Roman Villa Borg
Encyclopedia
The Roman Villa Borg is a reconstructed Roman villa rustica
located near the villages of Borg
and Oberleuken in the municipality of Perl in Saarland
, Germany
. Discovered at the end of the 19th century, the site was excavated in the late 1980s. Reconstruction work, which began in the mid 1990s, was virtually completed in late 2008 although further excavation work is still continuing. The site is a popular tourist attraction with some 50,000 visitors per year.
structures but also of Beaker culture
settlements. Tools dating from the Neolithic period
were also found on the site.
in Luxembourg) were taken into account as was pertinent ancient (e.g. Vitruvius
) and modern literature. The reconstructed buildings now stand on the Roman foundation walls, revealing their probable appearance in the 2nd to 3rd century.
The current buildings comprise: the baths which are fully functional consisting of a frigidarium (cold bath), caldarium (hot bath) and tepidarium (tempered bath) together with latrines, a dressing room and a relaxation area; the manor or main building with a large reception hall and a number of adjacent rooms in which the most important finds from the site are displayed; the Roman kitchen (recently completed); a residential building; and a tavern, which was not part of the original villa but which serves meals based on ancient Roman recipes.
Villa rustica
Villa rustica was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a villa set in the open countryside, often as the hub of a large agricultural estate . The adjective rusticum was used to distinguish it from an urban or resort villa...
located near the villages of Borg
Borg, Saarland
Borg is a village in the municipality of Perl in the Saarland, Germany. It is located 5 km north east of Perl and 11 km south west of Nennig on the River Mosel. It lies at a height of 355 m and has a population of 370. The nearby Roman Villa Borg is one of the Saarland's most important...
and Oberleuken in the municipality of Perl in Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Discovered at the end of the 19th century, the site was excavated in the late 1980s. Reconstruction work, which began in the mid 1990s, was virtually completed in late 2008 although further excavation work is still continuing. The site is a popular tourist attraction with some 50,000 visitors per year.
History
It was Johann Schneider, a local schoolteacher, who around the year 1900 first came across the site after noticing unnatural mounds in the area. He soon discovered the remains of walls as well as Roman pottery. Partly as a result of the World Wars, little was done until the mid 1980s when the Saarland authorities fenced the site off after illegal excavations started to threaten its survival. Systematic excavation work began in 1987. The excavations soon revealed evidence of pre-Roman inhabitation directly below the foundations of the Roman villa. Not only were there traces of Iron AgeIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
structures but also of Beaker culture
Beaker culture
The Bell-Beaker culture , ca. 2400 – 1800 BC, is the term for a widely scattered cultural phenomenon of prehistoric western Europe starting in the late Neolithic or Chalcolithic running into the early Bronze Age...
settlements. Tools dating from the Neolithic period
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
were also found on the site.
The site
The site is that of a villa rustica or agricultural facility consisting of a large palatial residence or pars urbana and a pars rustica or economic area. There had been very little activity on the site since Roman times with the result that the Roman remains are still in very good condition.Reconstruction
Reconstruction work was designed to present an authentic representation of the buildings as they originally stood so that visitors could better appreciate archaeology and antiquity. In addition to the findings of excavation work, similar sites (such as EchternachEchternach
Echternach is a commune with city status in the canton of Echternach, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in Luxembourg....
in Luxembourg) were taken into account as was pertinent ancient (e.g. Vitruvius
Vitruvius
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman writer, architect and engineer, active in the 1st century BC. He is best known as the author of the multi-volume work De Architectura ....
) and modern literature. The reconstructed buildings now stand on the Roman foundation walls, revealing their probable appearance in the 2nd to 3rd century.
The current buildings comprise: the baths which are fully functional consisting of a frigidarium (cold bath), caldarium (hot bath) and tepidarium (tempered bath) together with latrines, a dressing room and a relaxation area; the manor or main building with a large reception hall and a number of adjacent rooms in which the most important finds from the site are displayed; the Roman kitchen (recently completed); a residential building; and a tavern, which was not part of the original villa but which serves meals based on ancient Roman recipes.