Römisches Forum - Lahnau-Waldgirmes, Hessen, Germany
N 50° 35.300 E 008° 32.467
32U E 467515 N 5604148
The Roman Forum at Lahnau-Waldgirmes (Römisches Forum Lahnau-Waldgirmes) was a fortified Roman trading place. The site has the oldest known stone buildings in Magna Germania.
Waymark Code: WMRTJ8
Location: Hessen, Germany
Date Posted: 08/03/2016
Views: 6
The area, just northwest of Waldgirmes and at the eastern city limit of Wetzlar, has been the subject of archaeological excavation since 1993. The remains discovered include an impressive forum, on one side of which stood a stone-built central building or basilica, flanked by two apses, Further structures were built using the Roman half-timbered technique on stone foundations. Their roofs were of wooden slates.
The complex was surrounded by a wooden palisade with a double ditch and three gates to the west, east and south. The location of what would have been the northern gate was taken by a tower. From the outside, it would have looked like a Roman military fort, but its interior contained a trading centre with a market, two crossing streets with central channels for drainage or water supplies, stables, storage buildings, taverns and houses with wooden porticos. By 2004, 24 house floorplans and a well of 4 m depth had been excavated. No temple has been discovered, a fact that may be explained by the short duration of activity at the site. Everything found resembles a higher-status Roman settlement, nothing is reminiscent of Germanic or Celtic traditions.
One of the most important finds is 200 fragments of a life-sized gilded bronze equestrian statue, probably of Augustus, discovered in and around the central building and surrounding settlement. Other important finds include a glass seal with a depiction of Niobe, a mosaic glass bead depicting Apis, several other pieces of jewellery, and some unworked amber. The pottery found was predominantly Roman, simple handmade Germanic material made up only about 20% of the total ceramics. Apparently, different ethnic groups inhabited the site side-by-side. Coins found date activity at Waldgirmes to between 5 BC and 9 AD, the year of the Battle of Teutoburg Forest.
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