Murrhardt Castle

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Georeferencing Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap
Murrhardt Castle
limes ORL 44 ( RLK )
Route (RLK) Upper German Limes
Vorderer Limes, route 9
Dating (occupancy) around AD 159/160 to AD
259/260 at the latest
Type Cohort and numerus fort
unit a) Cohors XXIV voluntariorum civium Romanorum ,
b) Exploratores Boiorum et Tribocorum or Numerus exploratorum Boiorum et Tribocorum
size 135.5 (131.40) m × 164 m
(= 2.2 ha)
Construction a) wood-earth
b) stone
State of preservation The fort area was built over in the second half of the 20th century; Parts of the military bath were salvaged as a block and integrated into the "Medical Center at the Römerbad"
place Murrhardt
Geographical location 48 ° 58 ′ 37.6 "  N , 9 ° 34 ′ 55.9"  E
height 301  m above sea level NHN
Previous Small fort Hankertsmühle (north)
Subsequently Small fort Ebnisee (south)
The northern section of the Vorderen Limes with the older Neckar-Odenwald-Limes to the west
Location of the fort in Murrhardt, 1892

The Murrhardt fort was a Roman cohort fort of the principal on the "Vorderen Limes" , a section of the "Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes", which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. The one in the area of ​​today's town of Murrhardt in the Rems-Murr district , Baden-Württemberg .

location

The north-easterly orientation of the fort in the deeply cut valley of the Murr is determined by the course of the Limes as well as by the river that flows off in the area of ​​the garrison in an east-west direction. As in most of the fort sites in the Limes region, attempts were made to orient the Praetorial Front , the side of the camp facing the enemy, largely towards the border. The location on the slope of the Riesberg was chosen to be flood-proof on the southern valley floor. The flanks of this mountain were built over with houses and allotment gardens only since the 1960s. Today's Riesbergstrasse follows the course of one of the former main warehouse streets, the Via principalis . Today's Evangelical Parish Office II is located above the former vestibule of the staff building (Principia) . The ancient border is 1.2 kilometers away and runs almost exactly in a north-south direction. An explanation for the unusually large distance between the fort and the Limes is being sought in a narrow section of the Murrtal valley, which is in the vicinity of the border fortifications. There were no opportunities to erect major military structures here. With its location in the river valley, the garrison garrison was able to block or control access from the Barbaricum to Roman territory. To what extent the comparatively flat Murr could also ensure a quick supply of the troops on the waterway, should be open.

Roads connecting the forts in Welzheim and Mainhardt as well as in the rear hinterland to Benningen at the confluence of the Murr into the Neckar, the former location of the cohort, can be assumed to be secure. The military road to the mouth of the Murr only followed the Murrtal as far as Oppenweiler and then ran roughly over the Großaspach and Rielingshausen line to the mouth of the Mur. Individual sections of this road have been verified. Above the mouth of the Murr, in the area of ​​the Häldenmühle, various finds in Gewann Au indicated a Roman-era ship landing stage on the right bank of the Neckar opposite Benningen. Thus, the water supply route for the fort probably converged with the land supply route at this point.

Research history

As the name “Bürg” expresses, the knowledge of the existence of an old, once populated site was probably never completely lost. Murrhardt's Roman antiquities have already been mentioned by Philipp Apian (1534) and Martin Crusius ( annales Suevici , 1595). The relevant literature of the 19th century also addressed the Roman prehistory of this place. For example, the historian and librarian Christoph Friedrich von Stälin (1805–1873) noted three ancient inscriptions in the first part of his Wirtemberg history , published in 1841 . When the road was built from Murrhardt to Vorderwestermurr between 1876 and 1878, the stone walls surrounding the fort were cut. As a result, the first systematic excavations took place in 1885 by the then newly founded antiquity association for the Murrtal and the surrounding area. In November and December 1892, excavations were carried out in the area of ​​the fence and on the staff building on behalf of the Reichs-Limeskommission by senior civil engineer Christian Hämmerle , the responsible track commissioner. With the beginning of the almost complete overbuilding, the State Office for Monument Preservation had to examine sections of the rear storage area, the Retentura , in 1973, 1975, 1977 and 1979/1980 , whereby in addition to the fencing also at the trenches and in particular in the vicinity of the Via decumana running inside the fort took place.

In 1988 a small section of the civil settlement was examined and on September 22, 2010 the fort bath, which had not been localized until then, was discovered by Christian Schweizer, the director of the Carl Schweizer Museum , during excavation work for the future Murrhardt medical center on Obermühlenweg. Negotiations between the local government and the investor enabled construction to be halted by November 30 of the same year. In the following two-month emergency excavation, the valuable building remains were examined and initially documented under the direction of the Provincial Roman archaeologist Andreas Thiel , senior curator at the State Office for Monument Preservation in Baden-Württemberg and Stephan Papadopoulus, also an archaeologist at the State Monument Office. Since an underground car park was to be built in place of the bathroom due to the plans that could not be changed by the investor, the building could not be preserved at its location. Due to negotiations and compromises, however, it was possible, with great technical effort, to saw the best-preserved structural remains, the semicircular apse and another section of the wall, into two blocks weighing tons, to salvage them and ultimately to move them into almost the same location, offset by around two meters in height to integrate the new medical center.

