Cologne Roman Palace Reveals Shrine
Archaeology Magazine detailed Cologne's Roman palace digs uncovering a shrine to protector gods and a Rhine staircase, garnering 148 likes, 20 reposts, and 5,678 views. The discoveries provide new insights into Roman religious practices and the ancient city's connection to the Rhine River.
The discoveries were made at the Praetorium, the official residence of the Roman governor for the province of Lower Germania. This palace was the political heart of Roman Cologne, a major administrative center for the empire. The site is now part of the future MiQua LVR Jewish Museum in the Archaeological Quarter Cologne, located under the city's Town Hall Square. The shrine is a "lararium," a small altar dedicated to the Lares, who were Roman guardian deities of a household. Finding a lararium is extremely rare north of the Alps; they are much more commonly found in cities like Pompeii. This one, dating to the 2nd century AD, still had traces of painted plaster and nail holes where garlands were likely hung during rituals. The staircase dates even earlier, to the late 1st century AD. Roman staircases are seldom preserved because their stone was often looted and reused for later construction. This one survived because it was intentionally buried by the Romans themselves during a later expansion of the palace, which protected it from medieval stone robbers. These structures reveal how Roman architects adapted the governor's palace to the challenging local terrain. The land sloped steeply towards the Rhine, and the staircase was a crucial connection between the upper levels of the palace complex and the lower areas closer to the vital river. The excavation is part of a project to create a 600-meter-long subterranean tour beneath the new museum. The newly found Roman staircase and shrine will be incorporated into this underground experience, allowing future visitors to see them in their original location.
