Rustic villa at Rheinbach-Flerzheim

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

Second century CE to mid-fifth century CE

Garden Description

There was no division between the residential and service parts of this modest farm. The house, with its bath (A and B on plan), and the outbuildings were built of stone at the beginning of the 2nd century (Plan 1). The winged corridor type house of this villa rustica was 37 m. long and 20 m. wide, and it had a bath attached to the back.

Enclosing the farm complex was a hedge or row of trees, the planting trenches of which were uncovered in excavations (gray wavy border on plan). Based on the palaeobotanical evidence of carbonised plant remains and pollen, a kitchen garden near the house and fruit trees on the property have been reconstructed. In front of the entrance to the main residence at the south were the remains of a small pool lined with clay. This has been taken as evidence for an ornamental garden surrounding the pool. On a farm of this modest size and simplicity, however, an ornamental garden seems rather unlikely. The farm was occupied until the mid-5th century.

Plans

Plan of the farmyard with its house (A) and bath (B) enclosed by a hedge (grey line). The open circles are wells.

Credit: Adapted from Carroll 2001, fig. 38.

Bibliography

M. Gechter, "Der römische Gutshof von Rheinbach-Flerzheim," in Spurensicherung. Archäologische Denkmalpflege in der Euregio Maas-Rhein, Mainz, 1992, pp. 249-54, 452-60. worldcat
M. Carroll, Romans, Celts and Germans. The German Provinces of Rome, Stroud, 2001, p. 79, fig. 38. worldcat

Rheinbach-Flerzheim on Gardens of the Roman Empire

Rustic villa at Rheinbach-Flerzheim

Dates

Garden Description

Plans

Bibliography

Keywords