Heidenburg (Roman Burgus)

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Bronze lamp from Campania, 1st century, FO. Römerhof Königsdorf

The Heidenburg is a Roman Burgus preserved in the ground on the Via Belgica in the Königsdorfer Forest between Quadrath-Ichendorf and Großkönigsdorf in the area of ​​the North Rhine-Westphalian city ​​of Bergheim . It is the only known surviving street burgus near the former Roman city of Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium ( Cologne ).

Find history

Aureus of Decius, on which his victories (against the Goths ) are celebrated

Since old maps and sources, such as the Brauweiler monastery chronicle from the 11th century, speak of a “Heinenburg” or “Heymenburg”, it was long assumed that there was a medieval castle of a robber baron Heino or Heimo. This could not be verified during excavations carried out by the Provinzialmuseum Bonn, later the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn (today: LVR- LandesMuseum Bonn) in 1929 and again in 1953 during the construction of the north-south railway that ran past . Instead, artifacts such as bronze brooches, bronze buckles and an ornamental nail with a lion's head were found alongside Roman roof tiles and remains of amphorae . Of the coins found, the youngest was minted under Decius (Caesar 249 to 251). It can therefore be assumed that this Burgus was created under Postumus , who wanted to secure his Imperium Galliarum through it. The remains of the military occupation by beneficiaries such as consecration stones or weapons have not yet been found in the limited excavations.

description

The Burgus is 15.5 km from Cologne, at the usual distance of such systems, directly on the north side of the via belgica, where it had overcome the Villerücken . In this way, the course of the road on both sides and its crossing over the river could be checked. The complex is square with rounded corners and surrounded by ramparts and moats. The diameter, measured at the top of the trench, is 50 meters. The inner area has the dimensions 31 × 26 meters. The trench was about 10 meters wide and 2.50 meters deep. The height of the wall was 2.50 meters. The wall was about three to four meters wide. On the inside of the wall, huge post holes were found for a palisade . Smaller post holes were found in the interior, depicting the wooden living and working areas. On the south side, towards the street, the wall and the ditch were surmounted by a probably liftable bridge about two meters wide, as can be seen from two huge post holes on both sides of the ditch. There are no indications that the system has been destroyed. It was probably given up in the course of the Germanic invasions in or after the 4th century.

Burgi on Via Belgica

In the further course of the Via Belgica to the west, several more burgi have been observed in the area of ​​today's Belgium , which served to secure the road in late antiquity. Remains of an interior made of wood such as the Heidenburg can be found in the burgus of Taviers or Braives.

Web links

See also

literature

  • Marcell Perse: Via Belgica, on the way on the Roman road Cologne-Jülich-Heerlen , JP Bachem Verlag Cologne 2011, ISBN 978-3-7616-2364-0 , section Cologne-Jülich, straight from the Rhine to the Rur, (with a detailed description of the Königsdorfer Teil, p. 30 ff.)
  • Susanne Jenter: On the move with the Romans, Via Belgica from Cologne to Rimburg in 7 stages , Bachem Verlag Cologne 2014, ISBN 978-3-7616-2783-9 , p. 54 ff.
  • J. Hock: Burgus . In Thomas Fischer (Ed.): The Roman Provinces. Stuttgart 2001, pp. 143–151, especially p. 145 to Heidenburg.
  • For details on burgi on the Cologne-Cambrais road section, cf. Raymond Brulet: La Gaule septentrionale au Bas-Empire. Supplement Trier Magazine 11, Trier 1990, 118–152 esp. 151 f. to the burgus Heidenburg near Hüchelhoven (with literature).

Coordinates: 50 ° 56 '25.9 "  N , 6 ° 43' 31.9"  E