The villae of Thalerhof and Löffelbach: Residences for the elite of Roman Noricum

Two of the most luxurious Roman villae known in Austria/Noricum were found in Thalerhof and Löffelbach. In the paper the two (residential) buildings are analyzed, and both are placed within the context of the Roman villeggiatura on the one hand, and the settlement and administrative structure of the province Noricum and the municipal area of Flavia Solva on the other hand. While the villa of Thalerhof, by its architetural form and material finds, can be inserted virtually seamlessly into the regional context of the High Roman Empire, the villa of Löffelbach shows a close relation to various late Roman representative buildings, which supports the assumption of a construction date in the 4th century CE.