Roman and late antique architecture

City wall

After its discovery by I. Ploner, extensive investigations were carried out on the city wall under the direction of E. Swoboda and F. Miltner. The wall was uncovered on the eastern side of the town over a total length of approx. 350 metres, whereby several gates and passages were discovered. No wall corner was found at either the northern or southern end of the city wall, which is why it is still unclear whether the entire city was surrounded by a wall. The dating of the city wall remained just as controversial in older research. In the course of the Innsbruck excavations, it became possible to investigate this question in some places.

Parts of two buildings were uncovered to the east of the city wall, large parts of the southern part of which had already been researched by E. Swoboda.

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The parallel alignment of the buildings along the city wall is striking, which is remarkable in that the buildings to the west of the city wall (atrium house) have a different orientation. Due to the orientation of the buildings along the city wall, they could therefore only have been built after the wall. Based on the material found here, construction of the buildings east of the city wall began at the beginning of the 2nd century A.D. In the course of the excavations in the atrium house, it was possible to carry out follow-up investigations directly on the city wall. Of particular note here is a layer of rubbish piled up against the city wall, which contained a great deal of find material from the end of the 1st century AD.

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The Innsbruck excavations thus clearly disproved the assumption made by older researchers that the Aguntine city wall was a defensive structure from late antiquity. In the first phase of construction, which can be dated to a period from the granting of city rights under Emperor Claudius to the turn of the first and second centuries AD, there was only a simple 3.5 metre wide passageway at the site of the city gate with two towers that is visible today. The 9.5 metre wide gate was only built in a second construction phase. The buildings to the east of the city wall again provide an indication of the date of this reconstruction. The latest finds from these date to the end of the 2nd century AD, which makes it unlikely that the buildings were used beyond this time. In view of the space required for the newly erected gate complex, it seems plausible that the two buildings located directly to the east in front of the city wall were abandoned in the course of the remodelling. This suggests a date for the remodelling of the gateway no later than the beginning of the 3rd century AD.

Linked to this building history is the question of the hitherto unexplored main gate of the city. As the entire length of the southern section of the city wall has been investigated from the east, the only possible location for the original main gate is north of the gate towers visible today. The intersection of the city wall with the decumanus I sinister is the most likely location - however, geophysical investigations at this point have so far yielded no clear results.

Literature

E. Swoboda, Aguntum. Excavations near Lienz in East Tyrol. 1931-33. ÖJh 29, 1935, 5-102.

F. Miltner, Aguntum. Preliminary report on the excavations 1950-1952, ÖJh.40, 1953, supplement, 93-156.

V. Gassner, Zur Funktion und Datierung der Stadtmauer von Aguntum, Römisches Österreich 13/14, 1985-86, 77-100.

M. Auer, Municipium Claudium Aguntum - Zur Datierungsfrage der Stadtmauer, ÖJh.77, 2008, 7-38.

Atrium house

Research into the atrium house began under F. Miltner and was continued by W. Alzinger. From 1994, the excavations were continuously continued by the Department of Archaeology at the University of Innsbruck. Essentially, three building complexes can be identified. To the west and south is the kitchen garden, in the centre the actual atrium house and to the east a representative building wing, which was referred to as a private spa in earlier research. The eponymous atrium forms the central space of the building and is characterised by a water basin(impluvium) that collects rainwater via an opening in the roof(compluvium). The water is diverted to the south and flows into a marble-lined basin in the garden peristyle.

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According to the finds, the atrium house was built around the middle of the 1st century A.D. This was followed by various modifications and adaptations that were necessary to adapt this type of building, which was designed for a Mediterranean climate, to the southern Alpine weather conditions. Heating systems had to be installed and rooms reduced in size to ensure that the building could also be used in the winter months. The heating systems were fuelled from the kitchen garden to the south and west. Further rooms were added to the east of the actual atrium house, which was built in its current visible structure in the 2nd century AD on top of older building remains. The main feature of this so-called east wing is the large, heated rooms which, although they contained plenty of wall paintings, had no water supply facilities whatsoever, thus refuting the interpretation of a private thermal bath. Rather, this is a representative building wing that remained in use until late antiquity with a few modifications.

Literature

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.

L. Gomig (ed.), Aguntum. Museum and archaeological park (Dölsach 2007).

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 Intern. Series 1462 (Oxford 2005) 106-126.

