Archaeological field research
The annual excavation campaigns in Aguntum have been carried out by the Department of Archaeology in close cooperation with the Curatorium Pro Agunto since 1991. In addition, project-related work is carried out in the Iron Age and Late Antique settlement of Lavant, which is an important part of the regional archaeological landscape.
Excavations at Aguntum
Beginnings
The oldest modern mentions of the ruins of Aguntum, which were mistakenly thought to be the remains of ancient Loncium , date back to the first half of the 16th century. In the following centuries, there are frequent reports of excavations and treasure hunts by farmers, interested laymen and scholars in the Aguntum area. It was not until the excavations by the Franciscan priest and teacher Innozenz Ploner and the archaeologist Rudolf Egger in 1912/13 that the scientific criteria of modern excavations were met, at least to the extent that they are seen as the beginning of modern field archaeological research in Aguntum.
Übersichtsplan zu den römischen Bauten in Aguntum
Until 1990
Innocent Ploner attempted to gain an overview of the location and extent of Aguntum through selective investigations in 1912/13. Among other things, he uncovered parts of the town wall and the large public thermal baths. Also in 1912, probably inspired by the successes of the amateur researcher Ploner, the Austrian Archaeological Institute Vienna (ÖAI Vienna) began its excavation activities in East Tyrol at Rudolf Egger. In the vicinity of graves discovered in the 19th century, he discovered the only early Christian church known to date in Aguntum . The First World War and the subsequent economic crisis interrupted this work. In the course of the re-routing of the B 100 federal road, Erich Swoboda continued the excavations of the ÖAI Vienna in Aguntum from 1931 to 1935 on the initiative of Lienz Museum Association. He investigated the city wall including the city gate in the east over a length of around 170 metres, several residential buildings and an early Christian burial building around 110 metres east of the city gate. In the opinion, which later turned out to be wrong, that the town had been located to the east of the excavated town wall, he had some of the uncovered houses, the town gate and parts of the town wall preserved and the site designed as the first open-air museum Aguntum.
Subsequently, the Second World War delayed the continuation of archaeological activities. Restoration work was carried out in 1947 and excavations were resumed by the ÖAI Vienna in 1950. Under the direction of Franz Miltner, the city wall and buildings on both sides of it were excavated until 1955. The first parts of the building not yet recognised as an atrium house were also uncovered. In 1953/54, the first museum and adjoining restoration workshop were built north of the B 100 federal road.
From 1956 to 1990, Wilhelm Alzinger led the excavations on behalf of the ÖAI Vienna. Under his leadership, the atrium house north and south of the embankment of the B 100, parts of the so-called decumanus maximus, the residential buildings north of it (e.g. parts of "House I") and the part of the city he referred to as the "craftsmen's quarter" were partially investigated. From the late 1960s, the public thermal baths were uncovered. As a result, the archaeological park was also enlarged and a 1:1 scale reconstructive shelter was erected over the impluvium of the atrium house.
Erster Schutzbau über dem Atriumhaus.
Since 1991
In 1991, a contract between the Republic of Austria and the province of Tyrol entrusted the Institute for Classical and Provincial Roman Archaeology at the University of Innsbruck (now the Department of Archaeology) under the direction of Elisabeth Walde with the continuation of research at Aguntum . At the same time, the local excavation management was transferred to Michael Tschurtschenthaler, who acted as Scientific Director of the excavations at Aguntum until 2020. Since his retirement in 2020, the excavation has been managed by Martin Auer. Together with Curatorium pro Agunto (chairman Dr Leo Gomig), which was transformed into an association in 1994, attempts were made to revive and significantly expand the excavation activities at Aguntum , which had largely come to a standstill in Alzinger's later years due to his serious illness. The focus of the University of Innsbruck's excavation activities was determined by several factors, some of which were external. In the early years from 1991 to 1993, buildings excavated by Alzinger ("House I", "Prunkbau") were further uncovered.
These endeavours came to a (temporary) end in 1994/95 when the B100 federal road was built through the middle of Aguntum , necessitating emergency excavations. Parts of the town wall, two houses to the east of it and in particular the central area of the atrium house were affected by the construction work. The latter was concealed by the modern road embankment until 1994 and during the excavation work, which was now possible, an ornamental marble basin was discovered in 1994, which led to the construction of a bridge over this part of the building. Subsequently, the atrium house was almost completely uncovered between 1996 and 2005. At the end of the last millennium, the Curatorium pro Agunto association succeeded in acquiring the so-called "Tschappelergrund" in the middle of the archaeological park, where the town centre of Aguntum had been suspected since the 1970s. Excavations have been focussed on this area since 2006. Between 2006 and 2009, the macellum, a round market building, was uncovered. From 2009 to 2025, work was mainly carried out in the area of Dealer forums, whose function as accommodation and work area is currently the focus of ongoing excavation and find processing. At the same time, it was possible to continue the work from the early 1990s in the area of the so-called "magnificent building".
