Archaeologists conducting excavations amid the renovation of the Neue Residenz in Salzburg’s Old Town have discovered a Roman ship’s bow crafted from bronze—believed to have adorned the walls or doors of a luxurious Roman city villa.
Salzburg, one of Austria’s most picturesque cities, lies in the northern foothills of the Alps along the Salzach River. Known worldwide as Mozart’s birthplace and for its UNESCO-listed baroque Old Town, the city has now added a remarkable new layer to its story. During renovations at the Neue Residenz in the historic center, archaeologists uncovered an ornamental bronze ship’s prow believed to have once adorned the walls or doors of a luxurious Roman villa.
A Bronze Relic of Roam Iuvavum
The object, weighing about one and a half kilograms, was unearthed in the second courtyard of the Neue Residenz. Beneath layers of rubble, researchers identified the remains of a Roman city villa dating to the 2nd or 3rd century AD. Within this protective layer lay the bronze ship’s bow—a piece that archaeologists immediately recognized as extraordinary.
Experts describe the find as the largest bronze artifact discovered in Salzburg’s ancient predecessor, Iuvavum, since the mid-20th century. Large bronze objects from antiquity rarely survive intact, as most were melted down and recycled for their material value. That this ornate fragment survived beneath collapsed walls is considered nothing short of remarkable.
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