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Introduction The baths Houses and workshops The temples |
The remains of the settlement Iuliomagus have been found to the south-west of Schleitheim, on either side of the Zwärenbach. On the Tabula Peutingeriana it is found between Tenedo (Bad Zurzach AG) and Brigobannis (Hüfingen, Germany). The name Iuliomagus is Latin-Celtic, and means "Field of Iulius", apparently with a reference to the Imperial house. Major excavations were undertaken in the second half of the 19th century and have continued on a small scale ever since. Baths and a cellar can today be seen in protective buildings.
Iuliomagus on the Tabula Peutingeriana, above the Bodensee.The history of the research begins with a forgery. In 1851 Martin Wanner published the funerary inscription of the soldier Spinther from Macedonia. He claimed to have excavated it near the settlement (later he says in the settlement). Theodor Mommsen quickly saw that it was modern. However, for almost a century some still believed it was ancient. The arguments against the authenticity were discussed by Hans Petersen in 1961: the writing, the material and the contents are too problematic.
General plan. Drack-Fellmann 1988, Abb. 468.
I: baths and museum; 1: palaestra; 2-3: temples; 4: houses; 5: houses and workshops (Salzbrunnen); 6: potteries (?); 7: houses and workshops
with protective building (Z'underst Wyler); 8: building with a hypocaust; 9: villa with main house and secondary buildings (?); 10: Roman street.Between 1826 and 1908 seven gold coins (aurei) were found in the centre of the settlement (5-7; localities Salzbrunnen - Z'underst Wyler). It seems unlikely that the coins were lost at different times. In view of the value of the coins (in the later first century one aureus was approximately equal to a good monthly salary) they will have formed a single hoard. The coins are from the reigns of Nero, Galba, Vespasianus, Nerva and Traianus. The reason for hiding the coins is not clear. There was no military activity in the area in the first half of the second century. Perhaps the owner had left on a voyage, but did not return.
The seven gold coins. Photos: Deschler-Erb - Wyprächtiger 2010, Abb. 22.
Introduction
The baths
Houses and workshops
The temples
Literature
Wanner 1851; Voellmy 1938; Urner-Astholz 1946; Petersen 1961; Bossert 1979; Bossert 1983(1); Bürgi-Hoppe 1985; Drack-Fellmann 1988, 502-505; Drack-Fellmann 1991, 234-235; Trumm 2001; Deschler-Erb - Wyprächtiger 2010; Homberger et al. 2013.
[21-Dec-2023]
