Prof. Dr. Matheus will give a lecture on November 14, 2026, about the discovery of the first Roman wine press in the Nahe region and the current state of research on Roman wine history.
This event will also take place at the Museum Schlosspark, this time at 2:30 PM. The lecture presents new archaeological findings on the early history of viticulture in Germany and discusses them in the context of Roman expansion north of the Alps. While an independent viticulture in pre-Roman times has not yet been clearly proven, literary sources and archaeological evidence indicate the beginning of systematic wine production under Roman influence. Mediterranean cultivation methods and specialized pressing technologies significantly promoted the development of a market-oriented wine economy. The Roman wine press identified in Odernheim am Glan in 2024/25 opens new perspectives: it marks the first secure evidence of Roman wine production in the Nahe region and expands the previously Mosel-region-focused image of early viticulture. The findings show that Roman wine culture encompassed large parts of the northwestern provinces and established a tradition that continues to this day. The lecture also highlights the cultural-historical significance of this discovery and asks how archaeological evidence and narrative communication can jointly contribute to the identity formation of wine-growing regions.
Prof. Dr. Michael Matheus, former director of the German Historical Institute in Rome (2002-2012), researches comparative European regional history and the history of wine culture. He was a professor at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and led the Institute for Historical Regional Studies of Rhineland-Palatinate for many years, of which he is an honorary chairman.
Admission: €5.00, members of the Wine Order receive free admission (upon presentation of the order emblem or pin)
The Museum Schlosspark thanks the Wine Order at the Nahe for supporting these lectures.
