NEW RESEARCH ON THE MILITARY CAMP IN VIRUNUM (NORICUM)

Christian GUGL

Institut für Kulturgeschichte der Antike, Viena

Wolfgang NEUBAUER

LBI ArchPro, Wien

Erich NAU

LBI ArchPro, Wien

Renate JERNEJ

Klagenfurt

The ancient town of Virunum, which is situated nowadays north of Klagenfurt (Carinthia, southern Austria), was the capital of the Roman province of Noricum. In 2001, in the course of a balloon flight remarkable crop marks were discovered in a maize field on the eastern edge of the town. Because of these observations, it became clear that this area was densely built-up in Roman times. The character of the observed buildings remained a controversial topic in archaeological discussion.

On the 19^th Nov. 2013, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (Vienna) conducted a geophysical survey with the high resolution ground penetrating radar measurement system MIRA II on these fields. By using a special motorized radar measuring system, it was possible to examine an area of about 2.56 ha within three hours. Numerous (obviously) Roman buildings were discovered. Crucial for the interpretation of the measurement data are three long rectangular buildings within an enclosure, which are definitely Roman military barracks. A Roman military facility within a civilian settlement, as it was now discovered in Virunum, is very rare in the entire Roman world. The GPR results from Virunum provide new impact into the discussion in which way Roman troops were housed near governor’s seats.