Wednesday 2 April 2008

Spring in Carnuntum



Carnuntum
Heidentor
Heathen's Gate

"Soon after the Roman conquest of Pannonia in 12 BC,
Carnuntum (near Vienna, Austria)
became a base for military operations led by Tiberius against the Marcomanni, a Germanic tribal confederacy. (...)
Between AD 35 and 40, legio XV erected a military camp
which initated the Roman settlement in Carnuntum,
and became one of the largest and most important fortresses
on the Danube limes or fortified boundary."

Quote from the article
"Romans on the Danube: Carnuntum"
by Barbara F. Abendschein and Athen Review staff
(Athena Review, vol. 2/2000, no. 3)















Archeological Park Carnuntum.
Photographed at the
Heathen's Gate
and the
Open Air Museum
Petronell - Bad Deutschaltenburg.

Carnuntum,
ancient Rome’s legionary camp of the upper Danube frontier,
is located half an hour outside Vienna,
along the Danube river between the towns of
Petronell-Carnuntum and Bad Deutsch-Altenburg.
Click on this picture
to reach the "Carnuntum" website.


37 comments:

  1. What an interesting post! I've never considered the Roman influence in Austria - and beautiful pictures, as always.

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  2. I am amazed. I ought to know, I am an archaeologist, after all!
    My eyes fill with tears when I see the old stones and the flowers. All that effort, all that beauty, all that starting all over again...Thank you.

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  3. 'Heathen's Gate'! I love it!

    Oh those wild flowers. -le sigh-

    Mari-Nanci
    Smilnsigh
    Photos-City-Mine
    Noir et blanc

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  4. Thanks for the history and the beautiful shots. Visiting your blog is always a good use of my time.

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  5. @ Absolute Vanilla (& Atyllah):
    I used to joke that I have some Roman blood in my veins. Not anymore since the foundation of a large Roman villa was excavated in the village where I was born. It probably belonged to a high Roman official or latifundia administrator. It is quite common that farmers there find shards of clay and other small artifacts that date from Roman times when they plow their fields.

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  6. @ Irene:
    Not only the Romans but other ancient peoples and cultures have left traces of their existence in Austria. The Illyrians and the Celts and their Hallstatt culture date back all the way to the Bronze Age, for example.

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  7. @ Smilnsigh:
    The name "Heathen's Gate" apparently dates back to the Middle Ages, that strange large structure was thought to have been built by heathens. I imagine "heathen" at the time probably was a sort of catchword for the "unknown" or "inexplainable".

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  8. @ Lori Lynn:
    Thank you, you are very kind.

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  9. Such beauty amid rich history. I'd love to be there.

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  10. Very interesting. I had no idea that was there. Beautiful photos to accompany them.

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  11. Great post in many ways.
    Photos, I love the No.5. It has a very interesting repeated patterns gives perspective and different texture of fresh green and stone gives contrast.

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  12. A fascinating bit of ancient history--those Romans were everywhere!

    Very pretty flowers too. A visual treat, as usual!

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  13. Those are beautiful, Merisi! Those Romans were just about everywhere. They left plenty behind, too!

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  14. It is all, every shot, too beautiful.
    Thank you.
    -- Cip

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  15. che posto per disegnare !!

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  16. david mcmahon:
    This is only a tiny fraction of the beauty there. Very interesting also the effort to reconstruct some of the buildings there. One private house is almost finished, I am planning a post about its kitchen and on cooking in an Ancient Rome but need a bit more time for that.

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  17. photowannabe:
    Every time I step onto an archeological site, I stand in awe of what humankind was able to create so many years ago.

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  18. ben:
    I haven't had the time yet to read more about this archeological site, from what I could see these walls seem to have been part of an amphitheater. Very touching seeing nature come alive against those ancient stones who have withstood distruction for almost 2000 years.

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  19. sandycarlson:
    Even after having lived many years in present day Rome, the Ancient Romans still hold surprises for me. The wastness of their reach was of a scale that even today would be an enormous achievement.

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  20. Sara:
    The beauty of those wildflowers stands out even among the ruins of an ancient culture.

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  21. Cipriano:
    Grazie! :-)

    Luc:
    Oh yes, I imagine you sitting there, sketching, painting. ;-)
    Well, on the other hand, you have plenty of those ancient remains in your neighborhood!

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  22. Amazing photographs! I love nature's bounty in the spring - Peace - D

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  23. Merisi, thank you once again for another wonderful peek at your beautiful part of the world. Your pictures are a delight and especially the ones of the flowers. Ahhhhhh, Spring!

    Lots of love
    Cherry xoxoxo

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  24. A very interesting post & gorgeous photos!

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  25. Once again, a pleasure to be here...which is why you have an award at my blogging house...please be a sweetie and run over and pick it up...you don't mind if I stay and here and visit awhile, do you?
    Sandi

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  26. Beautiful photography. I love these old archaeological sites. We don't have a lot of these in the states, certainly not this old.

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  27. The colors are so fresh and Springie...almost Summery
    I thought you just had snow?

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  28. Wow! It never fails to astound me the magnificence of the Roman Empire at that time and how far it spread. That is a wonderful post full of history and culture and the photos are beautiful. The flora is captured perfectly, as are the ruins. Thank you for posting this.

    And thanks for the comment at my site. The quote you give is so spot on!

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  29. I thought we'd transported to Rome for the first two pictures!

    Please come and take the sign for your daughter's desk!

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  30. @ Momma;
    Thank you!

    @ Cherry Menlove:
    Thank you, Cherry,
    my pleasure!

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  31. @ Lana Gramlich:
    Thank you! :-)

    @ Sandi McBride:
    Thank you, Sandi, you are welcome to hang around as long as you'd like to.
    I will be right over at your house then! :-)

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  32. @ Charles Gramlich:
    Thank you!
    Regarding archeological sites in the USA, I remember a "Washington Post" Metro Section headline titled "Archeologists Find George Washington's Toothbrush". ;-)

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  33. Paris Breakfasts:
    The snow last week was quite meek. It prettyfied the town for a couple of hours, then gently melted away. Spring will not be beat back around here! ;-)

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  34. @ Crazycath:
    You are welcome! :-)

    Here Kierkegard quote for you readers who have not been to CC's blog yet:

    "The greatest hazard of all, losing one's self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all. No other loss can occur so quietly: Any other loss - an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife etc - is assured to be noticed."

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  35. @ the mother of this lot:
    Time travel is easy here in Vienna! :-)
    (I was only half joking when I asked you for the sign, now I seriously think I shall take you up on your generous offer, thank you. *smile*)

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  36. How very interesting. I didn't know there were any Roman (or any other) archeological sites in Austria. Striking photos.

    Paz

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  37. It must be an amazing place to visit, with such a sense of history. An ancient place that I never tire of visiting is the Zimbabwe ruins. I find these places fascinating and can spend many hours just soaking it all in.

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