Vindobona

Vindobona was originally a Celtic settlement, and later a Roman military camp on the site of the modern city of Vienna. Around 15 B.C., the kingdom of Noricum was included in the Roman Empire. Henceforth, the Danube marked the border of the empire, and the Romans built fortifications and settlements on the banks of the Danube.

Early references

The geographer Ptolemy mentions Vindobona in his "Geographica". The historian Aurelius Victor recounts that emperor Marcus Aurelius, whose headquarters were here during the Marcomannic Wars, died in Vindobona on the 17th of March 180. Today, there is a "Marc-Aurelstraße" (English: Marcus Aurelius street) near the Hoher Markt in Vienna. Vindobona was part of the Roman province Pannonia and the regional administrative centre was Carnuntum. The Vienna Basin was included into the Roman Empire by 9. A.D. At this point the area of today's Vienna was included into the province of Pannonia. The local inhabitants were probably of Celtic and Illyrian origin. Latest under Emperor Traian were stationed in Pannonia four legions to secure the border of the river with the camps of Vindobona, Carnuntum, Brigetio und Aquincum.

Vindobona was a military camp with an attached civilian city (Canabae). The existence of a Germanic settlement with a large marketplace on the other bank of the Danube from the second century onwards has been proven. Followingly Vindobona was the base of a legion and a settlement with a diverse population. The military centre was an area of around 20 hectares, with a base that 6000 men strong. The camp is located within what is today the 1st district. The military camp was constructed along the Danube, which was the border to free Germania to the north. Around it a centre of trade with a developed infrastructure as well as agriculture and forestry developed. Civic communities developed outside the fortifications ("canabae legionis"), as well another community that was independent of the military authorities in today's III. district.

The asymmetrical layout of the military camp, which was unusual for the otherwise standardised Roman encampments, is still recognisable in Vienna’s street plan: Graben, Naglergasse, Tiefer Graben, Salzgries, Rabensteig, Rotenturmstrasse. The name “Graben” (English: ditch) is believed to hark back to the defensive ditches of the military camp. It is thought that at least parts of the walls still stood in the Middle Ages, when these streets were laid out, and thus determined their routes. The Berghof was later erected in one corner of the camp.

Vindobona was provisioned by the surrounding Roman country estates (Villae rusticae).

Wars, administrative and military reform in the 3rd and 4th century as well as devastating floods led the population to retreat more and more to the military camp. Beginning of the 5th century the area lost its importance.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the population lived within the walls of the formers legionary camp. The walls and the main roads remained in use. Therefore some of the Roman structures and landmarks are still visible today, such as the street "Graben".

Roman finds in Vienna

Remains of the Roman military camp have been found at many sites in the centre of Vienna. The centre of the Michaelerplatz has been widely investigated by archaeologists. At this site, traces of a Roman legionary outpost (canabae legionis) and of a crossroad have been found [ [http://www.wienmuseum.at/1497.htm Wien Museum | Archäologisches Grabungsfeld Michaelerplatz] ] . The centrepiece of the current design of the square is a rectangular opening that evokes the archaeological excavations at the site and shows wall remains that have been preserved from different epochs.

Part of a Roman canal system is underneath the fire station am Hof [ [http://www.wienmuseum.at/1393.htm Wien Museum | Römische Baureste Am Hof] ] .

Directly under the Hoher Markt are the remains of two representative buildings of the Roman legionary camp of Vindobona. They were unearthed during the canalisation works of 1948/49 and made accesible to the public. After further excavation a showroom was opened in 1961. For this purpose some of the original walls had to be removed, white marks on the floor show the spot.

Of the original buildings, which were separated by a road, an officer lived there with his family. Only a small portion can be seen, since the majority of the remains are still located underneath the square and south of it.

The remains of the walls from different phases date from the 1st to 5th century A.D. The houses were typical Roman villas, with living and economic spaces set around a middle courtyard with columned halls. [ [http://www.wienmuseum.at/1390.htm Wien Museum | Römische Ruinen Hoher Markt] ]

Castra

The layout of a Roman camp ("castra") was normally standardised. This helped archaelogists to reconstruct how the camp must have looked like, despite the heavy rebuilding that took place in Vienna throughout the centuries. The basic contours of the camps, which was surrounded by a mighty fortification wall with towers and three moats (today Tiefer Graben, Naglergasse, Graben, Rotenturmstrasse) are identifiable. Along these axes main roads connected the gates with each other. The main buildings were the commander's headquarters, the Palace of the Legate, the houses of the staff officers, and the thermae. At right angles the soldiers' accomodation, a hospital, workshops, and the mews were constructed.

