Ancient Roman ruins buried in Germany's coal mining region
Manasi Gopalakrishnan
June 27, 2023
As massive coal excavators prepare to tear up the ground in Germany's lignite-rich Rhineland, archaeologists are unearthing valuable ruins from ancient Roman settlements.
A Roman villa floorplan discovered on the edge of the Garzweiler open pit mine in 2022Image: T. Dujmovic/LVR-Amt für Bodendenkmalpflege im Rheinland/dpa/picture alliance
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The Rhenish lignite region in western Germany is home to vast open pit coal mines that made global headlines earlier this year when climate activists took a stand in the hamlet of Lützerath to halt mining there.
But while the climate impacts of coal extraction in the region has drawn a sharp focus, lesser known are the ancient archaeological remains also being unearthed during the fossil fuel excavations — including the above remains of a Roman villa discovered near Lützerath.
Many of the finds date back to when ancient Romans settled by the Rhine River after Julius Caesar waged the Gallic wars (58 to 51 BCE) and annihilated the local Germanic tribes. The city of Cologne, among others like Trier and Aachen, was a product of this settlement.
Alongside Cologne, several Roman settlements also sprung up in fertile neighboring areas.
"That is the reason why roman farmsteads stood relatively close to one another and there were hardly any forests here in Roman times. Almost everything was used for agriculture," explained Alfred Schuler, an archaeologist at the LVR Office for the Preservation of Archaeological Monuments in the Rhineland in Titz, near Cologne.
Schuler explains how crops were grown here and sold to other cities like Neuss or Cologne, and to the stations of Roman legionnaires — above all as supply for the urban populace.
"This was practically the granary of the borders of the Roman realm, of Roman life in our region," he said.
A large excavator digs the Garzweiler coal pit in the Rhenish lignite regionImage: Jochen Tack/picture alliance
Coal mining and archaeology
Today, the region between Cologne, Aachen and Mönchengladbach, known as the "Rheinische Braunkohlerevier" (German for Rhenish brown coal region), is better known for brown coal mining than the ancient Romans that once lived there.
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In January, thousands of climate activists, including Swedish founder of Fridays for Future, Greta Thunberg, descended on the region to stop German coal giant RWE from expanding coal mining under the village of Lützerath.
The huge excavators that have created a massive open coal pit not only destroy local villages, but potentially the remains of ancient settlements. In order to protect the cultural heritage, RWE, the state of North Rhine Westphalia and LVR joined hands in 1990 to create an archaeological foundation aiming to unearth archaeological relics.
Speaking to DW, Robin Peters explains how experts first decide which areas at the mine site could contain valuable artifacts underground. Archaeological digs take place before the actual coal mining starts, he adds.
"We always dig in the open pit apron, not in the open pit itself," he said. Where the open pit is, there is no archaeology left."
"We try to gain insights into the soil, so to speak, slice by slice, and first try to discover traces in this area, under the topsoil, the humus, in the soil culture," he explains of discolorations which could "point to timber buildings, postholes, wall remains, or foundation remains."
Climate activists protested the expansion of the vast open cast Garzweiler lignite coal mine in the region where ancient artifacts lay buried Image: Ina Fassbender/AFP/Getty Images
From Roman graves to wells
This was how experts discovered the grave of a Roman priestess recently in Borschemich, near Cologne.
Experts said the priestess was cremated in the early 2nd century CE. The body was clothed in material with woven gold before cremation and a wooden temple was erected on top of her grave.
Archaeologists also found a foldable chair and a wooden chest with tortoise-shell carvings of Roman and Egyptian gods. The grave is considered one of the most unusual cremation burials in the Roman province of Lower Germania, archaeologists say.
Schuler also emphasizes the uniqueness of the grave, saying how people had their own idea of the gods they prayed to at the time. "They simply transferred their idea of gods to these Roman figures, and they prayed to these figures when they actually meant to revere someone entirely different," he said.
In 2003, archaeologists discovered an ancient bronze potImage: Roland Scheidemann dpa/lnw/picture-alliance
"The Romans were very open and tolerant. As long as one did not undertake anything under the official Roman gods [Jupiter, Juno and Minerva], one could pray to whoever one wanted to," he added.
In 2020, archaeologists discovered an ancient well in Hambach, another hotspot for climate activists due to its remnant old-growth forest. The well's center revealed a pillar with a sculpture of Jupiter.
Altogether, there are hundreds of artifacts buried in the coal mining region that have been unearthed in the last decades. Many more are expected to make their way up to the surface.
Schuler and Peters from the LVR outpost are meanwhile excited and relieved to have dealt with their latest finding: A small motte-and-bailey castle from the Middle Ages.
It's not an ancient Roman relic, but like its Latin counterparts, Schuler says, the artifacts have been documented, photographed, sketched, measured and sent to the museum.
Ramses II-era burial site uncovered in Israel
Found by accident at a popular beach at the Palmahim National Park, it joins the list of recent archaeological finds.
The 3,300-year-old chamber was described by one archeologist as like being "on the set of an Indiana Jones movie." The structure, complete with dozens of intact pottery and bronze artifacts, was found by accident. The burial chamber containing several dozen pieces of intact pottery and bronze artifacts appears to have served as a family tomb.
After two mosques dating back some 1,200 years were found near the Bedouin town of Rahat, remains of a luxurious four-winged estate from the same period were also unearthed nearby. One of the rooms is covered with marble floors, the walls decorated with frescoes. Archaeologists also found a cistern and shards of decorated glassware, indicating the owners' wealth.
