An interdisciplinary team is to delve into the under-researched Roman brickwork of the German city of Trier.
Located on the Moselle river in western Germany near the border with Luxembourg, Trier is considered Germany’s oldest city, founded by the Romans in the first century BC.
Trier was one of the four capitals of the Roman empire during the Tetrarchy period in the late third and early fourth centuries and was known as the ‘second Rome’.
Much construction took place in the city for which fired, stamped bricks of various formats were used for walls, roofs and heating systems.
These clay bricks would have been hardened in a kiln and then imprinted with a stamp. They are still evident in the city’s well-preserved Roman ruins, for instance at the Porta Nigra city gates, imperial baths, Cathedral of St Peter, the Church of Our Lady, and the Roman amphitheatre, which today are Unesco World Heritage sites.
Stamped bricks have been excavated here since the early 20th century. Around 4,000 are...