In Hölstein a villa was investigated at locality Hinterbohl by Rudolf Fellmann in 1947 and 1949. The building was erected in the middle of the first century and destroyed by a fire in the years 260-270 AD.
Reconstruction drawing of the villa. JbSGU 41 (1951), Abb. 44.
Plan of the villa. JbSGU 41 (1951), Abb. 43.The central area (9) has been interpreted as a hall (29.50 x 17.50 m.), the roof of which was supported by 18 posts resting on stone slabs. It was not a courtyard with an ambulatory, as has been suggested for the villa in Bennwil, which could be deduced from a thick layer of rubble with tiles and charred beams. Next to it was a porticus (10). Later three rooms were installed in the south-east part (11-13). Among the finds from the south-east part was a bronze statuette of Mercurius. In the central hall parts of horse harnesses, agricultural equipment and an iron window grille were found. Fragments of glass window panes also emerged.
The statuette of Mercurius (h. 0.107). Photo: Laur-Belart 1950, Abb. 1.
The iron window grille (1.00 x 1.10 m.). Photo: JbSGU 41 (1951), Taf. XVII,2.
On the north-west side bathing rooms were added. In rooms 4 and 5 were hypocausts for heating. The floor of room 1 was decorated with a polychrome mosaic. In the adjoining room 2 was a cold water basin.
The mosaic in room 1 (3.15 x 4.70 m.). Photo: Laur-Belart 1947, Abb. 45.
Detail of the mosaic in room 1. Photo: Archäologie und Museum Baselland.The walls of rooms 1 and 2 were decorated with paintings. In room 1 were garlands and rosettes above an imitation of marble. In room 2 were depictions of dolphins and fishes on a blue background.
Fragments of the paintings from room 1 (left) and room 2 (right), with fishes. Photo: Drack 1981, Abb. 8-9.
Reconstruction drawing of the paintings in rooms 1 and 2. Drack 1981, Abb. 12.
Literature
Laur-Belart 1947; Laur-Belart 1950; Fellmann 1950(1); Jahrbuch der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Urgeschichte 41 (1951), 119-121; Von Gonzenbach 1961, 120-121; Drack 1981; Drack-Fellmann 1988, 409-410.
[17-Oct-2023]
