Burgus

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  • The Burgus of Ahegg (D)

  • Reconstruction model (cut open) of the Burgus or remnant fort of Zeiselmauer (A), view from the south ( Römermuseum Tulln )

  • Attempt to reconstruct the late Roman Burgus of Goch-Asperden (D) , core structure with outer walls, intermediate towers and moat

  • Quadriburgus from Oberranna (A), core work with four corner towers

  • Floor plan of the Quadriburgus of Oberranna

  • Reconstruction model of the Ländeburgus von Ladenburg (D), the bridge has not been archaeologically proven

  • Floor plan Burgus von Finningen (D) based on research by Michael Mackensen 1985

  • Floor plan of Burgus or remaining fort from Zeiselmauer (A)

  • Ground plan of the provincial castle of Veröcemaros-Dunamezö (HU)

Burgus ( Latin , plural Burgi ) or turris ("tower") is an originally Germanic name for smaller, tower-like forts of late antiquity , which was taken over by the Romans into Latin , and some of which were also provided with an outer work and surrounding ditches.

definition

The Latin burgus comes from the same language family as the Greek pýrgos ( πύργος , "tower" "wall" "castle"). It was used in different ways, in the military field it could denote both a single tower and other smaller fortifications. The peculiarity of this word, however, is that it is based on a function, in this context the expression burgus speculatorius (monitoring) should be pointed out.

The word Burgus can often be found in Latin texts from late antiquity: e.g. B. at the end of the fourth century with Flavius ​​Vegetius Renatus in his epitoma rei militaris (demolition of the military) and in the historiae contra paganos (stories against the pagans) of the Spanish cleric Orosius from around 418 . The name of the Burgus von Mittelstrimmig is attested by a building inscription from the year 270. The word, which was borrowed from Germanic by the Romans, has been traceable in military Roman usage since the end of the second century.

development

From 369, under Valentinian I , an extensive fortress building program was set in motion at the borders, which included the erection of two-story, rectangular watchtowers (on average eight to twelve meters wide, ten to twelve meters high), so-called "remaining forts" - in the already largely Limes forts and granaries ( Horrea ) exposed by their crews provided for the border troops. These burgi were essentially a further development of the Limes towers of the middle imperial period and consisted of a tower-like core structure and external fortifications (rampart, wall or palisade, surrounded by several ditches) in the larger examples. Particularly noticeable in late antique buildings of this type is the considerable enlargement of the central tower. Most of these new fortifications were abandoned or destroyed by the middle of the fifth century. In research, however, many late antique buildings such as smaller watchtowers, small forts, civil refuges at villae rusticae (manors) and fortified port facilities for river ships, especially on the Upper Rhine and Danube , are also referred to as burgi .

function

Burgi were detected on the one hand along river borders, on the other hand also at important traffic connections ("Strassenburgi"), where they may have served mainly for surveillance tasks, as an advanced defense position and for optical communication. Their crews performed police functions on the streets and ensured the maintenance of public peace and security in the villages. If the Burgi stood in valleys, at their exits or at river mouths, they served as barriers. If they were located between two forts, they were used as retreat points in emergencies. Larger systems, such as B. the Burgus Asperden , probably also served as refuges for the surrounding population and as a grain store.

Design features

Their floor plan was usually square or rectangular, in some cases trapezoidal or round. This diversity was not accidental; On the one hand, square towers had the advantage that they could be erected in a very short time, but on the other hand they also had the disadvantage of being less resistant to the impact of projectiles or battering rams; Round towers, on the other hand, were more solid, but much more difficult to erect without the help of trained specialists.

Ländeburgi:

The late Roman "Ländeburgi" or "Schiffsländeburgi" (cf. the term Lände ) should also be mentioned as a particularly special type of construction . In addition to the rectangular core structure, which was always erected near the bank, they had additional walls reinforced with battlements, which protruded like pincers into or against the river and thus also protected the berth for cargo ships and river patrol boats.

