July 30: A few years ago, the first ceramic finds came to light during construction work in the Burg district of the municipality of Hannersdorf. Geomagnetic surveys in subsequent years provided evidence of numerous kilns that are thought to lie hidden beneath the field. In a recent educational excavation led by Basema Hamarneh from the University of Vienna, archaeologists have now uncovered two pottery kilns. A further 100 kilns are thought to still lie buried – an unprecedented discovery of a local production centre for utilitarian pottery from the Roman period. The finds date from the mid-1st century to the mid-2nd century CE.
The fields north of Burger Badesee have long been known as the Asten archaeological site due to surface finds dating from the Roman Imperial period. In 2021, during construction work on the B56 Geschriebenstein Straße, situated to the east of the site, a large number of Roman pottery fragments and the remains of pottery kilns were discovered. In the years that followed, geomagnetic surveys revealed that numerous archaeological structures lie beneath the field: kilns, building foundations and levelled burial mounds. The current excavations are now intended to shed light on the actual scale and significance of the site – and the findings so far have exceeded expectations.
Within the first two weeks of work, the remains of two pottery kilns with working pits, as well as further pits believed to be clay extraction and waste pits, were documented just below the surface (at a depth of approx. 40 cm). The kilns and surrounding pits are filled with pottery. “Our finds suggest that this was a large pottery production site,” says excavation director Basema Hamarneh from the University of Vienna. The items produced included bowls, dishes, cups and storage vessels.
Finds preserved in their entirety provide fascinating insights into everyday production
The current excavation has already yielded a number of special finds. “There are a striking number of vessels preserved in their entirety, which is not often the case. In addition, there are many defective pieces – that is, items that failed during production. On the one hand, this suggests that production here took place on a large scale and was not merely for local consumption. And such defective pieces also give us fascinating insights into the production processes,” explains Hamarneh. The archaeologists have also found imported goods (such as ‘Terra Sigillata’), which further supports the theory of a large-scale production site.
It is also striking that there is no known consumer settlement in the immediate vicinity of the site. The nearest major Roman settlement is the Roman town of Savaria (Szombathely) in present-day Hungary, founded in the early first century and situated 16 km away as the crow flies. This also suggests that this was a supra-regional pottery production site.
Neolithic finds point to a particularly favourable location for production
The location of the find is unlikely to be a coincidence. Indeed, there are also Neolithic surface finds (pottery shards, remains of post-built longhouses) dating from the 6th millennium BCE. “This is therefore what is known as a multi-period site. The finds from the Neolithic and Roman periods are not directly related, but they show that the site was already inhabited millennia earlier and apparently offers very good conditions for production,” said Hamarneh.
Data from geomagnetic surveys have also shown that, some 1.5 km away, there are outliers of the well-known Hallstatt and Roman-period Schandorf burial mound field. “This is further evidence that the site was an important hub of human activity over thousands of years,” explains Hamarneh.
Burgenland was a driving force behind production and trade in Roman times
The excavations will continue until 7 August, with the team uncovering new finds every day. “Every find – from intact vessels and defective pottery to imported terra sigillata – helps to paint a clearer picture of a vibrant, widely connected Roman economic landscape in what is now Burgenland, and underlines once again that the region was far more than just a ‘peripheral province’ of the Empire; it was an active driving force behind production and trade,” says Hamarneh.