Image: Tsafrir Abayov/AP/picture alliance
A rare Roman-era wooden figure
In a field near Twyford, west of London, a well-preserved 67-centimeter (26-inch) wooden figure from Roman times was found during digs along the planned HS2 rail route. Based on the carving style and the figure's dress, archaeologists estimate it to be nearly 2,000 years old. It is a rare find, as wood usually rots easily. The Romans occupied Great Britain for around 400 years.
Image: Avalon/Photoshot/picture alliance
Celtic gold tells a story of migration
The discovery of 41 Celtic gold coins in the German village of Baitz in the state of Brandenburg, made public on December 13, 2021, has been deemed a "sensation." Coin researcher Marjanko Pilekic said that since the over-2,000-year-old coins were found far from the Celts' actual distribution area, "the find could provide new insights into migration movements in the Iron Age."
Image: M. Pilekić/Montage MWFK
More than just jewelry
These perforated shells, dating back 150,000 years, are believed to be the world's oldest jewelry. Assumed to have been used to form necklaces and bracelets, they were discovered in the Bizmoune cave near the coastal resort of Essaouira, in Morocco. Researcher Abdeljalil Bouzouggar described them as "symbolic objects that can only be transmitted through language."
Image: AFP
When wine was preferred over water
A sprawling winemaking complex dating back some 1,500 years was recently unearthed in Yavne, Israel, complete with wine presses, kilns for producing clay wine jars, and warehouses. Excavation director Jon Seligman explained that wine was a common substitute for drinking water, which was not always safe back then, and was served to both adults and children.
Image: Tsafrir Abayov/AP Photo/picture alliance
Hellenistic-era warship in sunken city
A Greek warship found in the sunken city of Heracleion in Egypt's Abu Qir Bay is the latest discovery of very rare Hellenistic-era ships. Heracleion — also known as Thonis — was hit by earthquakes, tsunamis, rising sea levels and soil liquefaction at the end of the second century B.C. The ship was docking near the temple of Amun when the entire city collapsed, burying it under the debris.
Image: The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities/REUTERS
Opulent city hall
In early July, Israeli archaeologists found what may have been a 2,000-year-old city council building during excavations under Jerusalem’s Old City. The opulent space is believed to have been a banquet hall for the elite. It is located close to the site of the Second Temple, which was destroyed by the Romans during the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
Image: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images
Missing link in alphabet history
A 3,100-year-old pottery fragment inscribed with the name "Jerubbaal," relating to the biblical book of Judges, was found in southern Israel in July. Written in early Canaanite script, it provides a rare and valuable clue to the development and spread of writing systems in the region, as it is unusual for local researchers to find any writing from the 12th and 11th centuries B.C.
Image: Manahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images
Nimble-fingered Neanderthals
This 51,000-year-old bone decorated by a Neanderthal was found in July in the Unicorn Cave in Germany's Harz Mountains. The lines purposefully carved into the toe bone belonging to a prehistoric deer may have had symbolic meaning. Archaeologists were blown away by the artifact because it was evidence that the Stone Age hominids were capable of artistic expression.
Image: Volker Minkus/Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege/picture alliance
A quirky find
During excavations in the Israeli town of Yavne in June, archaeologists discovered an intact 1,000-year-old chicken egg. "The egg's unique preservation is evidently due to the conditions in which it lay for centuries, nestled in a cesspit containing soft human waste that preserved it," they said. Sadly, it cracked later in the lab.
Image: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
A new type of hominid
In June, researchers found the remains of the "Nesher Ramla Homo type." They took the name from the area in Israel where they had been doing excavation work in a sinkhole. The hominids lived alongside our species more than 100,000 years ago. The finds included this jaw that belonged to a person who lived 120,000 to 140,000 years ago.
Image: Ammar Awad/REUTERS
Lost golden city of Luxor
Egyptologists announced the discovery of a 3,000-year-old "lost golden city" near Luxor in April, touting it as one of the most important finds since the tomb of Tutankhamun. It dates back to the reign of Amenhotep III, one of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs, who ruled from 1391 to 1353 B.C.
Image: KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images
An ancient 3D map?
In April, French archaeologists said they believed the Saint-Belec slab, which dates from the Bronze Age and was unearthed in 1900 in western France, may be Europe's oldest 3D map. The 4,000-year-old etchings on the slab measuring 2.2 by 1.5 meters (7.2 by 5 feet) appear to resemble topographical features such as hills and a river network, maybe referring to an area in modern-day western Brittany.
Image: Paul du Chatellier/Archives departementales du Finistere/AFP
Mask that launched countless memes
This mysterious ceremonial gold mask found in Sanxingdui, in China’s Sichuan Province, unwittingly became a social media sensation after its discovery in March. Having inspired memes and tribute videos in China, the 3,000-year-old artifact was one of 500 Bronze Age relics that experts said could provide new insights on the ancient Shu state, which ruled the area before 316 B.C.
Image: HPIC/dpa/picture alliance
World's oldest woven basket
In March, archaeologists found a well-preserved basket with a capacity of about 100 liters (26 gallons) dating back to the pre-pottery neolithic period, roughly 10,500 years ago. Found in the Muraba'at Caves in the Judean Desert west of the Dead Sea, it was buried under almost 3 feet (roughly 1 meter) of soil. It was exquisitely preserved due to the region's high temperatures and extreme aridity.
Image: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images
Oldest known cave painting
In January 2021, Australian and Indonesian archaeologists announced the discovery of cave paintings in Sulawesi, Indonesia. They depict prehistoric Indonesian pigs using ocher, an inorganic mineral that cannot be carbon dated. Researchers instead dated the calcium stalagmites and stalactites surrounding the paintings and found that the oldest painting was created at least 45,500 years ago.
Image: Maxime Aubert/Griffith University/AFP
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