Gunzenhausen fort

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Gunzenhausen fort
limes ORL 71 ( RLK )
Route (RLK) Rhaetian Limes,
route 14
Dating (occupancy) around 150
to 241/42 or at the latest 260 AD
Type Numerus fort
unit number
size approx. 86 × 80 = approx. 0.7 ha
Construction stone
State of preservation completely built over
place Gunzenhausen
Geographical location 49 ° 6 ′ 46 "  N , 10 ° 45 ′ 20"  E
height 416  m above sea level NHN
Previous Dambach Castle (west)
Subsequently Small fort at the Hinteren Schloßbuck (east)
Backwards Unterschwaningen Castle (west-southwest)
Gnotzheim Castle (southwest)
Theilenhofen Castle (southeast)
Location and floor plan at the time of the RLK (1897)

The fort Gunzenhausen was a Roman military camp that close to the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes , a World Heritage Site built and was now completely built in the center of Gunzenhausen in the district of Weissenburg-Gunzenhausen in Bavaria is.

location

Gunzenhausen Fort was built near the northernmost point on the Rhaetian Limes, which curves in a sweeping arc to the north from Fort Aalen (Alae) to Fort Eining (Abusina) on the Danube . Around 300 meters north of the camp, the Roman border installation also runs over the Altmühl . The Roman surveyors and planners had chosen the site on the flood-free east bank very well, as the river basin north of the imperial border, up to ten kilometers wide and often flooded, narrows to around 500 meters at this location. Therefore, in pre-Roman times, people had already crossed the river at this point by fords and bundled the traffic routes here. To the east of the camp, the Roman border wall rises over the ridge of the "Vorderen Schloßbuck", the 485 m high dominating mountain ridge in this region, at the highest point of which a Bismarck monument was erected in 1901 , for which stones from the Rhaetian Wall were also used.

Research history

As can be seen at many fort sites, the post-Roman residents built a church in the fort area. The Benedictine monastery of Gunzinhusir, first mentioned in 823, was the nucleus of today's city in Gunzenhausen. The Protestant parish church covers almost the entire southern part of the fortification. In the Middle Ages, the Gunzenhausen river crossing was an important point along the long-distance connections of that time.

From 1897, Heinrich Eidam , a route commissioner for the Reichs-Limeskommission (RLK), conducted research under the most difficult conditions at this site due to the overbuilding. With a few successful probes and excavation cuts , he was obviously able to capture the defensive wall and parts of the Principia , the staff building in the middle of the fort.

Building history

Simplified attempt at reconstruction of the fort, which is limited to the ancient stone building

Research assumes that the Gunzenhausen numerus fort was built in the course of strengthening the border fortifications, which included an oak palisade. Dendrochronological examinations of the Rhaetian provincial border near the small fort Kleindeinbach (winter 163/164) as well as west of the Limestor Dalkingen near Schwabsberg (late year 165, possibly spring 166) have established the date of origin of this palisade as around 165 AD.

The approximately 86 × 80 meters (= 0.7 hectare) large, almost exactly in north-south direction, is not aligned at right angles. The principia also seem to be somewhat distorted, which could be attributed to measurement errors with the groma . If the only fragmentary findings about the Gunzenhausen camp were correct, the complex with its praetorial front , the side facing the enemy, was directed to the north, towards the border installations. A pointed ditch has been recognized in front of the defensive wall. The excavator Eidam determined a gate in the east and one in the south. Thus the system would have had four gates, which Günter Ulbert and Thomas Fischer did not consider safe.

A coin hoard of 339 silver coins , raised around 420 meters east of the fort in 1953 , which came into the ground with a German invasion in 241 or 242 AD, could indicate that the fortification was still standing or had been repaired after the first Alemanni storm in 233. A thick layer of fire in the storage area suggests at least a violent end. In Kastell Kösching , a coin treasure of 240 denarii was also found around 125 meters east of the fort wall, which contains a final coin minted in 241 . After all coin rows from the Kösching vicus also break off with this, it is assumed that both the fort and the settlement were abandoned or destroyed under unexplained circumstances. The Köschinger final coin coincides exactly with a coin find from Gunzenhausen, which could make a simultaneity of the events clear.

The massing of towers in the area of ​​the "Schloßbuck" to the east is extraordinary and can possibly only be explained by the Limes passage located there. Why this passage was not laid out on the plain at Gunzenhausen Castle, but on the ridge, which was difficult for travelers, cannot be clarified. The significant structural changes to this section of the Limes can perhaps be explained by changed requirements.

