Tawern is situated in a north-east facing hollow between the Saar and Moselle. The location was settled as far back as the Roman era, as the most important Roman road, which connected Trier to the Roman Empire, leads through the town. Located round the area of Tawern, before the ascent to the Saargau elevated plateau, was a road station with rest stops, the tabernae, from which the area gets its name.  The ancient past came even more sharply into focus when an extensive Roman temple complex was excavated on the Metzenberg in 1986/87. The temple was particularly sought out by traders as they passed through, in order to bring their sacrifices to Mercury, the god of commerce. Today, in the partially-reconstructed, 46 x 36m temple district, which was used from the 1^st to the 4^th century, the ancient atmosphere can still be sensed. During building works in 1995 the remains of a Gallo-Roman settlement were discovered in the Tawern region. A faithful 1:75 scale model of the Roman street settlement (vicus) has been built in a pavilion.