In 1846, a chapel dedicated to the Holy Cross was built using spolia (remains of buildings from ancient cultures) from the Roman villa (1st-3rd century AD) excavated here.
The Roman brick roof tiles, the fifth building material, were replaced with modern roof tiles in the 1990s because tourists liked to take an authentic roof tile home as a souvenir.
A Frankish palatinate (a royal residence) later stood on the site of the villa, which was plundered at the end of the 9th century.
A forest developed on the site of the villa and the palatinate. This forest was cleared around 1600, and many stone remains were discovered. The forest was therefore called Steenbos (Stone Forest). From 1840 to 1845, excavations led by Henri Delvaux uncovered the Roman villa. Roman artifacts, mosaics, and wall paintings from the 2nd century were discovered. Two hypocausts, the underground heating systems for baths, were discovered in the villa. After the excavations in 1846, the Steenbos Chapel was built using Roman stones and fragments of wall.
The Steenbos road runs alongside the chapel, located on the site of a Roman road. Further west, this road ran south of the Nagelboom in 's-Gravenvoeren, where the new housing development now stands, known as Heirweg.
Source: Wikipedia