Annexwall

The term annex wall (from the Latin annectere , 'to bind', 'to add') describes artificially piled up earth obstacles that were created further down the valley in addition to the main fortifications, such as hilltop castles . It is not uncommon for several annex walls to run parallel and are accompanied by trenches inside and outside. The excavation for the trenches conveniently provided the material for the ramparts.

The construction of annex walls was not only used for defensive purposes. They often secured a spring deeper on the slope if the water supply at the castle did not seem to be adequately guaranteed, or they delimited sacred areas in front of the castle.

There is evidence that annex walls were built at the time when Celtic castles were being built on plateaus. As striking features in the landscape, their remains can still be seen today on the Altkönig in the Taunus , on the Milseburg in the Rhön or on the Glauberg in the Wetterau . The example of Essen-Heidhausen shows that the annex walls were built in the Middle Ages .