Orvenyes
A Roman settlement in the Balaton highlands between the villages of Őrvényes and Udvari. Excavation has revealed that the walls stand to a height of 1.5 m, unusual in Pannonia. The settlement's most significant building is a house with a central corridor, divided in three sections, with a large hall added in front. Remains of stairs suggest that the building was more than one story high, at least in part. An added entrance to the hall had a marble-covered doorway, with a latticework marble gable over it. The door frame was decorated with an egg-and-dart jamb. From the remains of this decorated porticus the building's facade could be reconstructed; the reconstruction can be seen in the Lapidarium of the museum at Tihany. In the front hall of the building the remains of two round marble tabletops were uncovered. On the terrazzo floor of one of the smaller rooms, opening from the center corridor, the equipment of a Roman goldsmith was found. The building seems to be from the 2d c. To judge from the rich decorations, marble door coverings, and remains of marble tables (built in the 4th c.), the place probably served the needs of a Christian cult in Late Roman times. It was a basilica rustica, probably with the living quarters of the Christian community attached. In addition to the excavated buildings, a larger Roman settlement existed here and is continually under excavation.
BIBLIOGRAPHYT. Szentléleky, “La lampe de bronze d'Őrvényes,” VMMK 1965 (1966) 103-10; id., “Testa di Minerva di Őrvényes,” Arch. Ért. (1961) 253-57; E. Thomas, Römische Villen. . . (1964) 107 pp.
E. B. THOMAS