Villa rustica (Leutstetten)

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The protective structure over the hypocaust

The villa rustica near Leutstetten is the archaeological site of a Roman estate ( villa rustica ) that existed for around fifty years. The area of ​​the small manor house excavated from 2001 to 2002 was made accessible to the public and is located on the edge of agricultural corridors south of the village of Leutstetten in Upper Bavaria, which today belongs to the district town of Starnberg . In addition to the bathroom in the courtyard, the finds from a well and the grave inscription from the Leutstetten branch church St. Alto are of particular scientific interest.

location

Siltation zone of the Starnberger See (yellowish swamp area). Front: Leutstetten; directly on the lakeshore: Starnberg. The villa rustica is located a little below the center of the picture on the left edge directly on the northern edge of the forest that is visible there.
View to the west of the western high bank of the Würm.

During the excavations at the Villa rustica , a post pit was examined in which vessels that could be assigned to the La Tène period were found. This could indicate a pre-Roman Celtic settlement in the area of ​​the manor or in its vicinity.

The excavated, L-shaped main house of the property is located on a hilltop sloping in all directions. With its courtyard side, it faces exactly north towards the approximately 750-meter-high Karlsberg , while the western face points over the Leutstettener Moos , the marshy valley of the Würm , to the steep inclines on the opposite bank of the river. In ancient times there was a Roman road up there that led to Gauting ( Bratananium ) from the south . One of the most important connections from Augsburg ( Augusta Vindelicorum ) to Salzburg ( Iuvavum ) also ran through this junction, which is about six kilometers north of the estate . In Roman times the Starnberger See reached below the manor so that it could be seen from its location. Today the lake has retreated far to the south due to its siltation . The surrounding grounds of the manor were only of average quality, the courtyard was one of the more modest representatives of its building type. Nevertheless, the property documents the relatively high standard of living and the good financial circumstances of its former owners.

Usually veterans of the Roman army built facilities of this kind after their honorable discharge. With their rural work, the former soldiers made a significant contribution to maintaining the prosperity and security of their provinces , as not only the civilian population but especially the army bought their supplies there.

Near the branch church of St. Alto in Leutstetten to the north of the estate, in which the epitaph of a Roman veteran is walled up, is the district of Einbettl , in which two late Roman urn graves were discovered in 1912 within sight of the villa rustica , which were located in a Roman cemetery, unknown Indicate size. At the latest after the inscription was found, a villa rustica was suspected in or around Leutstetten .

Research history

The first excavations in the area of ​​the Villa rustica were reported to the State Office for Monument Preservation in 1978. After an inspection by Erwin Keller , then curator of the state office, the place was listed in the local files of the monument office as a Roman settlement. However, the area was still used intensively for agriculture and plowed up regularly. It is known from experience that these farming activities can cause irretrievable damage or even complete destruction to a ground monument. After the turn of the millennium, the Society for Archeology and History Oberes Würmtal eV (Gauting) decided to carry out a rescue excavation, which began in December 2001. The floor plan of the main building, which was uncovered in the course of the excavations until 2002, was reconstructed with the help of weather-resistant stone baskets (gabions) and is freely accessible. The underfloor heating area ( hypocaust ) has been protected since 2004 by a protective structure in the form of a "walk-in display case ". The almost three meter high and 7.20 × 9.40 m large steel-wood construction stands with 18 columns on reinforced concrete strip foundations. The external, frameless glazing allows a view of the excavation area of ​​the hypocaust at any time. In addition, some finds and the cast of a Roman gravestone from the nearby Leutstetten church of St. Alto are on display. A small viewing hill was built next door, which allows a good overview of the freely accessible area. The Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation registers the ground monument under the number D-1-7934-0052.

Building history

Floor plan of the manor house.

Fountain

Found goods from the main house, its close surroundings and the fountain.
Terra Sigillata bowl by the South Gallic great potter Cinnamus.

