Villa Rustica (Köln-Zollstock)
A Roman well shaft in its original position, now displayed beneath a glass pyramid in the assembly hall of the Europaschule Köln – remnant of a country estate near CCAA.
In Roman times, farming estates were arranged in a semicircle around CCAA, the capital of the province of Germania Inferior. Who founded them – veterans of a legion, farmers from the resettled Ubii, or Celts who had stayed on – research has been able to determine from the finds only in a few exceptional cases.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- Site of a former Roman country estate (villa rustica)
- Location
- Grounds of the Europaschule Köln, Raderthalgürtel 3/Zollstockgürtel, Raderthal district, Rodenkirchen borough
- Discovery
- 1974, during construction work for a comprehensive school
- Dating of the well
- 2nd to 3rd century AD
- Visiting
- Well in the school's assembly hall
- On the name
- Wikipedia places the site in the southwest of Zollstock, but according to verified location data it belongs to Raderthal
The Roman well of the Villa Rustica is now the showpiece of the Europaschule Köln: it stands under a glass pyramid in the school's assembly hall, with a light at the bottom of the shaft to show its depth. The well also yielded a torso of Jupiter, a votive base for the Germanic goddess Travalaha, and the remains of an animal carcass.
The Discovery
The archaeologist Walter Meier-Arendt recognized a Roman debris site at the construction area. On the extensive grounds between Gürtel and Markusstraße, a well came to light, among other things, which was attributed to a former villa rustica. It apparently formed the centre of a fairly large estate. According to the source, its outline can still be traced today in the green spaces around the school.
The Well in the Assembly Hall
The shaft was uncovered without altering its original form. Today it stands beneath a glass, pyramid-shaped structure in the assembly hall and can be viewed there. A light source at the bottom makes the depth visible, and a information panel from the City of Cologne gives the key facts. The well is built of precisely cut tuff blocks laid in rings. At the bottom, where an Ice Age layer of deposited Rhine sands begins, they rest on oak planks, which made dendrochronological dating possible.
Finds from the Backfill
The well was partly filled with broken brick and pottery and contained, besides the remains of an animal carcass, several Roman objects. These included the limestone torso of an enthroned Jupiter, column parts made of limestone and sandstone, and a limestone base with a votive inscription to the Germanic goddess Travalaha. A fragment of a gravestone with a incomplete inscription was also found there. Judging by the style of the lettering, the deceased may have run the estate and at the same time engaged in trade in the 2nd century. The epigraphers Galsterer point out that agriculture and the cloth trade apparently often went hand in hand in Roman times, for example at the Igel Column on the Moselle near Trier. The stone was given an inventory number at the Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln.
A Sarcophagus from Höninger Weg
As early as 1936, construction work on Höninger Weg in Zollstock uncovered a grave containing a red sandstone sarcophagus. It was fairly elaborately designed and decorated on the sides; its lid sat between four cube-shaped corner blocks, so that it resembled a gabled house. The conspicuously deep pit may have helped prevent it from being looted in antiquity. The superbly preserved coffin held bone remains and grave goods, including ten glass and ceramic vessels, coins and a silver stylus. The find was dated to the 4th century, but where the deceased had lived could not initially be determined.
Timeline
- 2. JahrhundertMerchant and farmer presumably active (tombstone fragment)
- 2.–3. Jahrhundert n. Chr.Well timbers dated by dendrochronology
- 4. JahrhundertSarcophagus with grave goods from Zollstock dated
- 1936Red sandstone sarcophagus discovered at Höninger Weg
- 1974Archaeologist Walter Meier-Arendt identifies Roman debris site; well discovered
Map
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Sources & links
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-11-07
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