M. Auer, Municipium Claudium Aguntum. Kitchen Residues from the Atrium House, in: G. Nutu / S.-C- Ailincai / C. Micu (Eds.), The man, the river and the sea. Studies in Archaeology and History in honour of Florin Topoleanu on his 65th anniversary (Cluj-Napoca 2017) 327-340.

Macellum

The macellum was primarily used as a market for meat, fish, oysters and other delicacies from near and far. Such delicatessen markets were widespread in the well-connected economic area of the Roman Empire. They usually had a rectangular floor plan, although some were also circular in shape, especially in central Italy. For the most part, buildings of this basic architectural form were erected in the 1st half of the 2nd century AD, which also applies to the macellum of Aguntum according to the small finds.

The floor plan of the Macellum of Aguntum follows a sophisticated architectural concept that was realised with the utmost care. A circular interior with an (inner) diameter of approx. 17 metres was inscribed in a square with a side length of around 18.5 metres (outer dimensions). The innermost core of the building was formed by a decagon with a side length of around three metres and a diameter of approximately ten metres. The area between the circle and the decagon was divided into nine equal segments by eight radial walls oriented towards the centre of the circle and the decagon and two rectangular walls and the main entrance in the south.

Traders and customers entered the central decagonal interior from the decumanus maximus via the corridor-like main entrance. Adjacent to this were eight sales rooms with a floor area of around 14 square metres. According to other examples, a small sacellum or sanctuary of an unknown deity (Mercury?) may have been located in the ninth room of the same size opposite the entrance.

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Despite the absence of the slightest traces, it can be assumed that there were sales tables next to the entrances to the shops where the actual sales transactions took place. The area reserved for customers (entrance, decagon) had a partially preserved slab floor made of marble, gneiss and mica schist. The shops, on the other hand, which were generally only entered by the merchants, were only equipped with simple mortar screeds with a roll finish. To the south, the macellum was fronted by a covered arcade, while to the north, between the macellum and the so-called ceremonial building, there was an open square of unknown function measuring around 1000 m².

Literature

L. Gomig (ed.), Municipium Claudium Aguntum. The town centre (Dölsach 2016).

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. The macellum, Ager Aguntinus. Historical-archaeological research 6 (Wiesbaden 2025).

Merchant Forum

The Merchants' Forum was excavated between 2009 and 2025 to the east of the Macellum. The traders' forum, measuring around 3,000 m², consists of a central gravelled square measuring 32 m by 35 m and a circumambulation of around 3 m in width surrounding it on all four sides. To the south and east, the covered walkways are adjoined by almost symmetrical rows of 6 to 7 smaller rooms, each with a floor area of around 15 m². A similar structure can also be seen in the west wing, although larger room units were created here through later remodelling. Approximately in the centre of the suite of rooms are a room of around 75 m² in the south and a room of around 45 m² in the east, which were also created during a remodelling phase in the 2nd century AD. In this context, two adjacent, enlarged rooms were also created in the west wing, each of which has a small, hypocaust room attached to it.

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The small rooms had simple clay floors and white plastered walls. The large central rooms of the first phase were more elaborately decorated (mortar floors, wall paintings). With a few exceptions, the rooms were heated by small niche ovens. The rooms could be entered directly from the corridors; only the enlarged room in the east could only be reached via the two neighbouring rooms.

The north wing is dominated by a room measuring around 230 m² in the north-east. This is adjoined to the west by an L-shaped room and another large room slightly west of the centre of the north wing. The room in the north-east was the largest room in the building with a floor area of 23 metres x 10 metres. In contrast to the complex to the south, it had a very eventful history. Even before its outer walls were erected, several simple terracing walls and moats were probably created here in connection with the construction work. In a second phase, the room was built in its present form. It could be entered from the decumanus I sinister via a 3.90 metre wide entrance. In the immediate vicinity of this entrance and along the north wall, three children's graves were discovered inside the room in 2015. In the course of the reconstruction in the 2nd century A.D . AD, the entrance to the decumanus I sinister was abandoned and replaced by an opening in the east of the room. A large, only fragmentarily preserved furnace, probably for metalworking, can be dated to the period after the fire in the 3rd century AD.

