The Roman chamber grave in Cologne-Weiden is located about 9 km west of Cologne city center directly on the ancient trunk road (via belgica) that led from the Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium towards the Kanalküste. It probably belonged to one of the wealthy estates in the immediate vicinity of the colony town, but this estate has not yet been definitively proven.
In 1843, the burial chamber was discovered during excavation work and, as early as 1844-1848, was preserved by the Prussian state as an exemplary monument in a protective building with a guard's house and made accessible to the public.
These burial chamber (hypogaeum), used from the 2nd to the 4th century and fitted with a barrel vault, is one of the best-preserved structures of its kind north of the Alps. The chamber has three large niches and a total of 29 smaller niches. The furnishings of the chamber includes two stone wicker chairs, three clinches with marble incrustations, a relief sarcophagus made of Carrara marble and a total of three busts (two female, one male), which probably represent the landowning family.
Since 2017, the Förderverein Römergrab Weiden e.V. has been taking care of the preservation of the burial chamber and a publicly effective presentation. From July 2019, the burial chamber will once again be open to the public and then a newly designed place of learning and experience will allow an unadulterated on-site visit to this extraordinary monument from Roman times.
In a joint research project by the University of Cologne and the Technical University of Cologne in 2017-2019, the Roman burial chamber was recorded three-dimensionally using the latest measuring and recording methods, linked to the findings of archaeological science and finally made virtually accessible. In this way, the disciplines of computer science, archaeology, engineering, media design and geodesy have come together. In addition, the project was taken into account in teaching. In a course jointly taught by Eckhard Deschler-Erb, Sabrina Geiermann and Sebastian Hageneuer (SoSem 2018), the students worked out the archaeological, surveying and archaeoinformatics procedures required for an interdisciplinary approach to researching an ancient monument.
The result of the joint research was already presented in 2018 at the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology (AIAC XIX, Cologne/Bonn 22-25.05.2018) and will be visualized at a later date in the newly planned "CAVE" (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) of the Regional Computing Centre of the University of Cologne. Furthermore, the interest in this interdisciplinary project was so high that a short documentary film was produced to accompany the project. Interviews with those responsible for the project, among other information, were incorporated into an image film that can be seen on the universities websites.
This project shows very clearly what successes can be achieved when interdisciplinary work is done on an equal footing and open interfaces are formed. Not only could everyone involved achieve their own goals, but also actively contribute to the fulfilment of the others' or the common goals. This resulted in priceless experiences and new insights for everyone involved.

Links: Here you will find the official website; Here you can find the website of the project at the Archaeological Institute;