In Riom-Parsonz, at the locality Cadra, a cluster of buildings has been interpreted as a mutatio, a place for changing horses. Excavations took place in the 1970's and 1980's. Many post holes testify to the former presence of wooden buildings. Already in the first century these were replaced by stone buildings.
Plan of the site. Drack-Fellmann 1988, Abb. 457.
A: main building; B: secondary building; C: baths; D: bakery.
a: earlier Roman wooden buildings; b: early-Mediaeval buildings.The main building (A; 30 x 20 m.) had a central open area. A room in the south-west part had a hypocaust for heating. To the south-west were baths, in which a hypocaust was found (C). In building D millstones and an oven were found, so it must have been a bakery. The complex was used until the late fourth century.
Reconstruction drawing by Markus Schaub. Matteotti 2002, Abb. 42.Both in the main building and in the baths fragments were found of paintings that once decorated walls and ceilings. A long room in the east part of the main building had a socle imitating marble. Above the socle were panels with a white and red background, with vegetative and figurative motifs. Of the latter an amorino was preserved.
Painting of an amorino from the main building. Drack 1981, Abb. 10.
Reconstruction of the painted decoration of a ceiling in the main building. Drack-Fellmann 1988, Abb. 458.
Literature
Jahrbuch der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Ur- und Frühgeschichte 59 (1976), 265-266; 60 (1977), 143-144; Rageth 1979; Drack 1981; Jahrbuch der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Ur- und Frühgeschichte 64 (1981), 248-252; 65 (1982), 205-208; Rageth 1982(1); Rageth 1982(2); Jahrbuch der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Ur- und Frühgeschichte 66 (1983), 296-299; 67 (1984), 223-225; Paunier 1985; Rageth 1986, 68-74; Drack 1986, 30ff.; Drack-Fellmann 1988, 491-493; Drack-Fellmann 1991, 216-217; Matteotti 2002.
[3-Dec-2023]