To the west of the large room is a corridor-like room in which numerous rock crystals were discovered. Approximately in the centre of the north wing was room R 289, measuring around 45 m², which was used as a storage room in its last tangible use. As far as the room inventory had not been burnt, it was recovered during the excavation in a completeness previously unknown in Aguntum . The heterogeneity of the preserved material was also astonishing. Vessels made of ceramic, bronze and glass were found, as well as bronze handles from wooden caskets, tokens, stone weights, rock crystals and various items of jewellery. Particularly noteworthy are beads for making blue paint (Egyptian blue) and pumice stones for smoothing wood and other materials. Near the north wall were eight iron hub rings and other components of a bronze chariot. To the west of the room were several iron rings from two barrel-like vessels. One of the barrels was filled with barley, which was charred in the forum fire.

Finds from various deep cuts and building horizons from the first phase indicate that the merchants' forum was built around the middle of the 1st century A.D. In the third century, the building fell victim to a fire, which led to its extensive abandonment. Late antique uses can be found in the south-western entrance area, in the central square and in the north of the complex.

Literature

L. Gomig (ed.), Municipium Claudium Aguntum. The town centre (Dölsach 2016).

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 / 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, 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.

Ch. Angerer / M. Auer / J. Rabitsch, Where East meets West. Mediterranean and northwestern imports in Aguntum, Noricum. In: Ch. Viegas (ed.), Catarina: Rei Cretariae Romanae Fautorum: Acta 48, (Oxford 2024) 453 - 462.

G. Degenhart / J. Heinemann / P. Tropper/ A. Rodler-Rorbo / B. Zerobin / M. Auer / G. Goldenberg, Mineralogical and Micro-Computer Tomographic (μCT) Texture Investigations of Egyptian Blue Spheres (Aguntum, East Tyrol; Retznei and Wagna, Flavia Solva, South Styria), Minerals 15/3, 2025 No. 302.

Craftsmen's quarter

The areas of the ancient city known as the "craftsmen's and residential neighbourhoods" were largely excavated between the 1960s and 1980s. The individual buildings can no longer be clearly recognised on the site today after repeated restoration. The majority of the structures are probably simple residential buildings, which mostly consisted of an open courtyard combined with one or more roofed rooms on the ground floor. These excavations were also re-evaluated as part of the redesign of the archaeological park. The evaluation of the results in Insula C as part of a master's thesis is about to be finalised.

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Literature

G. Langmann, Bericht über die Grabungskampagnen 1958 und 1959 in Aguntum, Osttirol, Jahreshefte des Österreichischen Archäologischen Instituts 49, 1968/71,143-176.

G. Luger, Der Raumkomplex 'Weggrabung Nord' von Aguntum und die in diesem Bereich gefundene grobtonige Keramik (unpublished dissertation University of Vienna 1989).

Baths

The thermal baths of Aguntum were archaeologically investigated in the 1960s and 1970s. Several construction phases were identified, although these were never published in detail. The most comprehensive compilation of the findings can be found in the dissertation by Silvia Schoitsch. Together with the original plans from the 1970s, this shows that the first thermal bath complex, which probably dates back to the Tiberian-Claudian period, has good comparisons with the Magdalensberg, but also with Herculaneum and Pompeii. The subsequent remodelling led to a restructuring of the complex in the form of the imperial row type. A more precise characterisation of the construction phases is only possible through a combination of the evaluation of old excavations and re-excavations in the area of the thermal baths. The re-examination of the thermal bath complex will begin in the 2026 excavation season.

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Literature

S. Schoitsch, Kleinfunde aus der Therme Aguntums (unpublished dissertation, Vienna 1976).

M. Auer / M. Tschurtschenthaler , Municipium Claudium Aguntum - Die frühen Befunde, in: U. Lohner-Urban / P. Scherrer (eds.), Der obere Donauraum 50 v. bis 50 n. Chr., Region im Umbruch Band 10 (Berlin 2015) 337-349.

Suburb

The buildings in the suburb excavated by Erich Sowboda in the 1930s require a thorough reassessment, as do the craftsmen's quarter and the thermal baths. The finds from Sowboda's excavations are now kept in Bruck Castle; unfortunately, documents relating to the findings can no longer be found. What is certain is that the area to the east of the town along the main roads was also densely built-up and, according to current knowledge, no necropolises can be assumed up to approx. 200 metres east of the town wall.

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Literature

E. Swoboda, Aguntum. Excavations near Lienz in East Tyrol. 1931-33, Jahreshefte des Österreichischen Archäologischen Instituts 29, 1935, supplement, 5-102.

