In the Danube meadows around the former Roman city of Carnuntum in Lower Austria, archaeologists have excavated and examined the remains of a Roman bridge head box. It was confirmed that the walls called Lapidar “Düd” by the locals were an important and strategically important building around 1800 years ago. It once served to protect border protection on the Danubeimes and to control the trade on Bernsteinstrasse.
In the Danube meadows of Lower Austria, between Vienna and Bratislava, the remains of the Roman city of Carnuntum, once important metropolis of the Roman province of Pannonia are located. It has been researched for over 145 years. Reconstructed buildings today serve as an exhibition area and museum over Roman times. Nearby, in the Hainburger Au, there are inconspicuous and overgrown ruins on the Danube, which are referred to by the locals. “As early as 1850, the still visible walls had been examined on the (…) space,” reports archaeologist Christian Gugl from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). “Due to the brick stamp found, the construction structures were interpreted at the time as the remains of a fortified Roman bridgehead,” says Gugl.
The Romans mostly built such a bridge head fort on the opposite side of a border river to monitor who crossed the river. There was probably no fixed bridge in Carnuntum, instead ferry services are until the 17th/18th. Century documented. From the bases on the river, the Roman troops were able to observe both the passage over the water and the surrounding area of the city. Such systems were particularly important along the Danubeime in order to secure the Roman border against the adjacent “barbaricum” and control trade routes.
Excavation confirms the bridge head box near Carnuntum
So far, however, it has not been clear whether there was really such a base in Carnuntum. In order to find out, researchers from the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the ÖAW and the Archaeological Park Carnuntum have now examined the “Bold Castle”. The excavations revealed remarkably well -preserved wall structures. Parts of the former castle walls are still up to 2.65 meters high.
The ruins examined that the building was actually a bridge head fort and was built in two phases. Around 170/180 AD, Emperor Mark Aurel initially had the Roman border reinforced against the Germanic tribes and placed the basic stones for the base on the river. Around 260 AD, Emperor Gallienus then had the facility renewed and expanded. It is the first confirmed bridge head box in Austria, as the archaeologists report. A comparable facility on the Danubeime has so far only been known through the Iža-Leányvár castle in Slovakia.
During the excavations, the archaeologists also found stamped bricks of the legion associations XIV and XV as well as coins, ceramics and some smaller bronze objects. “They show the great strategic importance of Carnunt within the Roman military system and provide new knowledge about the military security of the north-south connection,” emphasizes Eduard Pollhammer from the Römerstadt Carnuntum.
Roman border security and control of trade routes
Accordingly, the fort at Carnuntum once served as a political bastion for Roman border protection along the Danube. In addition, the fortress was on the so -called Bernsteinstrasse, which led from the Baltic States to Carnuntum to the Roman Empire to Italy, and has probably checked the trade relationships along this route from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic as a economic hub. “This impressive find proves the importance of Bernsteinstrasse as an important traffic artery,” emphasizes Lower Austria’s governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner.
In addition to the archaeological aspects, the team also researched during the excavations, where the Danube once went. Because historical river courses before the 16th century are hardly documented. Using sediment samples, the researchers are currently still investigating the geological development of the region. The analyzes have not yet been completed.
Source: Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences