Four building phases
Annexe 1, as it is called, is located north of the Medienhaus (Media House) in the villa’s farm area (pars rustica).
It underwent four building and several utilisation phases.
The building phases can be determined by the location of the walls and the utilisation phases by the various floor types.
Although it was quite normal to extend buildings with an annexe, in this case the existing buildings were always completely torn down during rebuilding and replaced with new buildings.
From wooden to stone building
The first building was still built out of wood (ca. 9 x 9 m).
A dendrochronological survey shows that it was built in the early 1st century anno Domini.
The wooden building was replaced by a slightly larger stone building probably as early as in the mid-1st century AD.
This was followed by two further new buildings, each larger than the previous, in the same location.
In the 2nd century a grain drying facility was added to the building.
Torrefying or drying the grain meant it could be kept for longer and was easier to process, for example into beer.
The many ceramic shards found, of amphorae and other storage receptacles, as well as numerous animal bones and cart parts, reveal that the building was probably also used for the storage and processing of other foods.
A fixed floor without any joints made out of screed or terrazzo protected the stored food from vermin.
The building was at its largest (approx. 22 x 15 m) during the final expansion phase, towards the end of the 3rd century.