Large Chip Carved Belt Set

 

These beautifully handmade fittings of a late roman belt have elaborate decorations in chip cared ornamentation with animal friezes on the sides. The animals are interpreted as sea lions, which is indicated by the fish tails of the mythical creatures. The set consists of a buckle, a pentagonal counter-fitting, an astragalus tube, a round decorative fitting and an additional strap end. The fully functional reconstruction is based freely on an original find from Enns / Austria, the ancient city and fort Lauriacum. The three-part set was found in 1964 in a gravel pit near the military camp. It is dated to the late 4th century.

 

The length of the fitting is around 11.5 cm, the width around 7.2 cm. It is attached to the belt leather in an authentic manner with rivets that are included in the delivery.

 

To secure important traffic routes, the Lauriacum legionary camp was built at the confluence of the Danube and the Aist river. The name probably goes back to Celtic times and means something like "With the people of Laurios". The existence of a Celtic oppidum in the vicinity is to assume due to various small finds from the last two centuries BC.

 

While in the 1st century there were mainly traces of a civilian settlement, after the Marcomann Wars also the military security of the Danube area was pushed ahead. In the late 2nd century, one of the largest and most important military bases in the roman province Noricum was built here. The legion fort with its surrounding settlements  experienced its peak around the middle of the 3rd century, around 25,000 people now lived in the vicinity of the camp and its Canabae Legionis.

 

After raids and extensive destruction by the Juthungen in the 3rd century, the camp and the settlements are partially restored. In the 4th century, Lauriacum once again experienced a brief boom under the rule of Constantine, as can be seen from extensive construction activities, before it fell victim to a fire again in the middle of the 4th century. At this point at the latest, major emigration of residents can be expected.

 

The military facilities were strengthened and rebuilt under Valentinian I in the last quarter of the 4th century, but brought little resistance to the raids of the Vandals and the Huns, who burned Lauricaum in the 5th century and almost razed it to the ground. Only the legionary camp offers a final refuge for the remaining population, which is developing into a fortified small town. Lauriacum probably still played an important role in the evacuation of the remaining Romanesque population of the surrounding area, before it finally sank into insignificance after the abandonment of the Roman administration around the middle of the 5th century.

The remarkable finds from this outstanding site can be viewed today in the Lauriacum Museum: https://museum-lauriacum.at/