In autumn 2008, excavations at the site of the Roman baths at the vicus of Ricciacus - Dalheim brought to light one of the most important discoveries for this Gallo-Roman settlement: a thick layer of fire debris containing several inscribed fragments of the front of a large altar as well as its massive base, both in oolitic limestone from Lorraine. The monument had been toppled in the mid-4th century, with its inscribed side facing down. After restoration and reassembly, the altar is 1.63 m high.

Its 10-line-long inscription is engraved in a regular and harmonious writing. It contains a wealth of information not only on the Roman vicus of Dalheim, but also on the history of north eastern Gaul during the Crisis of the Third Century.

The dedication to the goddess Fortuna is worded in uncommon and highly political terms: the inhabitants of Dalheim believed that the goddess Fortuna had safeguarded the Roman Empire. The historical context is specified in the inscription: public order had been restored after a devastating incursion by a group of barbarians, which had caused the destruction of the portico of the baths. We assume that this concerns the Alemannic incursion in the spring of 254 and that “safeguarding the empire”, as mentioned on the inscription, refers to the Restitutio Galliarum of Emperor Gallienus, attested by coins in 257.

The inscription expressly mentions the Vicani Riccienses, inhabitants of Vicus Riccacus, definitive proof that the Roman settlement of Dalheim is in fact the Ricciaco that appears on Tabula Peutingeriana, a medieval copy of an old Roman map marking the main roads and cities of the Roman Empire.

Text | CC BY-NC | Fabienne Pietruk