Villa Rustica (Bollendorf, Germany)

youtu.be Villa Rustica in Bollendorf

The Villa Rustica (Roman estate) was one of the many buildings from the Roman period in and around Bollendorf (Rhineland-Palatinate).

The complex is located above the current castle of Bollendorf. It was built in the second century AD and was used until the fifth century; during this time, some alterations were made. Apparently, the villa was no longer used after a fire. The complex consists of the foundation walls of a main residence measuring 27 x 23 meters. This included an atrium 17 meters long and 11 meters wide, which was later covered and used as additional living space. The house had two risalits on the valley side, between which there was a colonnade with a central staircase. The house and the veranda had a basement. Service rooms were located on the mountain side of the house; in the northern corner at the back of the house, there was also a room that could be heated by the hypocaust of the bathing facility, which was later built on the narrow western side. Between this room and the western risalit were the apodyterium, frigidarium, tepidarium, and caldarium; the lighting system was located in the great hall. Later, the extension to the north with the service kitchen and exit to the east was also added. To the west and north, the villa had a sandstone gutter. Water was collected in an underground collecting basin.

Excavations and protective measures

Johann Dahlem, who worked as a priest in Bollendorf from 1829 to 1857, had numerous finds from the Roman period. Bollendorf was one of the first places where Roman villas were excavated. Villae Rusticae that correspond to the type of building excavated in Bollendorf from 1907 are therefore referred to as the Bollendorf type. The excavations were initiated by the Provincial Museum of Trier and the Roman-Germanic Commission of the Archaeological Institute in Frankfurt and were carried out by the scholars Kropatscheck and Ebertz. In 1925, the bathing complex was covered, and the area was fenced off. Since Bollendorf was located in the area of the West Wall, and the city was shelled by American troops in 1944/45, there was a lot of devastation during World War II. The roofing of the bathing area also fell victim to the fighting and was replaced in the 1990s. The protective structure was later supplemented with an entrance building where visitors can learn more about the complex and the Gallo-Roman history of the area.

Monument protection

The archaeological monument “Villa Rustica (Bollendorf)” is protected as a registered cultural monument in accordance with the Monument Protection and Conservation Act (DSchG) of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Permission is needed for research and targeted collection of finds, and incidental finds must be reported to the monument preservation authorities.

Translated from German

Source: de.wikipedia.org

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