{"id":21330,"date":"2026-04-07T20:06:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T18:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/?post_type=plek&#038;p=21330"},"modified":"2026-04-07T20:06:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T18:06:01","slug":"markt-46-five-guys-late-roman-castrum-and-settlement-continuity","status":"publish","type":"plek","link":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/plek\/markt-46-five-guys-late-roman-castrum-and-settlement-continuity\/","title":{"rendered":"Markt 46 (Five Guys) \u2013 Late-Roman Castrum and Settlement Continuity"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"template":"","plek_types":[79,82,85],"class_list":["post-21330","plek","type-plek","status-publish","hentry","plek_types-archaeological-site","plek_types-education","plek_types-food-drinks"],"acf":{"tekstkleur":false,"nummer":553,"kleur":"#000000","adres":{"address":"Markt 46, Aken, Duitsland","lat":50.776456,"lng":6.0846138,"zoom":20,"place_id":"ChIJ3RVUTnuZwEcRwW4u3kCUXHw","name":"Markt 46","street_number":46,"street_name":"Markt","city":"Aachen","city_short":"AC","state":"Nordrhein-Westfalen","state_short":"NRW","post_code":52062,"country":"Duitsland","country_short":"DE"},"straatnaam":"Markt 46","postcode":"52062","plaats":"Aken","website":"Website of Centre Charlemagne","website_url":"https:\/\/centre-charlemagne.eu\/?lang=en","hotspot_naam":"Markt 46 (Five Guys), Aachen","afbeelding":21326,"contactpersonen":"","email":"info@centre-charlemagne.eu","telefoon":"+49 241 4324931","videobox_contentblok":"","content":"The name Aquae Granni, the Roman precursor of modern-day Aachen, points to Roman Aachen\u2019s greatest asset: its hot springs! The mineral waters were quickly believed to have healing powers. Granni refers to Grannus, a Gallic deity associated with health and recovery. The earliest thermal baths date to around the turn of the millennium. From the outset, the Romans envisioned Aachen on a grand scale: even at its founding, the town had the air of a true city \u2013 30 hectares in size, with wooden houses, thermal baths, and even a stone bathhouse with tiled roofs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3>A City Growing Around Its Baths<\/h3>\r\nIn the early second century, Aquae Granni underwent a complete urban renewal. Emperor Trajan may have intended to elevate the vicus to a regional capital \u2013 a theory supported by stamped bricks and an inscription bearing his name. The original baths made way for a monumental square of more than 6,000 square metres, likely containing a forum and temple. Across the city, monumental new bath complexes were built.\r\n\r\nAquae Granni became one of the Roman Empire\u2019s leading wellness centres and the only major spa in Germania Inferior.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3>The Late-Roman Castrum at Markt 46<\/h3>\r\nAs Aquae Granni developed into a bustling urban centre with monumental baths and a civic forum, the city also needed defensive structures to protect its citizens and infrastructure. At Markt 46 in the anteroom to the restrooms of the restaurant \u201cFive Guys\u201d, you can see under a glass floor the remains of the late-Roman castrum\u2019s perimeter wall, including the base of a round tower and an attached high-medieval wall. This castrum later became part of the royal palace in the Early Middle Ages and was not abandoned until the 12th century. The site demonstrates the continuity of settlement in Aachen, linking the city\u2019s Roman urban planning, civic life, and fortifications to its medieval successors.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3>Discover Roman Aachen on the VIAVIA Route, 2027<\/h3>\r\nThe Markt 46 site is a key stop on the VIA VIA Roman City Walk route of Aachen, which links the museum exhibit in Centre Charlemagne to the city\u2019s archaeological remains. Along the trail, you can explore other highlights, from Roman walls and floors in the Elisengarten to the M\u00fcnsterthermen inside Aachen Cathedral. Informative panels, multimedia displays, and encounters with Roman \u201ccharacters\u201d provide context, illustrating Roman administration, urban development, bathing culture, and the late-Roman castrum. The preserved remains at Markt 46 offer a tangible glimpse into Aachen\u2019s defensive and civic life, connecting the Roman city to its medieval successors.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAre you ready to take a walk?\r\n<h3>\u201c\u2018The city smells of rotten eggs,\u2019 Julia grimaces. My daughter is right. The thermal baths of Aquae Granni may be healing, but their sulphurous stench is unbearable. It doesn\u2019t seem to bother the bathers, though. Our cart moves forward at a crawl through a crowd of shuffling people and wagons piled high with wood. \u2018Most of it is for the baths,\u2019 says a dark-skinned man walking beside us. \u2018Every day, the thermae and the underfloor heating of the rich devour another piece of the forest. The baths heal the body, but not nature,\u2019 he sighs, before vanishing again into the throng. Quintus Iulius has come up with the idea of bottling the spring water and selling it at the markets of Germania Inferior. Personally, I\u2019m just looking forward to sliding into the warm water for a few hours \u2014 and talking with people from all corners of the Empire. Perhaps I\u2019ll overhear some news about the situation in Rome. They seem to change emperors every few months this year. Murder and decapitation \u2014 not even the most curative water can wash that away.\u201d \u2013 Ammulva Iucunda<\/h3>","slideshow":[21326],"ontdekken_video_box":{"ontdekken_video_titel":"","ontdekken_video_paragraaf":"","ontdekken_video_iframe":""},"ontdekken_360_box":{"ontdekken_360_titel":"","ontdekken_360_paragraaf":"","ontdekken_360_iframe":""},"doen":null,"weten":[{"vraag":"Photo of the glass floor panels was taken by Stadtarch\u00e4ologie Aachen.","antwoord":""}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/plek\/21330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/plek"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/plek"}],"acf:attachment":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"plek_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/plek_types?post=21330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}