The site of the exhibition of Ancient Gerulata in Rusovce is located on the site of a former Roman military castle on the borders of the Limes Romanus fortress system from the 2nd to 4th centuries. The complex monument restoration of the site began in 1975. A modern exhibition hall was built for the presentation of findings from archaeological research from this site, in which, since 1985, there has been an exposition dedicated to monuments from the Roman era. The preserved remains of the original architecture of the castle in the premises of the building were made available in 1988 and became part of the exhibition.
The Romans used the Danube as a natural border and built the ingenious Limes Romanus fortress system here. The border of today's Slovakia touched the castle of Gerulat in Rusovce. The camp had an important strategic role – it protected the eastern wing of the legions stationed in Carnunta, the capital of the Upper Pannonia province.
The name Gerulata was probably taken by the Romans from the original Celtic population. Based on the parts of the castle that have been examined so far, it is possible to reconstruct its four construction stages, the location of burials and civil settlements - vicus, as well as agricultural estates and villa rustici. The exhibition presents the history of the building and the life of the castle's inhabitants primarily through archaeological findings.
We date the creation of Gerulata to the period of the Flavian reign. Kastel was founded by a unit of Cohors V Lucensium in the period of Domitian (81-96). From the beginning of the 2nd century AD. the elite cavalry unit Ala I Cannanefatum had a permanent garrison here. During archaeological research in Rusovce, variants of the stamps of the Legio X Gemina Pia Fidelis, Legio XIIII Gemina, Legio XIIII Gemina Martia Victrix and Legio XV Apollinaris units were discovered. From the auxiliary units of the unit Cohors I Aelia Sagittariorum and Ala I Ulpia. The find of the already mentioned brick with Ala I Cannanefatum stamp is exceptional, the first and only one.
The last stage of reconstruction of Gerulata took place in the 4th century. Findings from the research of the Longobard burial ground with 166 graves in the Rusoviec extravilana testify to the advantageous location of this location even in the following historical period known as the Migration Period.
Slovak
Czech
Hungarian
German
