Archaeologists have discovered an unusual round stone grave in southern Germany. Dating with Roman EmpireThe large tomb was completely empty – and may have been erected as a monument to honor someone buried elsewhere.
“The grave was both a place of memory and an expression of social status,” Matthias PfeilThis was stated in translation by the general curator of the Bavarian State Office for the Protection of Monuments. statement. “We didn’t expect to find a funerary monument of this age and size here.”
According to the Bavarian State Office for the Protection of Monuments, the round tomb was built next to a Roman road. The shape and arrangement of the carved stones also suggest that the mound dates from Roman times, when the area was part of the province Rate.
But while similar Roman burial mounds have been found in central Europe and Italy, the discovery is “highly unusual” and “extremely rare” for Germany, the Bavarian State Office for the Protection of Monuments said in a statement. Mounds discovered in the area generally date back to a much earlier time.
Additionally, Wolkertshofen's tomb is unusual in that no bones or grave goods were found inside it. Combined with the tomb's proximity to a Roman road and a Roman country estate, this could mean that the mound was a cenotaph – a symbolic tomb dedicated to someone who was buried elsewhere.
“Mound [burial mound] was right on an important Roman transport route, and thus the family created a highly visible memorial to the deceased,” Pfeil said.
According to the statement, further research into the tomb and its surroundings will help experts better understand the life of the Romans in Bavaria.
