Villa-type Roman Settlement

During the long-term archaeological research, there were several buildings from the Roman Age discovered in the Devín castle site. As documented by the findings, German inhabitants had been living here at least since the 20s of the 1st century AD. In the same century, a significant presence of Romans is also assumed. However, as confirmed by the construction material, particularly the stamped bricks, majority of the Roman items are dated back to the 3rd and 4th centuries. The period of a demanding maintenance of Limes Romanus on the Danube river and continuous weakening of the Roman’s power was concerned there.

Foundations of the largest Roman building in Devín were discovered by archaeologists on the courtyard of the middle castle near the medieval well. The building is dated back to the 3rd century when the Severan dynasty ruled Rome. After its reconstruction during the reign of the Caesar Valentinian I (364 – 375), it might be used as a part of the villa-type civil dwelling for purposes of the German nobility. Constructions of such sumptuous buildings resulted from the improving relationships between Romans and Germans. The building with the size of 13.5 × 9m was oriented towards the North-West and South-East. It consisted of four rooms, two original ones and two additional ones built in the 4th century. One of the rooms was ended with the apse oriented towards the South-West with its floor made of stone plates.