Mauer an der Url
In the province of Noricum on the limes road Vindobona-Lauriacum. A fortification at this location could serve to protect the limes road and, because of its location near the confluence of Url and Ybbs, to block the two river valleys, preventing the legionary camp at Lauriacum from being outflanked on the E. On the right bank of the Url a castellum was excavated in 1907-10; its NW part had already been washed away by the Url. The ground plan had the form of an oblique parallelogram (ca. 200 x 160 m). The surrounding wall was ca. 4 m thick. At both the W and E sides were gates with two towers. The S side had no gate but was strengthened by four intermediate towers. Nothing is known of the destroyed N side. The castellum was situated directly on the limes road which traversed the fortified area from the E gate to the W. These gates were not centered in their walls but, probably owing to the formation of the ground, had been built considerably to the S. The last building phase, largely obscured by modern buildings and soil movement, probably represents the situation in the 4th c. A.D. (coins to the time of Theodosius). But small finds (terra sigillata from Lezoux and especially Rheinzabern, coins, etc.) indicate that the castellum had existed for a long time, and possibly was established in the time of Trajan or Hadrian. Two clearly characterized building periods are separated by a destructive fire which cannot be fixed chronologically (3d c. A.D.?). So far no one has been able to determine the ancient name of the place.
The real importance of Mauer an der Url rests on the discovery of a large metal deposit. In 1937 a pit covered with stone slabs was found ca. 40 m S of the castellum. It contained a surprisingly large number of metal objects (silver, bronze, iron). It was the carefully hidden treasury of a Sanctuary of Jupiter Dolichenus, and its abundance and variety make it unique. It consisted of almost 100 pieces which fall clearly into two categories: cult objects proper and, from the triclinium or cenatorium of the temple, implements that had been used for cult banquets (bronze dishes, etc.). Noteworthy among the cult objects are: the first almost undamaged bronze statuette of Jupiter Dolichenus; a unique bronze group of the god and Juno Regina; a statuette of Victoria, the product of an indigenous artist. Also there are two votive reliefs, obviously copying a type of field insignia and the first intact examples of this kind. Finally, the most valuable group of objects comprise 28 votive gifts made of sheet silver, arrow-shaped, with palmate ends, frequently carrying dedicatory inscriptions. The temple treasury must have been hidden in the first half of the 3d c. A.D. because of a Germanic invasion. The sanctuary itself has not yet been found.
The older finds from the castellum are in part in the Stift Seitenstetten. The Dolichenus find is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
BIBLIOGRAPHYOn the castellum: M. Nistler, AnzWien 47 (1910) 146ff; G. Pascher, Der römische Limes in Österreich 19 (1949) 82ff. On the treasury: R. Noll, Der grosse Dolichenusfund von Mauer a. d. Url (3d ed. 1941); P. Merlat, Répertoire des inscriptions et monuments figurés du culte de Jupiter Dolichenus (1951).
R. NOLL