Carnuntum and Epigraphy

The photographic database maintained by the University of Heidelberg provides unparalled opportunities to access primary sources for the researcher who is unable to travel to southern Austria. Photographs can be ‘read’ and amplify the demographic information that can be mined from the inscriptions as well as skills and literacy involved in the production of the artifacts. There is evidence of beliefs, customs and social norms from design conventions and representations. There is a wide variety of skill and expertise demonstrated in the quality of the inscriptions and the media on which they appear. Some of the grave markers and altars show chisel marks serving as a reminder that the flat surfaces, recesses and decorations were painstakingly created by hand.

A major problem that photographs from Carnuntum is the fragmentation of artifacts. A major earthquake that struck the area in 350-351 may be responsible. The Heidentor, originally sixty-five feet high with four arches, just south of the civilian city (canabae) that may have been built to commemorate military victories of Constantius II (337-361). It is possible that it was intended to dominate the intersection of the (military) limes road along the Danube and the ancient amber trade route. The construction of the triumphal gate shows a brick and rough stone core faced with dressed stone. The rubble may be the remains of stone buildings from Diocletian’s time (284-305). The reality effect of the Carnuntum photographic database is magnified by the available access to the database.