A team of archaeologists under the direction of the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association (LWL) has found evidence of human occupation in Delbrück-Bentfeld, in the German district of Paderborn, spanning several historical periods and a surprising connection with Roman culture.
The work began in November 2024 and uncovered around 400 archaeological structures such as buildings, wells, and, exceptionally, a cremation grave with objects possibly belonging to a Germanic individual who served in the Roman imperial army.
The excavation was led by archaeologist Sven Knippschild and took place in a residential expansion area where traces of a settlement from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD had already been detected in 2016. The new findings have now shown that the site was occupied during different eras, forming what experts call a multi-phase settlement. Most notably, artifacts have been found proving that its inhabitants had access to goods of Roman origin—something uncommon in this region of Westphalia.
In total, 750 objects were recovered, 600 of them metallic, and two buildings were identified by postholes, along with two Grubenhäuser (typical semi-subterranean Germanic structures), several storage pits, and two wells, in addition to the unique cremation grave, referred to as Brandgrubengrab Befund 531.
A Germanic Warrior in the Service of Rome?
The burial contained the remains of a funeral pyre, made up of charcoal, calcined bones, and charred offerings, but what makes it unique in the region are the objects deposited next to the deceased: a spearhead, two fibulae (clothing brooches), a fragmented bone comb, a fire-striker, and above all, a schnalle (buckle) decorated with animal-head motifs dated between the 4th and 5th centuries, which belonged to a Roman military belt, according to specialists.
This is the first time we’ve found components of Roman military equipment in a funerary context in East Westphalia, explains Dr. Sven Spiong, director of the LWL’s regional office in Bielefeld. Until now, similar objects were only known from surface finds, so the presence of this buckle raises the question of whether the deceased was a Germanic mercenary who served in the legions.
The theory gains strength when compared with another site found in Salzkotten-Scharmede, where Roman artifacts also appeared in a contemporary settlement.
But the tomb wouldn’t be the only surprise for archaeologists, because in the final stage of the excavation they found a well that, at first, they thought was a cattle trough. Upon digging deeper, they discovered an exceptionally well-preserved wooden structure made of three hollowed-out trunks and over one meter in diameter. Inside the sediments were leather fragments, an insect wing, and a timber with notches and engraved marks.
The state of preservation of the organic material is extraordinary, emphasizes Knippschild. The timber, reused in the construction of the well, has incisions whose meaning has yet to be deciphered. Exceptionally, on top of the structure a layer of ashes and burned bones was found—possibly unrecovered human remains from a cremation—alongside blue, green, and clear glass beads. Could this abandoned 5th-century well also have been used as a cremation site?
The LWL has announced further analyses to refine the chronology and context of the finds, including dendrochronological and carbon-14 studies to determine the age of the timbers, while the well’s sediments will be screened for seeds or pollen.
This site is an exceptional window into understanding how local communities lived during the Völkerwanderung (the period of Germanic migrations), says Dr. Julia Hallenkamp-Lumpe, archaeobotanist at the LWL. The well, in particular, offers clues about a key moment: the transition between the Roman era and the Early Middle Ages.
Once the excavations are completed and the entire site is recorded and documented, the land will be urbanized.
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