In Germany the archaeological activity of the last decade has been full of initiatives. The application of new technologies has also made it possible to achieve significant results. In the field of protohistory, new data relating to the panorama of Celtic culture have emerged following the excavations carried out in the village of Manching and the discovery of burial mounds, first of all that of Hochdorf. The novelties offered by this sepulcher are decidedly remarkable, if we consider its dimensions (about 60 × 6 m) and the very rare luck of having found the very rich funeral kit intact: among the numerous finds, a sepulchral kline in gilded bronze and a large bronze vessel of Magna Graecia import favor the understanding of the scope of archaic trade.
For the Roman age, investigations continued on the limes, in sites already partially known and in newly identified appropriations. Of particular importance was the aid of the aero-photogrammetry that allowed the localization and the exact delimitation of the settlements. The general picture that emerges from the recently acquired data defines an ever greater Roman presence, attested not only by military and defensive structures, but also by numerous civilian complexes. Among the individual interventions, the cases of Kleindeinbach (site located at the beginning of the Rhaetian limes, for which dendrological researches have allowed a certain dating to 164 AD), Murrhardt (identification of the principia), Aalen (completion of the excavation of the principia and dendrological dating to 160 AD), Dettingen unter Teck and Rainau-Buch for the military settlements. Villae rusticae came to light in Holheim, Weinsberg and Bondorf, while a statio was found in Friesenheim.
This new documentation confirms the almost exclusive use of wood as a building material for the early Roman period (Flavian age-early 2nd century AD); we also note the massive presence of civil settlements (canabae and vici) near the castra and castellas limitanei (such as in Weissenburg and Osterburken), with civil buildings, spas and temples dedicated to the cults privileged by the army (eg. that of Mitra in Dieburg) or local cults (Diana Abnoba in Hechingen-Stein).
A further confirmation from the recent excavations is that of the devastating effects of the Alemannic invasion of the first half of the 3rd century AD, when many centers were destroyed or definitively abandoned. Studies and research also continued in the large and already known ancient cities, such as Trier and Cologne. In Cologne, recent acquisitions include the discovery of a market, while the systematic search for the path and the surviving structures of the aqueduct gave good results. Particularly valued by German archeology has been, in recent years, the aspect of the “ use ” of the archaeological heritage, with interventions aimed at restoration, reconstruction (suffice, among all, the case of Xanten, ancient Colonia Ulpia Traiana) and to the outdoor and non-outdoor museum. The knowledge of the artistic culture of Germany in Roman times was enriched with the collection and editions of the sculptural material: the overall picture confirms the peculiar character of local production, far from the contemporary urban artistic tradition and aimed at privileging expressionistic needs rather than the organic rendering of the representations.
