Castra Herculis

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Castra Herculis
Alternative name Arnhem-Meinerswijk Castle
limes Lower Germanic Limes
Dating (occupancy) 1–2) 10/20 BC To 69/70
3) 70/71 to 2nd century
4) 2nd century to early 3rd century
5) early 3rd century to around 260
6) 4th century (to 5th century) ?)
Type 1) Vexillation
fort 2–6) Auxiliary fort
unit 1) Vexillatio of the Legio V Alaudae
2–6) unknown auxilia
size 1.7 to 2.2 ha
Construction 1–3) Wood and earth camp
4–6) Stone fort
State of preservation Ground monument not visible above ground
place Arnhem - Meinerswijk
Geographical location 51 ° 58 '15 "  N , 5 ° 52' 25"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 58 '15 "  N , 5 ° 52' 25"  E hf
Previous Fort Duiven-Loowaard (southeast)
Subsequently Overbetuwe-Driel Fort (west)
Backwards Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum (south)
Upstream Marschlager Ermelo (north)

Castra Herculis (translated: "Camp of Hercules "), the Arnhem-Meinerswijk Castle , was a Roman garrison site on the left bank of the Rhine , which was used to secure and as a deployment base in the early days of the occupation of Germania, as an auxiliary fort of the Lower Germanic Limes and as a late Roman fortress. Today's soil monument is located in Meinerswijk , a polder in the area of ​​the city of Arnhem in the Dutch province of Gelderland .

location

Today's topographical situation in Meinerswijk

The Castra Herculis fort was located at a point around five kilometers downstream from the point at which the Rhine turns west from its previous north-west direction and the IJssel , whose upper course was / is probably identical to that of the Fossa Drusiana , from Stream branches off.

In terms of military geography, along with the camps in Nijmegen, Vechten and Velsen, it was one of the four fortifications that can be dated to the early Roman Empire and probably played a role in Germanicus' offensives . Later it was part of the chain of castles in the defensive Lower Germanic Limes.

In today's settlement and natural area topography, the fort is located on the left bank of the Rhine, on the area of ​​a retention area called Meinerswijk , immediately west of the city center of Arnhem. The polder area, which is designated as a nature reserve, is framed by the streets “Drielsedijk” and “Grote Griet” (or “Batavierenweg” and “Eldenseweg”) and the arch of the Rhine crossing the Arnhem.

Sources and research history

Castra Herculis on the
Tabula Peutingeriana
Location of Castra Herculis on the Lower Germanic Limes

For a long time only speculations had been made about the location of Castra Herculis , but these could not be corroborated by archaeological evidence. At the beginning of the 1970s, the ancient site was suspected to be in the area of ​​the municipality of Druten , and it was assumed that it had completely disappeared over the centuries due to the meandering of the Waal . Only a few sources were available for a possible localization. Ammianus Marcellinus mentions Castra Herculis as one of seven sites that were restored in 359 by the then governor of Gaul and later Emperor Julian to secure the grain imports from Britain that were shipped up the Rhine. In the same context of logistics security, the place was mentioned in 365 as polis Herakleia by the rhetor Libanios . The Tabula Peutingeriana provides the most concrete indication of the location of the place . It is recorded in segment II, 4 Castra Herculis between the Rhenus and Patabus rivers , eight Leugen (about 17.5 km) north of Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum ( Nijmegen ) and 13 Leugen (about 29 km) east of Carvo ( Kesteren ).

Although large parts of the Roman settlement areas were actually washed away by the Rhine in the Middle Ages, it was finally possible in 1979 to locate the fort in Arnhem-Meinerswijk through resistance measurements and a test excavation. Further excavations made it possible to determine the location of the fort more precisely in 1991 and 1992, and in 1995 the Principia (headquarters / staff building) and part of the south wall with the Porta decumana (rear gate) were examined.

Dating and History

The Castra Herculis castle was built between 10 AD and 20 AD. It is one of the oldest after the Druze camp in Nijmegen (before / to 12 BC) and the Tiberian Fectio / Vechten (4/5 AD) as well as Velsen I (15/16 AD) so far proven Roman military camp in the area of ​​today's Netherlands. It was probably built in connection with the preparations for the Germanicus' offensives carried out between 14 and 16 . A graffito from this period, which can be assigned to the Legio V Alaudae , suggests that a vexillation of this legion stationed in the nearby Vetera formed the garrison of the fort at that time.