Municipium Claudium Aguntum in late antiquity

The townscape of Aguntum changed significantly during Late Antiquity. The town centre loses its original function as a market and assembly area. Simple dwellings and workshops were set up in the former public buildings, where the Y-shaped tube heating systems that were widespread in the Eastern Alps in Late Antiquity can often be observed. This heating system was also used in the eastern wing of the atrium house, but here for a large hall, whose material remains also differ significantly from the simpler dwellings in the late antique city centre in terms of small finds.

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The baths appear to have remained in use until at least the 4th century AD, while the macellum was abandoned after the fire in the 3rd century AD. Various installations can be found here, which indicate that the ruins were used to build simple dwellings. In the porticus in front of the macellum to the south, a furnace for bronze processing was set up, as evidenced by several casting drops and a semi-finished product of a belt tongue. The transformation of the city during Late Antiquity was the subject of a research project by Dr Veronika Sossau, funded by the Tyrolean Science Fund (TWF), which resulted in the first systematic compilation of all relevant findings.

Literature

M. Auer, Municipium Claudium Aguntum. Ceramics as an indicator of late antique social structure, RCRF Acta 44, 2016, 453-458.

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 / V. Sossau / S. Deschler-Erb, The periphery of the Mediterranean - Aguntum (Southwestern Noricum) in Late Antiquity, in: I. Borzić / E. Cirelli, K. Jeninčić Vučković / A. Konestra / I. Ožanić Roguljić (Eds.), TRADE - Transformations of Adriatic Europe. 2nd to 9th century AD (Oxford 2023) 78-86.

M. Auer, Municipium Claudium Aguntum. The macellum, Ager Aguntinus. Historical-archaeological research 6 (Wiesbaden 2025).

Early Christian church

Numerous sarcophagus graves were found in the vicinity of the church, most of which had already been removed by local farmers in the 19th century. On the basis of these finds, R. Egger carried out excavations in 1912 and 1913, which provided evidence of an early Christian church above a predecessor building from the Imperial period. The excavation had to be filled in again in 1913 and it has not yet been possible to re-examine the site. Due to the evidence of a church surrounded by numerous sarcophagi, Egger interprets this building as a "cemetery church".

Literature

A.B. Mayer / A. Unterforcher, The Roman town of Agunt near Lienz in Tyrol. A preliminary work for its excavation (1908).

R. Egger, Ausgrabungen in Noricum 1912/13, Jahreshefte des Österreichischen Archäologischen Instituts 17, 1914, supplement, 5-16.

M. Auer / H. Stadler (eds.), Von Aguntum zum Alkuser See. On the Roman History of the Settlement Chamber East Tyrol, Ager Aguntinus. Historical-archaeological research 1 (Wiesbaden 2018).

F. M. Müller, Die Ausgrabungen an der sogenannten "Friedhofskirche" von Aguntum 1912 im Spiegel archivalischer Quellen, in: M. Auer / G. Grabherr, Frühes Christentum im Archäologischen Befund, Ager Aguntinus. Historical-archaeological research 8 (Wiesbanden 2025) 61-82.

The "Bishop's Church" of Lavant

The church building was uncovered by Franz Miltner in the 1950s. He succeeded in excavating the basic structure of the entire complex within a few weeks of work. As a result, the documentation is incomplete from today's perspective and some questions about the history of the building remain unanswered. What is certain is that the church was built over a levelling layer containing finds from the 3rd century AD. The building consists of two parts: the "parish church", interpreted by Miltner as a "bishop's church", and a memorial church, which was later added as an extension to the east and housed the remains of the martyr honoured here. The reliquary of the memorial church is well preserved and, although Miltner originally interpreted it as a baptistery, it can certainly be recognised as such today. The actual baptistery is located behind the narthex in the opposite, western part of the bishop's church.

The subsequent investigations in the church from 2017 to 2022 have made it possible to largely clarify the construction sequence. According to this, the double church developed from an original hall church, which was later extended by an apse (probably as a memorial chapel) and finally converted into a double church. In this final phase, the church consists of the following components: Baptistery - narthex - parish church - memoria. A final extension no longer changes this basic structure, but leads to a monumentalisation of the building, which is particularly evident in the enlargement of the priest's bench of the parish church and the rich use of marble. The subsequent excavations from 2022 focused on the immediate surroundings of the church, and a burial ground adjacent to the baptistery was also discovered during the 2025 campaign.

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Literature

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.

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.