File:Römervilla (Roman Villa) at Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany (8134355290).jpg

In March 1980, during road construction in the outskirts of Ahrweiler, workmen discovered remains of an ancient building, which turned out to be a quite sensational archaeological find. After 10 year of excavation by the county administrations department for historical monuments in Koblenz, the following can now be documented: the discovered building turned out to be a large, well-preserved country mansion with a separated spacious bath house. It was constructed at the end of the 1st century when the area was governed as a Roman province. Underneath the construction remains of another house were found, dating from the middle of the 1st century. It had been torn down systematically to give place for the construction of the large mansion. Part of the cellar from the first building has been unearthed during excavation. Not to damage any of the surprisingly well-preserved country mansion examination of the preceding building was held to a minimum. The understanding of the basic lay-out was sufficiently. The large, Roman style house was inhabited permanently during the 2nd and 3rd century. It was home to an extended family of about 10 to 20 persons. Whether the inhabitants were Romans or Romanized Germans is unknown, but from a found wall-graffiti it is certain, that proper Latin was spoken in the house, A the end of the 3rd century the building was transformed into a roadside inn and a hostel. During the second half of the 4th century the building was used for silver melting works. In the 5th century the houses were covered by a landslide. No traces were left above ground. Early Christian graves were found on the site, dating back to 7th and 8th century.

The excavation is now completed and restoration of the well-preserved Roman-style building is in progress. The state of conservation of the large house is unique anywhere north of the Alps and can be compared to similar archaeological finds in the Mediterranean area. Floor heating installations are hardly damaged and could mostly be fired up again to demonstrate the functioning of this heating system.