1,900-year-old Roman house burned down — mostly. See its well-preserved basement

Moira Ritter
·2 min read
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Smoke poured from windows and doorways as fire devoured a residential home lining a main street of what is now known as one of Germany’s biggest cities.

Residents tried to grab as many belongings as they could, but some objects were forgotten to the flames.

At least that’s what archaeologists think happened after discovering the home’s exceptionally preserved basement, according to a Feb. 7 news release from the Frankfurt am Main Department of Culture and Science.

The basement was part of a building constructed in the late first century A.D., experts said. Screengrab from the Archaeological Museum of Frankfurt's Facebook post
The basement was part of a building constructed in the late first century A.D., experts said. Screengrab from the Archaeological Museum of Frankfurt's Facebook post

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The wooden cellar was discovered in March 2023, and over the last few months it was carefully recovered and excavated by experts from the Archaeological Museum of Frankfurt.

Researchers said the wooden cellar was part of a building that was constructed toward the end of the first century A.D. The residential building stood on one of the main streets of the ancient Roman city of Nida.

Photos show the stairs and floor of the excavated structure.

Evidence indicates that the building was completely destroyed by a fire in ancient times, archaeologists said. The cellar’s burnt stairs are preserved, as well as the charred remains of beams, charcoal and other debris.

Some artifacts, including a melted glass vessel and iron implements on the stairs, show that residents did not have time to save all objects from the basement during the fire, according to experts.

After the destructive fire, another building was constructed on top of the original ruins, but the cellar was not used.

Archaeologists said they are still working to determine the exact date of the fire.

Similar findings have been found in the area over the last 100 years, but they were not usually as well preserved, officials said.

Frankfurt is in southwest Germany, about 340 miles southwest of Berlin.

Google Translate was used to translate a news release from the Frankfurt am Main Department of Culture and Science. Facebook was used to translate a post from the Archaeological Museum of Frankfurt.

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