Agrippastraße in Hürth

Whether due to their massive construction, the straight connections between towns, or simply out of habit, some Roman roads continued to be used throughout the Middle Ages and into the present day. Conversely, the Romans themselves sometimes built their roads along existing, prehistoric natural paths. Between Barbarossaplatz in Cologne and the youth hostel in Hürth-Hermülheim, the modern Luxemburger Straße runs for eight kilometers directly over the perfectly straight ancient road. A cross-section of Luxemburger Straße near the roundabout demonstrates the continued use of a Roman road.

In total, the superimposed roads from different periods, exposed in the excavation trench, form a layered structure of almost 2.5 meters. The Agrippa Road, uncovered at a depth of approximately 2.2 meters, had the typical semi-lenticular surface of Roman roads, consisting of gravel, and was 4.2 meters wide and 0.5 meters high. Above this lay further layers of gravel, resulting from the constant renewal of the road surface. Wheelbarrow ruts are visible at the top of the level gravel surface.

The embankments above the Roman road date from its continued use in the medieval and early modern periods. Deeply rutted wheel tracks are clearly visible here as well. The Prussian cobblestones lie directly beneath the current asphalt surface.

Beneath Agrippastraße lies a grey layer of clay roughly the width of the Roman highway, in which prehistoric pottery shards have been found: possibly an indication that a road already led along here in pre-Roman times.