Burgus Neuwied-Engers

Burgus Neuwied-Engers
limes	late antique Rhine Limes
section	Germania great
Dating (occupancy)	Valentine, ; around the 2nd half of the 4th century AD ; to the 1st third of the 5th century AD
Type	Ländeburgus
unit	unknown
size	approx. 80 × 80 m
Construction	stone
State of preservation	completely built over
place	Neuwied - Engers
Geographical location	50 ° 25 '17.7 " N , 7 ° 32' 55.9" E Coordinates: 50 ° 25 '17.7 " N , 7 ° 32' 55.9" E
Previous	Fort Andernach (Antunnacum) northwest
Subsequently	Kastell Koblenz (Confluentes) southeast

Attempted reconstruction

Findings sketch

Sign at the place of the Burgus in Neuwied-Engers

The Burgus Neuwied-Engers is a late antique Ländeburgus in the district of Engers , a district of Neuwied in the district of Neuwied in Rhineland-Palatinate ( Germany ). The fortification was probably created in 369, as part of the last reinforcement measures on the Rhine Limes under Emperor Valentinian I (364–375), and probably came to an end in the 1st third of the 5th century.

development

Already in Celtic times , the area was inhabited continuously. In the course of Gaius Julius Caesar's campaigns in Gaul in the years 58 to 51/50 BC. The previously little-known Rhine River (Rhenus) entered the narrower field of vision of Rome on the fringes of the “civilized world” at that time . According to the latest research, it is considered proven that Caesar had his famous pioneer bridge built over the Rhine near Neuwied. The bridge construction was a masterpiece of the Roman pioneering art of the time and was completed in just ten days (see Caesar's Rhine bridges ). After Caesar crossed the Rhine twice, the right bank of the Rhine remained under the control of the empire for almost 300 years.

From the 1st to the 3rd century AD there were Roman forts ( Heddesdorf , Niederbieber ), which served to secure the Roman-Germanic Limes , which was built since 83-85 AD, following the heights of the Rhine through today's urban area passed. In 260 AD the Alemanni and Franks conquered the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes for the first time and reached the right bank of the Rhine. In the course of the imperial crisis of the 3rd century , the forts in the Westerwald and Taunus had to be abandoned and the imperial border moved back to the Rhine (see Limesfall ).

In the last phase of expansion of the Rhine border under Emperor Valentinian I, the forts and towns on the Rhine were repaired or strengthened for the last time and numerous Ländeburgi were built, including the Burgus von Neuwied-Engers.

Location and function

To secure the supply of grain and supplies for the border troops as well as trade and shipping routes, it was necessary to build military installations on the right bank of the Rhine. However, only a few of these fortifications have been discovered so far. Two late antique Ländeburgi are known for the Neuwied Basin :

the Burgus Lahnstein at the confluence of the river Lahn , which rises in the southeastern Rothaargebirge, into the Rhine near today's Niederlahnstein , a district of Lahnstein in the Rhein-Lahn district , and

the Burgus Neuwied-Engers at the mouth of the river Wied bei Engers, which rises in the south of the Westerwald . The remains of the Burgus were located directly on the flood-free lower terrace on the high bank of the Rhine, which narrows here. Monitoring of the mouth of the river Sayn, which rises in the south of the Westerwald, was included .

The Burgus von Engers was also a guard post of the Castellum apud Confluentes , a late Roman fort in today's Koblenz , of which it was about ten kilometers northwest and thus down the Rhine.

During the excavations, thick layers of burned grain were found here. It is therefore obvious that this was not just a defense and protective structure for the Roman Rhine fleet ( Classis Germanica ) , but also a grain depot.

The foundation walls of the Burgus were integrated into a residential complex (basement) with the approval of the building authority of the city of Neuwied and the monument protection. The terrace house on "Klosterstrasse" cannot be visited.

Research history

The remains of the fortification were first examined in 1819/20. Medieval ceramics are said to have been found here in 1826. The first systematic archaeological excavations took place in 1924, with excavation drawings being made. In 1951, under the direction of Josef Röder from the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier , the structures were uncovered again and examined under new aspects of Limes research .

