Late Roman Burgus villa house in Hürth

Directly adjacent to Agrippastraße, near the former villa (a former forester’s lodge), stood a Roman fortification, a so-called burgus. This Roman road post fell victim to lignite mining in the 1920s. However, it had previously been examined by the then Provincial Museum in Bonn.

The complex was built in the 3rd century AD. During this time, Germanic tribes increasingly threatened the border along the Rhine. The building site was strategically chosen, situated on the highest point of the foothills, the so-called “Ville.” The inhabitants could see Cologne on one side, and Zülpich on the other.

Towards the end of the 3rd century, the fortification fell victim to a fire but was later rebuilt. During its expansion in the 4th century, it had a square ground plan with strongly rounded corners and sides measuring 60 meters. For defense, the Romans dug a ten-meter-wide and 3.5-meter-deep V-shaped ditch. They used the earth from the ditch to construct a five-meter-wide rampart on the inner side. In the northwest, facing the road, there was an entrance, apparently secured with a wooden gate. Traces of construction were discovered within the fortification. Presumably, a tower-like building once stood there.

A comparable fortification was the Heidenburg (near Bergheim), which was situated in a similarly advantageous position on the promontory along the Via Belgica. Such fortifications were built at regular intervals along the Via Belgica, the Agrippa Road, and the Limes Road as part of the defense of the hinterland and the most important transport routes.

Approximately 200 meters east of the fortifications near the villa, archaeologists have discovered one of the few milestones of the Agrippa Road. According to the inscription, the stone was erected during the reign of the Roman emperors Trebonianus Gallus and Volusianus, between 251 and 253 AD.