A villa at the locality Vorholz, almost two kilometers to the north-east of Schleitheim, was investigated by Martin Wanner around 1850 and 1856, then again in 1860, 1868 and 1870 by Anton Pletscher, and once more in 1892 and 1898. The plan of the building can be seen on aerial photos. It was partially excavated.
The outline of the building seen on an aerial photo. Photo: Kantonsarchäologie Schaffhausen.
Reconstruction and plan of the villa at the locality Vorholz. Kantonsarchäologie Schaffhausen and Von Gonzenbach 1961, Abb. 86.
The main house eventually measured 65 x 29 m. Because of its paintings (that have disappeared) and mosaics (of which not much remains) it was called a showpiece in 1899. The rooms were grouped around a central hall (39 x 17 m.). Bathing rooms were added with two heated rooms (2, 4), one of which had a mosaic floor. Two living rooms had a hypocaust for heating (9, 10). In room 10 a polychrome mosaic was found with vegetative motifs. Marble revetment of walls was also encountered. A Tuscan capital was found. In the north part was a U-shaped porticus around an open area, probably a garden. Coins indicate that the building was used from the middle of the first century until the second half of the third.
The mosaic floor of room 10, found in 1860. Photo: Kantonsarchäologie Schaffhausen.
Literature
Wanner 1899, 23ff.; Von Gonzenbach 1961, 211-213; Drack-Fellmann 1988, 505-506.
[23-Dec-2023]