Burgus

In addition to the rectangular core structure , which was always built close to the bank, the late Roman Ländeburgi had additional walls reinforced with battlements, which protruded like pincers into or against the river and thus also protected the landing place for cargo ships and river patrol boats. The core work of the Burgus covered an inner area of 15 × 8 meters. The thickness of the cast masonry ( Opus caementitium ) was three meters; it was faced on its outside with tuff and gray wacky stones. The masonry stood on a lattice frame made of wooden posts, and the central supporting pillars also stood on such pile foundations. This type of construction has also been observed in many other Roman structures on swampy and very sandy soils.

The entrance was on the south side facing the Rhine. Four solid brick pillars supported the superstructure and probably also carried the individual false ceilings. The core structure was possibly two to three stories high and obviously covered with a roof made of lead sheets. The wing walls were built on the eastern and western sides of this central building, which were reinforced at their corners by small round towers. After a few meters they turned at a right angle to the south and ended at the embankment, where the fortification was open to the river to enable ships to land.

As an obstacle to the approach, a pointed ditch was also dug in the outer area , which surrounded the Burgus in a horseshoe shape and ran out in the embankment to the Rhine. In addition, the Ländeburgus was secured by a wooden palisade and a picket fence.

Limes course between Burgus Neuwied-Engers and Kastell Koblenz

ON / name	Description / condition	Illustration
Burgus of Lahnstein	The Burgus was also directly on the Rhine, directly at the former mouth of the Lahn in the Niederlahnstein district. The occupation's task was to secure the estuary and the banks of the Rhine. The core work measured 20 × 13 meters, the thickness of the walls was 2.5 to 3 meters. The remains of the fortification were examined by Robert Bodewig in 1914 and by Ferdinand Kutsch in summer 1926 . A landing stage for ships or the like could no longer be proven, as large parts of the Burgus had been destroyed by the construction of modern bank fortifications. Based on the finds, the Burgus could be assigned to those border security systems that were built under Emperor Valentinian I. Today a sign on site marks the tower site. Above ground nothing can be seen of the Burgus itself.

Monument protection

The Burgus is considered a ground monument and is protected as a registered cultural monument within the meaning of the Monument Protection Act of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate . Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to approval, and accidental finds are reported to the monument authorities.

literature

Wilhelm Dorow : Roman antiquities in and around Neuwied am Rhein with floor plans, elevations and sections of the fort excavated there, and depictions of the objects found in it (= The monuments of the Germanic and Roman times in the Rhenish-Westphalian provinces. Volume 2). Schlesinger's Buch- und Musikhandlung, Berlin 1826, pp. 20–24 ( online ).
Cliff Alexander Jost : The Roman Limes in Rhineland-Palatinate (= Hans-Helmut Wegner (Hrsg.): Archeology on the Middle Rhine and Moselle. Volume 14). State Office for Monument Preservation Rhineland-Palatinate , Koblenz 2003, ISBN 3-929645-07-6 .
Josef Röder: Burgus Engers, Kr. Neuwied . In: Germania. Volume 30, 1952, pp. 115-116.
Hans-Helmut Wegner (Ed.): Reports on archeology on the Middle Rhine and Moselle. Volume 1 (= Trier magazine. Supplement 9). Trier 1987, ISBN 3-923319-05-3 , p. 226 ff.
Hans-Helmut Wegner: Neuwied-Engers . In: Heinz Cüppers (Hrsg.): The Romans in Rhineland-Palatinate. Theiss, Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-8062-0308-3 , p. 499 f.
Sigrid and Hans-Helmut Wegner: Burgi . In: This .: The Rhine in antiquity (= PZ-Information. 20/1999). Edited by Pedagogical Center Rhineland-Palatinate, Bad Kreuznach 1999, p. 116 ff. ( PDF ).
Klemens Wilhelmi: Archaeological measures to protect the late Roman Burgus in Engers . In: Homeland yearbook of the Neuwied district. Neuwied 1981, pp. 42-45.
Klemens Wilhelmi: Archaeological security measures at the late Roman Burgus in Neuwied-Engers . In: Archaeological correspondence sheet. Volume 13, 1983, pp. 367-374.

Web links

Roman traces in Neuwied-Engers