INTROCUCTION

The Rheinische Bodendenkmalpflege (Rhineland Archaeological Heritage Service) has conducted a comprehensive investigation of numerous Roman rural settlements in three large opencast mining areas within the Jülich loess belt: the Hambach mine (HA), located 30 km west of Cologne, the Inden mine (WW) situated just to the south of the small Roman town of Juliacum (Jülich), and the Garzweiler mining area (FR) located on the Aachen-Neuss Roman road in the hinterland of the Rhine frontier (fig. 1). In terms of natural features, this is the core area of the Jülich loess belt in the southern part of the Lower Rhine basin. Conditions for archaeological surveying have been far from favourable. The loess layer on the Hambach plateau is to date less than a metre thick, with considerable losses to the archaeological record due to erosion; on the other hand in the Elsbach valley (Garzweiler mine), the colluvial topsoil is seven metres deep, rendering the archaeologically relevant layers inaccessible. Before mining operations began, the Hambach Forest was densely wooded, which further restricted surveying opportunities. The Hambach mine was opened up in 1978. Since that time, managing the archaeological operation, i.e. the day-to-day rescue work, has been the responsibility of an independent agency, the Titz outpost of the Rhineland Archaeological Heritage Service. The Hambach research area alone covers an area of approx. 100 km.

The varying scale and intensity with which the three opencast mining operations have proceeded in recent years has had a growing impact on the planning of Roman excavations. In 2003, for example, a second mining front was established in Hambach, affecting several settlements at one and the same time. A large villa at Hambach 488 was particularly endangered because of its location at the intersection of both mining fronts (fig. 1 and 3). The use of two large excavators at the first pit face (cf. fig. 2) accelerated the rate at which surface soil was lost and boosted the level of archaeological activity. This made excavation planning a highly complex affair, demanding a great deal in terms of organisation and personnel.

The Inden mining operations reached the southern periphery of the small town of Juliacum (fig. 1 and 4).