The approximately 25 × 8 meter main house of Villa rustica was probably built around 133 AD and was apparently only managed for around 50 years. The very well-preserved wooden scoop of the well discovered during the excavation on the eastern end of the courtyard provided the basis for dating. The planks of the log-timbered well box made of a 70 centimeter thick and 200 year old oak were felled after the dendrochronological investigations in the year 133 AD and were completely preserved from a depth of three meters. The inside width of the wooden box was determined to be 1.20 meters. Within the presumed useful life of the villa rustica , the well was later abandoned and initially filled with rubble. This is likely to have occurred during a renovation that probably dates back to the 2nd half of the 2nd century. A beech board that got into the well with the rubble could be dated to the year 147. As was common at the time, the well was also filled with disused household items. These movable objects make up the majority of the finds discovered in Leutstetten. In addition to leftover dishes and a terra sigillata bowl by the southern Gaulish potter Cinnamus, who was known in research and produced between 135 and 170 in Lezoux , there were also two house keys, a writing board and animal bones in the well box.

Plant residues recovered from the well were evaluated at the Institute for Paleobotany in Munich . The findings found in the debris fill indicate that undergrowth and weeds were removed from the area surrounding the villa rustica during the renovation . In addition to various field weeds, traces of spelled and wheat could be determined. However, these plants cannot have been grown in the immediate vicinity of the farm. A large oval fireplace was uncovered south of the well, behind the east wall of the house.

Main house

Outside area of ​​the villa rustica . The floor plan on the far left belongs to a basement. In the background the north-lying village of Leutstetten.
The hypocaust.

The main entrance to the manor was possibly northeast. The underfloor and wall heating ( hypocaust ) , which was only available for a rectangular bathroom, was fired from the south, and an unheated tub adjoins this bathing area to the west. The excavators left the lead-made drain pipe of the tub, which is still functional today, at the site. The bathroom is one of the most technically and architecturally complex components of a Roman house. It was assumed that the area of ​​the L-shaped main house protruding to the north was possibly built on two floors using truss technology. The complex was rebuilt and expanded at least once. The plastered inner walls in the area of ​​the bathroom were painted Pompeian red and ocher. An older coat of paint consisted of white, ocher, and red patches of paint, probably separated by thin lines of paint. This finding is backed up by some plaster residues that were discovered in the vicinity of Villa rustica . The oblong, rectangular, probably only single-storey side wing lies exactly on an east-west axis and is closed off by a cellar that protrudes from the south-west corner. The mansion was covered with roof tiles. In addition to the masonry main house with its tuff and field stone foundations, at least two wooden buildings stood on the site. A Roman millstone was found in the north of the site . Apparently a flour mill belonged to the farm. Some finds recovered during the excavation suggest that cattle were raised here in addition to agriculture. The excavations made it clear that the Villa rustica von Leutstetten fell into disrepair after its abandonment and was largely dismantled as a quarry in later times. Therefore, with the exception of the relatively well-preserved bath, mostly only around 60 centimeters (= 2 Roman feet) wide excavated trenches survived from the other building structures in the ground.

What is striking is the similarity of the Leutstetten villa rustica with some complexes in the province of Britannia (including the Villa von Lockleys, Villa von Park Street near St. Albans). Perhaps the client actually orientated himself on these estates in what is now England , which he may have got to know during his military service.

Incendiary graves

The contents of one of the late Roman cremation graves discovered in 1912 when the road was moved in Leutstetten was donated to the then Munich State Collection by the Bavarian Prince Regent Ludwig . The tall, gray urn was filled with corpse fire and covered with a roof tile. There were eight additions on the brick, including a large terra sigillata picture bowl, a mortar , two iron knives, a bronze brooch and several fragments of various iron utensils.

A possible landlord

Cast of the tombstone from the St. Alto branch church in Leutstetten.