By the end of the third century, six different construction phases ("Period 1" to "Period 6") could be differentiated. It has not yet been finally clarified whether there was a continuity between the earliest, Germanicus-era camp (" Period 1 ") and the subsequent one (" Period 2 "), or whether there was a new occupancy only in the Claudian period. In particular, a reinforcement or a new construction in connection with the construction of the Fossa Corbulonis by the Roman governor Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo in AD 47 appears to be possible. When arretian sigillata and Belgian goods dominated the finds from the earliest phase , southern Gallic terra sigillata appeared in the second period in the foreground. Between the second and the third period a clear horizon of destruction could be made out, which had been caused by the events of the Four Emperor's year and the Batavian uprising . The dating finds from " Period 3 " come from both the Flavian period and the beginning of the second century. In the second century - possibly in Hadrianic times - the "period 3" was replaced by the " period 4 ", in which at least parts of the interior (the principia ) were built from stone for the first time . The dating finds of "Period 4" come from the second and first quarter of the third century. The discovery of a brick stamp of the Lower Germanic Army, which can be dated around the year 175, rounds off this complex of finds. In Severan times, " Period 5 " took the place of "Period 4". The ceramic finds from the "period 5" are complemented by a brick stamp from the time of Severus Alexander . A second brick stamp indicates that a construction vexillation of the Legio I Minervia pia fidelis stationed in Bonn may have carried out construction or repair work in Castra Herculis during this time . Following "Period 5", which ended at the beginning of the second half of the third century, around the year 260, there was a phase in which the fort area was probably not used. Traces of settlement could only be found again for the fourth century, which are summarized as " Period 6 ". The stones from "Period 5" were partially reused in the construction of the new fort. The sparse finds point to the fourth century, but Merovingian ceramics from the fifth century could also be assigned to this phase.

The entire periodization is provisional and should be viewed with a certain amount of caution. From the point of view of the Dutch archaeologists, only future, large-scale investigations can lead to a really stringent and valid dating. Apart from the two legionary vexillations mentioned, no units from Castra Herculis are known by name. It should have been auxiliary groups , cohorts or ales , or other vexillations.

Archaeological evidence

The excavations in 1991, 1992 and 1995 made it possible in particular to examine the Principia and parts of the rear defensive wall with the Porta decumana from "Period 5".

The back of the Principia was only a few meters away from the Porta decumana , which clearly differed its location from the usual fort scheme. The three-part structure consisted of a courtyard, a transverse hall and a rear-facing room, was founded with alder piles and covered a total area of ​​39.0 m by 34.5 m (1345.5 m²). One entered the Principia from the north through a courtyard lined on three sides by columns , which was flanked on the long sides by two elongated rooms. From here you got into the transverse hall (basilica ), which stretched over the entire width of the building complex. On its western side there was a structural construction that was referred to as a rostra (lectern). The complex was completed by a seven-part room suite. The middle room was the flag sanctuary ( Aedes principiorum or Sacellum ), it was symmetrically flanked by three further service and assembly rooms.

Only six meters behind the rear of the Principia was the defensive wall, which was not supported by a foundation and was interrupted by the Porta decumana (rear gate) at the level of the central axis of the camp . The Porta decumana was flanked by two gate towers, which had a rectangular floor plan on the inside and either a rectangular or a slightly rounded rectangular floor plan on the outside. A double trench system ran in front of the wall, the inner trench tapering in front of the gate.

Post-Roman times

On the site of the Arnhem fort a civil or military Franconian settlement was built in the fifth century , the existence of which is secured by ceramic finds. Possibly it was identical to the Meginhardeswich branch or was its predecessor. Meginhardeswich , from which Meinerswijk would later emerge, was first mentioned in 814 and in 847 in connection with an attack by the Vikings .

