,
centurion of the
Fifteenth Legion, depicting a horse, centurion's helmet and armour, found in Carnuntum]]
Carnuntum (Καρνους in Ptolemy) was a Roman army camp in what is now Austria. It belonged originally to Noricum province, but after the 1st century was part of Pannonia. Its remains are on the main road halfway between Vienna and Bratislava, on the "Archaeological Park Carnuntum" in Lower Austria, extending over the area of today's villages Petronell-Carnuntum and Bad Deutsch-Altenburg.
History
Carnuntum originated as a Roman army camp. Its name is nearly always found with "K" on monuments, and is derived from
Kar,
Karn ("rock", "cairn"). Its name first occurs in history during the reign of
Augustus (6 AD), when
Tiberius made it his base of operations in the campaigns against
Maroboduus (Marbod). Significant Romanization occurred when the town was selected as the garrison of the
Legio XV Apollinaris. A few years later it became the centre of the Roman fortifications along the
Danube from
Vindobona (now
Vienna) to
Brigetio (
Ó-Szőny). Under
Trajan or
Hadrian, Carnuntum became the permanent quarters of
Legio XIV Gemina.
It was also a very old market for the amber brought to Italy from the north; the main arm of the Amber Road crossed the Danube at Carnuntum. It was made a municipium by Hadrian (Aelium Carnuntum). Marcus Aurelius resided there for three years (172-175) during the war against the Marcomanni, and wrote part of his Meditations. Septimius Severus, at the time governor of Pannonia, was proclaimed emperor there by the soldiers (193). In the 4th century, it was destroyed by Germanic invaders. Although partly restored by Valentinian I, it never regained its former importance, and Vindobona became the chief military centre. Carnuntum was finally destroyed by the Hungarians in the Middle Ages.
Today
The "Archaeological Park Carnuntum" is divided into three parts
Civilian City
Military City
Museum Carnuntinum
Civilian city
The remains of the civilian city extend around the village
Petronell-Carnuntum. There are several places to see in the civilian city: Roman city quarter in the open-air museum, palace ruins,
amphitheatre, and "Heidentor".
The Roman city quarter was a peripheral part of the former civilian city. The ruins are exposed in the open-air museum directly in the present village. One of the ancient houses, called the House of Lucius, is being rebuilt using traditional techniques. It was opened to the public on 1 June 2006.
The centre (forum) of the civilian city was next to the palace ruins, also referred to as large public baths.
Some way outside the city was the large amphitheatre, which had room for about 15,000 spectators.
A plate with an inscription at the place claims that this was the 4th largest amphitheatre of the whole Roman Empire.
The huge "Heidentor" (Heathens' Gate) was erected between 354 AD and 361 AD as a triumphal monument for Emperor Constantius II.
Military city
The only remaining monument of the military city is its
amphitheatre. It was located just outside of the fortified military camp. Today, a small adjacent museum shows the history of the
gladiators.
Museum Carnuntinum
The archaeological museum Carnuntinum lies in the present village
Bad Deutsch-Altenburg, almost on the bank of the
Danube river. The most important excavations from the ancient city can be seen here.
In fiction
Völkisch author
Guido von List was so impressed with the ruins that he based his first novel on the subject. Another novel,
Household Gods, by
Harry Turtledove and
Judith Tarr, is set in Carnuntum during the reign of
Marcus Aurelius.
Gallery
References
External links
Archaeological Park Carnuntum
Category:Roman towns and cities in Austria
Category:Roman legions' camps in Central Europe
Category:Archaeological sites in Austria
Category:Former populated places in Austria
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