Part of the main house of a villa was excavated on several occasions, most recently in 2013, on the Sälistrasse in the south-east part of Olten. The villa was built in the early second century and modified in the third. It was on the slope of a hill. The facade was excavated, consisting of a porticus flanked by tower-like projections (5.70-6.00 m. wide). The porticus had an underground floor, a cryptoporticus.
Plan of the remains. South is up. Wullschleger 2016, Abb. 2.
View of the (crypto)porticus and a tower-like projection ("Westrisalit"). Wullschleger 2016, Abb. 4.Some 3700 fragments of paintings were found, belonging to the first building phase. The paintings were removed during the modifications, and it is not clear which rooms they decorated. On red and white backgrounds garlands, tendrils, and bunches of grapes were painted. In between were some animals, including a donkey.
Reconstruction of a stretch of the paintings. Hathaway et al. 2016, Abb. 12 (partial).
Fragments of animals and a bunch of grapes. Hathaway et al. 2016, Abb. 10-11.
Literature
Jahresbericht der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Urgeschichte 15 (1923), 83-84; 31 (1939), 102; Archäologie und Denkmalpflege im Kanton Solothurn 2 (1997), 86-88; Wullschleger 2016; Hathaway et al. 2016.
[14-Apr-2024]
