An excavation of the ground of the historic Rusovce Manor House in Bratislava, Slovakia, has uncovered a Roman aqueduct from the 2nd century A.D. This is the first Roman-era water supply system ever discovered in Slovakia.
The mansion, a national landmark, was built in Neo-Gothic style in 1840 on the site of an manor house from the 16th century. It was modeled after the English Gothic revival architecture and decorative arts, with pointed arched windows and incredible intricate wood paneling and stucco ceilings in the interior. Its large park was also modeled after formal English gardens.
Rusovce Manor House is in dilapidated condition and has long been closed to the public. It is now undergoing a thorough reconstruction from the foundations underground to the ceiling. Its rich interior decorations — paneling, ceilings, doors window frames — are being carefully removed so they can be replaced once the structural work is complete. The grounds are also being renovated. The reconstruction is scheduled to be completed in 2029 and the estimated cost is 110 million euros.
The Rusovce was part of the Danubian Limes (the Roman military frontier along the Danube) and the Roman military camp of Gerulata was part of the frontier defenses there. It was built in the 2nd century and garrisoned until the 4th century when the Roman Army withdrew from the province of Pannonia. Today there are no visible remains of the fortress above ground, but foundation walls eight feet thick of the stone fort survive below the surface.
When reconstruction work began at the mansion, archaeologists from the Department of Classical Archaeology of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Trnava (TRUNI)started excavating the surroundings of the house. They unearthed the remains of the Roman aqueduct which is almost 100 feet long, 36 inches high and contains a channel 13 inches wide through which water flowed. The bottom of the channel is lined with tegulae, large, flat tiles that were arranged to gradually slope towards the location of the modern-day mansion.
The sheer scale of its construction is remarkable. Calculations suggest the Romans used at least 51 tonnes of stone and more than 80 tegulae. Some of these bricks bear the stamped names of their manufacturers, while others feature paw prints left by animals when they were drying in the sun.
One of the manufacturers marks, C VAL CONST KAR, helps date the construction of the aqueduct because the tile workshop of Gaius Valerius Constans in Carnutum, modern-day Austria, was producing tiles in the 2nd century.
The aqueduct was used briefly, only until the end of the 2nd century. It was then filled in, which preserved it in excellent condition. It runs under the south wing of the current mansion, but archaeologists don’t know what was there in the Roman period. A bath for the soldiers of the fort is the current running hypothesis.
As the site lies within a protected heritage zone near UNESCO-listed buildings, Slovak authorities have opted to leave the aqueduct in situ, relocating a planned technical service building to accommodate its preservation.
* This article was originally published here
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