Sumelocenna-Museum: A Roman City Museum in Rottenburg am Neckar, Germany
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.6
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Classical
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Classical
- Civilizations
- Roman
- Site type
- Museum
On this page6 sections
History
The Sumelocenna-Museum is a Roman city museum in Rottenburg am Neckar, Germany, interpreting the Roman settlement of Sumelocenna and the life of provincial Roman communities in southwestern Germany. It opened in November 1992 with support from the state of Baden-Württemberg, the Sülchgauer Altertumsverein Rottenburg, a local antiquarian and historical association, and other sponsors.
Interpreting Roman Sumelocenna
The museum’s permanent exhibition focuses on everyday life in Sumelocenna, the Roman-period settlement corresponding to modern Rottenburg am Neckar. Provincial Roman communities existed outside Italy and combined Roman institutions and material culture with local populations and traditions. Excavated remains, original archaeological finds, reconstructions, models, graphics, and a documentary film are used to explain the settlement and Roman-period life in the region.
The museum also presents a recurring Roman festival held every two years, in odd-numbered years on the last weekend of August. Temporary exhibitions have included displays devoted to practical aspects of Roman life.
Roman Baths in Rottenburg
Three Roman bathing complexes are known within Rottenburg. A bath at the eastern edge of the walled settlement was built in the second century and continued in use until around the middle of the third century. It was discovered in 1929, exposed and fully investigated during construction of the Eugen-Bolz-Gymnasium in 1962, and later conserved beneath the school.
Remains
The museum at Stadtgraben is a car-park museum, with part of the excavated ancient city incorporated into its building. Its central surviving feature is a 32-metre-long Roman latrine with luxurious fittings. The structure demonstrates Roman sanitary arrangements as well as the engineering and craftsmanship applied to them.
Museum Exhibition
Alongside the excavated architecture, the exhibition contains numerous original Roman finds, reconstructions, models, and explanatory graphics. A diorama of scenes from Roman Sumelocenna uses approximately 650 tin figures to represent aspects of the ancient settlement.
Roman Bath
The nearby Roman bath lies beneath the Eugen-Bolz-Gymnasium at southern Mechthildstrasse 26, a short distance from the museum. The covered and well-preserved complex measures 18 by 11 metres and contains four rooms with different functions. These comprise an apodyterium, or changing room, a tepidarium, or moderately heated room, a caldarium, or hot-bath room, and a frigidarium, or cold-bath room.