Marmorbecken im Peristylbereich des Atriumhauses
The archaeological excavations and associated research since 1991 have focused on both residential and public buildings. Simple houses ("House I", houses directly east of the city wall, areas of the so-called "craftsmen's quarter") were investigated as well as the atrium house, the "palace" of probably the richest citizen of Aguntum with a built-up area of over 6000 m². Particular attention was paid to the public buildings in the centre of the ancient city (city wall, decumanus maximus, decumanus I sinister, so-called "magnificent building" (= forum), macellum, merchants' forum).
Current field archaeological research at Aguntum
Luftbild der Gebäude im Stadtzentrum von Aguntum
The excavations in the Merchants' Forum were completed in summer 2025. The building uncovered here is organised around an almost square square. Accommodation rooms were found on its south, west and east sides, while larger working areas were located to the north. In the centre of the square, a 7 x 9 m large and 1.5 m deep water basin was excavated in its first construction phase. A unique finding is the evidence of trade in rock crystal in the merchants' forum, a commodity that has not been found in the same quantity at the Aguntum merchants' forum at any other site in the Imperium Romanum. Among the approx. 2,000 fragments of rock crystal are mainly flakes, which indicate that the raw material was processed.
The "magnificent building" adjoining the Merchants' Forum to the west - so named in the 1970s because of its rich marble decoration - has already been partially excavated under the direction of W. Alzinger. As things stand at present, this is probably the eastern end of the actual forum, where the administrative and cult buildings of the imperial city are presumed to have been located. This area is separated from the merchants' forum by a continuous wall - trade/crafts and the administrative centre of the city are thus clearly separated from each other not only functionally but also spatially. In addition to the work on previously untouched terrain, a further focus of field research has emerged since 2017 with the excavations in the areas of the craftsmen's quarter and the baths. The work in the area of the forum and the thermal baths is ongoing and will continue from 2026.
Literature
A.B. Mayer / A. Unterforcher, Die Römerstadt Agunt bei Lienz in Tirol. A preliminary work for its excavation (1908).
P. I. Ploner, Agunt, die alte Kelten- und Römerstadt bei Lienz in Tirol, und Prof. Ploners Ausgrabungen daselbst (1912).
R. Egger, Excavations in Noricum 1912/13. ÖJh 17, 1914, Beibl. 5-16.
R. Egger, Frühchristliche Kirchenbauten im südlichen Norikum (1916).
E. Swoboda, Aguntum. Excavations near Lienz in East Tyrol. 1931-33, ÖJh 29, 1935, suppl., 5-102.
F. Miltner, Aguntum. Preliminary report on the excavations 1950 -1952, ÖJh 40, 1953, suppl. 93-156.
F. Miltner, Aguntum. Preliminary report on the excavations in 1953 and 1954, ÖJh 42, 1955, suppl. 71-96.
W. Alzinger, Aguntum. Preliminary report on the excavations in the years 1955 to 1957, ÖJh 44, 1959, suppl. 75-140.
W. Alzinger, Aguntum and Lavant. Guide to the Roman ruins of East Tyrol5 (1994).
M. Tschurtschenthaler, Feldarchäologische Forschungen in Aguntum seit 1991. Osttiroler Heimatblätter 62, 5 (1994).
M. Tschurtschenthaler, Municipium Claudium Aguntum: römischer Wohnluxus in den Alpen, in: L. Dal Ri / St. di Stefano (eds.), Littamum - Una mansio nel Noricum / A Mansio in Noricum, BAR International Series 1462 (Oxford 2005) 106-126.
F. Müller, Der "Museumsverein für Lienz und Umgebung" und die Gründung des ersten "Museums Agunt", in: F. Müller, Graben, Entdecken, Sammeln. Laienforscher in der Geschichte der Archaeological Studies Österreichs (Münster/Hamburg/Berlin/Vienna/London/Zurich 2016) 217-257.
