Villa Borg
Location
Garden
Villa Borg
Keywords
Garden Description
The villa of Borg is situated in a forest between the villages Borg and Oberleuken, community of Perl (Landkreis Merzig-Wadern), in the border-region Germany - Luxembourg - France. The huge villa complex is situated in a densely occupied Roman settlement region on the fertile plateaus between the river valleys of Saar and Mosel. Pars urbana and pars rustica covered an area of about 7.5 hectare. The villa was built in the direct vicinity of the Roman road from Metz to Trier (Augusta Treverorum), which was part of the far-distance connection between Marseille and Cologne.
Recent archaeological excavations have shown traces of an earlier rural settlement below the foundations of the villa. This first occupation can be dated to late Celtic times or directly to the beginning of Roman occupation. In the second quarter of the 1st century A.D. it was followed by a possibly two-angled timber-framed building of 17.80 x 10.40 m, which is interpreted as proto-villa. The construction of the later stone-buildings took place around 50 A.D. The main period of the villa lasted from the end of the 1st to the late 3rd century A.D. From the middle of the 4th century A.D. (Plan, Fig 1)onwards only some parts of the villa were still occupied. It was completely abandoned by the end of the 4th century A.D.
Since 1987, the eastern part of the site, the pars urbana, was completely excavated. The main building, a porticus villa, type Bollendorf, was completely reconstructed, exactly on top of the Roman foundations. The pars rustica in the western part, covering an area of 400 x 150 m, is not yet excavated. Geophysical measurements gave evidence of two parallel rows of at least 14 small buildings; possible used for storage and handicraft activities.
Unfortunately only a few architectural elements, like the two water basins (Fig 2), gave hints to the Roman garden architecture. The huge water basin of 10 x 30 m and the two-angled central porticus building of the villa were enclosing a yard, which was most probably laid out as a representative Roman garden in Mediterranean style. A few remaining fragments of stone sculptures point to a representative garden architecture. Additionally, archaeobotanical investigations gave evidence of agricultural activities connected with the villa. A waste pit excavated in the inner yard of the pars urbana revealed carbonised waste of processing spelt and einkorn, probably grown as maslin. Further cultivated crops were emmer, naked wheat, hulled barley and the pulses lentil, pea and Celtic bean. Evidence of fruit tree cultivation is scarce. Only pear and a fragment of an undetermined cultivated Prunoideae fruitstone were recorded.
In the year 2000, the reconstructed main building of the villa with its bath, now occupying a small museum, was completed by the reconstruction of a representative Roman garden. This garden is situated between the reconstructed central building and the huge Roman water basin. In the following it was completed by a vegetable garden, a rose garden and a small vineyard, presenting Roman horticulture to the public. The reconstruction was part of the European Union's Interreg-II project "gardens without borders". Concerning the poor local evidence from the recent excavations the reconstruction was mainly based on the better evidence of Roman gardens from villas in Italy and France.
Maps
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Plans
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Images
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Dates
Unspecified
Bibliography
- J. Brück, "Die villa von Borg", in: Der Kreis Merzig-Wadern und die Mosel zwischen Nennig und Metz. Führer zu archäologischen Denkmälern in Deutschland 24 (Stuttgart 1992) 112-119. (worldcat)
- R. Gleser & A. Miron, Romanisierungsforschung im Saarland. Archäologische Informationen 18, 1995, 213-215
- A. Miron (Hrsg.), Das Badegebäude der römischen Villa von Borg (Merzig 1997). (worldcat)
- J. Wiethold, "Archäobotanische Aspekte der <
> in Südwestdeutschland: Bemerkungen zur Unkrautflora römerzeitlicher Dinkeläcker", in: A. Müller-Karpe, H. Brandt, H. Jöns, D. Krauße & A. Wigg (eds.), Studien zur Archäologie der Kelten und Römer in Mittel- und Westeuropa. Alfred Haffner zum 60 Geburtstag gewidmet. Internationale Archäologie - Studia Honoraria 4 (Rahden/Westfalen 1998) 531-551. (worldcat) - M. Frey, Die römische villa von Borg. Ein reiches Landgut mit vorrömischer Tradition", in: A. Haffner & S. Schnurbein (eds.), Kelten, Germanen und Römer im Mittelgebirgsraum zwischen Luxemburg und Thüringen. Akten des Internationalen Kolloquiums zum DFG-Schwerpunktprogramm "Romanisierung" in Trier vom 28. bis 30. September 1998. Kolloquien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte 5 (Bonn 2000) 41-50. (worldcat)
- J. Wiethold, "Kontinuität und Wandel in der landwirtschaftlichen Produktion und Nahrungsmittelversorgung zwischen Spätlatènezeit und gallo-römischer Epoche. Archäobotanische Analysen in der Großvillenanlage von Borg, Krs. Merzig-Wadern", in: A. Haffner & S. Schnurbein (eds.), Kelten, Germanen und Römer im Mittelgebirgsraum zwischen Luxemburg und Thüringen. Akten des Internationalen Kolloquiums zum DFG-Schwerpunktprogramm "Romanisierung" in Trier vom 28. bis 30. September 1998. Kolloquien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte 5 (Bonn 2000) 147-159. (worldcat)
- B. Birkenhagen, Die Römische Villa Borg. Ein Begleiter durch die Anlage (Merzig 2004).(worldcat)