Deggingen fort

Deggingen fort
limes	ORL NN ( RLK )
Route (RLK)	possibly Alblimes (upstream)
Dating (occupancy)	completely unsecured
Type	Numerus fort
unit	unknown number or vexillation
size	about 60 m × 70 m (= 0.4 ha)
Construction	Wood and earth fort (?)
State of preservation	ground monument visible in aerial photographs
place	Deggingen
Geographical location	48 ° 35 '3.5 " N , 9 ° 43' 24" E Coordinates: 48 ° 35 '3.5 " N , 9 ° 43' 24" E
height	750 m above sea level NHN

The Deggingen fort is a Roman fort that is hypothetically assigned to the Alblimes . The facility built during the principality is located as a ground monument on a partly wooded, partly agricultural area south of Deggingen , a municipality in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg .

location

The fort, located north of the road leading from Aufhausen to Bad Ditzenbach , not far from today's hamlet “Schonderhöhe”, presumably served as a flank protection in the run-up to the Alblimes, which had a rather deep indentation here, and is possibly an indication of the importance of Clarenna ( Donnstetten ) in Roman times. The Deggingen fort could also at least partially explain why the Roman road from Grinario ( Köngen am Neckar ) to Donnstetten could run outside the Lautertal Limes (i.e. in enemy territory from a Roman perspective).

The military camp was strategically located on the Alb plateau. In this way, the Upper Filstal and the Roman roads in this area could be monitored.

Research history

In the summer of 1976, an archaeological aerial survey discovered a square growth feature . It was not until the late 1990s that these traces were identified as a Roman fort. A denarius of Trajan found in 2002 represents only a single find outside of the context of the findings and can therefore contribute little to a more precise chronological assignment of the camp. Archaeological excavations that could provide information about the time have not yet been carried out. By geomagnetic prospecting only the safety fence could be detected, but the data collected in the early days of this method have too low resolution to be able to recognize details.

Further Roman remains were found in the area, but they may not belong to the fort, but to a younger civilian settlement.

Fort

At the current state of research, no reliable statements can be made about the beginning and end dates of the fort. If one assumes belonging to the Alblimes, it is subject to the dating problem discussed in connection with it.
See also separate article Alblimes .

The fort near Deggingen, with its side lengths of only about 60 m by 70 m and an area of about 0.4 hectares, has a surrounding moat with rounded corners. It has two opposite gate systems. In terms of size, it offered space for a number or a so-called vexillation , a detachment about the size of a centurion .

Statements about a possible interior development can only be made after geophysical prospection or an archaeological excavation .

Monument protection

The Bodendenkmal Kastell Deggingen is protected as a registered cultural monument within the meaning of the Monument Protection Act of the State of Baden-Württemberg (DSchG) . Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to approval, and accidental finds are reported to the monument authorities.

literature

Otto Braasch : Aerial archeology in southern Germany . (Small writings on the knowledge of the history of the Roman occupation of Southwest Germany, 30). Württembergisches Landesmuseum, Stuttgart 1983
Walter Lang: Fort, settlement and graves - Romans on the Schonterhöhe, Deggingen, Göppingen district . In: Walter Ziegler (Ed.) On behalf of the Göppingen History and Antiquity Association. V. as well as the Art and History Association Geislingen e. V .: Hohenstaufen / Helfenstein. Historical yearbook for the Göppingen district, volume 11/2001. ISBN 3-87437-463-7
Dieter Planck : Deggingen. Roman camp In: Dieter Planck (Hrsg.): The Romans in Baden-Württemberg. P. 116ff. Theiss, Stuttgart, 2005. ISBN 3-8062-1555-3

Individual evidence

^ Ulrich Klein: Fund coins from Württemberg. The individual finds . In: Archaeological excavations in Baden-Württemberg 2002 . Theiss, Stuttgart 2003. pp. 246-255, here pp. 253 and 255. ISBN 3-8062-1780-7 .
↑ It seems certain that in the Vespasian period, around 73/74 AD, under the governor of the province of Raetia, the expansion of the Alblimes began; it also seems certain that the expansion at the beginning of the Domitian offensive against the Chatten im 83 AD was not yet over. Overall, it must therefore be assumed that the expansion of the entire route might take several years, namely between 73 and 84 or even longer. The timing of the individual forts is quite difficult due to the lack of excavations and the low number of finds.

[1] Ulrich Klein: Fund coins from Württemberg. The individual finds . In: Archaeological excavations in Baden-Württemberg 2002 . Theiss, Stuttgart 2003. pp. 246-255, here pp. 253 and 255. ISBN 3-8062-1780-7 .

[2] It seems certain that in the Vespasian period, around 73/74 AD, under the governor of the province of Raetia, the expansion of the Alblimes began; it also seems certain that the expansion at the beginning of the Domitian offensive against the Chatten im 83 AD was not yet over. Overall, it must therefore be assumed that the expansion of the entire route might take several years, namely between 73 and 84 or even longer. The timing of the individual forts is quite difficult due to the lack of excavations and the low number of finds.