Villa rustica of Laucherthal

A Roman country estate stands in the Schmelzenhau forest near Laucherthal, a village in the Sigmaringen district. The remains of the villa rustica lie on a small clearing, once part of an open tongue of land that stretched south towards the Luibental valley and east to the Lauchert river. The estate belonged to the province of Raetia and lay between a Roman road from the Claudian era to the south and an older salt route to the north. Excavations in 1866 by F. A. von Lehner uncovered stone foundations of the main building, which was occupied from the mid-2nd to the early 3rd century. The villa measured about 23 metres by 23 metres and included a portico facing east. Archaeologist Hartmann Reim concluded that the western section was built in timber framing because no stone walls were found there. Nearby Bohnerz iron ore deposits suggest the Romans may have mined the metal, following earlier Celtic practice. Today the overgrown site shows low stone walls rising from the forest floor. A signboard explains the layout of the villa and its surroundings. Finds from the dig are kept in the prehistoric collection at Sigmaringen Castle. The place remains protected as a registered monument under Baden-Württemberg law.