M. Auer / H. Stadler (eds.), From Aguntum to Lake Alkus. On the Roman History of the Settlement Chamber East Tyrol, Ager Aguntinus. Historical-archaeological research 1 (Wiesbaden 2018).
M. Auer, Municipium Claudium Aguntum. Excavations in the city centre (2006-2015), in: M. Janežič / B. Nadbath / T. Mulh / I. Žižek (Eds.), New Discoveries between the Alps and the Black Sea. Results from Roman Sites in the period between 2005 and 2015. Proceedings of the 1st International Archaeological Conference, Ptuj. 8th and 9th October 2015. In memoriam Iva Mikl Curk (Ljubljana 2018) 93-113.
M. Auer, Municipium Claudium Aguntum, in: J. Horvat, St. Groh, K. Strobel, M. Belak (eds.), Roman Urban Landscape. Towns and minor settlements form Aquileia to the Danube, Opera Instituti Archaeologici Sloveniae 47 (Ljubljana 2024) 243-268.
M. Auer, Municipium Claudium Aguntum - The Macellum, Ager Aguntinus. Historical-archaeological research 6 (Wiesbaden 2025).
Excavations in the Iron Age and Late Antique settlement of Lavant
Beginnings
The first comments on the archaeological potential of the Kirchbichl in Lavant were made by Oswald Menghin in the 1940s, when he identified the successor and predecessor settlement of Aguntum . The first excavations followed in 1948 under the direction of Franz Miltner, who interpreted the settlement at Kirchbichl as a late antique "Fliehburg". Essential to his interpretation is the dating of sparse remains of a fortification wall to late antiquity, which subsequent research has been able to refute. According to current knowledge, the fortification of the hill is more likely to be connected with the Görz Defence Order of 1444. The rectangular building under the church of St Peter at the highest point of the hill, which is sometimes interpreted in the literature as a Celtic cult building, must also be correctly linked to the Görz fortifications.
Kirchbichl von Lavant (Blick von Norden nach Süden)
From 1950 to 1952, Franz Miltner uncovered the most important building on the Lavanter Kirchbichl to date. The early Christian church, which Miltner referred to as the bishop's church, was discovered during the construction of a new road leading up the hill. Within a few weeks, Miltner had the entire complex excavated and partially reconstructed during the excavation. Although several construction phases were identified, numerous questions remained unanswered after this initial excavation. With the aim of answering these, several follow-up investigations were carried out between 1966 and 1981 under the direction of Wilhelm Alzinger, but only some of these were published.
Until 2017
For a long time, archaeological research at Lavanter Kirchbichl concentrated on the so-called bishop's church. Only the construction of a new access road to the modern Ulrichskirche church in 1985 led to a systematic, large-scale excavation. The investigations, which lasted until 1991, were able to prove the Bronze and Iron Age, but above all late antique, settlement of the hill. In the following years, various construction measures on Kirchbichl enabled detailed archaeological investigations. In addition to several late antique residential buildings, the most significant new find was another early Christian cult building uncovered in 1994 and 1995 below the present-day parish church of St Ulrich.
Current research
In 2017, excavation work was resumed as part of a restoration project initiated by the Federal Monuments Office and the province of Tyrol on the so-called Bishop's Church. The poor condition of the masonry and the marble parts of the church made extensive conservation work necessary. This forms the starting point for the current archaeological excavations in the bishop's church, which aim to clarify the construction phases of this extremely important early Christian church building. Following initial preparatory work in 2017, larger excavation campaigns were carried out between 2018 and 2025, making it possible to reorganise the construction phases of the church. According to this, the first building did not have an apse to the east, as assumed in older literature, but had a rectangular end (hall church).
"Bischofskirche"
The apse only follows in a further remodelling, although this was originally fitted with a mosaic floor and probably served as a memorial chapel. This was eventually abandoned and replaced by the construction of a significantly larger memorial church, creating a double church complex. A final phase of reconstruction led to a monumentalisation of the building, the central priest's bench was significantly enlarged and the entire church was richly decorated with marble, most of which came from the cemetery of the Roman municipium of Aguntum.
With the completion of the work inside the so-called "bishop's church", work began in 2023 to examine the surrounding buildings in more detail. The construction phases of the building to the south of the church, which Miltner referred to as the "House of the Deacon", were clarified and work began to the west of the church. A late antique burial ground was also discovered here recently (2025), the extent of which will be further investigated in the coming years.