Officers

The most eastern of the six officers ("tribunus militaris") was the largest in the Roman camp of Vindobona and probably belonged to the highest-ranking officer ("tribunus laticlavius"). All together the building probably had an area of around 3,500 m2. The layout was like a villa with a middle courtyard, with the private quarters and office space. Other houses probably had a space of around 1,500 square metres.

The responsibilites of the officer included being the representative of the main commander of the legion, administration and jurisprudence. He was also responsible for the training of the soldiers. The normal serving time of a subordinate officer was around one to two years. The officers were considered a part of the senatoral or equite class.

Troops

Over 3000 stamped bricks, several stone monuments and written sources proove that several legions, cavalry units and fleet soldiers were stationed in Vindobona. The troops starting under the reign of Emperor Diocletian are identifiabale. With the construction of the legionary camps around 97. A.D. the legio XIII gemina was responsible. Because of the wars in Dacia they were pulled out and redeployed in 101 A.D. After a decaded the legio XIIII gemina martia victrix was send in there instead. As the main troops the legio X gemina from Aquincum moved in in 114 A.D. They remained there until the 5th century.

In the Roman camp around 6000 soldiers were stationed. Many of them were free from active duty during peaceful times and had other jobs. These so-called "immunes" were needed for the supply with goods and for the production and maintenance of weapons and commodities. Furthermore they were needed for the exploit of stone quarries and the forrests, the production of bricks, as well as maintenance of streets, bridges and the water system. The administration of the camp and the provision of security also required a large staff.

Water supply

In order for a city to have a healthy population and grow, a proper drinking water supply and sanitation system needs to be in place. The Roman mastered the art through an elaborate systems of canals and aquaducts. Excavation has revealed that Vindobona received its supply through a 17 km long water pipeline. The source is in the Vienna Woods around today's Kalksberg. The hydraulic gradient from the mountain to the city was slight. Well, latrines and the thermae were supplied with water. Central buildings such as the commander's office and the hospital had their own supply, as well as the settlement outside the camp, where households had their own ground water wells.

Excavation over the course of the last 100 years have revealed findings at Zemlinskygasse 2-4 (23. district, found in 1924), Breitenfurter Strasse 422 (23. district, in 1959), Rudolf Zeller-Gasse/Anton-Krieger-Gasse (23., 1992), Atzgersdorf (23., 1902-1907), Tullnertalgasse 76 (23., 1973), Lainergasse 1 (23., 1958), Wundtgasse (12., 1951), Rosenhügelstrasse 88 (12., 1926), Fasangartenstrasse 49 (12., 1916), Pacassistrasse (13., 1928), Sechshauserstrasse 7 (15., 1879) leading towards the 1. district.

Waste from the Roman camp was transported through an elaborate canalisation system that was planned from the beginning. For the Romans personal hygene in order to avoid illnesses was well known. The canals were lined with bricked walls and plates, running underneath the main roads. The gradient was used in such a way that the waste water descended through the moats into the Danube. Since the canals were up to two metres deep, they could be cleaned out regularly. Large waste was probably deposed at the slope of the river. In the civic settlement waste was deposed in former wells and dumps.

References

Further information (in German)

* Michaela Kronberger: "Siedlungschronologische Forschungen zu den canabae legionis von Vindobona. Die Gräberfelder (Monographien der Stadtarchäologie Wien Band 1)". Phoibos Verlag, Wien 2005.
* Christine Ranseder e.a., Michaelerplatz. Die archäologischen Ausgrabungen. Wien Archäologisch 1, Wien 2006. ISBN 3-901232-72-9
* "Vindobona. Die Reise in das antike Wien". DVD-Rom, 2004.
* "Vindobona II. Wassertechnik des antiken Wiens". DVD-Rom, 2005.

External links

* [http://www.wienmuseum.at/533.asp Wien Museum | Ausgrabungsstätten]
* [http://www.archaeologie-wien.at/roemer/legionslager.htm Forschungsgesellschaft Wiener Stadtarchäologie | Legionslager Vindobona]
* [http://www.limes.co.at/index.php Animationsfilme zu vindobona]
* [http://mailbox.univie.ac.at/elisabeth.trinkl/forum/forum0902/24lager.htm Seite mit sehenswerter Rekonstruktion des Lagertores]
* [http://www.livius.org/vi-vr/vindobona/vindobona.html Livius.org: Vindobona (Vienna)]