Rheingönheim fort

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Rheingönheim fort
limes older Rhine line
Germania superior
Dating (occupancy) Claudian,
around 43 AD to 74 AD
size 187 m × 250 m = approx. 4.67 hectares
Construction Wood and earth fort
State of preservation rectangular complex,
partially overbuilt ground monument
place Rheingönheim
Geographical location 49 ° 26 '29 "  N , 8 ° 26' 21.1"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 26 '29 "  N , 8 ° 26' 21.1"  E hf
Previous Heidelberg castles
Subsequently Eislingen-Salach fort

The Rheingönheim fort was an early Roman auxiliary camp of the older Rhine line. The former military camp is located as a ground monument in the area of Rheingönheim , a district of the independent city of Ludwigshafen am Rhein in Rhineland-Palatinate .

location

The Rheingönheim fort was part of a chain of forts that were built in the Claudian era between Vindonissa ( Windisch in Switzerland ) and Mogontiacum ( Mainz ) along the Rhenus ( Rhine ) in order to secure the then northern border of the empire. Rheingönheim was within this line at a geographically and strategically favorable position of the Germania superior army district . The “ Rheinuferstraße ” ran around five kilometers east of the camp between Borbetomagus ( Worms ) and Noviomagus Nemetum ( Speyer ). It was necessary to secure the Rhine itself, the river crossing at Altrip and the mouth of the Nicer ( Neckar ) on the opposite bank of the Rhine .

Today the invisible remains of the former camp are in the “Sommerfeld” area, a small bump on the southern outskirts of Ludwigshafen. Before the First World War , the western fort area, parts of an associated camp village ( canabae ) and a cemetery behind the western part of the settlement fell victim to sand mining. The fort area is disturbed by a street in the south and east. No visible building structures have been preserved. The remainder of the fort area and parts of the outer settlement are located under arable land used for intensive farming.

Research history

Finds at the end of the 19th century at the latest indicated a Roman settlement near Rheingönheim. In 1872 a bronze portrait bust was found during port work near Ludwigshafen and in 1886 a grave place with additions was found in the construction of a storage pit. However, no further archaeological investigations were carried out.

At the beginning of the 20th century, sand mining began on the site. It was not until 1912, when a large part of the western fort area had already fallen victim to the excavator, that finds were finally reported which, at the urging of Emil Ritterling , the then director of the Roman-Germanic Commission of the German Archaeological Institute in Frankfurt am Main , led to an immediate emergency excavation led. This first excavation campaign was carried out by the Historisches Verein der Pfalz and led by Walter Barthel and Friedrich Sprater , with excavations taking place between 1912 and 1914 in the area of ​​the earth deposit and between 1913 and 1914 in the area of ​​the burial ground. Due to inadequate documentation, little is known about the results of the excavations at that time. During the grave field excavation, however, numerous objects were recovered from the around 400 graves that were used to date the occupation of the camp, the later mansio (?) And the civilian settlement. At the same time, these excavations in 1913 provided the first reliable evidence of an early Roman fort in the Palatinate.

Between 1961 and 1962 a second excavation campaign took place under Otto Roller from the Historisches Museum der Pfalz in Speyer. The aim of these campaigns was to obtain more detailed information about the structure of the camp through further exploratory excavations in the area of ​​the fort.

Later the region was periodically flown over by aerial archeology . In 1985, during one of these prospecting flights , Rolf Gensheimer was able to determine the growth characteristics of previously unknown structures. Site inspections by Andreas Steiner from Rheingönheim, chairman of the Friends of the Rheingönheim Archaeological Park, since the mid-1980s have provided further information on the area around the fort. In addition, volunteer aerial archaeologists for the General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate in Speyer created new, unknown structures, such as B. a forum-like building, a ditch of an older complex in the "Am Mühlbach" corridor and a vicus in the "Gumpenloch" corridor ( Neuhofen district ). An archaeological findings could be provided partly in excavations on the occasion of the construction of Giulini-dike along the adjacent Rhine between 2008 and 2010.

History of the fort

In the area of ​​the fort, numerous finds were made by Celts and Teutons . It is unclear whether they settled there. As is known from sources, around 10 BC. A fort was built in the region under Drusus . Two more forts were built by AD 35. Finds show that the fort and the outer settlement (vicus) were built during the reign of Emperor Claudius (41–54 AD) around 43 AD, destroyed in 70 AD and then rebuilt. After the conquest of the right bank of the Rhine, Rheingönheim increasingly lost its military importance and was finally finally given up around the year 74 AD. In the vicinity of the fort, indications of a predecessor facility, which was around 11 hectares larger, were found.