In the branch church of St. Alto in Leutstetten, a Roman gravestone is walled up under a side altar as a spoil , which could remind of the owner of the small estate. The plaque from a funerary monument was discovered in 1963 during renovation work in the church and had been slightly shortened on its right side for secondary use. Due to its heavy weight, the original location of the stone is likely not far from St. Alto, possibly not far from the two Roman cremation graves discovered a little further south. The text, written between 131 and 230 AD, was largely legible:

[D (is) M (anibus)]
P (ublio) Iul (io) C (ai) f (ilio) Quir (ina) Pintam [o]
domo ex Hisp (ania) citerio [re]
Augusta Brac (ara) vet (erano) ex dec (urione) a [lae]
decurioni munic (ipii) Aeli Anto [---]
Clementia Po (m) peia uxo [r eius]
marito optimo et sibi [---]
viva fecit

Translation:

The gods of the dead. To Publius Iulius Pintamus, son of Gaius, from the Quirina tribe , the veteran from Braga in the province of Hispania Citerior . He served as Rittmeister in an equestrian association and as councilor of the city of Aelia Anto […]. His wife Clementia Po (m) peia placed this tomb for the best husband and himself during their lifetime.

The veteran Publius Iulius Pintamus came from what is now Braga in northern Portugal. If the epitaph had not revealed the origin of the deceased, he could also be revealed by his nickname Pintamus as coming from the north-western half of the Iberian Peninsula. Personal names with the root word Pent- or Pint- have preserved linguistic remnants of the Celtiberians who prevailed before the Roman invasion of Hispania . The veteran went through a military career with the Roman cavalry, which may also lead him to Britain. The excavators concluded this consideration from the type of villa rustica found near Leutstetten , which resembles models from the island. If Pintamus was discharged from the army after serving 25 years of regular service, he could have been in his forties. Due to his origin, Pintamus was a free Roman citizen from birth and possibly served in a cohort of those auxiliary troops (auxiliary troops), which were made up of the Bracarer tribes and were called Cohors Bracaraugustanorum . There were several of these units in the Roman army. It would be obvious that Iulius Pintamus settled in the province in which he last served. One of these Bracaric units stationed in the province of Raetia at the time was the partially mounted Cohors III Bracaraugustanorum equitata , which belonged to the occupation of Raetia under Emperor Domitian in 86. In 103 she was in Britannia with changing locations , before she was called back in Raetia on June 30, 107. After a renewed stay in Britain at least between 122 and 127, the unit took part in the suppression of the Bar Kochba uprising in Judea for a few years at the end of the Hadrianic period and at the beginning of the reign of Antoninus Pius . If Publius Iulius Pintamus was the owner of the villa, he would have been honorably discharged from the army with the rank of Decurios before this campaign . Decurions were mounted leaders of a thirty to sixty cavalry strong tower (squadron), who were always part of a larger Ala (cavalry troop). After his retirement, Pintamus married a local woman, Clementia Po (m) peia.

According to the funerary inscription, the deceased belonged to the city council of a larger Roman settlement, a Municipium . However, the name of the city can no longer be clearly deciphered. Augsburg is often mentioned in research, but this is due to an incorrect reading of the first publication. The appointment to the office of a city council required considerable wealth and was for life.

It is not clear whether the villa rustica is actually the old age residence of the veteran. The close proximity of the manor to the two late Roman cremation graves could indicate this interpretation. The tomb belonging to the inscription has so far remained undiscovered.

