Great St. Martin Church - Archeological Investigation

Archeological Investigation

Great St Martin’s is located at the site of one of the original Rhine islands, situated east of the site of the Ancient Roman Praetorium. Th island is no longer separate. When the site underneath the church was excavated in the years 1965-66, an investigation revealed that the earliest building dates from the first century, and was 76 meters long and 71.5 meters wide. The inner room was 55.7 by 43.8 meters large, and held a mysterious shallow area used to store water, measuring 34 x 17.2 meters. This is notable because no similar structures from this period, North of the Alps have yet been found. Because no other information about the use of the building has been passed down, only conjectures can be offered as to the function of the pool. One possibility is that the building was used for recreation, and that the water storage area was a swimming pool. It is also possible that the pool was used to store live fish, to keep them fresh. A further theory posits that the site was a sacred Roman precinct or temple.

Sometime in the middle of the second century, the pool was filled in, and accompanying buildings to the south, east and west were built. The location of these buildings, directly on the banks of the Rhine, as well as their structure, indicates use as storage, for market goods shipped along the river.

The storehouse on the site of the church was used after antiquity. Archeological evcavation showed that at three separate times, a new floor was built, always on top of the older material. It is not clear whether any of these renovations stem from Roman or later Medieval periods. However, in one layer of the floor, shards of Pingsdorfer ceramic were discovered, suggesting that it was added during the Carolingian Renaissance.

In addition, a cross section of the middle axis of the church taken in 1965 provided interesting discoveries. At a depth of approximately two meters under the Church floor, a variety of medieval and more modern burials were found.