Project Details
Projekt
The Latrine of Rottenburg a.N. and its urbanistic and cultural context
Subject Area
Classical, Roman, Christian and Islamic Archaeology
Prehistory and World Archaeology
Prehistory and World Archaeology
Term
from 2020 to 2023
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 449125174
In the north-western provinces of the Roman Empire, the answer to urbanistic and building history questions is facing a difficult starting point. Because numerous ancient settlements in this region were covered by the building fabric of modern settlements, the number of systematic excavations, which are essential for approaching urban planning aspects, is extremely small. Thererfore, a special importance is attached to such an excavation at the Martinshof in Rottenburg a.N. (antique Sumelocenna), which took place between 1986 and 1991, but has so far only been published in various preliminary reports. The excavations have uncovered a significant part of the ancient town of Sumelocenna and have revealed construction phases from the 1st century A.D. to post-antique times. In the centre of the area, a unique ensemble of buildings has also been preserved, consisting of a richly equipped public latrine, thermal baths and a luxurious peristyle building. The primary objective of the proposed research project is to present the excavation results of the area around the unusually large and well-preserved latrine, thus creating an indispensable reference point for the study of material culture in the Northwest Provinces. In addition, digital reconstructions will be used to gain an overview of the most important construction phases. The findings will then be highlighted in comparison to the architectural and urban development north of the Alps during the imperial period. Among other things, the background to the extraordinarily rich latrine in Sumelocenna is to be investigated: was the site particularly distinguished by this or is it a condition that has not been adequately preserved elsewhere? The conditions for resuming the publication work in Rottenburg are currently particularly favorable: firstly, all the data from the excavations are sorted and ready to hand, so transferring the data to a digital excavation database can start immediately. Secondly, new discoveries have significantly improved the research situation in the north-west provinces since time of the excavation. Thirdly, in cooperation with the responsible Landesamt für Denkmalpflege in Tübingen, an interdisciplinary research team has been put together that is particularly well suited to the particularities of the designed project. The research project is conceived as a cooperation between the Institut für Vor- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie und Provinzialrömische Archäologie of the LMU Munich and the Institut für Klassische Archäologie of the JGU Mainz. In addition, the Römisch-Germanische Zentralmuseum in Mainz (RGZM) has been won as an additional project partner.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
Cooperation Partners
Professorin Dr. Alexandra Busch; Dr. Marc Heise; Professor Dr. Johannes Lipps