Building history

Dating approach

Overview plan and details at Murrhardt Fortress, 1892

With the advancement of the Limes, many soldiers moved into a new garrison location. The old forts, now located in the Limes hinterland, were mostly abandoned. The long-planned change of garrison to the new camp in Murrhardt, which was pushed further east, was an organizational masterpiece, as it ultimately affected all forts along the Neckar-Odenwald-Limes . The ancient historian Géza Alföldy (1935–2011) determined in 1983 based on the epigraphic evidence from Böckingen known at the time that the cohort located there was still at the Neckar for at least 148 years.

As the research and comparison with other forts advanced on the Front Limes showed, the forts on the Front Limes were only built at the end of or shortly after the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161). Apart from the archaeological excavation results, there is so far no direct ancient written evidence of the construction of the Vorderen Limes . After evaluating two inscriptions found in the Mediterranean, Alföldy speculated that the Limes stretch of the Front Limes had been expanded "around 155" under the Upper Germanic governor Gaius Popilius Carus Pedo (around 152–155). At least important military activities or troop movements must have taken place. The scientist placed himself in the tradition of the archeology pioneer Ernst Fabricius (1857–1942), who had already determined this period in 1902.

Newer finds and methods could possibly frame this assumption more precisely or correct it in terms of time. The felling date of the winter 159/160 AD could be determined on the earliest dendrochronologically analyzable timber from the beneficiary consecration district at the Osterburken fort in the north . However, under the temple there was a stone spring with a nymph and dedicatory inscription, which was stratigraphically undoubtedly older. Alföldy's research suggests that the construction of the spring catchment could have occurred during the governorship of Gaius Popilius Carus Pedo. The Osterburken cohort bath investigated from 2004 onwards offered further datable material. It should be noted that the oak posts from the first construction phase, which had been preserved in the groundwater, were felled in the late year of AD 164. According to the provincial Roman archaeologist Klaus Kortüm from the Baden-Württemberg State Office for the Preservation of Monuments, further Osterburkener woods could be dated to the year 161 AD, which supports the assumption that the actual Front Limes was only with the Rhaetian Limes - from which the corresponding dates - was built in a cross-provincial expansion shortly after the death of Emperor Antoninus Pius (January 161). An important basis for this thesis is the consideration that the construction of the cohort baths in Osterburken could in all probability not have taken place insignificantly later than the construction of the fort. According to Kortüm, a significant presence of Roman troops before 160 AD is becoming increasingly unlikely, at least for Osterburken. The reassessment of the consecration stones of the centurion Veranius Saturninus , who still had the Numerusbad of Neckarburken rebuilt and enlarged by his unit, the Barracked Numerus Brittonum Elantiensium (unit of the Elzbrittons) in 158 AD , suggests a move around 160 AD . Chr. think. The centurion also left a consecration stone at his new garrison town of Osterburken - albeit without a date.

The thesis of a later dating approach of the Vorderen Limes raises new questions. The date around 160 AD not only makes the Osterburken nymphaeum, which is older in time, more puzzling. Some older Roman mines were found under the cohort bath of Osterburken, which have nothing to do with the construction of the thermal baths. The archaeologists recovered organic remains, roots, wood waste and some processed wood here. Small amounts of Roman pottery were also found. The evaluation of these finds is still pending. There is also the oldest datable fragment of inscription from the “Vorderen Limes” from the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius from the Jagsthausen fort , which needs to be assigned. Only new discoveries and analyzes will possibly make a final assessment of the events at that time possible.

Wood-earth warehouse

During the excavations in the 1970s, several construction phases could be identified. The oldest finds from this fort date from shortly after AD 150, however, on the edge of the rear camp road, the Via decumana , a 1.2 × 1.2 meter wood-paneled fountain was found by the forest scientist Bernd Becker (1940– 1994) dendrochronologically, which was created around 159 AD . The well was three meters deep and contained large amounts of pottery. This very early date for Murrhardt's Roman past roughly coincides with the results obtained in 1988 in the Rössle Quartier on the grounds of the camp village. The woods examined there were felled in 161 and 162 AD. The wood-earth warehouse was the same size as the later stone structure and was probably also equipped with two surrounding trenches. The rear gate system could be proven to be four meters wide and was equipped with gate cheeks turning at right angles. In 1973 and 1979 an older row of posts following the course of the wall was discovered in the southern storage area along the inner wall belonging to the younger defensive wall. As observed in many other fort sites, the stone fence was later simply placed in front of the older wooden wall fortifications.

