Carnuntum

Carnuntum (Καρνοιις in Ptolemy) was an important 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), 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 created 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 center (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

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.

References

External links

• Archaeological Park Carnuntum