The first two tours took visitors through the Roman NIDA – either as an extended full tour (5.1 km, 30 stations) or in the “short & concise” version (3 km, 16 stations).

The stations were creatively designed with photos and videos from the Monument Office's archive, allowing participants to virtually accompany the archaeological excavation. The numerous images provided a deep dive into Roman times, even at locations where the excavation had long been completed and buildings had been erected.

The tours began in Frankfurt-Heddernheim at the “Römerstadt” U-Bahn and bus station and ended in Frankfurt-Praunheim at the “Graebestraße/Pflegeheim” bus stop. Visitors could conveniently travel to the start and end points using public transportation.

Project Partners

The initiative for the stations came from 25 young people: Students from TU Darmstadt worked intensively on Roman urban history in their course “Nida digital – Smartphone Tour of Roman Frankfurt,” led by PD Dr. Marion Bolder-Boos. Architecture and Classical Archaeology students laid the foundation for the texts and design in this seminar.

As a recognized expert in Roman history in the city area, Dr. Peter Fasold, former curator of the Roman era department at the Archaeological Museum Frankfurt, was enlisted. To ensure the stations were visually inviting to explore, the Monument Office contributed photos and videos from its extensive archive, with archaeologist Elke Sichert designing the striking infographics and handling the technical implementation.

Technology

The tours were made available via a Frankfurt app.

The basis for the app ArchaeoTrail comes from Goethe University. The app project, led by Prof. Dr. Stephanie Döpper in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Matthias Ludwig, Head of the MATIS I working group at the Institute for Mathematics Education, and sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation, offers a user-friendly and contemporary platform to provide free archaeological tours.

We would like to thank our colleagues who supported us with photos and information, notably archaeozoologist Benjamin Sichert M.A., numismatist Diana Grethlein M.A., the Museum Großkrotzenburg, the Wiesbaden City Museum Foundation, the LVR Archaeological Park Xanten, and Monika and Alexander Zimmermann on behalf of the VEX LEGIO VIII AUG interest group. The latter reenactment group also attended our press conference in costume, adding to the Roman atmosphere.