STRASBOURG: Few grocery shoppers in a regular central Strasbourg supermarket have any idea that below their feet is a third-century tower that once helped defend the Roman empire.

The ancient semi-circular structure — part of fortifications against attack by Germanic tribes then known as “barbarians” from the east — now shares space with pallets, boxes and stepladders in the basement of the supermarket in the eastern French city’s main tourist area.

Nothing above ground hints at the presence of the Roman structure, with the shop fearing being overrun by curious crowds if it became too well-known.

“It would be difficult to organise visits to the tower because of safety considerations,” said store manager Gwendal Le Gourrierec. “But I’ve never turned anybody down who wanted to see it.” There is, meanwhile, no legal obligation to do so, noted Quentin Richard, curator at Strasbourg’s archaeological museum.

A door at the far end of the store, marked “staff only”, leads to a stone staircase which brings a visitor face to face with the 1,700-year-old monument. “We walk past it every day,” said Le Gourrierec. “It’s an unusual experience.”

The tower, which now stands just under 3.5 metres tall, was originally nearly three times that height, said Maxime Werle, at the regional archaeological service. It belonged to a Roman military camp of around 20 hectares, he said, which covered much of today’s downtown Strasbourg and housed some 6,000 legionaries.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2025