Carroll, M. (2026). "Urban House or Schola in Aquincum." Gardens of the Roman Empire, accessed October 2, 2026. https://roman-gardens.github.io/id/9eef0a86c1/

Urban House or Schola in Aquincum

Contributors: June Dorsch, Keith Jenkins
Published: 2026-10-01
Last modified: 2026-10-02

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)

Keywords

Places