Carroll, M. (2026). "Rural Villa near Echternach." Gardens of the Roman Empire, accessed October 2, 2026. https://roman-gardens.github.io/id/1ab1ef96b6/

Rural Villa near Echternach

Published: 2026-10-01
Last modified: 2026-10-02

Dates

60s CE to late fourth or early fifth century CE

Excavation Dates

unspecified

Garden Description

This villa of a farm near Echternach was of the winged corridor type with sumptuous interior marble paneling, mosaics and wall paintings (Fig. 1). Originally constructed in the 60s of the first century CE, the villa was enlarged until it covered an area of 8928 square meters in the third century.

The protruding wings of the house on either side of the main entrance on the north framed a large, open courtyard, 29 x 74 meters in size, possibly a garden (G on plan). In the middle of this courtyard was a masonry pool of grand proportions (14.50 x 60 meters). In the middle of this stone-paved pool was a square base which once supported a statue, a sculptural group or perhaps a crater. The pool was retained as a decorative element throughout all the alterations of the estate until the destruction of the farm in the late 4th or early fifth century.

The southern peristyle courtyard (16.50 x 17 meters) within the house itself was initially designed as part of the bath complex in this wing, and in this courtyard was a swimming pool or natatio. Soon after the building of the house, the pool was filled in and the courtyard transformed into a garden (G on plan).

There was a garden from the very beginning in the western peristyle courtyard, as witnessed by the presence of garden soil (G on plan). This garden was later abandoned in the early second century.

Bibliography

  • J. Metzler, J. Zimmer and L. Bakker, Ausgrabungen in Echternach, Luxembourg, 1981. (worldcat)
  • P. Van Ossel, Établissements ruraux de l'Antiquité tardive dans le nord de la Gaule, Paris, 1992, pp. 350-353, figs. 145-146. (worldcat)

Keywords

Places