Stone fort

Enclosure

Only a few years later, the stone extension was built. The new facility, covering an area of ​​around 2.2 hectares, has an approximately rectangular floor plan, typical of the Middle Imperial period, of around 135.5 meters for the front (praetentura) and 131.40 meters for the rear (retentura) . The two flanks measure about 164 meters. The width of the wall foundation of the defensive wall was 1.30 meters. The building material consists mainly of the Keupers sandstone in the area . The foundations consisted of unprocessed rubble stones, the rising masonry in turn from hewn blocks. The corners of the fort were rounded to a radius of around ten meters (playing card shape). Christian Hämmerle estimated their height to be over five meters. During the excavation of 1892, the road (Via sagularis) running along the wall was found several times on all sides of the fort, with a width of 3.30 to 3.60 meters still clearly recognizable at its edges. It ran at a distance of 8.5 to 11 meters in front of the inner line of the enclosing wall. Three larger tower platforms as well as a gate flanked by towers in the long sides have been identified along the wall. The gates facing south-west and north-east, Porta praetoria and Porta decumana , were found in the middle, the two principal gates observed on the flanks were considerably closer to the front. Only the Porta praetoria was two-lane, with a wall separating the two passages ( spina ) and measured a total of 7.85 meters. The camp wall was preceded by two circumferential trenches as additional obstacles to approach, the inner one was measured with a width of six meters and a depth of 1.80 meters, the outer one was nine meters wide and two meters deep. The excavations in 1979 and 1980 showed that the stone defensive wall partially showed signs of severe damage. Post pits of strong scaffolding that had been erected in the area of ​​the Breme support this finding.

Interior development

The cellar under the flag sanctuary uncovered during the excavation in the 19th century

The 46.4 × 38.4 meter principia (staff building) had already been excavated in the 19th century . A largely standardized building typical of the middle imperial era could be identified, in which the administration tracts were grouped around an inner courtyard and in front of which was a large , rectangular multi-purpose hall above the Via principalis . In the rear, western part of the building, the flag sanctuary (Aedes principiorum) was built in, which protruded with its semicircular apse from the wall compound of the Principia rear. The forces acting on the walls of the apse were absorbed by two additional support pillars. Semicircular apses were used for the flag sanctuaries after the middle of the 2nd century AD. In 1885, two neatly crafted sandstone pedestals were found in situ in the courtyard of the staff building . The two honorary inscriptions on the presumed bases of larger than life statues that have not survived refer to Julia Domna († 217), the wife of Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211), and Emperor Severus Alexander (222-235). The two inscriptions also name the cohort stationed in Murrhardt. The stairs to the basement under the sanctuary, where the troop's cash register was kept, was still in good condition when it was found. When it was found, the cellar itself contained fragments of a smaller sandstone altar and a fragment of a figure, presumably a representation of Jupiter.

The rest of the interior development was, as far as comprehensible, largely made of wood. The prehistorian Rüdiger Krause was able to identify two phases that were separated from each other by a leveled fire horizon. In the older phase belong the remains of a team barracks as well as other buildings behind the Principia , which could either have belonged to a Fabrica (workshop) or a Valetudinarium (military hospital). Another, adjacent building can perhaps be addressed as a horse stable. Two horrea (granaries) were built over these buildings after the fire disaster, which according to the finder's certificate must have taken place between 170 and 190 AD . The temporal position of the horizon of destruction coincides with the findings from the Ostkastell in Welzheim . There, the corresponding fire layer was associated with the Marcomann Wars (166-180). The repair work on the fort wall may also have to be carried out at this time. Along the rear camp road, the Via decumana , drainage ditches ran out to the gate on both sides.

Post-ancient use

A document dated to the year 817 about the founding of the Murrhardt Monastery reports that Emperor Ludwig the Pious ordered that his castle (castrum nostre) , which would be called Hünenburg (quod vulgo Hunemburg dicitur) be demolished and the monastery church from the stones obtained to build. As we know today, this document is a forgery from the 12th century, but it can be assumed that some of the statements made there go back to older documents. It is not unusual for ancient or prehistoric monuments in the Middle Ages were considered works of giants ( giants were built). The name “Bürg”, which denotes the location of the fort, can be seen as a further indication that the royal castle complex named in the founding deed of the monastery meant remnants of the fort that still existed at that time. The fort may have served as a location for a Frankish occupation, especially since Murrhardt was on the border between the semi-autonomous Alemannic duchy and the Franks . That would mean that the building was still standing so far that it could be used again. After the Alemannic Duchy was terminated by the Cannstatter Blood Court in 746, this place is likely to have lost its importance for the Franconian kings, so that its demolition could be ordered in favor of the church.

The various excavations in the area have provided no evidence of such use. However, in 1973 and 1979, various dry-set sections of the wall were observed within and parallel to the stone defense, the meaning of which has so far remained unclear and which could be attributed to post-fort use, but by no means necessarily derived from the documented tradition above.

Fort bath

Remains of the apse of the fort bath from the excavation in November 2010. On the ground, remains of ashes from the ancient underfloor heating are clearly visible

About 80 meters from the northern corner of the Roman garrison and around 10 meters lower than the fort, the remains of the fort bath were discovered in 2010. Under time pressure, the excavators were able to uncover and archaeologically examine the south side of the building with a semicircular apse , remains of a cold water basin and remains of the heating system. According to Thiel's estimates, the dimensions of the west-east-facing complex, which was built with the fort around AD 159/160, were around 50 × 15 meters. The building, which has been rebuilt several times, belongs to the row bath type well known in the Limes. The bath was probably only destroyed by stone robbery in the course of the medieval expansion by Murrhardt.

A special feature was a large canal that ran directly next to the excavation site, its function could no longer be precisely determined and was lined with neatly crafted sandstone slabs. It turned out that this underground structure was able to drain off considerably more water than was necessary due to the swimming pool. Presumably, the artificial watercourse also served as a sewer for other buildings in the adjacent civil settlement and thus possibly provides an indication of a regulated drainage system, which was often only standard in large Roman settlements.

