Turris antiqua in castro Leybentz. Zur frühesten Baugeschichte der Burgenanlage Leibnitz/Seggau (original) (raw)
2013, Dissertation, University of Graz
In the first third of the 19th century the so called old tower was demolished in the castle at Seggau, close to Leibnitz in Styria. Hundreds if not thousands of re-used blocks (spolia) from the Roman period were built in this tower, which had been taken from the tombs and from public places of the Roman city Flavia Solva. The construction method of a double-mantled masonry of large rectangular blocks, the characteristic surface-treatment of these spolia and so on eliminate the medieval period as time of construction for this building. Extensive layers of demolition dated to late antiquity in the cemeteries of Flavia Solva prove the dismantling of the monumental tombs and the adjustment of the architectural parts to rectangular building blocks on the spot. Analogies concerning building typology and masonry techniques to late antique fortifications provide a lot of evidences for the characteristics of such re-using of spolia during the Valentinian time and shortly afterwards. The archaeological results and analogies, in particular to Poetovio and Celeia, leave no doubt that a fortification was constructed between the last third of the 4th century and the first half of the 5th century AD. In short, these building projects in the south-eastern Alpine region seem to be associated with the reorganisation under Generidus of 409 AD, known by ancient sources. This reorganisation may have served the controlling of migration and the protection against bands of robbers. Especially in the early 5th century AD the monitoring of barbarian foederati and the integration of Romanic refugees from the Pannonian-Illyrian plains must become central tasks of the stabilisation of this region for the West-Roman Empire. Moreover, such measures could also have maintained the agricultural production and supply of the civilian population.
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.