ITALIAN IMPORTS AND THEIR RECEPTION IN THE AUXILIARY FORT AND VICUS OF FAVIANIS-MAUTERN A.D. DONAU/NORICUM

Stefan Groh and Helga Sedlmayer

During the 1996-99 seasons extensive excavations were carried out by the Austrian Archaeological Institute (Österreichisches Archäologisches Institut Wien) within the auxiliary fort and the vicus of Favianis/Noricum. The structures in the southern part of the vicus (Vicus Süd), excavated in 1999, are published and a detailed discussion of the archaeological evidence, documented in 1996-97 within the fort and of older researches is forthcoming. A publication of the features in the eastern part of the vicus (Vicus Ost), mainly characterized by metal-working and large-scale pottery-workshops, will be prepared in 2003. The synthesis of the archaeological evidence, researched during the 1996-99 investigations, contribute in a comprehensive way to the understanding of the Roman military structures in the limes zone of Noricum.

Italian imports reached Favianis during the early Roman periods of the fort and the vicus (Periods 1-2, AD 70/80-120/140). In comparison with the high quantities of local utilitarian pottery and the representative quantities of western imports, there exists no distinct importance of imported Italian fine and coarse ware. Italian pottery has been found in about 11 percent of documented archaeological contexts in the eastern part of the vicus (Vicus Ost). In these contexts Italian pottery is represented by 1-2% of the total pottery assemblage. Concerning only the tableware types of these contexts, products of "tardopadana" workshops represent nevertheless a reasonable quantity of the total tableware repertory. Besides the tardopadana sigillata, north Italian fine ware is represented by a small, but very differentiated spectrum. Cooking-ware was also imported from Italy: most important is the evidence of mortars and Pompeian red-slip cookware, indicating the influence of traditional Roman cooking practices in the area of the fort and vicus. Regarding the imports of olives and wine in amphoras from Istria and Campania, it seems very reasonable to conclude that the transfer of Italian pottery products was organized by way of victualling.

Much interest for the customary behavior of the local pottery producers is the imitation and adaptation of imported forms: In contrast to the common imitations of western tableware imports (terra nigra, rätische Ware) there existed no concrete interest in the imitation of Italian fine ware and sigillata; instead of this a adaptation of Italian utilitarian pottery is remarkable.

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