Roman Temple Dedicated to Mars Unearthed Beneath Forest Floor Near Frankfurt
On September 25, the Hesse State Office for Monument Preservation revealed the discovery of a Roman temple, likely dedicated to Mars, in the eastern Taunus Mountains close to Frankfurt. This rectangular structure, measuring 16 feet in length, features a square inner chamber with robust walls, suggesting it served as an ambulatory temple. An inscription refers to Mars, and there is a fragment of a statue that may represent him, along with a statuette of Victoria. The temple was unearthed during excavations at the Kapersburg fort, a Roman military site from the second century C.E., established under either Emperor Trajan or Hadrian. This fort accommodated the Numerus Nidensium unit for approximately 150 years until the mid-third century C.E. The location is part of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2005.
Key facts
- A Roman temple likely dedicated to Mars was discovered just beneath the forest floor in the eastern Taunus Mountains near Frankfurt, Germany.
- The rectangular temple measures about 16 feet long and contains a square inner chamber with three roughly 20-inch-thick walls.
- An inscription suggests the temple was dedicated to Mars, and a statue fragment may depict the war god.
- A broken statuette clearly bears Victoria's attributes: wings, a palm branch, and a laurel wreath.
- The temple was found during excavations of the Kapersburg fort, a second-century C.E. Roman military fortification, and its adjacent vicus.
- The fort was likely built under Emperor Trajan or Hadrian and was occupied by the Numerus Nidensium for about 150 years until abandonment in the mid-third century C.E.
- The site is part of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes, a 342-mile stretch between the Rhine and Danube rivers that became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005.
- This year, researchers also found blacksmith pits and baking ovens, possibly for drying grain, but fewer houses than expected.
Entities
Artists
- Lars Görze
- Thomas Kurella
- Kristina Killgrove
- Sarah Kuta
- Trajan
- Hadrian
Institutions
- Hesse State Office for Monument Preservation
- Live Science
- Hessenschau
- UNESCO
- Numerus Nidensium
- Smithsonian Magazine
Locations
- Germany
- Frankfurt
- Taunus Mountains
- Kapersburg fort
- Nida
- Heddernheim
- Rhine
- Danube
- Rosbach vor der Höhe
- Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes