European Archaeological Park of Bliesbruck-Reinheim

The European Archaeological Park at Bliesbruck-Reinheim, in the German municipality of Gersheim and the French municipality of Bliesbruck, is a cross-border project which combines excavations and reconstructions of Celtic and Roman finds with exhibition and educational facilities. It was created in 1989 as a result of the archaeological work being done on both sides of the Franco-German border. Together with archaeological evidence from the Mesolithic Period, the Bronze Age, and the period of the Germanic migrations, the Celtic and Roman finds from the Iron Age bear witness to a history of continuous settlement in the Blies Valley that spans a period of 10,000 years.

Probably the most interesting excavation on the area is the Tomb of the Celtic Princess of Reinheim, dating from the 4th century BC. It is a woman's grave that was filled with exceptionally rich funerary objects. The burial chamber, constructed of oaken beams, was covered over by a massive mound of earth.

There is also a Roman villa in Reinheim. This very large complex includes courtyard walls enclosing an area 300 metres long and 135 metres wide with a main building to the north that measures almost 80 by 62 metres. One portion of the building in the north end of the west wing is thought to have been the villa's private thermal baths, due to the layout of its rooms and the discovery of water channels and fragments of cylindrical tiles (tubuli) attesting to the existence of under-floor heating (hypocaust).

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

Robert-Schuman-Straße 1, Reinheim, Germany

Details

Category: Museums in Germany