Archäologischer Park Cambodunum (APC)

Description

The Archaeological Park Cambodunum in Kempten (Allgäu) presents the archaeological remains of the Roman-era settlement Cambodunum from the Augustan period and also functions as an open-air museum.

The site lies in the Bleicherösch in the district Auf dem Lindenberg, on the right bank of the Iller, on a flood-safe terrace, and has been accessible to the public since 1983. The first excavations began on 19 September 1885 as part of a local antiquarian society; more than forty further campaigns have followed since then. Early analyses identified the discovered forum as the core of the ancient town.

The park is divided into three main areas: a Gallo‑Roman temple precinct with five reconstructed buildings and a double hall, a small bath complex beneath a museum-style protective structure, and the forum with basilica, praetorium, troop quarters and service buildings. The complex is among the most complete archaeological sites north of the Alps. In 1982, in cooperation with the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation and the Institute for Provincial Roman Archaeology at Ludwig‑Maximilians‑Universität München, a municipal urban archaeology unit was established; later it was integrated into the Cultural Office for cost reasons.

In the 1st century AD Cambodunum was the seat of the governor of the province of Raetia; only later did the administrative centre shift to Augusta Vindelicum. The praetorium served as a residence and was in a later phase converted into a guesthouse. The baths adjoining the praetorium were originally intended for the governor and were adapted for broader use by additions such as public latrines; their remains are well presented for educational purposes. The basilica in the forum was probably rebuilt after a fire around AD 70 and attests to the importance of the place.

The temple precinct documents the coexistence of Celtic‑Germanic and Roman cult practices; an early Celtic settlement, already mentioned by Strabo, is no longer archaeologically visible, yet thirteen temples or cult buildings of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD testify to religious diversity. Five temple buildings have been reconstructed at full scale; altars and votive inscriptions attest to the veneration of Mercury, Hercules and Epona. Roman temples were regarded as the dwelling of the deity, the altar stood in front of the building, and only priests entered the inner chamber.

The temple precinct was extensively investigated in 1937–1938; this documentation made possible stone-accurate partial reconstructions in 1983–1985. After World War II, exposed foundations had suffered from stone robbing; during the restorative measures, parts of the original remains were partially dismantled and rebuilt on concrete foundations in order to create reconstructions suitable for long-term use.

The sacred precinct measures 800 × 600 Roman feet (238.10 m × 178.95 m) and served both cultic and secular assembly purposes; the central altar may have been dedicated to the city goddess Roma and the deified imperial household. Finds from the excavations were on display at the Roman Museum Kempten in the Zumsteinhaus until its closure in 2015.