Villa Rustica (Wiesenbach / Baden)
The Villa Rustica , a former Roman manor and today's ground monument , is located northeast of Wiesenbach , a municipality in the Rhein-Neckar district in Baden-Württemberg .
location
The Villa Rustica von Wiesenbach is located in a forest called "Herrenwald", a good two kilometers northeast of Wiesenbach and one and a half kilometers southeast of Neckargemünd . It is located on a slope sloping towards the south in an area of the site that, in contrast to the entire area, is not furrowed by natural water drainage channels.
In ancient times it was located here not far to the north of the trunk road connecting the Roman settlement centers Ladenburg ( Lopodunum ) and Heidelberg (whose Latin name is unknown) via Bad Wimpfen ( Wimpfen fort in the valley ) with the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes near Osterburken ( Osterburken fort ) Association. Numerous other Roman finds and findings in the vicinity of the villa speak for a dense settlement of this area in Roman times.
Research history
After the accidental discovery of a Roman box well in the immediate vicinity in 1969, the buildings of the actual Villa Rustica were discovered during a planned site inspection in 1970 and archaeologically examined for the first time in the years 1972 to 1974 by Berndmark Heukemes , at the time chief curator at the Kurpfälzisches Museum in Heidelberg . The focus of the investigations was on the main building and the enclosing walls of the facility. Following these first excavations , the walls of the main building were preserved and the fountain that was initially discovered was reconstructed. Further scientific excavations were carried out in 1978, 1980 and 1981. Here again the surrounding walls and, more recently, one of the farm buildings were in the foreground. After that, the excavation activities were temporarily stopped, as the preservation of the findings as a ground monument was not endangered. In 1994, as part of a diploma thesis at the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences , a comprehensive survey of the entire area was carried out, through which a detailed topographical plan of the facility could be created.
Findings
The excavation activities brought to light the at least two-phase building complex of a villa rustica.
Enclosure and farm buildings
The manor was surrounded by a wall about 110/120 meters long and 88 meters wide in the form of a slightly oblique rectangle and thus covered in its entirety an area of approximately one hectare. The foundation width of the enclosure was about 80 centimeters. Since not the entire course of the wall has been archaeologically examined, no really exact dimensions can be given. The entrance to the fenced area was probably on the south side. This is supported by a ramp-like embankment directly on the outside as well as two larger stone piles flanking the presumed entrance area on the inside of the wall, which are interpreted as farm buildings. The orientation towards the front of the main building also makes a passage seem plausible, especially at this point.
Another farm building consisting of three rooms is cut from the western wall and thus belongs to an older construction phase. One of the three rooms is addressed as a possible kiln . Finally, another farm building - possibly a shed - was in the northwest corner of the enclosure.
main building
The main building of Villa Rustica has not yet been fully archaeologically examined. The excavated area has at least two construction phases, five secured rooms and some not fully clarified walls. The building was dominated by a 280 square meter central hall, the wall thickness of which (foundation width 1.25 meters) speaks for an at least two-storey construction. In the southern part of the central hall, a staircase led to a 3.15 meter by 4.15 meter basement, which can be assigned to an earlier construction phase. This is supported by a basement window with a light shaft on the south side of the room, which would have no point inside the hall. The other three walls of the basement are each provided with a wall niche. At the top of the cellar walls there are large recesses in the masonry that were used to accommodate the beams that once supported the wooden cellar ceiling. There was probably a trap door in the area of the access stairs.
To the east of the central hall there is an escape from two rooms, the smaller, south-facing room with a hypocaust . The heated screed floor was supported by 56 pillars. The central hall was heated by an approximately 4 square meter large praefurnium (fireplace), rounded to the west in the form of an apse , the waste heat of which probably also heated the hall itself.
To the west of the central hall is an elongated room with an entrance door on the north side.
The southern end of the main building has not yet been examined. Presumably the front of a typical portico villa with corner risers is located here .
Main building from the northwest
Hypocausted room of the main building (back left) with the praefurnium (center)
Main building from the southwest
Basement of the older construction phase with brickwork recesses for the beams of the ceiling
Plant from the northeast
Dating
According to the finds, the Villa Rustica von Wiesenbach was built in the first half of the second century AD, probably around 130. The property probably came to an end in the second half of the third century, probably around the time of the Alemanni invasions around 259/260. The different construction phases cannot be separated from one another in terms of time. It has also not yet been clarified whether there are two or more phases.