Troop

The border guards assigned to Gunzenhausen, unknown by name, were most likely a 100 to 200 strong number (Eng. "Unit"), which was probably assigned by the Gnotzheim fort or perhaps the Theilenhofen fort . These hundreds belonged to the Roman auxiliary troops, but were not as standardized as the auxilia , which were already an integral part of the Roman army in the founding days of the Numbers . The numbers were created at the end of the 1st century when the first Limes routes were established. The need for smaller units for border surveillance grew enormously, which also had financial consequences for the empire. For example, young locals were recruited regionally and assigned to newly established locations with lower pay and less strict standards. The Numbers were like the Auxilia named after their original ethnic origin and not received clearly at discharge Roman citizenship. According to the archaeologist Dietwulf Baatz , the Gunzenhäuser Numerus could have been subordinate to the much larger Fort Theilenhofen.

Vicus

So far, no reliable traces of the camp village, the vicus , have been found. It is also completely built over.

Finds

In 1953 a coin treasure was recovered east of the fortification, the final coin of which, an Antoninian , was minted in 242 AD. The archaeologist and numismatist Hans-Jörg Kellner determined the time of the second Alemannic invasion around the year 242/243 from this year and a related find from the Kösching fort . The first, 233, most likely wiped out Fort Pfünz and Staubing , among others . The Köschinger find was set for the summer of 241. At that time, Emperor Gordian III ruled . (238-244). Since in 242/243 the Großprüfening small fort in Regensburg , the Künzing fort as well as the extensive Roman settlement near Pocking , Passau district , and other places must have been overrun, the research is based on a large-scale attack against the Rhaetian and Upper Germanic Limes as well as against the Rhaetian Danube border. In Pocking the final layer of fire hid an Antoninian of 241/243 or 240, which had only been in circulation for a short time. In Künzing an ace was found almost completely fresh from the same period . The building inscription from the small bath of Fort Jagsthausen , which was created in the years 244 to 247, stands for the time of the reconstruction after this onslaught .

Limes course from Gunzenhausen fort

Traces of the Limes between the Gunzenhausen fort and the small fort on the Hinteren Schloßbuck
ORL Name / place Description / condition
Wp 14/1 "On the Spitalstrasse" Like the Limes, the watchtower, around 300 meters north of Gunzenhausen Fort, is located in the middle of the city and is not visible. Subsequent excavations were able to identify a “block house” - as Eidam called the wooden watchtowers of the Limes - as well as the remains of unclear stone towers 40 meters to the west.
Wp 14/2 "On Hensoltstrasse" The tower point is no longer visible. The Limes wall ran under the southern house front of Hensoltstrasse, the previously only conjectured tower was uncovered in 1950 during construction work. According to Wp 14/2, the Limes rises up the 485 meter high "Vorderen Schloßbuck" into the Burgstallwald .
Wp 14/3 "Am Vorderen Schloßbuck"

The remains of the wooden and stone tower hill, still visible at the time of the Imperial Limes Commission, have now been completely removed. Between Wp 14/3 and Wp 14/4 the Limes wall had partially fallen to the north and therefore remained largely protected in the ground from later stone robbery. This made it possible to determine the minimum height of the wall in this area at 2.60 meters.

Wp 14/4 "On the Vorderen Schloßbuck"
Attempt to reconstruct the course of the Limes from Wp 14/4 to Wp 14/5.
Wp 14/4 with the Limes wall
The Bismarck Tower
Location of Wp 14/4
Layers of Wp 14/4 and Wp 14/5 with a prehistoric ring wall

The tower, which was unusually large with 4.7 × 6.3 meters, was re-examined, preserved and partially reconstructed by the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in 1980 , stood dominantly on the ridge and offered a wide view. The ring wall, on which Wp 14/4 lies, dates back to prehistoric times and is therefore much older than assumed by older research. A noticeable feature of this facility is also an intermediate wall that was subsequently drawn inside the tower. During the tower restoration in 1980, the course of the older wooden palisade was indicated at this point with wooden trunks. The size of the tower could indicate its double use, which required more staff, because to the west of this place Eidam discovered a passage through the Limes during the first excavations at Wp 14/4 in 1887, which it was during the times of the oak palisade as well as the later one Stone wall has given. In 2007 this tower was renovated again and the now rotten oak palisade was renewed. West of Wp 14/4 there is a Bismarck monument erected in 1901 on which the inscription proclaims it was built “ from stone blocks of an Alemannic wall and stones from the Roman wall ”. In order to have a line of sight with Wp 14/5, this tower must have been at least five meters high.

Wp 14/5 "On the eastern slope of the Vorderen Schloßbuck"
The sloping Wp 14/5 built against the Limes wall
Location of Wp 14/5

This 5.5 × 7.4 meter tower was erected only 65 meters from Wp 14/4 and is located on the eastern slope of the ridge. The follow-up examination and subsequent partial reconstruction with preservation also took place with him in 1980. A faulty inclusion of the building, which was first excavated by Eidam in 1887, was found in the ORL , as the tower was built later and at a rather oblique angle into the existing Limes wall, whereby the border wall had to be partially removed. To the west of the tower, there was also a passage in the palisade, but not in the stone wall of the Limes. The foundations of a small, square building to the west can no longer be seen. In 2007 the tower foundation was completely renovated. The wall is only visible in small remnants on the following stretch of around 500 meters; only then does it emerge more clearly as a rubble wall. The small fort Hinterer Schloßbuck is now 15 meters south of the wall. In order to have line of sight with Wp 14/4, this tower must have been at least five meters high.