See also

literature

  • Lenneke Cuijpers: Een Romeins Castellum in Meinerswijk. In: Paul van der Heijden: Grens van het Romeinse Rijk. De Limes in Gelderland . Matrijs, Utrecht 2016, ISBN 978-90-5345-327-8 , p. 71.
  • Saskia G. van Dockum : The Dutch river basin. In: Tilmann Bechert , Willem JH Willems (Hrsg.): The Roman border between the Moselle and the North Sea coast . Theiss, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-8062-1189-2 , pp. 77f.
  • Piet G. van der Gaauw: Boor- en westandsonderzoek castellum Meinerswijk . (= RAAP report. 41). RAAP Archeologische Adviesbureau, Amsterdam 1989, ISSN  0925-6229 .
  • Paul van der Heijden: Grens van het Romeinse Rijk. De Limes in Gelderland. Matrijs, Utrecht 2016, ISBN 978-90-5345-327-8 , pp. 65–73.
  • Rudi S. Hulst: The Castellum at Arnhem-Meinerswijk. The Remains of Period 5 . (= Reports from the Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek. 44). ROB, Amersfoort 2001, pp. 397-438, ISSN  0167-5443 .
  • Willem JH Willems : Castra Herculis. Een Romeins castellum near Arnhem . (= Overdrukken - Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek. 145). ROB, Amersfoort 1980, ISSN  0923-702X .
  • Willem JH Willems: The Roman Fort at Arnhem-Meinerswijk. (= Reports from the Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek. 34). ROB, Amersfoort 1986.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Besides Quadriburgium ( Qualburg ), Tricensimae ( Xanten ), Novaesium ( Neuss ), Bonna ( Bonn ), Antunnacum ( Andernach ) and Bingium ( Bingen am Rhein ).
  2. ↑ In particular Haltern 1, Haltern 47, Hofheim 50 and Stuart 131.
  3. ↑ Drag, in particular. 15/17, 24/25 and 29. Further Hofheim 50, 51 and 79 as well as rough-walled goods of the type Stuart 204.
  4. ↑ Including so-called “ Feine Nijmegische Earthenware ” (“ Fijn Nijmeegse aardewerk ”) from the military pottery in Holdeurn near Nijmegen (71-104 AD), Terra Sigillata of the Drag types. 18 and 30, but also drag. 33 and East Gaulish goods from La Madeleine of the drag type. 37. Furthermore, rough-walled goods of types Stuart 213a, 214b and 215 that were characteristic of this period.
  5. ↑ Underneath decorated sigillata from La Madeleine and Lavoye, sigillata of the drag type. 31, but also later forms of the drag types. 32, 38 and 45 as well as rough-walled goods of the types Niederbieber 89, 104 and 112.
  6. ↑ Goods of the late Rheinzaben potter Helenius and Niederbieber 32c.
  7. ↑ A pot of Alzey 27.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Saskia G. van Dockum: The Dutch river area. In: Tilmann Bechert, Willem JH Willems (Hrsg.): The Roman border between the Moselle and the North Sea coast . Theiss, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-8062-1189-2 , p. 77 f.
  2. ^ Julianus Egidius Bogaers: Druten - Castra Herculis. In: Julianus Egidius Bogaers, Christoph B. Rüger : The Lower Germanic Limes. Materials on its story . Rheinland-Verlag, Cologne 1974, ISBN 3-7927-0194-4 , p. 72.
  3. ↑ a b Julianus Egidius Bogaers: Castra Herculis.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) (PDF file; 949 kB). 1968, on the official website of the University of Nijmegen, (German).@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / dare.ubn.kun.nl
  4. ↑ Ammianus Marcellinus, Roman History , 18, 2, 4.
  5. ↑ Libanios, Oratio XVIII, 82-3.
  6. ↑ Piet G. van der Gaauw: Boor- en weerstandsonderzoek castellum Meinerswijk . (= RAAP report. 41). RAAP Archeologische Adviesbureau, Amsterdam 1989, ISSN  0925-6229 .
  7. ^ Saskia G. van Dockum: The Dutch river basin. In: Tilmann Bechert, Willem JH Willems (Hrsg.): The Roman border between the Moselle and the North Sea coast . Theiss, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-8062-1189-2 , p. 77.
  8. ^ Willem Albertus van Es: De Romeinen in Nederland . Fibula-Van Dishoeck, Bussum 1972, ISBN 90-228-3935-4 , pp. 29-37 and 76-81.
  9. ↑ AE 2000, 01018
  10. ↑ AE 2000, 01019 .
  11. ^ Willem JH Willems: Arnhem-Meinerswijk. A nieuw castellum aan de Rijn . (PDF file; 6.1 MB). 1980, on the official website of Leiden University.
  12. ↑ Meginhardeswich on a private website on the history of Arnhem