The Celtic-Roman village

Thanks to archaeological excavations on the Haselanger meadow on the other side of the Möll, it was possible to prove that there used to be a settlement on this gently sloping plateau which was well protected from floodwaters. It was a Celtic-Roman village which was likely to have existed from the 1^st century BC to well into the 4^th century AD. It covered an area of over two hectares.

Originally, the village probably consisted of buildings made out of wood and mud with roofs made out of straw and wooden shingles. As time went by, the houses were improved and extended. In around 50 AD, dwellings and other buildings started to be built in stone in Carinthia and this continued for as long as the Romans ruled over the area (some 400 years). It might reasonably be assumed that the Celtic elite gradually took over Roman construction methods using stone and that Romans also settled down in Argentum.

“Hey Matugenta, your grandfather Gannicus, our Druid, is waiting for you down on the Möll’s sacred water meadow. You wanted to hang up the consecrated carved tablets there together”, called Bucca, Matugenta’s mother.

“I’ll go there at once, but afterwards I have to sweep the road running through the village. The cheeky lads have also left graffiti on the beautiful lime plaster on grandfather Atto’s house, built in Roman style out of stone. I’ll have to wash that off. Just imagine what would happen if he saw it!”, Matugenta replied.

Bucca laughed: “That’s why I’m staying put in my traditional wooden house. They’re respected. And the ornamentation on it was done exclusively by our wood carver here in the village. He also carves the most beautiful statues of gods and goddesses as well as wooden reliefs.”