Götter und Lararien aus Augusta Raurica

Summary
Within the last two hundred years, around 450 figurai
bronzes have come to light in the area of Roman
settlement in Augst and Kaiseraugst. The individual
objects were published in 1977 and 1994 in two
separate catalogue volumes; the present study draws
together some general points on the basis of this
material.
Although a series of metalworking workshops are
known in larger and smaller settlements in the Roman
Empire, it is practically impossible to attribute finished
products to them with any certainty. This is mainly
due to the technique of manufacturing for bronzes.
These were cast using the lost wax technique, but the
wax models employed for this were often made using
negative moulds which could be re-used in various
combinations. It was also possible to make negative
moulds from finished objects so that in some circumstances
the same bronzes could be reproduced far
away from the original place of production.
Despite these unfavourable preconditions, groups of
bronzes which correspond in terms of size, type and
stylistic characteristics may give indications of possible
workshop circles. In a few cases these can be defined
geographically. Thus two types of mixing rods and
knife handles of the 1st century AD are concentrated in
northern Switzerland and the adjoining region to the
west. The centres of production of a type of bucket
from the 2nd/3rd century, of which the occasional
attachments have survived in our area, are to be sought
in northern Italy. It is also possible to identify related
workshops for several types of statuettes of divinities.
The dating of Roman bronzes of average quality
from both Italy and the provinces remains a particular
problem. A comparison of several statuettes dated by
their finds context to the 1st century makes probable
that statuettes were also manufactured north of the
Alps from the middle of the 1st century at the latest.
The findspot within the area of the Roman settlement
is known for about three quarters of the figurai
bronzes from Augusta Raurica. An obvious concern
was to see whether conclusions could be drawn from
the distribution of these objects (part II). The vertical
distribution shows that 1st century layers produced
mainly small, everyday objects with a limited period of
use, together with militaria. Few finds complexes with
figurai bronzes have survived from the mid-imperial
period. The fact that other categories of finds are also
poorly represented in this period may be connected
with a different method of building. The majority of
surviving statuettes derives from finds complexes of
the later imperial period. Apparently these were kept
until the end of the period of Roman settlement
because they were valuable and religiously significant
possessions.
The horizontal distribution of the bronzes proved to
be less informative. Not surprisingly, public buildings
were cleared more systematically than residential and
industrial areas. What is remarkable, however, is that
the character and quantity of bronzes surviving in wellto-do
houses is hardly distinguishable from those
found in the more modest craftsmen's neighbourhoods.
It seems that too many external factors played
a role here for conclusions to be reached from the
available material about social structure and accoutrements.
As the most important and varied group of bronzes
from Augusta Raurica, the statuettes of divinities
were examined as a group (part III). Their findspots
are for the most part in the residential and industrial
neighbourhoods. It is therefore probable that even
statuettes which were found singly once stood in
domestic shrines. As well as statuettes, a lararium
inventory could include incense cups and pottery
vessels with snake motives. Among the evidence for
cults known in Augst and Kaiseraugst are, besides
bronze statuettes, votive inscriptions and stone sculptures.
Unfortunately, of the inscriptions, which could
best give information on religious life, only a few fragments
survive. Statuettes of divinities on top of small
offerings boxes, of which there is an example from
Kaiseraugst, are in evidence above all in eastern Gaul,
mainly in domestic spheres (excursus II).
Part IV deals with the function and use of statuettes
of divinities in broad terms. Under investigation was
the composition of groups of statuettes which intentionally
or by chance were buried together. The starting
point was six groups of finds from the urban area
of Augusta Raurica which wholly or partially comprise
statuettes. As many groups of statuettes as possible
from Italy and the provinces were studied.
The numerous finds from the towns by Vesuvius
which were buried in situ because of the volcanic eruption
give a good picture of the contents and variety of
domestic shrines in Campania. Outside Italy, the contents
of numerous lararia have survived, above all in
Gaul and Germany. These are often not found in place
inside a house, however, but rather in so-called precautionary
caches («Angstdepots») which were established
in a time of danger in order to keep precious
possessions safe. Statuettes from lararia have sometimes
also found their way into stashes of booty or
of metal for recycling. The contents of lararia in the
provinces largely correspond to their Italian model
although the actual house gods, the lares, appear less
frequently. The choice of statuettes seems to have
depended entirely on personal preference in that
statuettes of different sizes and quality, both treasured
heirlooms and contemporary pieces could stand in the
same lararium. A general comparison shows that
especially varied compositions of lararia have survived
in Augusta Raurica.
The same statuettes that stand in lararia could also
be consecrated in public shrines. Most evidence for