Literature
P. Gleirscher, Zur zeitlichen und kulturellen Stellung der Schale aus dem Brandgrab von Lavant in Osttirol, Der Schlern 59, 1985, 712-721.
P. Gleirscher, Tongeschirr der Fazies Laugen-Melaun an Drau und Mur, in: P. Gleirscher / L. Andergassen (eds.), Antiquitates Tyrolenses. Festschrift für Hans Nothdurfter zum 75. Geburtstag, Veröffentlichungen des Südtiroler Landesmuseums Schloss Tirol 1 (Innsbruck 2015) 31-51.
P. Geirscher / H. Stadler, Die Notgrabungen auf dem Kirchbichl von Lavant in Osttirol 1985. Ein Vorbericht, Publications of the Tyrolean Provincial Museum Ferdinandeum 66, 1986, 5-31.
O. Menghin, Archaeological research in East Tyrol in 1943 and 1944, Schlern 23, 1949, 232-242.
F. Miltner, Die Ausgrabungen auf dem Kirchbichl von Lavant in Osttirol, Jahreshefte des Österreichischen Archäologischen Instituts 38, 1950, supplement, 37-102.
F. Miltner, The excavations in Lavant/East Tyrol. Second preliminary report, Jahreshefte des Österreichischen Archäologischen Instituts 40, 1953, supplement, 15-92.
F. Miltner, Die Grabungen auf dem Kirchbichl von Lavant/Osttirol. Third preliminary report, Jahreshefte des Österreichischen Archäologischen Instituts 41, 1954, supplement, 43-84.
F. Miltner, Die Grabungen auf dem Kirchbichl von Lavant/Osttirol. Vierter vorläufiger Bericht, Jahreshefte des Österreichischen Archäologischen Instituts 43, 1956-58, supplement, 89-124.
K. Winkler, Die Ausgrabungen im Inneren der Pfarrkirche St. Ulrich, Gemeinde Lavant, Osttirol, in: Th. Lorenz / G. Erath / M. Lehner / G. Schwarz (eds.), Akten des 6. Österreichischen Archäologentages (Graz 1996) 185-188.
M. Pizzinini / M. Tschurtschenthaler / E. Walde, Der Lavanter Kirchbichl. A sacred mountain in Tyrol. Archaeological Studies and Church Guide (Lavant 2000)
G. Grabherr / B. Kainrath (eds.), Die spätantike Höhensiedlung auf dem Kirchbichl von Lavant. An archaeological and archival search for traces, Ikarus 5 (Innsbruck 2011).
M. Auer / J. Rabitsch / S. Deschler-Erb, Worauf Christen bauen - Schaufenster in das 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr. unter einer frühchristlichen Kirche in Lavant, Osttirol, in: M. Kohle / P. Trebsche / J. Wallner / S.-J. Wittmann u.a. (eds.), Die Alpen im 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr. Beiträge der internationalen Tagung der AG Eisenzeit in Innsbruck 2023. Innsbruck Archaeological Studies Volume 1 (Innsbruck 2025) 259-273.
P. Bayer / St. Karl, From the burial ground to the church. Components of pilaster-structured enclosure walls in the so-called bishop's church at Lavanter Kirchbichl, in: M. Auer / G. Grabherr, Frühes Christentum im Archäologischen Befund, Ager Aguntinus 8, Historisch-Archäologische Forschungen (Wiesbaden 2025) 47-60.
M. Auer, Der Baubefund der "Bischofskirche" von Lavant - erste Ergebnisse einer Neubewertung, in: M. Auer / G. Grabherr, Frühes Christentum im Archäologischen Befund, Ager Aguntinus 8, Historisch-Archäologische Forschungen (Wiesbaden 2025) 83-102.
J. E. Rabitsch, The so-called bishop's church of Lavant (district of Lienz/A). Fundmaterial und Baudatierung, in: M. Auer / G. Grabherr, Frühes Christentum im Archäologischen Befund, Ager Aguntinus 8, Historisch-Archäologische Forschungen (Wiesbaden 2025) 103-126.
L. C. Formato, Die marmornen Bauteile des nördlichen, frühchristlichen Kirchenkomplexes auf dem Kirchbichl von Lavant (Komplex H) - Neubearbeitung und aktuelle Datierungsansätze, in: M. Auer / G. Grabherr, Frühes Christentum im Archäologischen Befund, Ager Aguntinus 8, Historisch-Archäologische Forschungen (Wiesbaden 2025) 127-139.