The legionary fortress of Carnuntum-excavations 1968 - 1977

Between 1968 and 1977 archaeological excavations were carried out by the former Limeskommission of the Austrian academy of Sciences and the Austrian Archaeological Institute in the Roman legionary fortress of Carnuntum (Bad Deutsch-Altenburg, Lower Austria) The legionary fortress of Carnuntum was built around 40 AD and was finally abandoned in the fifth century AD, so the history of the site reflects quite well the development of the Roman limes in this part of the Pannonian frontier. Ther ceramics and the small finds of these excavations were already published between 1979 and 1986 by Mathilde Grünewald. This final publication therefore concentrates on the building structures, though for chronical purposes finds from stratified contexts and finds of special interest had to be included. This was only possible by the aid of numerous scholars who analyzed the coins, the stamped tiles and selected ceramic material in their specific contexts. The late history of the site is of special interest. Thanks to the good preservation of the monuments Carnuntum is a favorable archaeological site to study the change from a legionary fortress of the first and second century AD to a fortified town on the Danube frontier in Late Antiquity when civilians settled in the former military camp. Also the excavations in the Northeastern part of the legionary camp brought about aspects in the history of the Migration Period and the early Middle Ages when the area of the camp was abandoned around the middle of the fifth century AD. As late as in the late 9th and 10th century the area of the former legionary camp was again used for settlement and burying place, though in the following centuries the settlement activity was relocated to Bad Deutsch- Altenburg and Hainburg further in the East.