A well-preserved state castle has been found in Ladenburg am Nicarus ( Neckar ). At Stein Castle at the mouth of the Weschnitz, newly created by the Romans, there is evidence of a multi-storey burgus on a floor area of ​​21.3 by 15 meters and a landing stage 42 meters long (cf. also the Constantinian burgus Szentendre-Dera ). On the northern Hungarian Danube Burgus Szob, which was built either under Constantius II (337–360) or Emperor Valentinian I (364–375), it was possible to provide evidence in 1989 that at least some of these buildings were plastered white. As in several places in the Middle Imperial Limes in Germany, painters then imitated ashlar masonry on this plaster with red paint. Another small fortress was discovered in Trebur-Astheim near the Schwarzbach estuary in the Rhine and excavated in 2003. Although no original masonry was preserved here, methods of geomagnetics and geoelectrics, as well as a coin find , were used to prove a Valentinian Schiffsländeburgus. The late antique fort Altrip on the left bank of the Rhine could, in connection with a state castle on the right bank of the Rhine in Neckarau (at that time the confluence of the Neckar into the Rhine) and another "Inselburgus" in between, secured a permanent Rhine crossing as a permanent structure or as a ship bridge.

Some researchers, however, generally question the existence of such "Ländeburgi". Especially in connection with the facilities on the Hungarian Danube Bend , which are very similar to the sites from Germany, it was stated that “in some cases remains of the wall indicate a closed bank fort.” In addition, it was doubted that it was due to the terrain and especially the differences in level In the area of ​​the Danube Bend, it would have been possible to create a harbor basin within the four-walled area open to the river. This statement assumes that the Ländeburgi had a harbor basin within their walls, as older reconstruction attempts show. Newer reconstructions often see the four walls as a safe place to store and repair the river vessels. In this sense, the classical philologist Wilhelm Schleiermacher (1904–1977) also interpreted the “inner courtyard” of these buildings as a place where the ships could be pulled ashore - protected from enemy action. As the research in Hungary suggests, the wing and pincer walls with the towers in at least some of the fortified shipyards were obviously demolished in post-Valentine times for unknown reasons, so that at last only the actual Burgus tower remained. In the most recent Hungarian excavations in 1995 and 2002 at the Danube Bend, the reconstruction of the overall architecture of these buildings from the older investigations was confirmed.

Other meanings

In the Roman Empire, the term burgus was also used outside the military field. He referred to an association under public law or a market town that was provided with the approach to municipalities .

literature

Web links

Wiktionary: Burgus  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Remarks

  1. ↑ CIL 8, 2546 ; CIL 8, 2548 . Babylonian Talmud , Mo'eds Katan 28b.
  2. ^ Georg Goetz: Corpus glossariorum Latinorum. Volume II, 426, 26.
  3. ↑ "castellum parvulum burgus vocant" "a small fort that is called burgus" Vegetius, Epitoma rei militaris IV, 10, Corinna Scheungraber, Friedrich E. Grünzweig: The old Germanic toponyms as well as ungermanic toponyms of Germania. A guide to their etymology. (= Philologica Germanica Volume 34). Fassbaender, Vienna 2014, ISBN 978-3-902575-62-3 , p. 112.
  4. ↑ Talmud v. Jerusalem, Eroubin V, 1
  5. ↑ Edmund Ritscher: Burg Stein (Hessen) or Zullestein  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Mannheim 2008.@1@2Vorlage:Toter Link/www.e-ritscher.de  
  6. ^ Zsolt Visy: The ripa Pannonica in Hungary. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 2003, ISBN 963-05-7980-4 , p. 53.
  7. ↑ 2003 in Trebur-Astheim ( Memento from June 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), University of Frankfurt, Institute for Archaeological Science, Department II
  8. ↑ Jörg Fesser: Early Medieval Settlements of the Northern Front Palatinate with Special Consideration of the Merovingian Age Findings and the Carolingian Age Written Sources , Mannheim, Univ., Diss., 2006; also online (PDF)  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. available, p. 378@1@2Vorlage:Toter Link/bibserv7.bib.uni-mannheim.de  
  9. ↑ Christine Ertel: The Roman harbor district of Brigantium / Bregenz. Writings of the Vorarlberger Landesmuseum, vol. 6. Bregenz 1999. p. 31.
  10. ^ Sándor Soproni: The late Roman Limes between Esztergom and Szentendre. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1978, ISBN 963-05-1307-2 , p. 71.
  11. ^ András Mócsy : Pannonia and the Roman army. Selected essays. Steiner, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-515-06103-7 , p. 231.
  12. ^ Éva Maróti : A Roman building near Szigetmonostor-Horóny. In: Pannonica provincialia et Archaeologica. Festschrift for Jenő Fitz . Hungarian National Museum, Budapest 2003. pp. 197–203.
  13. ^ Zsolt Mráv in: Bölcske. Roman inscriptions and finds - In memoriam Sándor Soproni (1926-1995) . Hungarian National Museum, Budapest 2003, (Libelli archaeologici Ser. Nov. No. II), ISBN 963-9046-83-9 , p. 38.