Team

Dr. Dr. Axel von Berg
Leiter Außenstelle Koblenz
Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz
Direktion Landesarchäologie
Außenstelle Koblenz
Niederberger Höhe 1
56077 Koblenz
Tel.: 0261/6675-3000

Dr. Eveline Saal M.A.
Rheinische-Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität Bonn
Vor- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie
Regina-Pacis-Weg 7
53113 Bonn
E-Mail: esaal(at)uni-bonn.de
Tel.: 0261/6675-3017

Manuel Kickenberg
Rheinische-Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität Bonn
Vor- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie
Regina-Pacis-Weg 7
53113 Bonn
E-Mail: mkick(at)uni-bonn.de
Tel.: 0261/6675-3017

Summary

Since 2008 large scale excavations in the old centre have been done in Andernach, a city situated upon the banks of the middle part of the River Rhine. This was started by the branch office Koblenz of  regional archaeology of Rhineland-Palatinate-Directorate General of Cultural Heritage. The antique Antunnacum prospered as a port since Roman times - based on the extensive and far reaching export of products made of tuff, basalt and ceramics, produced in the East Eifel. A great advantage for the growth and development of the settlement was its central position on the River Rhine and several major highways that crossed the region.

Within this DFG-Project the regional archaeology of Rhineland-Palatinate in Koblenz cooperates with the Pre- and Early Historical Archaeology Department of Rheinische-Friedrich-Wilhelms University Bonn. Using interdisciplinary methods they do research work on the Roman port on the Rhine, its real extension has only roughly been estimated up to now.

Description of the project

Since Roman times the favourable geographic position next to the traffic intersection of major highways along the Rhine has made Antunnacum an ideal site of shipment for tuff, basalt and products of the quarries near to what are now the towns of  Kruft, Mendig and Mayen. We can be sure that Antunnacum played a rather important role for trade and transport of goods from the potteries of what now is Mayen. This production of goods of high quality and the flourishing success of the harbour of export on the Rhine stand in close correlation and added to the permanent growth of the Roman settlement. Up to modern times Andernach was the most important place of transshipment for millstones made of basalt and for other products from the Eifel region. The site of the port, as far as we know it up to now, was along the antique course of the River Rhine and we can assume that in Roman times it was widened to a port facility with several embark points along the riverbank.

Since 2008 large scale excavations have been done within the antique settlement just south of the late antique fortifications. This was done by the branch office Koblenz of regional archaeology. The archaeological excavations in the centre of the old town started after the old malt factory had been pulled down. On a site of 4000 square m. ruins of the Roman port have been found. Moreover the Rhine-sided fortification dating from late antiquity has remained for a length of 60 m. and separates the site of the settlement from the site of the antique port. The direct connection between port and settlement has been found and documented. Finds and test trenches prove that the port area has been made use of since the first century A D. Next to the river port more and more rows of houses and thermae were built along the paved streets. A number of kilns, iron foundries and ovens was found. During the 4^th century A D civil townhouses were pulled down right in the middle of the antique settlement to make room for several large buildings. Remains of these could be verified and assigned to Migration Period from the Early- up to the High Middle Ages – thus it is allowed to assume a similar continuity for the port facilities.

The present excavations of the DFG-Project cover untilled terrain of about 3400 square m. positioned directly between the Rhine-sided fortification and the present Rhine bed. Within the area sections were done in 2008 which brought up part of an antique wharf and at the same time revealed the thickness of the sedimentation. Organic remains and rich finds in the water-bearing sediments in the harbour bottom turned up to be excellent.

In December 2012 a section was started immediately outside the fort next to the harbour area. This section is 16 m. long and 10 m. wide – work upon it had to be interrupted due to bad weather conditions including floods. So it was planned to continue the archaeological investigations in spring 2013.

In addition to this section and to clarify the sequence and the thickness of the sediment layers a 75 m. borehole transect with 17 boreholes was created. At the present time the results of these borings seem to reveal a wooden bank reinforcement parallel with the Rhine stretching for 35 to 40 m. in the area of the northern side of the Roman fort. Numerous waterlogged wood finds, which were discovered in the respective cores, seem to support this argument. To clear up this assumption additional geophysical surveys are planned in the next step.

In addition to the archaeological trenches scientific investigation with cooperating partners of geophysics, geography and paleo-botany have been planed to minutely clarify the structure of the harbour and its additional equipments within the Roman vicus and the antique fort. The aim of this by-project is to win new and extensive knowledge of the act of taking possession of the country, river development and environmental changes since the beginning of the Roman epoch up to the Middle Ages.

Translation: I. Klefisch

Literature:

D. Ellmers, Archäologischer Kommentar zu dem Gedicht des Venantius Fortunatus über seine Moselreise. In: K. Schäfer, (Hrsg.), Andernach im Frühmittelalter. Venantius Fortunatus. Begleith. Sonderausstellung Stadtmuseum Andernach 1. Juli–4. September 1988. Andernacher Beitr. 3, 1988, 25-68.

M. Huiskes, Andernach im Mittelalter. Von den Anfängen bis zum Ende des 14. Jahrhunderts. Rheinisches Archiv 111 (Bonn 1980).

H. Lehner, Antunnacum. Bonner Jahrb. 107, 1901, 1-36.

J. Röder, Neue Ausgrabungen in Andernach. Germania 39, 1961, 208-213.

K. Schäfer, Andernach in vor- und frühgeschichtlicher Zeit. In: F.-J. Heyen (Hrsg.), Andernach. Geschichte einer rheinischen Stadt (Andernach 1988) 1-29.

K. Schäfer, Andernach - Drehscheibe des antiken Steinhandels. In: Steinbruch und Bergwerk. Denkmäler römischer Technikgeschichte zwischen Eifel und Rhein (Mainz 2000) = Vulkanpark Forsch. 2, 83-109.

F. Timme, Andernach am Rhein und die topographischen Anfänge der älteren Flußuferstädte. In: A. von Brandt/W. Koppe (Hrsg.), Städtewesen und Bürgertum als geschichtliche Kräfte. Gedenkschr. Fritz Rörig (Lübeck 1953) 401-421.

A. von Berg, Mann mit Helm. Arch. Deutschland 6, 2009, 54-55.

A. von Berg, Friesen in Andernach? Arch. Deutschland 5, 2011, 52.

A. von Berg, Goldring im Keller. Arch. Deutschland 2, 2012, 53.

A. von Berg, Stadtkerngrabung im römischen Andernach auf dem Weissheimer Gelände der ehemaligen Malzfabrik. Andernacher Annalen 10 (Andernach 2013) (im Druck).

H.-H. Wegner, Römisches Kastell. In: Koblenz und der Kreis Mayen-Koblenz. Führer arch. Denkmäler Deutschland 12 (Stuttgart 1986) 101-106

H.-H. Wegner, Andernach MYK. In: H. Cüppers (Hrsg.), Die Römer in Rheinland-Pfalz (Stuttgart 1990) 304-306.