-00-039212-2
- ↑ Photo of the visualized grave pillar
- ↑ Edith Glansdorp / Eric Glansdorp, Gräberstrasse, shaft and Roman house. Finds and findings from the "car park excavation" in the vicus Wareswald. In: Celts and Romans in the Sankt Wendeler Land ([Heusweiler] 2010), 216-264. ISBN 978-3-941095-04-5
Coordinates: 49 ° 29 ′ 39 ″ N , 7 ° 3 ′ 30 ″ E