One of the earliest Roman villas unearthed in Hungary

Budapest (Hungary), Oct 7 : Archaeologists have unearthed one of the earliest Roman villas in Budapest, Hungary.

According to a report in All Hungary News, the site is of special importance, as it fits well into the line of villas previously found in the area, providing more information on the location and extension of villa farms around Aquincum.

Ruins of the Roman building complex were discovered following several months of excavation work at a plot destined to become a hypermarket.

The Office of Cultural Heritage had ordered the excavation to be carried out, as a Roman wall was found under the neighboring plot at Becsi ut 260 in 2004. At Becsi ut 262 (District III), walls of a five-by-five meter, independently standing Roman building were unearthed.

The building was surrounded by a 45-50 centimeter thick wall built from limestone slabs held together by yellowish-white mortar forming a perfect square.

Further excavations revealed that a larger building stood nearby, and the walls belonged to a multi-room villa. A written limestone sign, ceramics, iron nails and bronze coins were also unearthed at the site.

The earliest identifiable coin can be traced to the time of Emperor Hadrianus, while the latest to Diocletianus, suggesting that the villa was standing in the first third of the 2nd century BC and was in use until the end of the 3rd or beginning of the 4th century AD.

This makes it the earliest Roman villa unearthed at the foot of the Buda hills.

ANI