Roman Villa Altheim

The Villa Rustica is a Roman estate located in the Innviertel, northeast of the Upper Austrian town of Altheim, in the village of Weirading, Kiriberg district.

The site is located exactly north of the two other villas in the area, Simetsberg and Wagham. Since they lie exactly on a line, it can be assumed that a Roman road ran here. The villa was probably inhabited from 80 to 240 AD.

The research of the villa began in 1913/14 with the inspection of the villa. In 1991/92, a geophysical prospection of the area was carried out. In 1994, the excavation of the foundations followed, which had already been severely damaged by agricultural use and erosion, and from 1996 to 1998, the bathhouse was excavated. The special feature of this Villa Rustica lies in its size; a 50 m long corridor led to the bathhouse, which, with 350 square meters, had a large area for a villa rustica. The front of the main building was 100 meters long and 25 meters wide.

After the end of the excavations and documentation, the foundations were backfilled.

In 2003, as part of the Archaeology in Upper Austria project, the bathhouse was reconstructed slightly offset and opened as an open-air facility.