The finds include brick stamps with the abbreviation XXIIII COH . They show that the Cohors XXIV voluntariorum civium Romanorum stationed here built the building.

troops

The following crew units are known for Murrhardt:

Time position Troop name comment
2nd century AD Cohors XXIV voluntariorum civium Romanorum quinquenaria
(24th volunteer cohort of Roman citizens, 500 strong) 		The name of the unit is handed down here through the two above-mentioned inscriptions on the pedestal found in 1885 and through a brick stamp - recovered during the excavation of the fort baths - but also on monument inscriptions known since the 16th and 17th centuries. The name of a tribune of the 24th volunteer cohort has been preserved on another inscription. Sextus Iulius Florus Victorinus, son of Decimus, from the Horatia tribe . A tribe of this name existed both in the vicinity of Rome and in Africa.

After Fund ID these auxiliaries unit (stand Auxiliary ) under the Flavians (69-96 n. Chr.) In West Fort III of Heidelberg-New home . There it is said to have been replaced later under Emperor Domitian (81-96) by the Cohors II Augusta Cyrenaica equitata (second Augustan partially mounted cohort of Cyrenaica). The ancient historian Rainer Wiegels suspects that the volunteer cohort was still in Heidelberg-Neuenheim for some time before they were assigned.

Around 90 the unit was either relocated to Benningen or before that it was deployed in the Sulz fort on the Neckar-Odenwald-Limes , as the archaeologist Dietwulf Baatz assumed. Presumably it was actually barracked in Benningen after the Sulzer garrison was abandoned in the early 2nd century and after this location was closed around 150 it was assigned to the newly established Front Limes section in Murrtal.

2nd century AD Exploratores Boiorum et Tribocorum or Numerus exploratorum Boiorum et Tribocorum
(a scout unit of the Boier and Tribocers ) 		According to an inscription found in Benningen, the unit had been assigned to support the 24th volunteer cohort since Hadrianic times. This unit is also known from a spolie (tombstone) of the centurion Marcus Cossius Natalis, discovered in 1973 during excavations in the Murrhardt town church .

It is not known whether the unit, which was referred to as Exploratores ( Marcus Reuter ) or as Numerus exploratorum ( Rainer Wiegels ), depending on the completion of the fragmented traditional Murrhardt inscription , was also housed in the cohort fort or in a second, smaller fortification near Murrhardt. If such a second fortification ever existed, it must have been in the immediate vicinity of the border wall, i.e. in the Murrtal and a little further east of the cohort fort.

Civil settlement

Arch constructions on the path leading to the Walterichskirche at the cemetery, they probably date from Roman times

The large civil settlement belonging to the fort, the vicus , extended northwest of the left flank of the military installation in the valley low in the area of ​​the Murrhardt old town and southwest of the rear of the fort on a gently sloping slope. The fort vicus is today under modern buildings, in the north also under the medieval town center. Various sites of Roman relics are mentioned there. The dendrochronological examination and dating of the wooden cladding of a ten-meter-deep well uncovered in the spring of 1988 during construction work in the Rössle quarter has shown that the trees used for this purpose were felled in the summer of 161 and 162. However, the well was soon abandoned and filled up in the second half of the 2nd century. In addition, a four-meter-deep, oak-paneled cistern was uncovered that had been sunk into the natural clay soil. This floor also formed the sole. The wood of this building could also be dated to the year 162.

An inscription found in 1598 during the construction work on the Mühlkanal in the Obermühle, which is dated between 151 and 250, reports on the rebuilding or restoration of an older Mithra temple by the military tribune Sextus Iulius Florus Victorinus. The location is assumed to be on the ancient arterial road north-west of the fort. The ancient historian Elmar Schwertheim speculated that this sanctuary was originally built in the 2nd century. Excavations that took place in 1963 in the area of ​​the tower of the Walterichskirche unearthed massive Roman foundations, which are believed to belong to a temple and which perhaps even stood in part around 700 AD, when the oldest wooden church was on this Place was established. However, it does not necessarily have to be the Mithras shrine that has been handed down in writing. The fact that the inscription naming this was found in a completely different place - in the area of ​​the Obermühle - would suggest that the temple complex should be viewed as another sanctuary of the settlement. The discovery of numerous fragments of urns speaks for the location of the Roman burial ground also on the hill of Walterichskirche, over which part of the local cemetery extends even today.

vegetation

As the findings from the well examined in 1988 showed, there was agreement in the vegetation of the microclimate in the Murrtal during the second half of the 2nd century with the results of the intensively researched well finds from the east fort of Welzheim. The scientists were able to recover 84 construction and equipment timbers in the Murrhardter Brunnen, which could be examined. It was found that oak (54%) and fir (25%) dominated, followed by ash (8%), maple (7%), beech (4%) and hazel and alder (1% each). Oaks and firs also dominated the Welzheimer Brunnen 2, which was also closed in the second half of the 2nd century.

