Roman burial ground in Hürth

Spectacular insights into Roman daily life: Just 200 meters from Agrippastraße, approximately 45 graves with grave goods bear witness to the people who lived here between the 3rd and 5th centuries. At the end of the street “Am Alten Bahnhof” in Hürth-Hermülheim, archaeologists unearthed numerous well-preserved stone sarcophagi as well as other cremation and inhumation graves during two excavations. These findings suggest the presence of an associated settlement, a villa rustica, near the Roman road.

The inhabitants of the farm were wealthy provincial Roman citizens of Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, the city of Cologne. This can be deduced from the valuable grave goods such as jewelry, clothing, glass and ceramic vessels, and coins. They probably even belonged to the landowning urban upper class.

Some particularly valuable grave goods from the 3rd century reflect the political elevation that Cologne experienced as a royal residence before and during the so-called Gallic Empire (260 to 274) founded by Postumus. A porcelain snail from the Red Sea, a spinning tool made of ivory, and amber beads even point to far-reaching trade relations.

In the 4th and 5th centuries, Germanic tribes inhabited the estate. The men were mercenaries in the Roman army. They and their wives quickly adopted the lifestyle and burial customs of their Roman-influenced environment.

Approximately 300 meters west of the burial ground, at the junction with today’s Severinusstraße, the Roman Eifel aqueduct crossed Agrippastraße. The Severinusstraße and today’s Bonnstraße likely originated from a patrol path along this aqueduct.