Burgus Asperden

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Burgus Asperden
Alternative name Sunken monastery
limes Lower Germanic Limes
Dating (occupancy) Valentine
4th to early 5th century
Type Watchtower
unit limitanei (burgarii)  ?
size 15.6 × 15.6 m (core plant),
40 × 40 m (circular wall)
State of preservation ground monument no longer visible above ground
place Asperden
Geographical location 51 ° 42 '47 "  N , 6 ° 5' 35"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 42 '47 "  N , 6 ° 5' 35"  E hf
Backwards Ceuclum
Map of the Lower Germanic Limes

The Burgus Asperden is a late Roman small fortress near Asperden , a district of Goch am Niederrhein , state of North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany. The Burgus is popularly known as the "Sunken Monastery" , probably because it is located near the Graefenthal Monastery, which was founded in the 13th century . This is the name given to him frequently in local literature.

Chronological order

The Burgus comes from the time of Valentinian I , which is proven by coin finds, 76 coins were found, 70 of them from the time after 367 AD. In 396, the Roman province of Germania secunda was last visited by Flavius ​​Stilicho . Presumably there was still a regular Roman troop in Asperden at that time .

If not earlier, the Burgus was probably abandoned after the invasion of the Franks in 413 at the latest . Hermann Hinz found a concentration of iron dolls on an area 2 × 1.5 m above the inner ditch ; it also contains two early medieval shards from the 7th century. The excavator suspected that these remains go back to the looting and exploitation of the ruins by the Franks.

Location and function

Stone robbery, robbery excavations and the effects of fighting in the Second World War ensured that even today nothing can be seen of the Burgus above ground. It was about halfway between Asperden and Kessel , on the right side of the Niers and on the southern edge of the Reichswald . Here a steep slope formed the bank of the Niers, today it runs about 20 meters further south due to river straightening .

Among other things, his crew was responsible for securing a side road that connected the hinterland with the Roman Rhine Valley Road to the Lower Germanic Limes . In addition to its military use as a watchtower and fortress, it can be assumed that the Burgus also served as a granary (Horreum) , as indicated by grain finds in other burgi of the same construction .

Research history

Due to the popular naming and description in the local literature, the first excavations took place in 1871 and 1877. Unfortunately, however, these were not scientifically supported campaigns, and the results were not published accordingly. It is only known that in addition to various small finds such as shards, small clay and glass vessels , half of a millstone , probably from a hand mill, was found.

In 1964 and 1965, the Burgus was systematically excavated for the first time by Hermann Hinz and Ilse Hömberg-Stade from the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn . Only since then has it been clear that the remains of the wall are actually those of a late Roman Burgus. In addition, the remains of a Roman kiln for glass products were found.

The Rheinisches Amt für Bodendenkmalpflege , branch office in Xanten, initiated new excavations in 2006 and 2007 in order to determine the location and extent of the ancient small fortress even more precisely. The glass distillery was filled in again after the last archaeological excavation in order to be able to better protect it from robbery excavations .

Finding

Reconstruction sketch of the Burgus, view from SW

It was an almost rectangular fortification with a central square inner tower 15.6 × 15.6 meters in length. The strength of its foundations (2 m) indicate a multi-storey tower. In addition to fired bricks, limestone , sandstone and tufa blocks were mainly used to build the fortress.

The tower was surrounded by a circular wall at intervals of eleven meters, which was 40 × 40 m long and 1.4 m wide. It can no longer be detected on the southern side, as the erosion has obliterated all of its traces. Their existence here is very likely due to building blocks found on the slope. The curtain wall was further reinforced with seven protruding, round corner and central towers, which had a diameter of up to 4.25 meters. Except for the east side, all were provided with an additional central tower.

With the exception of the slope side, all three sides were additionally secured by one, on the west side even two pointed trenches (approx. 70 m long).

Glass furnace

The glass furnace during the excavation in 2006

On the steep slope of the Niers there was once a kiln that was used to make glass . It is a late antique furnace system with a total of four openings, two working openings, one stoking opening and one for the channel to the cooling furnace. With the help of the glass finds, flat drinking bowls (Isings 117), hemispherical cups (Isings 96) and drinking bowls with nubs and thread decorations (Helle type), this can also be dated fairly precisely. The latter point to a use until after 400 AD. It has not yet been clarified whether Burgus and the glass distillery were functionally related.

