Urban Mining in der Kaiserresidenz und Kathedralstadt Trier

The compilation of archaeological, architectural-historical and written evidence paints a nuanced picture of the sustained utilisation and versatile recycling of building materials from the Roman period. Alongside pragmatic reuse, there is repeated evidence of more far-reaching motives and ideas underlying the deliberate reuse of spolia. Aesthetic considerations may play a part here, but so too may the transmission of early Christian tradition or the imperial past.<br/>However, it is above all the extensive ways in which ancient building materials were utilised during the Middle Ages that are comparable to the areas of application of a concept of ‘urban mining’ currently under discussion. Alongside the seemingly haphazard reuse of demolition waste comprising various building materials – often in the immediate vicinity where it was available – there are numerous examples of deliberate material separation and subsequent processing: Bricks from ancient ruins were burnt to produce lime; bricks were ground into flour or grit, in addition to being used as decorative elements; glass mosaic pieces were reused in the manufacture of window panes and in enamelling work; and lead pipes and iron staples were melted down and put to new uses.

• By (author) Lukas Clemens