Fort Gernsheim
| Fort Gernsheim | |
|---|---|
| Alternative name | not known |
| limes | ORL NN ( RLK ) |
| Dating (occupancy) | 2nd half of the 1st century AD |
| Type | Cohort fort |
| State of preservation | Ground monument, not visible |
| place | Gernsheim |
| Geographical location | 49 ° 44 '47.8 " N , 8 ° 28' 52.9" E |
| height | 92 m above sea level NHN |
The Gernsheim fort was a Roman military camp in the south of Gernsheim , Groß-Gerau district , which probably housed around 500 Roman soldiers in the second half of the 1st century AD, i.e. it was planned as a cohort fort .
Location and history
Gernsheim was the junction of two Roman roads . A former Roman village ( vicus ) in today's Gernsheim had been known for a long time, an associated fort was only suspected. There was probably also a port on the Rhine to the west of the site . The small fort Allmendfeld is located further northeast . The Groß-Gerau fort is a good 18 km north .
The fort was discovered by chance in 2014 during excavations on a plot of land on Nibelungenstrasse in Gernsheim that was to be built on.
Head of the excavation, intended as a teaching excavation for archeology students at the University of Frankfurt, was Thomas Maurer, scientific assistant at the Institute for Archaeological Sciences at Frankfurt University.
With the discovery of the vicus and the fort about 500 meters south of the old town center of Gernsheim, assumptions have been refuted that the remains of the fort are located under the main church in the village.
Finding
References to a fort come from the excavations around 1900 at the latest, which assigned stamped bricks of the 1st ( Legio I Germanica ) and 14th Legion ( Legio XIIII Gemina ) found on the southern side of Gernsheim to the Gernsheim fort, which was only suspected at the time.
During the excavation in 2014, one of the pointed trenches of the fort was cut, which was filled with remains by the soldiers and remaining residents of the vicus when the fort was abandoned. Among other things, there were post holes in a wooden tower.
The numerous finds that are currently being further processed allow a deep insight into Roman history. Use is believed to have been in the period from 70 to 110 AD. A brick found bears the stamp of the Legio XXII Primigenia , which was stationed in Mogontiacum , today's Mainz . A coin from AD 84 to 85 shows an image of Emperor Domitian . Other finds, melon pearls and leftover dishes , indicate that the cohort was at least partially equipped with horses. Amphorae remains and everyday ceramics (e.g. remains of a terracotta figure and terra sigillata ) complete the findings.
In 2015 the excavation was continued and the remains of the wall of the presumed vicus were excavated. Part of the fort's defensive trench , another, second, small, wedge-shaped defensive trench , two wells and excavation cuts and areas covering around 80 percent of the available excavation area were worked on and examined. In the south-eastern area, remains of the foundation wall of buildings were exposed. Despite the wealth of finds, no definitive statement can yet be made as to whether the fort was located north or south of the trenches, which are roughly in the middle of the investigation area. The immediate connection of buildings in the vicus indicates that the village was only expanded after the fort was laid down or relocated. The defensive trench was systematically filled in and showed a high density of finds. The finds also include around 30 primers and a small dice as well as a small figure that goes with the dice game. A coin from the time of Emperor Hadrian (which, according to the excavation director, can even be narrowed down to the period 134-138), remains of glass, terra sigillata decorated in relief and a wide variety of ceramic and crockery items complete the finds from 2015, but most of them are still being processed must be dated. (As of 2015)
Terra Sigillata found in 2015 can be partially identified as a masculus pottery by the multiple headstamps "OFMAS" and the shape of the vessels according to the database "Names on Terra Sigillata" of the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz of the Leibniz Association . The forms produced by him are comparable and are assigned to a person whose production and trading activities are dated to the Flavian - Trajan period (approx. 70–115 AD). In addition to the British and now Dutch part of the Roman Empire, his goods were also found during excavations in Bickenbach near Gernsheim at an excavated Roman swamp bridge in the area of Nida and Borbetomagus (Worms). The pottery is assigned to the pottery center in La Graufesenque , which was once an important national and long-distance trade .
Exemplary presentation of the found on the Day of the Open Monument on September 13, 2015
Wall remains of buildings in the vicus
Section of the smaller well
Northern excavation area showing the second trench. The large fountain at the water tank was exposed.
Parts of the presented Terra Sigillata finds with the described stamp and its assignment
literature
- Thomas Maurer, Felix Kotzur: Long sought - finally found: on the trail of the Gernsheim Roman fort. In: hessenARCHÄOLOGIE 2014. Yearbook for archeology and palaeontology in Hessen. Theiss, Darmstadt 2015, ISBN 978-3-8062-3203-5 , pp. 99-103.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Angelika Franz: Students accidentally discover a Roman fort. In: Spiegel online , Sep 18. 2014 ( online )
- ↑ Frankfurt archaeologists discover the long sought-after Roman fort Gernsheim. Press release of the University of Frankfurt ( online ( Memento of the original September 24, 2014 Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link is automatically inserted and not yet tested Please review the original and archive link under. Instructions and then remove this notice. )
- ↑ a b Echo online ( online ( memento of the original from September 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. )
- ↑ a b FAZ ( online )
- ↑ a b HR online ( online ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. )
- ^ Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission , Vol. 3–6, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, J. Baer & Company, Frankfurt am Main 1909, no page number available
- ↑ Dankwart Guratzsch : After the drill, Rome's legionaries wanted dill. In: WELT, September 15, 2014 ( online )
- ↑ Oral information from the excavation manager T. Maurer and participating students on the Open Monument Day 2015
- ↑ Darmstädter Echo: 2000 year old Roman fort discovered on September 11, 2015 (p. 5 and online )
- ^ The RGZM Database at Mainz relating to "Names on Terra Sigillata" in English and French; freely accessible since 2016; accessed on October 24, 2018
- ↑ HG Simon: The finds from the area of the swamp bridge near Bickenbach (Darmstadt district) , SJ 34 (1977), pp. 42-77.
Andernach Castle (Antunnacum) | Koblenz Castle (Confluentes) | Kesselstadt Castle | Fort Heldenbergen | Fort Okarben | Friedberg Castle | Fort Nida-Heddernheim | Fort Frankfurt am Main - Domhügel | Höchst Castle | Hofheim Castle | Heidekringen small fort | Legion camp Mainz | Wiesbaden Castle | Fort Mainz-Kastel | Bingen Castle (Bingium) | Groß-Gerau fort | Fort Gernsheim | Small fort Allmendfeld | Fort Worms (Borbetomagus) | Forts of Ladenburg (Lopodunum) | Forts of Heidelberg | Rheingönheim Castle | Eislingen-Salach Castle | Strasbourg legionary camp (Argentoratum) | Castles of Offenburg | Castles of Sasbach | Castles of Riegel | Fort Biesheim (Argentovaria) | Roman camp Untereggingen | Dangstetten Roman Camp | Legion camp Windisch (Vindonissa)