Roman villa and mausoleum in Kővágószőlős

The Roman villa and mausoleum is located on the border of Kővágószőlős, west of the access road leading from the main road 6. It is the only excavated and monumentally restored Roman villa building in Southern Transdanubia.

History

The ruins of the villa were first discovered in 1867. Near it, in 1912, the “Kővágószőlősi Venus”, a small Roman bronze statue, was uncovered. Its main building and burial chapel were excavated between 1975 and 1983, then in 1986–87 the ruins were conserved and a protective structure was erected over the tomb chapel.

The villa was built in the second half of the 2nd century, and after the Roxolani invasion around 260 it was restored. The rectangular villa building’s entrance façade was decorated with a portico. From this, the villa’s bath opened on the eastern side. The residential rooms opened from the inner peristyle courtyard of the building.

Its owners built a chapel with a painted burial chamber in the middle of the 4th century, following the type of early Christian burial chapels uncovered in the cemetery of Sopianae. The final destruction of the building was caused by a fire in the late 4th century.

Access

A sign does not indicate its exact location. It is located about 1 km from Golgota, along a dirt road running southward from the road connecting Kővágószőlős and Kővágótöttös, opposite Golgota.