Limes Romanus - The Roman antique monuments on the Middle Danube

Description

The territory of present Slovakia, in 1st-4th Century inhabited by the German tribes of Marcomans and Quadi, was situated in the immediate vicinity of the Roman Empire. The natural North border of the empire - of the province Panonia, was formed in this region by the river Danube, alongside which the Romans gradually constructed an extensive fortification system, the so-called Limes Romanus. The part of it was also the military fortress in 12a and in Bratislava - Rusovce. BRATISLAVA - RUSOVCE Part of Bratislava, located behind Danube, was inseparably a part of the Roman empire, the province of Panonia. In the present time Rusovce was situated one of the fortified points of the "Roman border" - castle Gerulata, an important auxiliary camp together with the civil settlement with an economic background. It is known from the Antique sources - ltinerar Antonini, Notitia dignitatum. Gerulata is marked also on the medieval copy of the Antique map from the 4th century - Tabula Peutingeriana. The presence of the Roman troops is documented by the fortification system of the camp - double cupated fosse with the earthwork rampart and the palisade from the half of the lst century. About the end of the lst century Gerulata got the permanent garrison. From that time the rests of the walled buildings, maybe of the military character, have been preserved. In the end of the 4h century the civil buildings receded to the 35 m wide building with a well in its centre, surrounded by the portico. In Rusovce, the 3 burial grounds from the Roman era with the fire and the skeleton burials were found as well. The oldest graves are from the half of the lst century, the youngest from the end of the 4th century. Epigraphic sources, findings of the architectonic articles, fragments of the stone pictorial works, the ruins of the stone buildings and a ma of the findings of the material culture prove that Gerulata formed a connected and complete residence residential unit. On the ruins of Gerulata after the fall of the Roman power Goths and after the Slavs settled. The first archaeological excavations began already in the century. According to the results of the archaeological excavations realised in the years 1990-2002 the whole ground-plane of the military camp itself was reconstructed and the situation of the adjacent civil settlement was specified. They form the core of the residential agglomeration from the Roman era, located practically on the whole territory of the present Rusovce. IZA The rests of the Roman castle "Kelemantia" - of the fortified military camp are located eastwards from Kom6rno, by the village Iža on the bank of Danube in the situation Leányvár (Dievci hrad, Devín). The military fortress in Iža came to existence as a bridgehead of an important legionary camp and of the civil town Brigetio, in a strategic position on the left bank of Danube. The first wood-clay fortification was built by the Romans during the rule of the emperor Marcus Aurelius in the 70's of the 2nd century, at the time so-called Marcoman wars. Its role was to protect the maternal camp and the adjacent section of the Roman border from the raids of Germans. The fortification of wood-clay camp consisted of the two cuspated fosses and supposedly of ground ramparts with the wooden palisade wall. The barracks buildings and also other buildings in its interior area were built of the raw bricks. This camp vanished went under after the short time by a sudden German attack. After the end of the Marcoman wars the Romans built on the same place a stone castle - a permanent camp for the garrison of the auxiliary military unit. It was a huge fortress on the area of more than 3 hectares, It had a regular square ground-plane with the rounded off corners with the internal measures 172 x 172 m. The fortress wall terminated with crenel reached the thickness of 2 m and the height of 4-5 m. 20 towers made the part of these ramparts. With the pairs of the towers the gates, placed in the centre of the sides of the square were fortified. Another ones stood on the corners and between the corner and the gates. From the internal part a an earthwork walkway cleaved to the ramparts, from the external side they were surrounded by the Circles of the two, later even five trenches. In the interior of the castle the stables, workshops, but also baths, cisterns, wells and bakers ovens were located. The castle was severely damaged in the half of the 3rd century but it was again renewed and neither it loose its importance in the 4th century. It is documented by the vast rebuildings and adaptations of its fortification. After the death of the emperor Valentinian 1. the Romans did not succeeded to keep the borders of Panonia. During the eventful occurrences the castle was destroyed by the fire and the Romans did not renewed him. In its ruins the new immigrants together with the rests of the local German inhabitants settled. After their leave in the half of the 5th century the whole zone remained unsettled. The castle in Iža was declared the national cultural monument in the year of 1991. In connection with the archaeological excavations, which have been taking place here since the beginning of the 20th century, the monumental adaptation of its zone into the shape of the open-air museum is being carried out.