Trier / Augusta Treverorum

Trier, Roman Augusta Treverorum, was one of the major cities of the north-western empire and a late antique imperial residence. Its archaeological value lies in the scale of preserved structures: gates, baths, basilica, amphitheatre, bridge, cemeteries and urban fabric.

Archaeological complex

The city developed in the territory of the Treveri and became an administrative centre, especially important in the third and fourth centuries. Porta Nigra, the Imperial Baths, Barbara Baths, Constantine Basilica, amphitheatre and Roman bridge show capital-level urban infrastructure outside Italy. For the late empire, it is a key complex.

Trier combines urban excavation with major standing monuments: Porta Nigra, imperial baths, basilica, bridges, amphitheatre and subterranean archaeological areas show a Late Roman capital within a modern city. Photographs are needed to distinguish preserved monumental architecture from layers exposed by excavation.

Trier combines urban excavation with major standing monuments: Porta Nigra, imperial baths, basilica, bridges, amphitheatre and subterranean archaeological areas show a Late Roman capital within a modern city. Photographs are needed to distinguish preserved monumental architecture from layers exposed by excavation.

Finds and material setting

Trier's evidence includes architecture, sculpture, coins, inscriptions, glass, pottery, funerary assemblages and traces of crafts. The links between monumental architecture and daily life are especially useful: huge baths and residence buildings stood alongside workshops, houses and cemeteries.

Visual and archaeological evidence is useful here as a check on the prose: it connects visible walls, layout, finds and museum objects with the historical setting. Main evidence groups:

• Porta Nigra, baths, amphitheatre, basilica and bridge infrastructure;
• urban layers beneath the modern city;
• sculpture, inscriptions, coins, funerary monuments and domestic material;
• Late Roman administrative and palace zones.

Visual and archaeological evidence is useful here as a check on the prose: it connects visible walls, layout, finds and museum objects with the historical setting. Main evidence groups:

• Porta Nigra, baths, amphitheatre, basilica and bridge infrastructure;
• urban layers beneath the modern city;
• sculpture, inscriptions, coins, funerary monuments and domestic material;
• Late Roman administrative and palace zones.

Interpretation and limits

Trier is above all a late antique centre. If used for early imperial reconstruction, early urban layers must be separated from the Tetrarchic and Constantinian phases, otherwise the city will misleadingly look the same across several centuries.

Related topics

• Roman Archaeological Sources
• Roman Empire
• Thermae
• Theatre
• Roman concrete

Literature

• Hans-Peter Kuhnen (ed.). Das römische Trier. Stuttgart, 2001.
• UNESCO World Heritage: Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier.
• Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier: archaeological collections.