WIESBADEN, Germany - Many years ago, it is believed, Roman army units were housed in a village near the Main-Nidda road. The road, used by the Romans to transport soldiers and supplies, connected the area through Taunus, just north of Wiesbaden, to the Saalburg fort.
Today, that village's site is in the middle of an Army Family Housing construction project at Wiesbaden Army Airfield South. As foundation work begins on the $133 million project, managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District, contractors will excavate the site in search of Roman artifacts and ruins. Local archeological preservation experts will also be on site to oversee and document the effort.
The old Roman road, Main-Nidda, runs south of the project site at Elisabethen Strasse and Steinerne Strasse. Numerous ground monuments from this and other periods are thought to be there, including a graveyard and prehistoric settlement.
The cultural resources were discovered as part of an environmental baseline study, which is conducted prior to construction to assess the current condition of nature and landscape within a project site to identify potential rehabilitation or compensation measures.
Directly southeast of the Roman village site, a settlement from an unknown period will also be investigated. Excavation efforts are expected to continue through October, depending on what is discovered.
The WAAF family housing project includes design and construction of up to 324 single-family, duplex and townhouse units. Two new sports fields, a running path, gazebos and playgrounds are also in the plans.
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