Arzbach Castle

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Arzbach Castle
limes ORL 3 ( RLK )
Route (RLK) Upper German Limes ,
route 1 (Rhine-Lahn)
Dating (occupancy) Trajan / Hadrian
until the middle of the 3rd century
Type Numerus fort
unit unknown number
size 79.20 mx 93.30 m = 0.7 ha
Construction stone
State of preservation largely overbuilt
place Arzbach
Geographical location 50 ° 22 '31.2 "  N , 7 ° 44' 44.3"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 22 '31.2 "  N , 7 ° 44' 44.3"  E hf
Previous Hillscheid small fort (northwest)
Subsequently Small fort "Auf der Schanz" (south)
Backwards ORL 2a: Niederberg fort (west)
ORL 4: Ems fort (south)

The Arzbach fort was a Roman fort in the Upper German Limes , which was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 2005 . The soil monument, which is no longer visible today, is located on the southern edge of the local community of Arzbach , which belongs to the Rhein-Lahn district in Rhineland-Palatinate .

location

Site plan at the time of the excavations by the Reich Limes Commission (1894)

The Arzbach fort is located on a hill between the Wetzel- , Ems- and Wiesenbach , about 40 m above a meadow to the south. In ancient times it was about 42 m southwest of the Limes palisade moat. On three sides, about 150 m in front of the Praetorial Front (front), about 100 m behind the back and immediately in front of the left principal side, the terrain drops off relatively steeply. On the right-hand side of the principal, the terrain continues to rise, so that the right flank, due to the elevation of the terrain, represented the weakest and therefore most vulnerable side of the camp.

In today's townscape, the fort is located in the southern edge of the community, north of the “St. Peter-und-Paul-Kirche ”and the cemetery, between“ Kirchstrasse ”and“ Kemmenauer Strasse ”. The vicus and the burial grounds are believed to be in the area of ​​the cemetery itself and under the adjacent meadow areas.

Research history

Right tower of the Porta praetoria during the excavations in 1894

The Arzbach fort was built relatively late, in 1860 during construction work on the “St. Peter and Paul Church ”. Archaeological excavations were planned for autumn of the same year, but they were not carried out. It was not until September 1894 that the Reich Limes Commission carried out systematic investigations, which were under the local direction of the route commissioner Otto Dahm . As a result of this research, however, only a part of the actually existing findings - in particular the area of ​​the Principia (command office) and three other buildings - could be researched and documented. Large areas of the facility fell victim to unobserved construction work.

In the 1960s and 1990s, the construction of a home for the elderly and a kindergarten necessitated new archaeological rescue excavations, during which the findings of hearths, cellars and pits could also only be insufficiently examined and documented.

A good third of the fort area is now considered to have been destroyed, the rest is located as a ground monument under the unbuilt areas of this area.

Findings and interpretation

Fort floor plan and terrain profiles based on the findings from 1894

The fortification of Arzbach is a stone fort with sides of 79.20 by 93.30 meters, which corresponds to an area of ​​over 0.7 hectares and thus the size of a typical numerus fort. The 1.40 meter thick defensive wall had the usual four gates, each flanked by two towers. It was mainly made of trachyte , partly also of slate as a dry stone wall without any mortar. The rounded corners were also provided with watchtowers. All towers projected about 0.50 meters from the wall. There were no intermediate towers.

In front of the defensive wall - after a narrow berm - there was a double trench system on three sides of the camp. On the north-western side, where the Porta principalis sinistra (left side gate) was located, the trenches were interrupted due to the steep slope on this side. Here the berm was secured by a 2.30 meter high retaining wall.

With its Praetorial Front, the camp faced northeast, facing the Limes 42 meters away.

Inside the camp, only parts of the centrally located Principia and three other stone buildings of unknown destination could essentially be examined. The rear wing of the Principia consisted of five rooms, of which the middle - the Aedes or Sacellum (flag shrine) - had a large apse . However, there was no cellar. Of the usual components of a principia , only one room in the left wing of the building could be identified with certainty. The other buildings in the interior of the fort could not be assigned to any specific function, fortified camp roads were not discovered.