The cistern discovered at the same time in Murrhardt even offered 183 woods and showed a slightly different composition of fir (28%), oak (18%), juniper (18%), beech (13%) and ash (10%). The strong presence of juniper, which was not part of the original vegetation in this area, testifies to the clearing of the forests at that time. The processed wood from the well and cistern made up the smaller share. It was found that the processed oak (37%) was ahead of the fir (25%), beech (15%), ash (8%), alder, hazel and maple.

Lost property

The sword hilt with eagle pommel

In the Carl-Schweizer-Museum Roman objects, especially from Murrhardt and the nearby Limes watchtowers, are on display. One of the most valuable objects was a 1.15 kg heavy bronze sword with a handle in the shape of an eagle's head, which belonged to a larger-than-life imperial statue. This find was recovered in 1954 together with two bronze spikes west of the fort.

Limes course between the Murrhardt fort and the small fort Ebnisee

Visible remains and course of the Limes structures in this section
ORL Name / place Description / condition
ORL 44 Murrhardt Castle see above
Wp 9/100 "Lutzensägmühle" The tower site is only suspected.
Wp 9/101 "Köchersberg" The tower site is only suspected.
Wp 9/102 "Köchersberg / Langen" The Roman soldiers had a very good view from this watchtower, built on the southern edge of the Murr valley slope . The overgrown mound of rubble can be clearly seen.
Wp 9/103 A wayside shrine was erected in the area of ​​the presumed watchtower in the Middle Ages . At this point the “Heidenwald” begins. Since the Limes has to overcome difficult topographical terrain from here, its wall is still very well preserved.
Wp 9/104 "Eichwald" The stone tower was already mentioned in the basic work The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes of the Roman Empire (ORL). However, a drawing shown there is incorrect. In 1963/1964, the local researcher R. Schweizer preserved the 0.85 to 0.90 meter thick, rising masonry to around 0.50 meters.
Wp 9/105 "Spruce" Wp 9/105 lay on a steep mountain nose protruding into the upper Murrtal. The extent to which excavations were carried out here in the 19th century is not known. However, several employees of the Reich Limes Commission confirm that they have seen the tower. The tower site has been destroyed and is in the area of ​​a small quarry, which is already described in the ORL.
Wp 9/106 "Klosterreute" The tower site on a rock outcrop is only suspected. There are larger piles of reading stones below the location.
Wp 9/107 "Gies / Kohl" The stone tower with a diameter of around eleven meters was examined as early as the 19th century and described in the ORL. After that, the walls were 0.70 meters thick. The excavators were also able to find a drainage ditch running around it. Today the interior has been completely exposed, the walls are still around 0.50 meters high.
Wp 9/108 "Cabbage" The tower site is only suspected.
Wp 9/109 "Upper Forest" The stone tower was excavated before the work of the RLK began and was probably square. Today nothing can be made out at this point; from here up to Wp 9/111 the remains of the Limes can be seen particularly well.
Wp 9/110 "Upper Forest" The tower location is already mentioned in the ORL and can possibly be recognized by some stones lying around.
Wp 9/111 "Rehwald / Behwald" On the Fornsbach – Ebnisee road, the excellently preserved dam of the Limes and the 0.80 meter high rubble hill from Wp 9/111 can be viewed. The probably square stone tower with a wall thickness of 0.70 meters was excavated by the RLK. A wall approach could be seen at the northeast corner. In addition, the surrounding drainage ditch was identified. In 1997 robbers broke open the site. A very poorly preserved section of the Rhaetian Wall will follow up to Wp 9/111.
Wp 9/112 "Wanne / Halden- and Taubenäcker" The tower site is only suspected.
Wp 9/113 "Halden- and Taubenäcker" The probably rectangular stone tower with a wall thickness of 0.85 meters was excavated in 1896 by the archaeologist Gustav Sixt (1856–1904). Today nothing is visible at this point in a meadow.
Wp 9/114 "Halden- and Taubenäcker" The tower site is only suspected.
Wp 9/115 "Welzheimer Weg" The tower site is only suspected.
Wp 9/116 "Spatzenhof" This watchtower with an informative architectural history is located at 561 meters above sea level on the northern edge of the Welzheimer Liash plateau. After the place was first recognized as a Roman site in October 1814. reported, among others, the historian Andreas Buchner (1776-1854) in 1821 from Rudera (rubble pile). The first systematic excavation was carried out in 1896 by the RLK's line commissioner, Gustav Sixt (1856–1904). The finds that later disappeared consisted of terra sigillata shards, an iron ring and a silver spoon. In 1925, the southwestern corner of the tower was largely destroyed when the adjacent country road was expanded.

On the occasion of the 1977 Federal Horticultural Show in Stuttgart , the Baden-Württemberg State Monuments Office carried out another investigation and subsequent conservation from April 4 to May 6, 1977 under the direction of archaeologist Dieter Planck . At this point, Planck wanted to record the development of the Front Limes as an example , which is why the excavations were larger and more extensive. The 5.90 × 6.0 meter stone tower had two construction phases.

