Dec. 2, 2004 — Underneath a German bus terminal, archaeologists have found the remains of a 2,000-year-old Roman roadside rest stop that included a chariot service station, gourmet restaurant and hotel with central heating.

The building complex indicates that citizens of the Roman Empire traveled in relative comfort, according to press releases from the Press Office for the City of Neuss, Germany.

Historians theorize that similar road stops were located approximately every 20 miles along the Roman Long Road, which linked the North Sea coastal region to the tip of southern Italy.

Technology obviously has changed since the Roman era, but the basic needs of a traveler to stop, rest, refuel and grab a tasty bite to eat were the same then as they are now. Ironically, the archaeologists discovered the chariot stop while preparing the site for a parking lot.

Sabine Sauer, an archaeologist for the city of Neuss, is leading the excavation. So far, she and her colleagues have unearthed 240 square yards of building foundations and remains. They believe the actual site, which they have nicknamed "Big Maximus," was over twice its present size.

The remains suggest that chariot and wagon riders could see Big Maximus from a distance, similar to how car traveler's today are enticed with signs to stop at certain hotels and eateries.

Upon arrival, travelers would have entered a forecourt, where mechanics stood by at a chariot service station. Hay and water troughs would have given the horses a nibble and a drink while their owners dined on a variety of foods, including ethnic cuisine.

"We haven't found any brown sauce sachets, but we have uncovered many ceramic plates, pots, and pans," Sauer told the Telegraph newspaper in London. "We have found the rubbish tips — and although much of the organic waste has long since rotted away, we have clues as to what they ate from discarded pottery. There were spice jars containing garum sauces from North Africa, similar to what one might find in a Thai restaurant today."

She added, "We know from the bones that they ate a lot of meat — chicken and pork — as well as bread, rice, lentils and fruit. There were desserts of sweet cakes, cooked with sesame seeds and almonds. There must have been a flourishing trade; there were many fragments of wine amphora and broken plates."

After the big nosh, travelers would have had the option of staying for the night at the hotel, which was made of slate and bricked with narrow joints.

The foundation was raised to allow for a wood-fueled furnace at the bottom of the structure. Hot air from the fire would have risen naturally to fill chimneys located within the guest rooms. The hot air also warmed the walls, which were made of partially hollowed-out bricks.

Sauer said the complex was energy efficient, since the forests around Neuss already had been mostly depleted before the inn's heyday. In addition to the underground heating system, a slate roof on the building captured the sun's heat, somewhat comparable to how solar panels operate today.

Martin Haidinger, a Vienna University historian who has worked on similar projects in central Europe commented, "This gives us a fascinating insight into another chapter of Roman life, and confirms that some aspects of society were remarkably similar to our own."

An old proverb says that "every road leads to Rome." That was a strategy that Roman authorities intentionally used to deter provinces from organizing and conducting their business on a more local level.

Workmen constructed the Roman Long Road to outshine other paths. The road was cut deep, and men laid crushed stone at its bottom to ensure a dry surface. Large parts of the road survived over a thousand years after the Roman Empire divided and fell in the year 395.

The city of Neuss has scrapped its initial plans to construct a parking garage at the site. The city now hopes to build an amusement park with the excavated Roman complex remains as its main attraction.