Geopark Vulkaneifel

Roman Villa Complex

As early as the beginning of the 20th century, elaborate sculpture finds, including a life-sized youth's head, were made in the area around the town of Duppach. Duppach is located close to the important Cologne-Trier Roman road.

Roman Villa Complex

As early as the beginning of the 20th century, elaborate sculpture finds, including a life-sized youth's head, were made in the area around the town of Duppach. Duppach is located close to the important Cologne-Trier Roman road.

The sculptures showed scenes from Greco-Roman legends. Remains of Roman funerary monuments from a villa complex were discovered during archaeological excavations in 2001. Starting in 2002, in cooperation with the University of Cologne and the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, two monumental, fully sculptural grasping sculptures were found.

In 2010, extravagant jugs were also found that indicate the production of beer.
Rich landowners built an impressive property, which included residential and stable buildings as well as an iron smelter. After the Germanic invasions, the villa complex was repopulated and the stone complexes were replaced by wooden buildings. The new residents used iron ore from the area and processed it in forges. In the fourth century, the funerary monuments were completely dismantled in order to build new buildings from the old materials. From the fifth century onwards the villa complex was finally abandoned.

Today there is a replica of a Roman storage building on site with information on Roman history, the history of excavations and the work of archaeologists.

Highlights nearby

Further information about the Roman villa complex
www.eifel.info