  • Phase I: No traces of an older wooden predecessor were found. Around 17 meters east of the tower point, two almost parallel tombs were found, which may have belonged to a very early phase of the Limes palisade. As a charcoal-like layer of fire lying directly on the loam inside the tower and under the wall showed, the area had probably been burned down before the Limes facilities were built . This was followed by leveling out of completely sterile clay soil and grit. The tower, the inner level of which was raised by around 0.50 meters, was founded from very solid masonry in the center of a rectangular ring moat with rounded corners. On the north side, this trench was 1.50 meters wide and had a detectable depth of 0.50 meters. The width on the west side was around 1.50 to 1.60 meters and on the south side it was 1.10 meters. In the east, on the enemy side, the trench exposed with a 0.80 to 0.90 meter wide transition. A wooden palisade erected around this tower as an obstacle was not discovered. Only in a further expansion stage of the Limes was the Roman imperial border secured with ramparts and ditches, whereby the rampart approaching the tower ceased shortly before and behind the tower. It is possible that this tower went under during the first Alemanni storm in 233 AD and had to be replaced as a result. Before the new tower was built, a construction team filled in the moat of the older tower. Isolated fragments come from this filling. They belong to the first expansion phase and mark the end of it.
  • Phase II: According to Planck's knowledge, the tower trench was backfilled in the course of the expansion and reinforcement of the Limes facilities in front of it, because now the earth dam of the wall should be led past the tower site without interruptions, cutting the tower trench and this therefore serves its function as Lost drainage and weir ditches. Nevertheless, the Romans did not want to give up the original location of the tower with its solid foundation. Therefore, after completion, the new building sat with its eastern half in the middle of the wall, whereby the unusable rubble from the previous building was used for the construction of this wall. The reconstruction itself was makeshift. The volatility of execution suggests great urgency. At the latest when the Limes fell around AD 259/260, the entire country was evacuated by the Romans.

Most of the finds, mainly ceramics, come from inside the tower. After viewing the recovered mortars and jugs, Planck suspected connections to a well-known, large Roman pottery in Waiblingen . Research assumes that this tower, the highest on the entire Front Limes , was a main survey point on this route. Fire signals could reach the tower, about 75 kilometers away, near the small fort Hönehaus . One of the best-preserved routes on the Upper German-Rhaetian Limes begins here over a length of 1.5 kilometers. The small fort Ebnisee is located near Wp 9/116.

Wp 9/117 Ebnisee small fort

Monument protection

The area of ​​Fort Murrhardt and parts of the civil settlement are excavation protection areas. The north-east and south-west gates and the flag sanctuary of the staff building are cultural monuments within the meaning of the Monument Protection Act of the State of Baden-Württemberg (DSchG) and part of the UNESCO World Heritage . Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to approval, and accidental finds are reported to the monument authorities.