Monument protection

The ancient buildings treated here are ground monuments according to the Bavarian Monument Protection Act (BayDSchG). Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to approval, and accidental finds are reported to the monument authorities.

literature

  • Silke Burmeister: The Roman settlement in the Starnberg district . In: Provincial Roman Research. Festschrift for Günter Ulbert on his 65th birthday . Espelkamp, ​​1995, pp. 217-236.
  • W. Haas: A Roman gravestone in the church in Leutstetten . In: Report of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation . Volume 22, 1963, p. 89 ff.
  • Aladár Radnóti : A grave inscription from Leutstetten (District Starnberg, Obb.). In: Chiron . Volume 2, 1972, pp. 437-447.
  • Stefan Mühlemeier, Michael Peters: A window into Roman times - The villa rustica of Leutstetten . Starnberg 2008, ISBN 978-3-940115-01-0 (Starnberg City History, Volume 2).
  • Stefan Mühlemeier: Protective structure over Roman foundations in Leutstetten. City of Starnberg, district of Starnberg. In: The archaeological year in Bavaria 2003. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8062-1899-4 . Pp. 80-82.
  • Ute Schillinger-Häfele: Fourth addendum to CIL XIII and second addendum to Fr. Vollmer, Inscriptiones Baivariae Romanae. Inscriptions from the German part of the Germanic provinces and the Treverer area as well as Rätiens and Noricums. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission . Volume 58, 2, 1977, pp. 565-566.
  • Hansjörg Hägele: A protective structure for the Roman villa in Leutstetten. New architecture presents and protects archaeological sites. In: Monument preservation information . 130/2005, Edition B, Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation, 2005, pp. 15-16.

Web links

Commons : Villa Rustica (Leutstetten)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Erwin Keller: The late Roman grave finds in southern Bavaria . CH Beck Verlag Munich 1971, p. 205.
  2. ↑ a b Aladár Radnóti : A grave inscription from Leutstetten (District Starnberg, Obb.) . In: Chiron . Volume 2, Munich 1972, p. 445.
  3. ↑ Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation: Entry ( Memento of the original from November 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / geodaten.bayern.de
  4. ↑ Maja Seebacher: Roman things from a well and a cistern in the so-called Dietrichsruh in Salzburg. In: Annual books of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Vienna . Volume 68, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1999, p. 243.
  5. ^ City of Starnberg: underfloor heating. In: Villa Rustica. A Roman manor. Excavation near Leutstetten Leaflet of the city of Starnberg from the Starnberger See Museum, acquired in 2010.
  6. ↑ Ludwig von Buerkel u. a. (Ed.): Munich Year Book of Fine Arts . Prestel Verlag, Munich 1970, p. 253.
  7. ↑ AE 1972, 359 , corrected readings according to Epigraphic Database Heidelberg 9445 .
  8. ↑ Aladar Radnoti: A grave inscription from Leutstetten (District Starnberg, Obb.) . In: Chiron . Volume 2, 1972, p. 439.
  9. ↑ Aladar Radnoti: A grave inscription from Leutstetten (District Starnberg, Obb.) . In: Chiron . Volume 2, 1972, p. 442.
  10. ^ Werner Eck, Andreas Pangerl: Titus Flavius ​​Norbanus, praefectus praetorio Domitians, as governor of Rhaetia in a new military diploma. In: Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy . Volume 163, Habelt Verlag, Bonn 2007, pp. 239-251 ( AE 2007, 1782 ).
  11. ↑ CIL 16, 48 .
  12. ↑ CIL 16, 55 (p 215).
  13. ↑ CIL 16, 69 (as cohors III Bracarorum , 122 AD), CIL 16, 70 (124 AD), AE 1997, 1779 (127 AD).
  14. ↑ AE 2005, 1535 (136 or 137 AD, see Addenda zur Prosopographia Imperii Romani ), CIL 16, 87 (139 AD).
  15. ↑ a b Ute Schillinger-Häfele: Fourth addendum to CIL XIII and second addendum to Fr. Vollmer, Inscriptiones Baivariae Romanae. Inscriptions from the German part of the Germanic provinces and the Treverer area as well as Rätiens and Noricums. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission . Volume 58, 2, Verlag Philipp Von Zabern, Mainz 1977, p. 566.

Coordinates: 48 ° 1 ′ 7 ″  N , 11 ° 22 ′ 14 ″  E