The Limes Hinterland Project (Lower Austria)

Within the framework of a new research project supported by the Austrian Science Fund, the rural settlement structures of the imperial period in the hinterland of Mautern-Favianis (Lower Austria) (“Die ländliche Besiedlung im Hinterland von Mautern-Favianis” (Projekt P19227-G02)) will be studied at the Austrian Archaeological Institute between 2007-2009.
The research area, covering an area of ca. 700 km², is bordered by the limes section along the Danube, with the forts of Pöchlarn-Arelape, Mautern-Favianis and Traismauer-Augustianis in the north, by the River Traisen, with the municipium of St. Pölten-Aelium Cetium in the east, and by the foothills of the Alps, clearly geographically separate, in the south. It therefore incorporates the Dunkelsteiner Forest and the bordering valleys. The goal of the project is the comprehension of the differing Roman-period rural settlements in the hinterland of Mautern-Favianis.
Using a comparative, systematic surface survey, geophysical prospection and analysis of surface finds, the Roman usage of the area, the settlements and settlement structures, as well as their dynamics, should be studied in model fashion, and spatially evaluated by means of a Geographical Information System (GIS). The field methods selected are non-destructive and guarantee, with a relatively small group of personnel, the highest level of efficiency possible. The first step in the project, the Desktop-Survey, consists of the comprehension, localization and valuation of the total amount of find spots in the region of the project, of late Iron Age and Roman date, known from the literature, as well as the procuring of the relevant geodata. The valuation of the archaeological status quo, as well as the quantitative regional structural analysis serve as foundations for additional fieldwork strategies. In a second step, pilot studies will be carried out at a variety of find spots, which assist in the choice of suitable and as efficient as possible survey- and measuring methods. Proceeding from the state of research, the contemporary supply of terrain, and the reconstructed course of Roman connecting roads, three sectors will be defined within the region of the project; these should undergo an extensive survey.

The primary goal of the survey is to obtain information regarding the type and intensity of Roman land usage, in a number of representative sectors of the project region, by means of the distribution of surface finds. From this beginning, the project markedly diverges from the traditional study of isolated find spots and types of find spots. The aim should rather be to understand the various categories of find spots in their landscape context within the framework of a dynamic, natural and culturally-influenced totality. While the project will primarily focus on the chronological period from the 1st c. B.C. until the 4th c. A.D., during the course of the survey, all periods from the Neolithic up until the early Middle Ages will be incorporated and studied.

In a further stage, a variety of Roman settlement types and find spots will be investigated with an intensive collection of surface finds as well as geophysical measurements. The distribution of the surface finds will enable conclusions to be drawn regarding, in addition to dating, the extent and structure of the find spot, the settlement concentration, and the zones of activity within the find location.
From the systematic combination of geophysical measurements with the distribution of surface finds, new statements regarding the settlement types, their chronological development and the economic foundations of the region are possible. A further goal of the project is the creation of settlement models. With the aid of the parameters of natural space, area usage, natural resources, dimensions, distribution of surface finds, intensity of finds, and building structure, Roman rural settlements should be defined, transferred onto the remaining landscape, and verified.

Publications:
St. Groh – V. Lindinger – H. Sedlmayer, Zur ländlichen römischen Besiedlung im Hinterland von Mautern/Favianis – Methodische Grundlagen einer Untersuchung großräumiger Siedlungsstrukturen am Donaulimes, Archäologie Österreichs 18/2, 2007, 56–63.