The Romans knew where it was beautiful: In 1981, in the middle of the sea of vines above the Bad Dürkheim district of Ungstein, a Roman villa with a pedal press was uncovered and partially restored as part of the largest Roman manor house complex in the Palatinate. When the weather is nice, the view extends as far as the Black Forest.
Almost 2,000 years ago, the main house is said to have had a huge frontage length of 150 m. Looking through the three imposing reconstructed columns, the panorama opens up to vineyards, the Palatinate Forest, the city and the Rhine plain. When the weather is nice, the view extends as far as the Black Forest. Below the villa, a functioning Roman pedal press has been preserved, where wine is still "trampled underfoot" today. The outstanding importance of the facility was confirmed by the German Wine Institute with the award of the title "Highlight of Wine Culture".
In summer, the "Wine Festival at the Roman Press" takes place here, where not only excellent wines are served, but also a Roman cohort regularly sets up camp and provides authentic insights into the life of the Romans.
For more than 100 years, it has been known in Bad Dürkheim that there must have been a Roman settlement on a southern slope near Ungstein in the "Weilberg" quarry. As early as 1894, two stone coffins were discovered to the west of today's excavations. The additions – a moulded head glass and a wine bottle together with a wine glass – already prove the connection to the wine. The experts date the vessels to the time of Emperor Constantine, i.e. to the early 4th century AD.
As early as 1897, the grammar school teacher Mehlis had uncovered a wall of 12 meters in length and thus located the settlement. However, their existence was also certain in the Middle Ages, because the "Weilberg" vineyard established the connection to the Roman villa rustica as early as 1309 with "zu wile".
Ancient "reserve" in the vineyard
In 1981, the Ungsstein winegrowers were happy to accommodate the archaeologists during the land consolidation of this area, so that the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments was able to carry out extensive investigations for months. Later, they also allowed the establishment of a protection zone of almost 5000 square meters, an ancient "reserve" in the middle of the vineyard. From April to July 1981, excavations were carried out in the area of the manor house. A large part of the outbuildings was discovered only in the course of the immediate deportation work and was examined until September 1981. The archaeologists were very pleased that the walls of the villa complex were extremely well preserved, sometimes up to 150 centimetres high. However, because there was not enough time for a complete scientific excavation, much of it was filled in again and only recorded with plans.
The Manor House
The manor house once towered over the entire property with a length of 104 meters, later even 150 meters (and a good 30000 square meters of living space on several floors). Foundations of eleven other buildings have been identified. The central building (with 15 rooms) and its side annexes were connected by a portico. Fragments of columns and chapters testify to the quality of craftsmanship in this approach. Two columns, rebuilt to their original height and size, make it easier to imagine the former construction.
Bathing wing and horse stable
The living rooms were simple by the standards of the time, no mosaic floors were found. The 150 square meter bathing wing, which is rather modest for the size of the complex, shows the importance of bathing in antiquity. There is a cold and a warm bath, as well as a dressing room and a sweat bath. The owner of the villa must also have been a horse lover. In 1993, the archaeologists found a horse stable separated from the bath only by a corridor. The pillars that once supported a shelter, the feeding hatch and a crib have now been re-erected.
Until about 350 A.D.
A further three rooms could be entered through a swing gate, the stone threshold can still be visited. The archaeologists probably assume that the vehicle fleet and warehouses were housed here. In the early 4th century, the house was apparently extended again. At least eight outbuildings belonged to the complex. The complex was destroyed around the middle of the 4th century, probably by the Alemanni (around 352). The most recent coins bear the date 348 A.D. Three newer, smaller farm buildings prove that the land was used until the 5th century.
The wine press house
The most important of these outbuildings is a wine press house. A long rectangular pool of 4×2 meters opens into an almost square pool. Another rectangular basin was added later. At harvest time, the grapes were poured into the two outer basins and trampled under foot. The must flowed into the slightly deeper middle basin, where it was scooped out and filled into barrels. According to experts' estimates, the yield of 30 to 40 hectares of vineyards could be processed here during the autumn. On special occasions, Ungsteiner and the members of the 1st Roman Cohort Opladen like to climb into the pools in Roman costume and demonstrate this form of ancient wine press. Otherwise, Roman life reigns in the winery at the end of June, when the "Wine Festival at the Roman Press" is celebrated.
Vine seeds from antiquity
But it was not only this wine press that provided evidence of viticulture during antiquity in the Bad Dürkheim area. In a heavily deformed, formerly bell-shaped lead vessel made from the rubble of a large outbuilding, numerous vine cores were found in a thick layer of lead oxide. The scientific investigation showed that, in addition to wild vines, these were early forms of Riesling, Traminer or Burgundy grapes. Also on display are sickle-shaped vine knives or two-pronged red hoes.
Protective structure for wine press
The preservation of these testimonies of ancient wine culture corresponded to the wishes of both the preservation of monuments and that of the winegrowers of the Weilberg. With the support of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, the district and city of Bad Dürkheim, the Palatinate district association and numerous donations, the protective structure of the wine press house, modelled on a small Roman risalite villa, was erected and opened in 1983, in which the screed basins as well as numerous text and picture boards for information are located. A landscaped forecourt with seating invites you to take a break. Above the once 45-metre-long manor house, a 15×15 m building, one floor lower, protects the ancient cellar with its well-preserved staircase.
Roman Cemetery
Every Roman estate has a cemetery. The two sarcophagi discovered in 1894 were joined by another one during excavations in 1981. To the southwest of the villa was found an undestroyed stone coffin, a former well trough, in which a young female person was buried. All coffin finds are now on display to the east of the restored part of the manor house.
