K. Palágyi Sylvia szerk.: Balácai Közlemények 2005/9. (Veszprém, 2005)
GÁBOR, OLIVÉR: Suburbanum Sopianarum and Roman Villas around Sopianae
of the town-wall must reflect earlier conditions, buildings older than the Middle Ages. The stones and wall remains found here indeed have been dealt by researches from the earliest times, but F. Fülep. 20 M. Haas and B. Posta, according to finds in the surroundings, located the town of Sopianae west from this, into the Szigeti outskirts. 21 F. Fülep, much later, was more careful and suspected the western gate of the Ancient town in the area. 22 We can certainly reject the location of Sopianae into the Szigeti outskirts due to recent archaeological researches 23 , since the known sites allow us to reconstruct the Roman town east of Kórház Square. In the walls being several yard thick and the arch 24 therefore we must suspect the western gate area of the town or the foundations of some significant structure outside the town. We can both locate the western town gate here or conclude to the location of an amphitheatre here (according to the kind verbal information provided by G. Kárpáti). Recent hydro-geological researches have indicated here, in Kórház Square, a sediment layer formed by stagnant water. This may indicate that the waters lead west of the town by the Romans, were collected here after the canalization had got ruinious (according to the kind verbal information provided by J. Kraft). In the 2 nd-3 rd centuries, before the formation of the grand, early Christian cemetery, in its area, the Romans built water drainage canalization or aqueducts, whose function was the water supply of the western part of Sopianae. Thus there must have been one or more important buildings outside the town, around present Kórház Square for the sake of which the water was lead to here. Settlements According to researches so far, we can mention some little settlements from the proximate vicinity of Sopianae though there must have been several more. Unfortunately, most of them are unpublished. One is at the power plant and probably is the remains of a settlement showing Celtic-indigenous characteristics and which was excavated by B. Maráz. An other one is a part of a Roman village excavated by G. Kárpáti in PécsMálom, at the southern edge of the present city of Pécs. 25 Further roman age settlements were found at Patacs and Rácváros-Szöllészeti Kutatóintézet. 26 These used to belong to the vicinity of the Ancient town but our knowledge of them does not allow us to exactly define their locations or functions. Sanctuary or Horreum In order to examine the southern scope of the Roman town, Gy. Török excavated in the area of 19-21, former Majláth Street (today the area enclosed by Nagy Lajos Road and Jókai Street). He found thin Roman culture-layer underground. 25 F. Fülep later excavated a building of big room longer than 30 metres with thick walls, divided by a double colonnade inside. He then identified it as a sanctuary 26 but it may have also been a horreum. Apart from its original function, it is also questionable that the building and the layer found by Gy. Török were inside or outside the contemporary town-walls. One thing is certain nevertheles; that the "hall" was rebuilt during the 3 rd-4 th centuries. 27
