Villa Kaalheide
Krichelstraat, Kerkrade
In the middle of a residential area in Kerkrade lies a unique monument. Villa Kaalheide, or Villa Krichelberg, is the only Roman villa in the Netherlands that is fully exposed above ground. You can see the foundations of a large Roman farmstead, a villa rustica.
What makes it special is that you are allowed to walk across the site. From the footbridge you look directly down onto remains that are two thousand years old. At first, around the beginning of our era, the buildings were made of wood, later destroyed by fire. The stone villa that followed included elements of classical Roman architecture, such as a covered colonnade, a central hall, and corner towers.
A unique discovery here was coal. This is the very first evidence of coal use in this region. In the 20th century, coal mining would dominate life in Kerkrade.
Some remarkable finds include a small rattle in the shape of a figurine and a roof tile imprinted with dog paw marks.
Discover
- Cross the footbridge and admire the monument
Fun to know
- The Romans kept warm
- Many villa remains reveal the ingenious Roman underfloor heating system. Beneath the floors were hollow spaces supported by stacks of tiles, heated with hot air. Archaeologists call this system a hypocaust. The Roman Baths in Coriovallum (today’s Thermenmuseum in Heerlen) had one, and so did Villa Kaalheide.
- South Limburg: the Romans’ granary
- The Romans quickly realized how fertile the loess soil in South Limburg was. They used it to cultivate vast amounts of spelt. On a smaller scale they also grew other grains such as emmer, wheat, millet, barley, rye, and oats. The harvest was transported along the Via Belgica to the Rhine, where thousands of Roman soldiers were stationed to defend the empire’s borders. South Limburg served as their breadbasket.
- Image credits
- Excavation photos – Provincial Depot for Archaeological Finds Limburg (De Vondst); mural remains – National Museum of Antiquities; small rattle – PDBL; roof tile with dog paw – Centre Céramique.