Even at the time of the ancient Romans, the Reinberg in Wels was attractive as a building site: Whoever had the facility from the first to third century built there, which archaeologists from the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg and the Upper Austrian regional culture exposed in the past three years, was probably very rich. Now three excellent mosaics from the second or third centuries of forgetting have been snatched there. “Mosaics are a rarity in the northern provinces such as Noricum, in which today’s Upper Austria lay,” says state archaeologist Stefan Traxler, who scientifically supervises the project with Felix Lang from the University of Salzburg.
A mosaic particularly stands out with a dolphin motif. “It is the only one of its kind in Upper Austria,” says Traxler. The tile pictures adorned the floors of pools in a bathing building. The archaeologists originally assumed that the finds belong to the villa of a rich citizen or even the governor of the Roman city of Ovilava. This thesis is still plausible, but the location on the water -rich Reinberg also allows other conclusions. “In view of the rich jewelry and the structure, which gives us a few puzzles, it might also have been a source of a kind of spa,” says Traxler.
Celebration mood on the excavation field
From the beginning, Astrid Stollnberger from the University of Salzburg is in use on the excavation field and leads the work on site. The thrill was great this time, says the archaeologist: “We found the first mosaic with a container as a motif last year. We knew from other excavations that there will probably be more.”
The team searched the area between the mosaic and the edge of the forest – and quickly found what they were looking for. “When the first stones came to light, we celebrated. This is also a unique find for us archaeologists,” says Stollnberger. In addition to the mosaics, the excavations also have three pelvis with simpler brick floors and a water pipe, some of which are still present, and a heating system unveiled. The existing wall remains around the pools are waterproof. In the depressions, the archaeologists themselves found another treasure: “Removing the wall with wall paintings, mostly with floral motifs, as Stefan Traxler explains:” Experts – if the financing comes about – can reconstruct this. Then we would even have a three -dimensional picture of the baths. “
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Image: Volker Weihbold
Source: Nachrichten
