Flyer - Route Charlemagne Aachen

The Archaeological Showcase
Flintstone and
medical instruments
Important archaeological finds are constantly being
made during excavation work all over Aachen, and the
grounds of the Elisengarten are no exception. Systematic
digs here between 2007 and 2010 unearthed about
70,000 archaeologically significant objects dating from
the Neolithic through to the late Middle Ages.
The “Archaeological Showcase“, which was built by
kadawittfeldarchitektur, offers views into 60 m 2 of the
original 2000 m 2 excavation site.
The oldest finds to be seen here date from the Middle
Neolithic period (4700-4550 BC): a stone on which a flint
worker would have sat, and half-finished stone axes.
The axe blades were fashioned from flint that was already
being quarried on Lousberg from the 4th millennium
BC on.
In the early Roman period, Aachen covered 20 to 30
hectares. The excavations show that the inhabitants at
that time lived in half-timbered houses. In the course of
the 1st century AD, they even erected the first few stone buildings
with tiled roofs and painted walls. Luxury living in Roman times
included wall and underfloor heating (hypocaustum). The Archaeological
Showcase features remnants of this kind of heating system
from the 3rd century AD.
In the 2nd and 3rd century AD, “Aquae Granni“ was a flourishing
township full of craftsmen and traders, its greatest attraction being
its hot springs. All around Büchel, a complex of thermal baths and
temples arose. One of the buildings whose remnants archaeolo ­
gists found in the Elisengarten was probably a hostel where spa
visitors and patients would have spent time in heated rooms each
meas uring 12 m 2 . Probes for the treatment of wounds and a pair of
locking forceps unearthed on the site indicate that medical treatment
was provided here.
In the 2nd century, a small temple (aedicula) was built inside the
hostel. We do not know which deity the inhabitants worshipped
there. By the end of the 2nd century, the temple had fallen into
disuse.
Built with
the generous
support of:
Archaeological Showcase
Celtic glass armband, 3rd to 1st century BC
10 RouteCharlemagneELISENBRUNNEN 11