Arrabona - Múzeumi közlemények 31-33. (Győr, 1994)

Kiss Ákos: A soproni egykori Orsolya-rendi iskolaépület alatti császárkori épületmaradványok

Ruins from the period of the Roman Empire found under the school building of the Ursule Order in the town of Sopron In 1954, during reconstruction work under the Order House and school building of the Ursule Order in Sopron, ruins of buildings from the Roman age were found. In order to establish the nature of these ruins, as well as to at least partly open them author of his publication carried out excavations in July and August 1954 and later, in November to December. Already at the very beginning of the works signs of a Hypocaustum with details from a terrazzo-floor of 23 cm thickness and parts of a mosaic floor were discovered. At later excavation works, floor holding pillars for heating devices made of square form bricks in rows of 4 by 5 pieces, altogether a total of about 20 columns, came to light. At other places holding columns with cylindrical shapes, also made of brick material, were found. The heating bricks (tubi) are incurved at right angles. Even at this early stage of excavation it was observed that the Roman age rooms and wall dividings coincided with the orientation of the existing building, as a whole, erected above them. The height of the hypocaustum is 120 cm at some places, at others only 55 to 70 cm but there occurs an area - at the frigi darium - with a height of 135 cm, as well. The diameters of the brick columns are of different sizes, according to their holding functions (with side sizes of 27x27 and 18x18 cm). Besides the small cylindrical columns of tile there were only terrazzo casted ones. To the East, the building is sealed by a wall of huge quader construction built extremely carefully. Some parts of it (earlier building elements, threshold stones, etc.) derive from a secondary utilization. In Pannónia, wall constuction of quader stones is considered an early and exceptional phenomenon and belongs to building activities done with the greatest care. In Aquincum, only certain parts of the military amphytheatrum - from the 40's of the 2nd century - are built in such a way. Walls of Scrabantia of the late Roman age (from the 4th century) were erected in the same way but from this no special conclusion could be drawn because of the extraordinary conditions. Otherwise, walls of the most commonly used opus incertum are the norm. Viewed from the ground plan, the main characteristic of the building is the monumental apsis with double curving, as well as the extended hypocaustum structures that result in the occasional occurrence of pillars built in rows of 6 by 4, for example in room 2. Regular rows of arches made from bricks at thepraefurnia are known in the great common bath of the civil town of Aquincum, too. Heating areas were completed by great burning holes and heat-permitting systems of seven curvings. At certain places the vaulted ceilings were presumably held by these thick walls. Based on these facts, this considerable building must have been built as early as the 2nd century, until the beginning of the Markomann wars. 47