In 1995/96 archaeological excavations were conducted at Cologne on the site known as the Alteburg where the base of the Rhine fleet (Classis Germanica) was located. The area investigated was located in the E part of the fort near the river bank (fig. 1). Stratigraphic excavations clarified the chronology of the site, revealing 8 different building phases and a much more complex history than had previously been realised. In Phases 1 (Tiberian), 2 (Claudian), and 3 (Vespasianic), the barracks of the fort were timber structures. Under Domitian after 90/91, these buildings were demolished (Phase 4), and the area levelled to be replaced in Phase 5 by new barrack blocks with stone socles and a timber superstructure. After a fire around the middle of the 2nd c., rebuilding took place in Phases 6 and 7, the remains of which were poorly preserved. In Phase 8, around 270-280, the fort was abandoned and the riverside ditch backfilled. Evidence also suggests that the site was first occupied under Tiberius by legionary troops, possibly Legio I and XX, with a contingent of ships, and that it was not until the establishment of the provincial fleet under Claudius that the site became the permanent operational base of the fleet.

Fragments of native, handmade Roman pottery were found in the post trenches, layers and pit fills, ranging in date from the early 1st to the mid-2nd c. (figs. 2-3). Since much of this pottery is virtually unknown on the Lower Rhine in Germany, a study of it in this context can make an important contribution to Roman pottery studies. Furthermore, analysis of the pottery allows us to determine the provenances and better understand the interaction between the Roman military and native societies, particularly in regard to the role various regions played in supplying the fleet with provisions.