Two temples discovered in a Roman camp in Germany: archaeologists say a unique case

In Germany, in Haltern, about 50 kilometers north of Dortmund, archaeologists from the Westphalia-Lippe Association (LWL) have found remains of the foundations of two small Roman temples and a pit at the site of the Haltern Roman encampment. “The two rectangular cult buildings consisted only of clay structures,” says LWL scholar Bettina Tremmel, “but they were based on the typical large stone podium temples that could be found in many Roman cities at the time of Emperor Augustus.” The discovery is considered extraordinary because such cult buildings have not been found anywhere else within Roman military installations. The building remains now uncovered were first examined nearly 100 years ago, but until now this unusual combination of Roman encampment and cult buildings had hardly been noticed by scholars due to lack of comparisons.

Now, however, in the current excavation area, experts have so far managed to almost completely expose the plan of the western cult building by deriving more information. The 30-square-meter rectangular wooden building had a five-meter wide entrance on its facade. The facade of the building was architecturally highlighted by two wooden columns placed on either side.

The two small temples are located within a building complex of more than 2,000 square meters, first explored in 1928 by archaeologist August Stieren. Some plan details suggest that the building complex was initially used as a “schola,” i.e., a meeting place for military personnel. After some renovations, a troop space was also housed there, as evidenced by the numerous tool finds.

Due to lack of time and money, Stieren left many of the building’s remains in the ground and did not finish excavating them. “Fortunately,” Tremmel says today, “because to everyone’s surprise, the new survey also revealed a measurement error.” The worship buildings are located one meter further south than previously assumed. Unfortunately, over the past 80 years many different types of earthworks have massively destroyed the archaeological structures.

According to Stieren’s research, the second building looked almost identical to the first. Between the two buildings was a pit at ground level. Other artifacts, especially those that might have a cult connection, do not seem to have come to light. “At the current state of our research, this is a unique group of buildings within a Roman encampment, and previous archaeologists had already wondered about the function of these structures,” says Professor Michael Rind, director of archaeology at LWL.

Directly next to the cult buildings is the circular moat. The depth of the small moat and the Roman artifacts in it testify to a Bronze Age date and are more comparable to the floor plans of the Haltern Roman burial ground. However, the construction of a tomb within a settlement was prohibited by Roman law. Scholar Barbara Rüschoff-Parzinger explains, “When one thinks of the Romans in Westphalia, the first thing that comes to mind is complex logistics, large military facilities, and exceptional equipment. In the coming months we will try to understand what mystery lies behind this unique find.”

Two temples discovered in a Roman camp in Germany: archaeologists say a unique case

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