Ruins of a grand Roman country house (villa rustica) were discovered by a local school teacher at the end of the 19th century outside the village of Borg in Perl, Germany, near where the Saar River runs into the Moselle. Discovered at the end of the 19th century, the site was excavated in the late 1980s. The villa consists of three wings and the total area spreads out over 7,5 ha.
A plan to reconstruct an authentic representation of the buildings of the Villa Rustica as they originally appeared in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD begun in 1994 and completed in 2008. In addition to the local findings and excavation work, the reconstruction was based on similar sites of the Saar region (such as Echternach in Luxembourg). Both antique literature (Vitruvius) and modern literature (eg. for the reconstruction of the wall paintings) were taken into account. The reconstructed buildings now stand on the Roman foundation walls, revealing their probable appearance in the 2nd to 3rd century. The reconstruction provides a detailed impression of what life was like then in the countryside.
Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
The Roman Villa at Borg gets 50,000 visitors a year, who come to explore the buildings including the main manor hall, bedrooms, three baths, dressing room and relaxation solarium, a kitchen and latrines, along with outbuildings, gate and gardens.
Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
Visitors enter the site of the Roman Villa Borg through the gatehouse. It stands on the original foundations, and today probably looks much as it did during the 2nd and 3rd century AD.
The reconstructed Gatehouse, Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
The reconstructed Gatehouse, Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
The manor hall (atrium), the main building of the villa, was and still is the structure on which the entire villa complex is focused. Like the Roman Villa at Nennig, the reception hall had a large mosaic floor, in this case in black-and-white. The plan design of the main wing leads to the assumption that the building was two-storey. The manor and a number of adjacent rooms are today used as a museum in which the finds from the excavation in Borg are displayed.
The reconstructed manor hall (atrium), used as a museum, Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
The reconstructed manor hall (atrium), used as a museum, Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
From February to July 2013, an exhibition on Roman glass (CIRCUS BEAKERS & RIBBED BOWLS ROMAN GLASSMAKERS Mark Taylor & David Hill – work show 1989-2012) was held in the reception hall. Several dozen of glass vessels found at the Villa Borg site were on display alongside hundreds of glasses reconstructions made by Mark Taylor & David Hill.
Roman glass exhibition in the reconstructed manor hall (atrium), Roman Villa Borg, Germany
© Carole Raddato
In some of the rooms upstairs are exhibited furniture reproductions like stools, tables, cupboards etc.
Furniture reproductions, stools, tables, cupboards etc, Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
The exhibition area, Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
The complex also includes a fully functioning Roman bath. The baths have been rebuilt in its original way and give an indication of how important the bathing culture was in the Roman Empire. From the entrance area you reach the cold bath (frigidarium) with its large pool.
The reconstructed frigidarium (cold bath), Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
Next to the reconstructed frigidarium is the caldarium, a vaulted room containing a hot bath.
The reconstructed caldarium (hot bath), Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
The reconstructed caldarium (hot bath), Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
Next to the caldarium and in line with ancient bathing customs is the reconstructed laconicum, the dry sweating room of the Roman thermae.The resting room was raised to a higher temperature and had no bath in it.
The reconstructed resting room next to the baths, Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
The laconicum was heated by a hypocaust.The suspended floor, built of bridging-tiles was supported by pilae, consisting mainly of square tiles.
The reconstructed hypocaust in the resting room next to the baths, Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
The reconstructed resting room next to the baths, Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
The next room is the medium warm room of the baths. It contains a statue of Clio, the Muse of history and a lararium, a shrine to the guardian spirits of the Roman household (Lar Familiaris). Family members performed daily rituals at this shrine to guarantee the protection of these domestic spirits, the most significant of which were the lares.
The reconstructed lararium, the sacred place of the house, and a statue of Clio, the muse of history, Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
A lararium often had the appearance of a cupboard or a niche containing a small statue, a niche painted on a wall, or a small freestanding shrine. The painting in the reconstructed lararium in the Villa Borg is based on a fresco from a lararium in the House of the Centenary at Pompeii. The figure of Bacchus, god of wine and fertility, stands alongside at the foot of Mount Vesuvius.
The reconstructed lararium, the sacred place of the house, Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
A tavern in one of the wing of the Villa Borg serves food and drink based on Roman recipes. The Villa Borg produces its own Roman bread which you can buy at the tavern. The bread is baked inside the reconstructed Roman kitchen (culina). The Roman cuisine is immediately adjacent to the bathhouse wing.
The reconstructed Roman kitchen (culina), Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
The reconstructed Roman kitchen (culina), Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
The gardens, which have been designed as authentically as possible on the basis of pollen analysis and relevant literature, consist of a herb garden with spices and remedial plants, a flower garden as well as a kitchen garden with fruits and vegetables. The rose garden and the inner court garden are also based on Roman models and give an idea of Roman garden architecture with their fountains and footpaths.
One of the gardens, Villa Borg, Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
The flower garden, Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
One of the gardens, Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
Every year during the first weekend in August the “Roman Days” (Römertage) are being held. Roman legionnaires, traders and craftsmen put up their camp on the estate of the Villa Borg and present the ancient way of life. The Roman Villa Borg also offers a year-round variety of events.
Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
Until now only the Pars Dominica has been excavated which was the residential area, exclusive to the master (dominus) and his family. Excavation work is currently being carried out in the area of the ‘pars rustica’, the area reserved for servants and workers of the farm.
Excavation work at the Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
The Saarland and Mosel Valley’s ancient Roman heritage has a lot to offer to tourists and scholars alike. More than 120 antique sights along the Moselle and the Saar rivers, the Saarland and Luxembourg are testament to the Gallo-Roman era north of the Alps (further information here).
Visiting the Roman Villa Borg: The villa is open from Monday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm April to October and from 11 am to 4 pm February to March and November. The site is closed on Mondays and in December and January.
Website: http://www.villa-borg.de
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Roman Villa Borg, Germany
© Carole Raddato
Nearby the Roman Villa Borg, you can visit the gladiator mosaic in Nennig, the largest and most exquisite mosaic north of the Alps. Protected by a dedicated building built about 150 years ago and covering an area of roughly 160m2, the mosaic vividly portrays musicians, scenes of hunting and gladiatorial contests. The tumulus nearby is also well worth a visit.
Further photos can be viewed from my image collection on Flickr.
Villa Borg
© Carole Raddato