See also

literature

  • Dietwulf Baatz : The Roman Limes. Archaeological excursions between the Rhine and the Danube . Mann, Berlin 1993.
  • Christian Hämmerle in: Ernst Fabricius , Felix Hettner , Oscar von Sarwey (eds.): The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes of the Roman Empire . Department B, Volume IV, Fort No. 44 (1929).
  • Rüdiger Krause : Interesting building finds on the wall of the cohort fort in Murrhardt, Rems-Murr-Kreis . In: Archaeological excavations in Baden-Württemberg 1979, Theiss, Stuttgart 1980, p. 84 ff.
  • Rüdiger Krause: New investigations at the Roman cohort fort in Murrhardt, Rems-Murr-Kreis In: Find reports from Baden-Württemberg 9 (1984), pp. 289–358.
  • Konrad Miller : Murrhardt's fort. In: The Roman forts in Württemberg. Weise, 1892, p. 29 ff.
  • Dieter Planck : Murrhardt (WN). Cohort fort. In the S. (Ed.): The Romans in Baden-Württemberg . Theiss, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8062-1555-3 , pp. 218-220.
  • Dieter Planck, Willi Beck: The Limes in Southwest Germany. 2nd edition, Theiss, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-8062-0496-9 .
  • Manfred Rösch: Botanical finds from Roman wells in Murrhardt, Rems-Murr-Kreis. In: Archaeological excavations in Baden-Württemberg 1988, Theiss, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-8062-0583-3 , pp. 114–118.
  • Rolf Schweizer: Two Roman decorative pins from Murrhardt (Kr. Backnang) and Marbach (Kr. Ludwigsburg). In: Franz Fischer , Wolfgang Kimmig (Red.): Festschrift Gustav Riek for the 65th birthday on May 23, 1965 . Schweizerbart, Stuttgart 1965, pp. 181-183. (= Find reports from Swabia. New series, 17)
  • Rainer Wiegels : Numerus exploratorum Tribocorum et Boiorum. In: Epigraphic Studies. 12, (1981), pp. 309-331.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ A b Marcus Reuter : Studies on the numbers of the Roman Army in the Middle Imperial Era , Dissertation, In: Reports of the Roman-Germanic Commission 80 (1999), pp. 359-569; here p. 364–365 a. Pp. 436-440.
  2. ↑ a b Rainer Wiegels : Numerus exploratorum Tribocorum et Boiorum. In: Epigraphische Studien 12, (1981), pp. 309-331.
  3. ^ Friedrich Hertlein , Peter Goessler : The streets and fortifications of the Roman Württemberg. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1930, pp. 111-116.
  4. ^ Dieter Planck: The Romans in Baden-Württemberg. Theiss, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8062-1555-3 , p. 205.
  5. ↑ Christoph Friedrich von Stälin: Wirtembergischen Geschichte vol. 1. JG Cotta'scher Verlag, Stuttgart, Tübingen 1841, p. 57.
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g Dieter Planck, Willi Beck: The Limes in Southwest Germany . 2nd edition, Theiss, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-8062-0496-9 , p. 82 u. Fig. 84.
  7. ↑ CIL 13, 6469 and CIL 13, 6472
  8. ^ Géza Alföldy : Caius Popilius Carus Pedo and the advancement of the Upper Germanic Limes . In: Find reports from Baden-Württemberg 8, 1983, pp. 55–67; here: p. 56.
  9. ^ Klaus Kortüm: Osterburken. Roman border post between Neckar Valley and Taubergrund. In: Preservation of monuments in Baden-Württemberg. 35, 1/2006, p. 39. ( PDF ( Memento of the original from January 14, 2016 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 notice . ) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.denkmalpflege-bw.de
  10. ↑ Géza Alföldy: The linear demarcation of the Front Limes in Upper Germany and the governorship of Gaius Popilius Carus Pedo . In: Egon Schallmayer (Ed.): Limes Imperii Romani. Contributions to the specialist colloquium “World Heritage Limes” November 2001 in Lich-Arnsburg (= Saalburg-Schriften 6). Roman fort Saalburg, Archaeological Park, Bad Homburg v. d. H. 2004, ISBN 3-931267-05-9 , pp. 7-20.
  11. ↑ Osterburken Castle
  12. ↑ Claus-Michael Hüssen: The Roman settlement in the area around Heilbronn. Theiss, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-8062-1493-X , p. 145.
  13. ↑ AE 1996, 1166 .
  14. ^ Klaus Kortüm: Osterburken. Roman border post between Neckar Valley and Taubergrund. In: Preservation of monuments in Baden-Württemberg. 35, 1/2006, p. 41.
  15. ↑ a b c Klaus Kortüm: Osterburken. Roman border post between Neckar Valley and Taubergrund. In: Preservation of monuments in Baden-Württemberg. 35, 1/2006, p. 44.
  16. ^ Bernhard Albert Greiner: The contribution of the dendrodata from Rainau book to the Limesdatierung. In: Limes XX. Estudios sobre la frontera Romana. Ediciones Polifemo, Madrid 2009, ISBN 978-84-96813-25-0 , p. 1289.
  17. ^ AE 1986, 523 .
  18. ↑ CIL 13, 11766 .
  19. ^ Klaus Kortüm: Osterburken. Roman border post between Neckar Valley and Taubergrund. In: Preservation of monuments in Baden-Württemberg. 35, 1/2006, p. 46.
  20. ↑ Jagsthausen Fort
  21. ↑ CIL 13, 6561 .
  22. ↑ a b c Dieter Planck, Willi Beck: The Limes in Southwest Germany . 2nd edition, Theiss, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-8062-0496-9 , p. 82 u. Fig. 83.
  23. ↑ a b Bernd Becker: Felling dates of 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 3-8062-1252-X , p. 386.
  24. ^ A b Rüdiger Krause: Roman wells in the fort vicus of Murrhardt. In: Archaeological excavations in Baden-Württemberg , 1988, p. 114.
  25. ^ Anne Johnson (German adaptation by Dietwulf Baatz ): Römische Kastelle . von Zabern, Mainz 1987, ISBN 3-8053-0868-X , p. 152.
  26. ↑ Oliver Stoll: Roman Army and Society . Steiner, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-515-07817-7 , p. 186.
  27. ↑ CIL 13, 6531 and CIL 13, 6532 .
