Vussem aqueduct bridge

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Partially reconstructed antique aqueduct bridge near Mechernich -Vussem

The aqueduct bridge of Vussem is part of the Roman Eifel aqueduct , which was built in the 1st century AD to supply fresh water to the Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium , Roman Cologne . To the east of the Mechernich district of Vussem , the aqueduct spanned a now nameless side valley of the Veybach .

In the late 1950s, two Roman pillar foundations were carelessly destroyed during construction work that was necessary to create a neighboring sports field. In 1959 , the Rhineland Regional Council took this as an opportunity to carry out a comprehensive archaeological excavation there under the direction of Waldemar Haberey .

construction

Based on the excavation results by Haberey, reliable statements can be made about the construction of the aqueduct bridge. The structure spanned a length of about 80 m over the valley and was up to 10 m high. The aqueduct probably consisted of 13 arches, which carried an attached canal 0.72 m clear width and 1.32 m clear height. The drinking water flowed through the pipe in the area of ​​the aqueduct bridge with a gradient of 0.4%. Archaeologically proven ten of the presumably twelve cantilevered bridge piers with a clearance of 2.5 m. The pillars resting on until reaching to 2 m deep in the soil and 2.2 x 2.2 m wide foundations of mortared grauwacke , the locally pending . The rising masonry was made of the same material. The building was faced with hand blocks made of hewn greywacke. A joint line could be detected on individual cuboids, as was common in representative Roman buildings. The striker plates of the arches and the cover stones of the channel were probably made of sandstone .

With the help of the aqueduct bridge, the Roman engineers avoided a wide valley bypass. Down the line, at the aqueduct bridge in what is now the forest, a still-preserved working terrace began, which accompanied the canal, which was now run underground again.

Monument protection

The area of ​​the aqueduct is a ground monument according to the monument protection law of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia - DSchG NW . Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to approval, and accidental finds are reported to the monument authorities.

The excavation results from 1959 formed the basis for a partial reconstruction of the facility, which is now open to tourists and, as station 13, is part of the Römerkanal hiking trail , which was renewed in 2012 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DSchG NW
  2. ↑ Klaus Grewe, Manfred Knauff: The long leadership of the Romans. The Römerkanal hiking trail Nettersheim-Cologne. 2012, p. 165 ff.

literature

  • Klaus Grewe : Atlas of the Roman water pipes to Cologne (= Rhenish excavations. Volume 26). With contributions by Werner Brinker, Günther Garbrecht, Hansgerd Hellenkemper , Heinz-Otto Lamprecht, Horst D. Schulz , Edgar Thofern. Rheinland-Verlag, Cologne 1986, ISBN 3-7927-0868-X , p. 76 f.
  • Klaus Grewe: Aqueducts. Water for Rome's cities. The big overview - from the Roman Canal to the aqueduct marble. Regionalia Verlag, Rheinbach 2014, ISBN 978-3-95540-127-6 , p. 278 ff.
  • Klaus Grewe: Mechernich-Vussem: Roman aqueduct bridge. In: Heinz Günter Horn (Ed.): The Romans in North Rhine-Westphalia . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-8062-0312-1 , p. 553.
  • Klaus Grewe: The Römerkanalwanderweg. An archaeological hiking guide (= guide to archaeological monuments in the Rhineland. Volume 1). Text tape. Published by the Eifelverein in 1988 in cooperation with the Rhineland Regional Council, Rheinisches Amt für Bodendenkmalpflege. Verlag des Eifelverein, Düren 1988, ISBN 3-921805-16-3 , p. 84 ff.
  • Klaus Grewe, Manfred Knauff: The long leadership of the Romans. The Römerkanal hiking trail Nettersheim-Cologne. Publisher: Eifelverein e. V. 1st edition 2012. ISBN 978-3-921805-81-7 , pp. 165 ff.
  • Waldemar Haberey : The Roman water pipes to Cologne. The technology of water supply in an ancient city (= art and antiquity on the Rhine. No. 37). 2nd Edition. Rheinland-Verlag u. a., Bonn 1972, ISBN 3-7927-0146-4 , p. 87 ff.
  • Waldemar Haberey: The Roman Eifel aqueduct to Cologne. In: Northeastern Eifel foreland - Euskirchen, Zülpich, Bad Münstereifel, Blankenheim. Part I: Introductory essays (= Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz et al. (Hrsg.): Guide to prehistoric and early historical monuments. Volume 25). Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein 1974, p. 82 f.
  • Werner Hilgers : Vussem, aqueduct . In: Walter Sölter (Ed.): The Roman Germania from the air . Gustav Lübbe Verlag, Bergisch Gladbach 1983, ISBN 3-7857-0298-1 .

Coordinates: 50 ° 33 ′ 53.4 "  N , 6 ° 40 ′ 6.6"  E