KK Small fort at the rear of the Schloßbuck

Monument protection

The Gunzenhausen fort and the facilities mentioned have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage as a section of the Upper German-Rhaetian Limes since 2005 . In addition, they are protected as registered ground monuments within the meaning of the Bavarian Monument Protection Act (BayDSchG) . Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to authorization, accidental finds must be reported to the monument authorities.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Gunzenhausen Castle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Bernd Becker : Felling dates for Roman construction timbers based on a 2350 year old South German oak tree ring chronology . In Find reports from Baden Württemberg Volume 6. Theiss, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 380621252X , pp. 369–386.
  2. ↑ Wolfgang Czysz, Lothar Bakker: Die Römer in Bayern , Theiss, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3806210586 , p. 123.
  3. ^ Ernst Hollstein : Central European Oak Chronology. von Zabern, Mainz 1980. ISBN 3805300964 , p. 115.
  4. ↑ Dietwulf Baatz: The Roman Limes - Archaeological excursions between the Rhine and the Danube. Mann, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-7861-1701-2 , p. 260.
  5. ^ Anne Johnson (German adaptation by Dietwulf Baatz): Römische Kastelle , von Zabern, Mainz 1987, ISBN 3-8053-0868-X , p. 58.
  6. ^ Günter Ulbert , Thomas Fischer: The Limes in Bavaria . Theiss, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-8062-0-351-2 , p. 70.
  7. ^ Egon Schallmayer , Mario Becker: Limes . In: Heinrich Beck , Dieter Geuenich , Heiko Steuer (Hrsg.): Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde . Volume 18, Landscape Law - Loxstedt, de Gruyter Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-11-016950-9 , pp. 403-317; here: p. 424. The archaeologist Hans-Jörg Kellner determined the time of the second Alemanni invasion around the year 242/243 from this coin hoard, which came into the ground at the earliest in AD 242 and a related find from the Kösching fort . The first, 233, most likely wiped out Fort Pfünz and Staubing , among others . The Köschinger find was set for the summer of 241. See also: Robert Roeren : On the archeology and history of Southwest Germany in the 3rd to 5th century AD In: Yearbook of the Roman-Germanic Central Museum Mainz. 7th year, Habelt, Bonn 1960, p. 217.
  8. ^ Anne Johnson (German adaptation by Dietwulf Baatz ): Römische Kastelle . von Zabern, Mainz 1987, ISBN 3-8053-0868-X , pp. 36-37.
  9. ↑ a b Dietwulf Baatz: Roman roads in the Ries. In: Guide to the prehistoric monuments 41. Volume 2. Nördlingen, Bopfingen, Oettingen, Harburg. von Zabern, Mainz 1979, p. 264.
  10. ↑ Robert Roeren : On the archeology and history of Southwest Germany in the 3rd to 5th century AD In: Yearbook of the Roman-Germanic Central Museum Mainz. 7th year, Habelt, Bonn 1960, p. 217.
  11. ↑ Thomas Fischer, Michael Altjohann: The Roman Provinces. An introduction to their archeology . Theiss, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 380621591-X , p. 132.
  12. ↑ Hans-Jörg Kellner: The Roman settlement near Pocking (Lower Bavaria) and its end. In: Bavarian Prehistory Sheets 25. 1960, pp. 132–164.
  13. ↑ CIL 13, 6562 ( Figure  ( 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. ).@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www1.ku-eichstaett.de  
  14. ↑ ORL = numbering of the Limes structures according to the publication of the Reich Limes Commission on the O bergermanisch- R ätischen- L imes
  15. ↑ 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.
  16. ↑ Wp 14/1 at 49 ° 6 '57.53 "  N , 10 ° 45' 10.49"  O .
  17. ↑ Wp 14/2 at 49 ° 6 '58.62 "  N , 10 ° 45' 34.64"  O .
  18. ^ Wilhelm Schleiermacher : The Roman Limes in Germany. An archaeological guide for road trips and hikes. Mann, Berlin 1967, p. 180.
  19. ↑ Wp 14/3 at 49 ° 6 '59.81 "  N , 10 ° 46' 0.97"  O .
  20. ↑ Wp 14/4 at 49 ° 7 '0.57 "  N , 10 ° 46' 18.7"  O .
  21. ↑ Wp 14/5 at 49 ° 7 '0.93 "  N , 10 ° 46' 26.95"  O .
  22. ↑ KK = unnumbered K linseed K astell.
  23. ↑ Small fort on the Hinteren Schloßbuck at 49 ° 7 ′ 0.62 ″  N , 10 ° 46 ′ 51.25 ″  E