Celtic and Roman Museum

Name: Celtic and Roman Museum
Address: Södingberg 35, Geistthal-Södingberg, Graz - Region Graz, 8152, AT
Telephone: (0043) 3142 8134

Geistthal-Södingberg

The Söding Valley and the neighbouring mountain ranges have been inhabited for almost 6000 years.

In Roman times, almost 2000 years ago, intensive utilisation began, as evidenced by burial mounds and Roman stones. Farms were established in the fertile valley floors and a large estate, a "villa rustica", was built on the site of a Celtic settlement in Södingberg.

Information from the people of Södingberg drew the attention of scientists to a Roman archaeological site in the area of the municipality of Södingberg. Excavations by the Federal Office for the Protection of Monuments in 1996 and 1997 uncovered parts of a large "villa rustica" dating from the end of the 1st to the 4th century AD.

Traces of a predecessor settlement from the Latène period (2nd and 1st century BC) were also discovered. Further finds attest to the settlement of this area as early as the end of the Middle Bronze Age to the Late Bronze Age (14th and 13th centuries BC). The Södingberg Celtic and Roman Museum explores the archaeology of the Söding Valley, a valley landscape on the edge of the Alps that has been inhabited by humans for around 6000 years. Intensive utilisation began in Roman times, almost 2000 years ago. Farms were established in the fertile valley floors and a large estate, a "villa rustica", was built on the site of a Celtic settlement in Södingberg. The finds and scientific findings from this "villa of Södingberg" form the core of the Celtic and Roman Museum in Södingberg, which was established in 2008.