Legion and cohort stamp from the finds from the excavations of 1894

The Balineum (fort bath), the thermal baths that can be found at every major Roman auxiliary camp, is most likely located below the “St. Peter and Paul Church ”. The finds that were made during the renovation of the choir in 1860 included pieces that indicated a hypocaust . The vicus , the civilian settlement for traders, craftsmen, military after the end of their service time and relatives of soldiers, was located east of it, as evidenced by the litter and reading finds. The grave fields are to be assumed in the southern area of ​​today's cemetery.

The fort was probably built in the early second century AD. It served as a location for an unknown number of border troops, a unit of around two centuries , i.e. 140 to 160 men. The camp fulfilled this function until the middle of the third century. Since, according to the findings, all the buildings of the fort - including the towers - had been destroyed by fire, it can be assumed that the fortification came to an end in connection with the heavy attacks by the Franks , during which the Romans attacked the entire right bank of the Rhine around 259/260 Territory was lost.

Limes course between the Arzbach fort and the small fort "Auf der Schanz"

On its way to Bad Ems , the Limes is in different, not always very good, conservation states. Behind Arzbach it has almost completely disappeared and only in the wooded areas just under one kilometer east of the watchtower Wp 1/84 and then in its south-facing course near Kemmenau , west of the country road 327, it can be clearly seen in the terrain. Shortly before it reaches Bad Ems, it disappears completely.

Traces of the Limes structures between the Arzbach fort and the small fort on the Schanz :

ORL Name / place Description / condition
ORL 3 Arzbach Castle see above
Wp 1/83 A hill of a rectangular stone tower with the unusual aspect ratio of 6.50 m by 4.50 m and a wall thickness of 100 cm, proven by the RLK , no longer exists today. 17 m behind the wall of the Limes and 280 m southeast of the Arzbach fort. The course of the Limes itself in this area can still be identified - depending on the season - based on the vegetation features.
Wp 1/84 "On the big head"
Wp. 1/84
At the highest point in the area at 423 m above sea level, an unusual 180 m behind the Limes, an extraordinarily large stone tower with dimensions of 8.00 m by 6.50 m. The thickness of the foundation walls was 1.30 m. Traces of an older wooden tower were found under the stone tower. The Stefansturm, which still stands at this point today, was built on its foundations in 1954 as a reconstruction of the Wp 1/84. The middle part of the reconstruction is flawed in that no block construction was used by the Romans.
Wp 1/85 to 1/87 Suspected but not proven watchtowers based on the average distance between the towers and the topographical features.
Wp 1/88 "At the Hermit Head" Visible rubble mound of a stone tower west of highway 327 from Welschneudorf to Kemmenau. The tower had a square floor plan with a side length of 5.60 m, the wall thickness was 1.20 m. The tower was 18 m from the center of the moat or 13 m from the apex of the rampart.
Wp 1/89 "At First" Tower point still determined by Dahm and (only vaguely) documented by the RLK, but today no longer identifiable in the area.
Wp 1/90 "At the house" Tower point documented by the RLK in the ORL (only vaguely), but no longer perceptible in the area today.
Wp 1/91 "At the Hohe Bahn" Only suspected, not proven tower location.
Wp 1/92 In the area perceptible rubble mound of a square stone tower with a side length of 4.50 m and 100 cm thick walls. The location is 14 m behind the Limeswall and over a kilometer before the Lahn.
Wp 1/93 Suspected but not proven tower location. In this area there is not much to see of the Limes itself. Probably largely eroded on the hillside by washing, it finally merges into the course of today's “Pfahlgrabenstrasse” from Bad Ems.
KK On the ramparts see main article small fort on the Schanz

Monument protection

The Arzbach fort and the aforementioned ground monuments have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage as a section of the Upper German-Rhaetian Limes since 2005 . In addition, the facilities are cultural monuments according to the Monument Protection and Conservation Act (DSchG) 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.

