Flavia Solva

Retracing the Romans

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Location

Flavia Solva

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About the exhibition

Flavia Solva was one of the most cultivated towns in the Roman province of Noricum and is the most important Roman archaeological site in the country. Exhibits from over 140 years of archaeological research convey the feeling of ancient life at the original site!

Relaunch and reopening

In May 2017, Flavia Solva underwent a relaunch that redefined the name of the site, the quality of the visitor experience and the on-site promotion.

The objectives of the project were to rename the site, to better visualise the former extent of the ancient city of Flavia Solva and to equip the outdoor area with additional information boards.

About Flavia Solva

In Flavia Solva, the Roman era lies just a few centimetres below the surface. After the town was abandoned, the walls and roofs of the houses were reused. This is why we usually only find foundation walls during excavations. To protect these walls from the weather, the site was filled in. The position of the walls is still visible, they are marked by metal profiles on the surface.

We know very little about the use of the rooms, but the underfloor heating was certainly part of a living area.

In the 1st century AD, around 2,000 years ago, Italian traders laid out a regular grid of 20 metre wide streets above an existing small settlement. The open spaces between these streets, known as insulae, were densely built up after just a few decades. Almost 10,000 people lived and worked here.

The city of Flavia Solva once extended over 40 hectares, the archaeological protection zone corresponds to around 5 % of this area. After Flavia Solva was abandoned, it took more than 1,000 years before a city of this size could be built again in Styria: In the 17th century, Graz was about the same size as Flavia Solva.

Roman wall remains directly below the surface

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Many places in Flavia Solva had a clear view to the west, to the sanctuaries on the Frauenberg. At least the large temple on the hilltop plateau was easily recognisable with the naked eye. No traces of temples or public buildings have yet been found in Flavia Solva - with one exception: the location of the amphitheatre is known.

Flavia Solva was situated on a road that led from the Drava northwards to the Mur and upstream to the Mürztal. Two milestones found at the foot of the Kugelstein near Deutschfeistritz attest to the course of this road. Smaller roads led from Flavia Solva into the Laßnitz Valley, into the Sausal and eastwards into the Raab Valley. They were probably mainly used to supply Flavia Solva with everyday goods.

All these transport links are missing from the Roman lists of road stations. In Styria, only the so-called "Noric main road" is documented, which connected Virunum in Carinthia with Ovilava in Upper Austria and ran right through Upper Styria.

Burial mounds in Flavia Solva

Flavia Solva was the only Roman city with a burial mound. Despite its large size, the cemetery is relatively closed and densely occupied.

A burial mound group consisting of three mounds and shallow graves was located on a road leading southwards. These burial mounds were called "Kraberkögel" after the owner Krobath. Only one of the three mounds could be archaeologically investigated.

In 1916, the then regional archaeologist Walter Schmid excavated the mound with three burials and more than 40 artefacts from around 100 AD. The brick beehive-shaped installation of the burial mound was exhibited in the garden of the Joanneum in Graz as early as 1917 and only returned to Wagna in 2004.

Der Ausgräber Walter Schmid bei der Freilegung des Kraberkogels 1916

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Flavia Solva has been redesigned together with its spatial surroundings. The new exhibition shows the most important objects from Flavia Solva's more than 140 years of research history in a completely new concept. The museum pavilion now presents itself as a showcase that can be enclosed from the outside. The defining element of the presentation is the history of Flavia Solva from the perspective of urban research. The conservation of the Roman ruins and the design of the 20,000 m² outdoor area is also an important aspect of the new concept.

Since 2012, the new museum concept has made it possible to visit the permanent exhibition all year round with free admission around the clock.