Archaeologists working ahead of a new section of Germany’s A8 highway have uncovered part of one of the oldest Roman roads in Baden-Württemberg. The newly exposed stretch belongs to the Alblimes Road, a major route built nearly 2,000 years ago along Rome’s frontier in southwestern Germany.
Builders used local white Jurassic limestone from the weathered layer of the Swabian Alb to form the carefully laid foundation of the Alblimes Road. Credit: Dr. René Wollenweber, State Office for Monument Preservation (LAD)
The excavation is taking place on the Swabian Alb plateau near Drackenstein before construction of the new Alb ascent begins. Since August 2025, the State Office for Monument Preservation within the Stuttgart Regional Council has carried out large excavations across the project area for Autobahn GmbH’s Southwest branch. Archaeological teams from fodilus and ArchaeoBW are leading the fieldwork, which is expected to continue through the end of 2026.
Archaeologists have uncovered about 90 meters of the ancient road so far. The find adds new evidence about how one of the region’s oldest transport routes was built and used during the Roman period.
The historic Alblimes Road is crossed at a 90-degree angle by the future route of the A8 highway near Drackenstein. Shown are the ongoing excavations of the Roman road in June 2026, looking east. Credit: Susanne Barthel, fodilus GmbH.
The Alblimes Road linked the Roman towns of Rottweil and Heidenheim an der Brenz. Researchers believe Emperor Vespasian ordered its construction during the first century CE after the province of Germania Superior was established. The road quickly became one of the area’s main transport routes.
A Late Bronze Age burial urn found partly beneath the Alblimes Road. The area around the Roman road contains many traces of pre-Roman settlement. A fodilus GmbH archaeologist excavates the urn. Credit: Susanne Barthel, fodilus GmbH.
Roman troops marched along this road. Traders carried goods between settlements. Officials traveled across the frontier, and messages moved between military forts. For more than 100 years, the route marked the border between the Roman Empire and the Germanic lands beyond Roman control.
The Swabian Alb formed a natural land bridge stretching about 200 kilometers from the Rhine Falls near Schaffhausen to the Nördlinger Ries. The plateau is about 45 kilometers wide and offered an easy route through the landscape. Roman planners included this corridor in their frontier defense system during the first century CE.
An unrestored Roman bronze coin, a dupondius worth half a sestertius, found near the Roman road. The obverse faintly shows the portrait of an emperor, believed to be Emperor Domitian. Credit: Kathrin Conrad, fodilus GmbH.
The Alblimes consisted of a chain of frontier forts across the plateau, including sites at Urspring and Donnstetten. The road linked these forts and allowed soldiers, supplies, and information to move across the border region with speed.
For many years, historians believed this frontier system existed, though proof was missing. Excavations during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries confirmed the Alblimes and established its place as an important Roman frontier monument. Today, the site holds protected cultural status because of its historical value.
A Bronze Age pin with a spool-shaped head found near the road. The artifact came from the burial urn and was displaced during construction of the Roman road. Credit: Kathrin Conrad, fodilus GmbH.
The latest excavation adds another piece to the history of Rome’s frontier in southern Germany. Modern road projects often pass through ancient landscapes, giving archaeologists a rare chance to study places before construction starts. This newly uncovered section of the Alblimes Road offers a clearer picture of how the Roman Empire connected military posts, settlements, and trade routes across the region.
More information: Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Baden-Württemberg Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart