Villa Rustica (hamlet near Bingen)
The villa rustica near Weiler bei Bingen ( Rhineland-Palatinate ) is a former Roman estate . It is located in the Binger Forest not far from Waldalgesheim and can be reached after a short walk from the “Bodmannstein” car park.
Villa rustica has been part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002 .
The dig
During an excavation campaign from 1999 to 2004, the site was examined and the foundation walls of the manor house, a portico house with corner projections, were exposed. The front of the mansion was oriented towards the east towards the Rhine valley. The result was a walled area of 3.3 ha, on which at least 8 outbuildings were found. After a drainage system was installed in 2005, the manor house was secured and made accessible. It is planned to carry out partial reconstructions (for example of the bathing facility ), as well as to carry out further excavations in the outbuildings, which will provide insight into the work of the archaeologists.
history
The complex, located in the Sulg and Altes Kloster forest markings, was assumed to be a decayed old monastery in the late Middle Ages. Only excavations could prove their Roman basis.
The manor is interesting because, in contrast to excavated temples, magnificent villas or forts, everyday life was examined here. There were similar villae rusticae every two to three kilometers along the Roman roads . About 70–80 percent of the population at that time lived in these farms. Another facility of this type was the Villa Rustica Kempten , which was about 7 km to the east.
The villa rustica was used from around 200 to 400 AD. Around 10 to 20 people lived and worked here. It was built on a cleared island in the forest and, together with other farms, served to supply food, probably also to entertain travelers who were passing on the nearby Roman road. Several buildings, lined up in a row and encircling an inner courtyard, rose above the accurately executed quarry stone walls of the manor house and the half-timbered walls. The steeper roofs were covered with slate, the flatter ones with tiles. All walls were plastered and partly painted in color. You entered the building via a staircase and a portico. This corridor was flanked by two towers (so-called risalites ), which may have several floors. The function of several rooms could be identified through the excavation. Such a bathing facility with cold and warm baths as well as an adjacent toilet facility with water supply, a storage room with amphorae for wine, olive oil and fish sauce, a drying oven and a forge oven.
Monument protection
The ground monument "Villa Rustica (Weiler bei Bingen)" is protected as a registered cultural monument within the meaning of the Monument Protection and Maintenance Act (DSchG) of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to approval, and accidental finds are reported to the monument authorities.
Web links
- GDKE Rhineland-Palatinate, Mainz Archeology Directorate. Villa rustica - Binger Wald Direction Archeology Mainz. Villa rustica - Binger Forest
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 49 ° 58 ′ 8.3 " N , 7 ° 50 ′ 17.7" E