The Roman-Germanic Museum (RGM, in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Römisch-Germanisches Museum'') is an

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

museum in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It has a large collection of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

artifacts from the Roman settlement of ''

Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium was the Roman colony in the Rhineland from which the city of Cologne, now in Germany, developed. It was usually called ''Colonia'' (colony) and was the capital of the Roman province of Germania Inferior and ...

'', on which modern Cologne is built. The museum protects the original site of a Roman town villa, from which a large

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

remains in its original place in the basement, and the related

Roman Road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

just outside. In this respect the museum is an archaeological site. The museum also has the task of preserving the Roman cultural heritage of Cologne, and therefore houses an extensive collection of

Roman glass Roman glass objects have been recovered across the Roman Empire in domestic, industrial and funerary contexts. Glass was used primarily for the production of vessels, although mosaic tiles and window glass were also produced. Roman glass producti ...

from funerals and burials and also exercises archaeological supervision over the construction of the Cologne underground. Most of the museum's collection was housed at the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne until 1946. In the front of the museum the former northern town gate of Cologne with the inscription CCAA (for Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium) is on display in the building.

The museum

The Römisch-Germanisches Museum, which opened in 1974, is near

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...

, on the site of a 3rd-century villa. The villa was discovered in 1941 during the construction of an air-raid shelter. On the floor of the main room of the villa is the renowned Dionysus mosaic. Since the mosaic could not be moved easily, the architects Klaus Renner and Heinz Röcke designed the museum around the mosaic. The inner courtyards of the museum mimic the layout of the ancient villa. In addition to the Dionysus mosaic, which dates from around A.D. 220/230, there is the reconstructed sepulchre of the

legionary The Roman legionary (in Latin ''legionarius''; : ''legionarii'') was a citizen soldier of the Roman army. These soldiers would conquer and defend the territories of ancient Rome during the Republic and Principate eras, alongside auxiliary and c ...

Poblicius (about A.D. 40). There is also an extensive collection of Roman glassware as well as an array of Roman and medieval jewellery. Many artefacts of everyday life in Roman Cologne, ivory and bone objects, bronzes — including portraits of Roman emperor

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

and his wife

Livia Drusilla Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC AD 29) was Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal adoption into the Julia ''gens'' in AD 1 ...

—, coins, wall paintings, inscriptions, pottery and architectural fragments round out the displays. The museum has the world's largest collection of

vessels from the 1st to 4th centuries, with more than 4,000 complete collection pieces, including a large number of luxury glasses such as figure vessels, snake thread glasses, cut glasses and tricolor diatretes, for example the famous Cologne

cage cup A cage cup, also ''vas diatretum'', plural ''diatreta'', or "reticulated cup" is a type of luxury late Roman glass vessel, found from roughly the 4th century, and "the pinnacle of Roman achievements in glass-making". ''Diatreta'' consist of ...

from the 4th century, a top piece known among experts. Typical are glass drinking vessels that are decorated with attached glass drops of a different color, the so-called ''Cologne nubs''. The collection, which also includes

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

n glass, continues to grow through excavation finds from the Roman necropolises.Zerbrechlicher Luxus: Köln – ein Zentrum antiker Glaskunst
(Fragile luxury: Cologne – a center of ancient glass art). Special exhibition in the Romano-Germanic Museum from June 3, 2016 to March 26, 2017. Website of the museum. On the night of 18 January 2007,

Cyclone Kyrill Cyclone Kyrill was a low-pressure area that evolved into an unusually violent European windstorm, forming an extratropical cyclone with hurricane-strength winds. It formed over Newfoundland on 15 January 2007 and moved across the Atlantic Oce ...

blew a sheet of plywood through the glass front of the museum right onto the Dionysus mosaic. The damage was repaired within a week.

Collections (images)

File:Trading on the Rhine, Romisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne (8115671313).jpg, Trading on the Rhine File:A large collection of Roman glassware, Romisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne (8119416000).jpg, Collection of Roman glassware File:Römisch-Germanisches Museum im Belgischen Haus-9554 (cropped).jpg, The Cologne

, 12 cm high, 4th century File:Exhibition- Fragile Luxury - Cologne a glass-making centre in Antiquity, Romano-Germanic Museum, Cologne (31020965975).jpg, Sandal-shaped glass vessels File:Spot-Patterned Roman Glassware, Romisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne (8119405459).jpg, spot-patterned Roman glassware, typical for Cologne File:Römischer Reisewagen.JPG, Replica of a Roman carriage File:Mosaic floor with geometric patterns, Romisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne (8115598542).jpg, Mosaic floor File:Wall painting with Dionysian scenes from a luxurious Roman villa excavated to the south of the cathedral, Romisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne (8119154487).jpg, Wall painting with Dionysian scenes File:RGM-Köln-Fragmente-von-Wandmalereien-einer-römischen-Villa.JPG, Wall painting File:Tombstone of Longinus Biarta, a calvalryman who died on active service, the cavalry regiment was probably raised by Emperor Sulpicius Galba in 68 A.D., it was stationed near Cologne, Romisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne (8115651602).jpg, Tombstone of calvalryman Longinus Biarta File:Grave for Titus Flavius Bassus Römisch-Germanisches Museum Cologne - RGM085.jpg, Tomb for the cavalry soldier Flavius Bassus File:Gravestone for Titus Iulius Tuttius Römisch-Germanisches Museum Cologne - RGM078.jpg, Gravestone for Titus Iulius Tuttius File:Gravestone for gladiator Aquilus - RömGermMus2018.jpg, Gravestone for gladiator Aquilus (1st half of the 1st century) File:Köln Bonner Str Grabmal des Caius Aiacius 1-Jh.JPG, Gravestone for the

slave trader The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and religions from ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The social, economic, and legal positions o ...

Caius Aiacius File:Grabstein des Veteranen Marcus Valerius Celerinus und seiner Gemahlin Marcia Procula.jpg, Tombstone of the veteran Marcus Valerius Celerinus and his wife Marcia Procula File:RGM068.jpg, Consecration altar of Titus Flavius Constans (Prefect of the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin language, Latin: ''cohortes praetoriae'') was the imperial guard of the Imperial Roman army that served various roles for the Roman emperor including being a bodyguard unit, counterintelligence, crowd control and ga ...

) in 165 AD. File:RGM071.jpg, Roman pottery File:Wart and Bird-shaped lamps dating from 1st century BC to 1st century AD, Romisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne (8119518526).jpg, Oil lamps File:Oil lamp with couple performing Sex at the Römisch-Germanisches Museum Cologne.jpg, Erotic oil lamp

Books

* Gerta Wolff: ''The Roman-Germanic Cologne. A Guide to the Roman-Germanic Museum and City of Cologne''. J. P. Bachem: Cologne, 2002,

External links

Römisch-Germanisches Museum

www.colonia3d.de
computer aided animations and renderings of CCAA by

Köln International School of Design The Köln International School of Design (in short: KISD) is an institution of the Cologne University of Applied Sciences (''Technische Hochschule Köln'' or ''TH Köln'') and offers an interdisciplinary study program in the field of design. In ...

Sources

{{Authority control Museums in Cologne Innenstadt, Cologne Archaeological museums in Germany Museums established in 1946 1946 establishments in Germany Museums of ancient Rome in Germany

The museum

See also

Collections (images)

Books

External links

Sources