The Rhineland Regional Council (LVR) discovered a Roman shaft with remarkable finds at the edge of the Hambach opencast mine near Kerpen-Manheim in the Rhine-Erft district. Inside the shaft, which was probably used from the 2nd to the 5th century AD, the team from the LVR-ABR (Rhineland Office for the Preservation of Archaeological Monuments) was able to discover parts of a column of Jupiter showing representations of various deities Romans.
The deities are, first of all, the Roman god Jupiter, who, sitting on a throne, crowned the column that bears his name. Of this sculpture, only the throne and the lower part of the god's body have been preserved. A badly damaged relief at the foot of the column, once about five meters high, may also show Jupiter.
Better preserved is another relief showing three female goddesses:Juno, the wife of Jupiter, Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, and most likely Nemesis-Diana, the goddess of just vengeance.
The performance of Nemesis-Diana is something special in the Rhineland , explains Erich Claßen, director of the LVR-ABR. We have little evidence that she was worshiped in the Rhineland in Roman times. The goddess can be recognized in the relief by the chariot wheel. Furthermore, she also wears a short robe, which is usually typical of Diana, the goddess of the hunt. This representation as Nemesis-Diana is very rare.
Based on pottery shards found in the pit fill, excavation director Martin Grünewald was able to prove that it was still in use until at least the 5th century. Such long use of the pit is extraordinary. Usually the wells discovered so far were filled with columns of Jupiter as early as the 3rd or 4th century says Grünewald.
This circumstance could also provide insight into religious conditions in the Rhineland during the late Roman period. Remains of Jupiter's columns were found in many wells of Roman villas. In the course of Christianization, these columns of gods, which were considered pagan, were perhaps deliberately thrown into wells.
That this did not happen in the case of Kerpen-Manheim until the 5th century is shown by the cult of Roman deities which was still practiced in the countryside at that time, long after churches had been built in Cologne and elsewhere. However, it cannot be ruled out that the column was destroyed during an invasion by Germanic tribes and ended up in the well. Since the 3rd century, tribal groups have repeatedly invaded Roman territory to the left of the Rhine.
But not only the content, but also the well itself is revealing of a high level of construction and logistical effort. Sandstones weighing several tons had to be transported several kilometers from the northern Eifel to the village , says Udo Geilenbrügge, head of the LVR-ABR in Titz. Only a rich owner could afford this.
However, it is still unclear when it was built. The finds from the fill of the pit, in addition to pottery shards, also some coins and a leather shoe as well as a bronze sieve, unfortunately do not provide any reliable information on this, as it was more likely that they reached the pit towards the end of its use. Similar wells in this area were mostly built in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, so this would also be conceivable for the well that has now been excavated. Geilenbrügge and his colleagues hope that further investigations into the wood from the well's construction will provide exact knowledge about the time of construction.