Monument protection

The Burgus von Asperden is a ground monument according to the law for the protection and care of monuments in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (Monument Protection Act - DSchG) . Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to approval, and accidental finds are reported to the monument authorities.

literature

  • Lothar Bakker: Argon sigillata decorated with wheels from Goch-Asperden To date Burgus and Glashütte . In: Bonner Jahrbücher, Volume 2014 . Darmstadt 2014, ISBN 978-3-8053-5041-9 .
  • Tilmann Bechert : Watchtower or Granary? On the construction of the late Roman Burgi . In: Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 8, Mainz 1978.
  • Tilmann Bechert: The state of asciburgium research . In: Contributions to the archeology of the Roman Rhineland III . Düsseldorf 1972, ISBN 3-7927-0153-7 (= Rheinische Ausgrabungen, Volume 12).
  • Clive Bridger: Evidence of glass production at Burgus Asperden . In: Archeology in the Rhineland 2003 . Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8062-1911-7 .
  • Marion Brüggler: Burgus and Glashütte near Goch-Asperden . In: Archeology in the Rhineland 2007 . Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8062-2217-3 .
  • Marion Brüggler: Found again - a late antique glass oven on the burgus of Goch-Asperden . In: Archeology in the Rhineland 2006 . Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-2128-2 .
  • Marion Brüggler: Burgus and glass workshop of late antiquity near Goch-Asperden . In: Bonner Jahrbücher, Volume 2014 . Darmstadt 2014, ISBN 978-3-8053-5041-9 .
  • Hermann Hinz , Ilse Hömberg: excavation of a late Roman Burgus in Asperden, Kleve district . In: Contributions to the archeology of the Roman Rhineland . Düsseldorf 1968 (Rhenish excavations, Volume 3).
  • Viktor Huyskens: The birthplace of Emperor Otto III. In the annals of the historical association for the Lower Rhine 33, 1879, pp. 50-105.
  • Harald von Petrikovits : Fortifications in the North-Western Roman Empire from the 3rd to 5th centuries . In contributions to Roman history and archeology . Bonn 1976, ISBN 978-3-7927-1222-1 .
  • Harald von Petrikovits: The interior structures of Roman legion camps during the principate's time . Opladen 1975, ISBN 3-531-09056-9 .
  • Harald von Petrikovits: The Roman armed forces on the Lower Rhine . Düsseldorf 1967.
  • Frank Siegmund: Merovingian time on the Lower Rhine . Rheinland-Verlag, Cologne 1998, ISBN 3-7927-1247-4 (Rheinische Ausgrabungen 34).

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ A b c Hermann Hinz , Ilse Hömberg: excavation of a late Roman Burgus in Asperden, Kleve district . In: Contributions to the archeology of the Roman Rhineland , Düsseldorf 1968, pp. 167–212.
  2. ↑ Harald von Petrikovits: The Roman armed forces on the Lower Rhine . Düsseldorf 1967, p. 9ff.
  3. ^ Hermann Hinz, Ilse Hömberg: excavation of a late Roman Burgus in Asperden, Kleve district . In: Contributions to the archeology of the Roman Rhineland . Düsseldorf 1968, pp. 167-212, here: 190f. Fig. 9.31.
  4. ^ Frank Siegmund: Merovingian time on the Lower Rhine. Rheinland-Verlag, Cologne 1998 (Rheinische Ausgrabungen 34), p. 275 with plate 57.
  5. ↑ Tilmann Bechert: Watchtower or Granary? On the construction of the late Roman Burgi . In Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 8, Mainz 1978, p. 131.
  6. ↑ Viktor Huyskens: The birthplace of Emperor Otto III. In the annals of the historical association for the Lower Rhine 33, 1879, p. 96.
  7. ^ Marion Brüggler: Burgus and glassworks near Goch-Asperden . In Archeology in the Rhineland 2007 , Stuttgart 2008, pp. 109–111.
  8. ↑ Tilmann Bechert: The state of the asciburgium research . In contributions to the archeology of the Roman Rhineland III . Düsseldorf 1968, p. 168.
  9. ^ Marion Brüggler: Burgus and glassworks near Goch-Asperden . In: Archeology in the Rhineland 2007 , Stuttgart 2008, p. 111f.
  10. ^ Marion Brüggler: Burgus and glassworks near Goch-Asperden . In: Archeology in the Rhineland 2007 . Stuttgart 2008, p. 111.
  11. ↑ Law on the protection and maintenance of monuments in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (Monument Protection Act - DSchG) .