From Romans to the Anthropocene: Geoarchaeological Investigations in the Central Vienna Basin (Austria)

Abstract

<p class="western" lang="es-ES" align="justify"><span lang="en-GB">The project </span><span lang="en-GB">»</span><span lang="en-GB">From Romans to the Anthropocene, from Carnuntum to Vienna: An Urban Anthropocene Field Lab</span><span lang="en-GB">«</span><span lang="en-GB"> (WWTF ESR20-027) focuses on the urban transformation from the Roman legionary camps of Carnuntum and Vindobona to Vienna's periurban areas. Combining historical and geoarchaeological methods, </span><span lang="en-GB">we investigate</span><span lang="en-GB"> the diverging development of the two sites and their manifold relations over time. </span></p> <p class="western" lang="es-ES" align="justify"><span lang="en-GB">The Danube river crosses the mountain ranges of the Wienerwald and Mal</span><span lang="en-GB">é</span><span lang="en-GB"> Karpaty, forming the eastern and western limits of the central Vienna Basin. For many centuries</span><span lang="en-GB">,</span><span lang="en-GB"> the river </span><span lang="en-GB">was</span><span lang="en-GB"> both a barrier and a transportation route. The floodplains and river terraces along the Danube served as concentration area</span><span lang="en-GB">s</span><span lang="en-GB"> and battleground</span><span lang="en-GB">s</span><span lang="en-GB"> during countless conflicts between central Europe and its enemies. </span></p> <p class="western" lang="es-ES" align="justify"><span lang="en-GB">The legionary camps </span><span lang="en-GB">of </span><span lang="en-GB">Carnuntum and Vindobona were built during the first century AD at the rim of glacial river terraces, next to the shortest passages across the Danube. During late </span><span lang="en-GB">a</span><span lang="en-GB">ntiquity, the former provincial capital Carnuntum lost importance. However, Vindobona became first a local cente</span><span lang="en-GB">r</span><span lang="en-GB"> and </span><span lang="en-GB">later</span><span lang="en-GB"> the capital of the Austrian rulers. After a sudden Turkish siege </span><span lang="en-GB">in </span><span lang="en-GB">1529, the fortifications of Vienna were strengthened and maintained until the </span><span lang="en-GB">m</span><span lang="en-GB">iddle of </span><span lang="en-GB">the </span><span lang="en-GB">19</span><sup><span lang="en-GB">th</span></sup><span lang="en-GB"> c</span><span lang="en-GB">entury.</span></p> <p class="western" lang="es-ES" align="justify"><span lang="en-GB">Urban development of the region over the centuries was limited not only by permanent military threats. North of the Danube, agriculture was always restricted climatically by aridity and sand drift. Most settlements on the riverbanks of the Danube and i</span><span lang="en-GB">t</span><span lang="en-GB">s tributaries were affected frequently by floods and erosion. Many villages vanished completely </span><span lang="en-GB">as a</span><span lang="en-GB"> consequence of such natural hazards. Since some decades, natural river dynamics </span><span lang="en-GB">have been</span><span lang="en-GB"> restricted technically, and many </span><span lang="en-GB">areas under cultivation</span><span lang="en-GB"> are </span><span lang="en-GB">now </span><span lang="en-GB">irrigated artificially. The analysis of the sediment</span><span lang="en-GB">ary</span><span lang="en-GB"> record downstream of Vienna clearly shows the anthropogenic impact </span><span lang="en-GB">o</span><span lang="en-GB">n sedimentation processes. </span></p> <p class="western" lang="es-ES" align="justify">Contrary to Carnuntum, Vienna could evolve from a legionary camp step by step into a capital and a strong fortress. <span lang="es-ES">T</span>he demolition of the city walls after the middle of the 19<sup>th</sup> century, the following long period of peace, and, in particular, the consequent river engineering, were preconditions for the development into a modern <span lang="es-ES">metropolis</span>.</p>