A metropolis such as Carnuntum required supplies as a matter of course. In Carnuntum’s hinterland grand estates with luxurious country villas thus came into being.
The hinterland in the early days is defined as the area which can supply the military camp without too much expense. In this region farming estates (villae) and villages (vici) develop in the early days, but they can very seldom be differentiated by the archaeological finds. The villages, where perhaps workshops were predominant, complemented the estates where farming was practiced. A connection with pre-Roman settlement structures can hardly be proven so far. It seems that a large-scale survey of the whole area was not carried out, but settlement has followed a known preference for slightly elevated locations on a slope. Groups of settlements seem to be structured around these natural phenomena and are connected by roads, which in some cases can be proven. Even modest waterways, such as the River Leitha, attract settlements, and would have been used for transportation.
TIP: Explore the life of Carnuntum’s lords of the manor and visit the excavated villas in Höflein.
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