Preservation of findings, lost property and monument protection
The surrounding walls were largely preserved in the western area of the property. The eastern sections of the wall can be easily traced in the terrain thanks to the deformation of the terrain. The complete foundation walls of the coach house in the northwest of the manor have been preserved from the farm buildings. The foundation walls of the main building - insofar as the building has been archaeologically recorded - were also preserved and partially reconstructed. In particular, the basement room with its special architectural features was almost completely restored. Due to the fact that the walls of two different construction phases have been restored, it is not exactly easy for the untrained eye to grasp the structure of the building at first glance.
Almost two kilometers south of the villa, in the center of Wiesenbach, the walls of another villa rustica were discovered in 1970, which, however, could not be examined more intensively by the responsible official monument preservation authorities. At least it was possible to preserve the exposed wall so that it is visible in the Wiesenbach townscape.
The finds from the excavations are in the Palatinate Museum of the city of Heidelberg and in the Wiesenbach local history museum.
Villa Rustica and the above-mentioned ground monuments are protected as cultural monuments under the Monument Protection Act of the State of Baden-Württemberg (DSchG) . Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to approval, and accidental finds are reported to the monument authorities.
Remarks
- ↑ For example, building remains in Wiesenbach ( memento of the original from February 24, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . See also vicus nediensis . See also Die Römer am Unteren Neckar (PDF; 110 kB) and Günther Wüst: Wiesenbach. A little local history . Mayor's Office Wiesenbach, Wiesenbach 1992, p. 26, Fig. "Roman times finds in our homeland".
- ↑ The earth filling is in the literature - with Reinhard Sölch: The Roman villa of Wiesenbach . In: Guide to archaeological monuments in Germany . Volume 36: Heidelberg, Mannheim and the Rhine-Neckar area . Theiss, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-8062-1407-7 , p. 241, - also viewed as a modern landfill on the ancient path.
- ↑ In the vicinity of the Protestant church on the property at Hauptstrasse. 77.
- ^ Preserved Roman wall in Wiesenbach, Hauptstr. 77. ( Memento of the original from February 24, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Heimatmuseum Wiesenbach ( Memento of the original dated February 24, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the official website of the municipality of Wiesenbach.
literature
- Renate Ludwig: Wiesenbach (HD). Roman manor . In: Dieter Planck (Ed.): The Romans in Baden-Württemberg . Theiss, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8062-1555-3 , p. 371.
- Reinhard Sölch: The Roman villa of Wiesenbach . In: Guide to archaeological monuments in Germany . Volume 36: Heidelberg, Mannheim and the Rhine-Neckar area . Theiss, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-8062-1407-7 , p. 240 ff.
- Reinhard Sölch: The Villa Rustica in the Herrenwald near Wiesenbach . In: cultural stories. Archeology on the lower Neckar. Booklet accompanying the exhibition in the Kurpfälzisches Museum in Heidelberg . Landesdenkmalamt Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-927714-30-5 (Archaeological information from Baden-Württemberg, issue 34), p. 36 ff.
- Günther Wüst: Wiesenbach. A little local history . Mayor's Office Wiesenbach, Wiesenbach 1992, p. 16 ff.
- Günther Wüst: On the history of Wiesenbach and Langenzell . Mayor's Office Wiesenbach, Wiesenbach 1970, p. 17 ff.
- Berndmark Heukemes: Wiesenbach . In: Philipp Filtzinger , Dieter Planck and Bernhard Cämmerer (eds.): The Romans in Baden-Württemberg . 3rd edition, Theiss, Stuttgart 1986, ISBN 3-8062-0287-7 , p. 620 f.
- Rolf-Heiner Behrens: The Roman manor (villa rustica) in the "Herrenwald" near Wiesenbach, Rhein-Neckar district . Landesdenkmalamt Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart 1982 (= cultural monuments of Baden-Württemberg, Small Guide 50).
Web links
- The Villa rustica Wiesenbach (Rhein-Neckar-Kreis) on the website of the Central Office for Teaching Media in the Internet eV
- The Roman estate (villa rustica) near Wiesenbach on the official website of the municipality of Wiesenbach
Coordinates: 49 ° 22 ′ 39.24 " N , 8 ° 49 ′ 8.71" E