See also

literature

Excavation reports of the Reich Limes Commission:

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b After Margot Klee: The Limes between Rhine and Main. From the beginning of the Upper German Limes near Rheinbrohl to the Main near Grosskrotzenburg. Theiss, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-8062-0276-1 , p. 50, Arzbach is a Hadrianic foundation. Dietwulf Baatz: The Roman Limes. Archaeological excursions between the Rhine and the Danube. 4th edition, Gebr. Mann, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7861-2347-0 , p. 105, on the other hand writes of Trajanic finds and assumes an end in connection with the Limesfall (259/260).
  2. ↑ “In April 1860, our knowledge of the Roman pile ditch train north of the Lahn was significantly enhanced. In response to a complaint from Pastor Diefenbach zu Arzbach, Montabaur District , that when the old choir of his parish church, the well-known Augst, had been demolished, Roman bricks with military stamps had been found and were being kept, the secretary of the association went on the 1st and 2nd May v. J. on the spot to collect more detailed reports. Then it turned out that the construction of this church choir, which was built in the 15th century, was partly done with the help of Roman building material ... "... / ..." Since these building blocks can only come from a nearby Roman military building, a fort must be tight at the Augst have stood… ” (In: Periodical sheets of the history and antiquity associations of Kassel, Darmstadt and Wiesbaden. According to ORL, Section B, No. 3, p. 1 f.).
  3. ↑ Dahm assumed that the Principia had not been completed in the construction phase found or that the other rooms were made of wood or half-timbered. ORL Dept. B, No. 3, p. 3f.
  4. ↑ Dahm referred to a building located northwest of the Principia , 17.70 m long and 9.60 m wide, as a "drill house". He considered a double building uncovered in the southern area of ​​the Retentura, consisting of a 16.00 m long and 5.60 m wide and a 14.20 m long and 10.00 m wide room, to be a stable and a warehouse. He assigned the function of an "officers' building" to the four-room building in the east of the Praetentura , measuring 13.60 m by 10.30 m, because of the high-quality ceramic and glass dishes found there. ORL Dept. B, No. 3, p. 3.
  5. ↑ ORL = numbering of the Limes structures according to the publication of the Reich Limes Commission on the O bergermanisch- R aetic- L imes
  6. ↑ ORL XY = consecutive numbering of the forts of the ORL
  7. ↑ Wp = W oh p east, watch tower. The number before the slash denotes the Limes section, the number after the slash denotes the respective watchtower.
  8. ↑ At 50 ° 22 '27.13 "  N , 7 ° 44' 59.82"  E
  9. ↑ At 50 ° 22 '11.49 "  N , 7 ° 45' 23.4"  E
  10. ↑ Wp 1/85 at approximately 50 ° 22 '14.69 "  N , 7 ° 45' 56.21"  O , Wp 1/86 at approximately 50 ° 21 '59.64 "  N , 7 ° 46' 21.19 "  O and Wp 1/87 at approximately 50 ° 21 '46.11"  N , 7 ° 46' 5.15 "  O
  11. ↑ At 50 ° 21 '29.96 "  N , 7 ° 45' 38.2"  O
  12. ↑ At 50 ° 21 '5.94 "  N , 7 ° 45' 4.13"  E
  13. ↑ At 50 ° 20 '49.34 "  N , 7 ° 44' 43.62"  E
  14. ↑ At about 50 ° 20 '32.89 "  N , 7 ° 44' 27.62"  O
  15. ↑ At 50 ° 20 '15.74 "  N , 7 ° 44' 13.35"  E
  16. ↑ Approximately at 50 ° 20 '1.05 "  N , 7 ° 43' 58.52"  E
  17. ↑ KK = unnumbered K linseed K astell
  18. ↑ DschG or DSchPflG RP