Urban House or Schola in Aquincum

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

3rd century

Garden Description

Very few houses of Mediterranean type have been discovered, and only one can be said with certainty to have had a garden (Fig. 1, G in Fig. 1). The peristyle courtyard was a prominent feature of this house of irregular plan and substantial size near the southern city wall. The house dates to the 3rd century, and it is thought to have been a clubhouse or schola for young men (collegium iuventutis), complete with a bath suite. In the middle of the courtyard, framed on four sides by a low wall supporting columns, was a square masonry pool (Fig. 2). In the center of the pool was a fountain consisting of a small marble satyr standing on a column of the same material. This decorative element and the unpaved ground strongly suggest the existence of a garden.

Bibliography

A. Mócsy, Pannonia and Upper Moesia. A History of the Middle Danube Provinces of the Roman Empire, London, 1974, p. 166, pl. 16b. (worldcat)
H. Polenz and K. Póczy, Das römische Budapest. Neue Ausgrabungen und Funde in Aquincum, Münster, 1986, p. 124, fig. 47, pl. 10. (worldcat)

Aquincum on Gardens of the Roman Empire

Urban House or Schola in Aquincum

Dates

Garden Description

Bibliography

Keywords