Today the theme was Roman ruins and grapes. We were up and going in the fog again this morning headed out to ride among the grapes, sip hot chocolate, visit a Roman wine cellar, see a replica Roman ship, visit the remains of a Roman Villa, and ride on the Zwaan as she headed into Trier.
We have seen several of these grape picking machines at work in the field but this is the first time we came face to face with one on the bike path. He pulled of the path to let us go by.
In the “Piesporter Goldtröpfchen” wine-growing region, two Roman wine presses (2nd and 4th centuries) were discovered in 1985 and 1991. The one from the 4th century with a capacity of almost 30,000 liters was reconstructed true to the original as a special attraction. The wine press consists of a tree press, seven basins and a series of cellar rooms for storing the wine. According to calculations, this facility corresponded to around 60 hectares of cultivated land in Roman times, a size that speaks for a state-run operation.
STELLA NOVIOMAGI, a wooden ship authentically based on the plans of ancient Roman vessels, was designed to echo the famous Wineship Monument in Neumagen. It took only two years to build and was funded by the European Union and the Rhineland-Palatinate at € 160,000. The work of reconstruction was done by the Trier Chamber of Crafts at a cost of € 200,000, and the local government provided wood from the town forest valued at € 40,000.
Next we visited a Roman Villa reconstruction. This spot was explored between 1983 and 1985 and the manor house belonging to a Roman estate was uncovered. The ground plan was preserved and parts of the main façade were reconstructed.
The heart of the complex (23 x 23 m), a farmhouse, dates back to the middle of the 2nd century AD. As early as the end of the century it was extended by a Roman bath. During the course of the 3rd and 4th centuries, further lavish additions and alterations were made as affluence increased, so that in the end the building encompassed an area of 48 x 29 m. With 34 rooms, it was one of the larger manor houses in the Trier region. A heated living room with mosaic decoration bears witness to the superior standard of living, as does a silver toilet set and the fragments of two richly decorated gold glasses. Following the destruction of the building in about 355 AD, as a résult of a Germanic invasion, the provincial administration settled Germans in the ruins to cultivate the fallow fields. According to available finds, they were only abandoned by their inhabitants towards the end of the 5th century - later than most villas.
When we were docked in Trier this boat came racing by us. The boat says Paddling Against Breast Cancer. Each time they went past a docked boat a big cheer went up.