Findings and interpretation

The camp, built in wood and earth, was used to accommodate auxiliary troops (auxiliary troops of the Roman legions ). Its rectangular shape can be demonstrated at 187 meters on the eastern front, 110 meters on the southern front and 160 meters on the northern front. According to an excavation report from 1912, the south-west corner was found at a distance of 250 meters from the north-east corner, which can no longer be checked today, especially since predecessor and successor buildings are known, some of which are considerably larger, with an area of ​​around 4 , 67 hectares is assumed.

The fort was surrounded by a pointed ditch 6 to 8 meters wide and 3 to 3.5 meters deep , behind which there was a protective wall constructed as a wooden box , the height of which is estimated at 3 to 3.50 meters. The wall could be passed at at least four gates, but only one of them has been archaeologically researched. This main gate ( Porta Praetoria ) in the east consisted of a 12-meter-wide and 6-meter-deep gate with two towers, in front of which there was an earth bridge. In the aerial photo, one gate each in the north and south could be made out.

Little is known about the interior of the fort. Trash pits were found to the side of the main roads that cross the fort in a straight line, and to the south of the intersection of the two main roads there were 40 m long findings that were interpreted as workshops ( fabricae ) . Barracks are suspected to be in the southwest.

Roman ceramic vessel found in Rheingönheim with incised inscription, according to which it was consecrated to the Gallo-Roman goddess Epona

Outer settlement

A half-timbered camp village was built in the vicinity of the fort , which was primarily used as a home for workers and slaves and members of the army, or rather a civilian settlement ( vicus ) . There is evidence of civil development on the side of the streets outside the fort. A military bath has also been excavated in the southeast. Behind the western part of the settlement there was a cemetery with 400 burials.

Note

The Förderverein Archäologiepark Rheingönheim eV was founded to protect the Roman military camps and design an archeology park .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Kolb: 2006, p. 10.
  2. ↑ See Kolb: 2006, p. 6.
  3. ↑ See Bernhard: 1990, p. 455.
  4. ↑ See Sprater: 1929, p. 24.
  5. ↑ See Roller: 1962, p. 1ff .; Roller: 1964, p. 81ff.
  6. ^ The Roman fort in Ludwigshafen-Rheingönheim on the Archaeopro.de site; Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  7. ↑ Andrea Zeeb-Lanz : Excavation Report 2008 ( Memento of the original from August 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.archaeologiepark-rheingoenheim.de archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Excavation report 2009 ( Memento of the original from August 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.archaeologiepark-rheingoenheim.de archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and excavation report 2010 ( Memento of the original dated August 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.archaeologiepark-rheingoenheim.de archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. the archaeological excavation Rheingönheim, Sommerfeld, (Giulini-Deich) . ed. v. General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate, Regional Archeology Directorate, Speyer branch on the website of the Friends of the Rheingönheim Archaeological Park eV; Retrieved January 8, 2013.

literature

  • Helmut Bernhard : Ludwigshafen-Rheingönnheim. Early Roman auxiliary forces camp . In: Heinz Cüppers (Hrsg.): The Romans in Rhineland-Palatinate. Licensed edition of the 1990 edition. Nikol, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-933203-60-0 , pp. 455–457.
  • Matthias Kolb: The Roman burial ground of Rheingönheim (PDF; 11.5 MB) . Dissertation, University of Mannheim 2006.
  • Thomas Maurer: Ad confluentes Nicri et Rheni. Excavations and Aerial Photographs Shed New Light on the Early Roman Military Site Ludwigshafen-Rheingönheim. In: Ljudmil Ferdinandov Vagalinski, Nicolay Sharankov (eds.): Limes XXII. Proceedings of the 22nd International Congress of Roman frontier studies, Ruse, Bulgaria, September 2012 (= Bulletin of the National Archaeological Institute. Volume 42). National Archaeological Institute with Museum, Sofia 2015, pp. 73–82 ( online ).
  • Otto Roller : The auxiliary fort Rheingönheim. The 1961 excavation . In: Palatinate home. Volume 13, Speyer 1962, pp. 1-6.
  • Otto Roller: The auxiliary fort Rheingönheim. The 1962 excavation . In: Palatinate home. Volume 15, Speyer 1964, pp. 81-86.
  • Friedrich Sprater : The Palatinate under the Romans. Vol. I. (= publication of the Palatinate Society for the Advancement of Science. Volume VII). Speyer 1929.
  • Günter Ulbert : The early Roman fort Rheingönheim. The finds from 1912 a. 1913 (= Limes research. 9). Mann, Berlin 1969.

Web links