Team

Dr. Christoph Reichmann
Museumsleiter
Museum Burg Linn
Rheinbabenstr. 85
47809 Krefeld
E-Mail: Ch.Reichmann(at)Krefeld.de
Tel.: 02151/15539-112

Dr. Margareta Siepen
Museum Burg Linn
Rheinbabenstr. 85
47809 Krefeld
E-Mail: Margareta.Siepen(at)krefeld.de
Tel.: 02151/15539-126

Abstract

The Roman harbour of Gelduba was discovered during extension works for the modern Rhine harbour of Krefeld in 1975. During the construction work the remains of a wooden quay and especially archaeological strata with thousands of objects were found. It was not possible to examine these finds systematically at that time. The spoil was deposited in an adjoining gravel-pit and this place became an El Dorado for treasure-hunters. Today about 20,000 objects from the Roman harbour are in the hands of private collectors. The documentation and evaluation of this material is one of the purposes of this project.

Description of the project

On the western bank of the Rhine at Gelduba (Krefeld-Gellep) an auxiliary fort was founded by the Roman administration in about A.D. 71, soon after the Batavian Revolt. Protected from floods the fort was built on a sandy dune on a placid arm of the Rhine, separated from the main course of the river by some small islands.

A village and the harbour were part of the infrastructure of the fort. The place was connected with other Roman settlements by the so-called Limes Road running north to south along the river and by a network of roads in a westerly direction.

In spite of devastations and political changes during the Middle and Late Imperial periods, the location survived until the early medieval era. As the arm of the Rhine gradually silted up a new village was founded further downstream during the 8th century. Three boats found north of the fort in 1972 and 1973, provide evidence for the drying-up.

On the basis of stray finds dating from the 4th to the 10th century a former settlement has been detected in recent years on the eastern bank of the Rhine opposite to Gellep near Duisburg-Serm. The pottery found there corresponds to objects dating from that time found in Gellep and they show that there were relations between the two sites.

Furthermore, the position of this settlement is proof for trade connections between Gellep and Westphalia along the “Hellweg”, an old medieval trade-route running west to east. There is even evidence for long-distance trade via the Mediterranean up to the coast of Syria, as vessels with graffiti in Aramaic script were found not only in the remains of the harbour, but also in graves of the village’s cemetery. Undertaking an examination of a well dating from the Late Roman period, experts found the femur of a brown rat (rattus norvegicus) among the bones of other animals. This femur is the earliest evidence for this species in Central Europe. The brown rat must have arrived in Gellep inside the bilge of a ship.

Most of the objects found in Gellep are made of non-ferrous metal, but there are objects of organic materials, like leather and bone, too. Owing to the circumstances described above, these finds provide the only source for reconstructing the Roman harbour’s history. Apart from the finds’ importance for trade, handicraft and industry, they are also relics found in waste-layers, which have to be seen in connection with the demolition of the fort during the 3rd and 4th century.

Übersetzung C. Bridger, A. Maaß, M. Siepen

Literature:

Ch. Reichmann, Gelduba (Krefeld-Gellep) als Fernhandelsplatz. In: Th. Grünewald (Hrsg.), Germania Inferior. Ergänzungsband des Reallexikons der Germanischen Altertumskunde 28, 2001, 480-516.

Ch. Reichmann, Der Hellweg als Handelsverbindung und der Rheinhafen Gelduba, in: W. Melzer und T. Capelle (Hrsg.), Bleibergbau und Bleiverarbeitung während der römischen Kaiserzeit im rechtsrheinischen Barbaricum. Soester Beiträge zur Archäologie 8 (Soest 2007) 147-162.

H.-Ch. Noeske, B. Winter-Noeske (Bearbeiter), Die Fundmünzen der römischen Zeit in Deutschland. Abt. VI, Bd. 3/1. (Hrsg.) Maria R.-Alföldi, Hans-Markus von Kaenel (Mainz 2011) 231-603.