In the Neckargartach district of Heilbronn, in southwestern Germany, a 500-meter-long section of Roman road and various buildings were recently discovered. Fragments of a statue of Mercury were also found in one of the stone buildings, leading archaeologists to believe it is a temple dedicated to this deity. For the first time, such a long stretch of road, along with all its associated structures, was investigated in Baden-Württemberg.
In the northern part of Heilbronn, the construction of the International Artificial Intelligence Campus is planned on an area of nearly 30 hectares. Since the entire surface is declared an archaeological cultural monument, extensive rescue excavations had to be carried out before construction could begin. These excavations were conducted between May 2023 and September 2024 by the company ArchaeoConnect GmbH, under the professional supervision of the State Office for Monument Preservation (LAD) of the Regional Government of Stuttgart. A Roman villa was the target of the search, but among the findings were, among other things, a Roman road, various buildings, and fragments of a statue of Mercury.
The name of the field ‘Steinäcker’ already indicated the presence of Roman building remains, so the site had been considered in the history of research as the location of a Roman villa, said Sybil Harding of ArchaeoConnect GmbH. However, the area revealed traces of a Roman road that runs through the excavation area from south to north over a length of 500 meters.
The roadbed is mostly located beneath a paved path, but the characteristic drainage channels that accompany a Roman road could be traced along the entire route, reported Dr. Andrea Neth, the archaeologist in charge at the LAD. The road space, about 14 meters wide, corresponds to a long-distance Roman road that, among other things, connected the two Roman camps of Böckingen and Wimpfen, located about ten kilometers apart, along the Neckarlimes.
Particularly to the west of the road, many remains of Roman buildings were discovered. These were mostly timber-framed buildings, some of which were on stone foundations. Due to intensive agricultural use, today only the basements, dug into the ground and built with wood or stone, are generally preserved.
The quantity, type, and arrangement of the building remains suggest that it was not a villa but a vicus, that is, a Roman civilian settlement along the road. This site, divided into several areas, probably served as a rest stop, a small market, and a settlement for artisans, explained Neth.
In addition to the building remains, numerous pits, a grain dryer, and a kiln were discovered. Five very deep wells ensured the water supply. A particular feature is, according to Neth, three isolated burials at the edge of the road, which do not belong to a regular cemetery. Two of them contained Roman shoe nails.
What stands out about the site in Neckargartach is that, for the first time in Baden-Württemberg, a long stretch of road along with all its associated structures could be investigated, commented Neth. Several stone foundations directly located on the road are unusual, and their function remains a mystery.
For a stone construction 2.9 meters wide and at least 3.2 meters long, whose stone wall was preserved in the lowest layer, this is not the case: in the rubble of the ruin, along with fragments of wall painting in color and two coins as offerings, several parts of a statue made of sandstone were found. A head worked in relief, almost life-size, represents the god Mercury. It is clearly recognizable by the winged helmet, explained Harding.
Another fragment shows a hand holding a bag (of money). This is also a typical attribute of the fast messenger of the gods, who in the Roman pantheon was the protector of merchants and artisans, but also of thieves.
The location of the temple of Mercury next to the road emphasizes its importance first in the military context and later also in the civil context, explained Harding. The construction of the fortification line along the Neckar around 100 AD required the creation of appropriate infrastructure for the army. After the Roman Empire’s border shifted to the Germanic Limes, located 20 kilometers to the east, in the mid-2nd century AD, the traffic routes remained in use until the fall of the Limes in the 3rd century, added Harding.
The exact period of use of the vicus in Neckargartach will not be determined until the materials found are evaluated. The absence of marked fire layers in the basements could be a sign of a deliberate evacuation of the small settlement. No post-Roman settlement remains were found, but four burials from the 4th/5th century point to a late Roman settlement site nearby.
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