Roman villa near Kinheim-Kindel
The Roman Villa near Kinheim-Kindel is an estate of a Moselle winemaker that was excavated from 1976 above the Kinheim-Kindel district below Losnich in the "Villenbungert" parcel. During road construction work as part of the land consolidation, extensive wall remnants were cut in 1976, which turned out to be the remains of a Roman house. The Rheinisches Landesmuseum dug the house of a farmer or winemaker free in an emergency excavation. The exposed foundation walls with the room divisions that can still be largely reconstructed were buried again after the archaeological investigations except for a small area in the middle of the building that is still accessible today. Not far from the facility was another "Roman neighbor", the Roman estate near Lösnich, in the Losnich Hinterwald at the height in the direction of Wolf approx. 1.5 km away . The establishment and abandonment of this estate were dated to the 1st to 4th centuries AD.
building
The exposed mansion of a Roman country estate corresponded in its ground plan to the villa type (Bollendorf type) widespread in the Gallic provinces. The two tower-like square corner risalites to the left and right of the entrance hall ( porticus ) and the adjoining central hall with further rooms and the rooms of the bathroom area are typical. The cold bath ( frigidarium ) was connected to an anteroom for undressing , and a transition room ( tepidarium ) led to the hot bath ( caldarium ). The rooms were heated by underfloor heating.
What is striking about the floor plan is that it was found twice: The first villa 17 m deep and 29 m wide probably gave way to a new building 25 m deep and 43 m wide with a total of 22 rooms in the 3rd century AD.
Sucellus
A special find is the sculpture of the flail god Sucellus made from coarse yellowish sandstone with a height of 81 cm, a width of 39 cm and a depth of 31 cm. The bearded god carries grapes and vine leaves in the bag he holds with his left hand. Two stave barrels are stacked behind him. This cult image is interpreted as a reference to the activities of the villa's residents. Its creation time is dated in the 3rd century. It provides further evidence of viticulture on the Middle Moselle in Roman times, like the wine presses in Piesport, Brauneberg, Noviant and Lösnich.
Coin finds
In addition to the general finds that date back to the 1st half of the 2nd century, there were also coin finds from the 2nd to 4th centuries.
Abandonment of the residential complex
Characteristic small finds, such as a three-layer comb made of bone with a triangular grip plate and a belt buckle made of iron, suggest that Teutons were still settled here after 360 AD. Attempts were made to counteract the supply shortages caused by Germanic invasions in the middle of the 3rd century and the problem of the strongly declining population in the Gaulish and Germanic provinces by settling Germanic peoples prisoners of war in order to continue to cultivate the unused agricultural areas. After recovered finds, including some coins, the complex was probably completely abandoned in the first half of the 5th century.
literature
- Wolfgang Binsfeld: The Roman villa of Kinheim. In: Celts and Romans in the Kröver Empire. Commemorative publication on the occasion of the 26th International Costume Meeting of the Moselle in Kröv from June 29th to July 2nd 1979
- Karl-Josef Gilles: The Roman villa of Kinheim. In: Yearbook 1991 Bernkastel Wittlich district. Publisher of the Bernkastel-Wittlich district administration, Weiss-Druck publishing house, Monschau
Individual evidence
- ^ Karl Josef Gilles, The Roman Villa in Kinheim, p. 144
- ^ Karl Josef Gilles, The Roman Villa in Kinheim, p. 147
- ^ Karl Josef Gilles, The Roman Villa in Kinheim, p. 148
Coordinates: 49 ° 58 ′ 0.1 ″ N , 7 ° 2 ′ 55.2 ″ E