  28. ^ Dieter Planck, Willi Beck: The Limes in Southwest Germany . 2nd edition, Theiss, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-8062-0496-9 , p. 96.
  29. ^ Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg: Das Württembergische Urkundenbuch Online, Volume I., No. 78, pp. 87-89
  30. ↑ For the interpretation of the document regarding the subsequent use of the fort, see above all Gerhard Fritz: Kloster Murrhardt im Früh- und Hochmittelalter . Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Ostfildern 1982, ISBN 3-7995-7617-7 , p. 41, as well as Oscar Paret : The settlements of Roman Württemberg , Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1932, p. 217.
  31. ^ Rainer Krause: Newer investigations at the Roman cohort fort in Murrhardt, Rems-Murr-Kreis. In: Find reports from Baden-Württemberg . Volume 9, Stuttgart 1984, p. 323.
  32. ↑ www.murrhardt.de: Roman find on the Murrhardter Ärztehaus area - agreement reached  ( 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. , posted and accessed September 28, 2010.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.murrhardt.de  
  33. ↑ www.murrhardt.de: Salvage of the Römerbads  ( 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. , accessed October 29, 2011.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.murrhardt.de  
  34. ↑ CIL 13, 6530 , CIL 13, 6533 .
  35. ↑ a b CIL 13, 6530 .
  36. ^ Gabriele Wesch-Klein : A mortar fragment with graffito from Heidelberg-Neuenheim. In: Find reports from Baden-Württemberg. Vol. 16. Theiss, Stuttgart 1992, p. 530.
  37. ^ Rainer Wiegels : Lopodunum II. Inscriptions and cult monuments from the Roman Ladenburg am Neckar. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-8062-1491-3 , p. 25.
  38. ↑ Dietwulf Baatz: The Roman Limes. Archaeological excursions between the Rhine and the Danube . Mann, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-7861-1701-2 , p. 210.
  39. ^ Philipp Filtzinger : Hic saxa loquuntur. This is where the stones talk . Edited by the Society for Pre- and Early History in Württemberg and Hohenzollern, Stuttgart 1980, p. 41.
  40. ↑ grave inscription of Marcus Cossius Natalis in the internet image database ubi erat lupa , accessed on 25 August 2018th
  41. ^ A b Dieter Planck, Willi Beck: The Limes in Southwest Germany . 2nd edition, Theiss, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-8062-0496-9 , p. 86.
  42. ↑ Elmar Schwertheim : The monuments of oriental deities in Roman Germany. Brill, Leiden 1974, ISBN 90-04-03984-8 , p. 276.
  43. ^ Gerhard Fritz: Murrhardt Monastery in the Early and High Middle Ages. Thorbecke, Ostfildern 1982, ISBN 3-7995-7617-7 , p. 47 (footnote).
  44. ↑ Bodo Cichy: Murrhardt . City administration Murrhardt (Ed.), 1963, p. 25f.
  45. ^ A b Hans-Peter Stika: Roman times plant remains from Baden-Württemberg. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-8062-1285-6 , p. 125.
  46. ↑ Marcus Nenninger: The Romans and the Forest. Investigations into dealing with a natural area using the example of the Roman north-west provinces. Steiner, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-515-07398-1 , p. 206.
  47. ↑ ORL = numbering of the Limes structures according to the publication of the Reich Limes Commission on the O bergermanisch- R ätischen- L imes
  48. ↑ ORL XY = consecutive numbering of the forts of the ORL
  49. ↑ WP = W ACh P east, watch tower. The number before the slash denotes the Limes section, the number after the slash denotes the respective watchtower.
  50. ↑ Wp 9/100 at about 48 ° 58 '31.5 "  N , 9 ° 36' 5.32"  O .
  51. ↑ Wp 9/101 at about 48 ° 58 '19.91 "  N , 9 ° 36' 10.02"  O .
  52. ↑ Wp 9/102, stone tower, at 48 ° 58 '9.19 "  N , 9 ° 36' 13.7"  O .
  53. ^ Willi Beck and Dieter Planck : The Limes in Southwest Germany . 2nd edition, Theiss, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-8062-0242-7 , p. 84.
  54. ^ A b Philipp Filtzinger, Dieter Planck, Bernhard Cämmerer: Römer in Baden-Württemberg . Theiss, Stuttgart 1976, ISBN 3806201331 , p. 390.
  55. ↑ Wp 9/103 at 48 ° 58 '2.69 "  N , 9 ° 36' 16.25"  O .
  56. ↑ Jürgen Obmann (Ed.): Limesentwicklungsplan Baden-Württemberg. Protection, development and research of the world heritage. State Office for Monument Preservation in the Stuttgart Regional Council, Esslingen 2007, p. 101; Wp 9/104, stone tower, at 48 ° 57 '47.99 "  N , 9 ° 36' 21.61"  O .
  57. ↑ Wp 9/105, stone tower at about 48 ° 57 '29.97 "  N , 9 ° 36' 28.6"  O .
  58. ↑ Wp 9/106, stone tower at about 48 ° 57 '17.35 "  N , 9 ° 36' 32.89"  O .
  59. ↑ Wp 9/107, stone tower, at 48 ° 57 '11.8 "  N , 9 ° 36' 34.9"  O .
  60. ↑ Wp 9/108 at about 48 ° 56 '55.62 "  N , 9 ° 36' 38.55"  O .
  61. ↑ Wp 9/109, stone tower, at 48 ° 56 '55.61 "  N , 9 ° 36' 40.59"  O .
  62. ↑ Wp 9/110 at about 48 ° 56 '47.17 "  N , 9 ° 36' 43.65"  O .
  63. ↑ Wp 9/111, stone tower, at 48 ° 56 '38.82 "  N , 9 ° 36' 46.98"  O .
  64. ↑ Jürgen Obmann (Ed.): Limesentwicklungsplan Baden-Württemberg. Protection, development and research of the world heritage . State Office for Monument Preservation in the Stuttgart Regional Council, Esslingen 2007, p. 102.
  65. ↑ Wp 9/112 at about 48 ° 56 '20.24 "  N , 9 ° 36' 53.32"  O .
  66. ↑ Wp 9/113, stone tower at about 48 ° 56 '13.14 "  N , 9 ° 36' 56.18"  O .
  67. ↑ Wp 9/114 at about 48 ° 56 '4.77 "  N , 9 ° 36' 59.21"  O .
  68. ↑ Wp 9/115 at about 48 ° 55 '56.68 "  N , 9 ° 37' 2.32"  O .
  69. ↑ Wp 9/116 (2 stone towers) at 48 ° 55 '45.11 "  N , 9 ° 37' 6.46"  O .
  70. ↑ a b c Dieter Planck: Investigations at the watchtower 9/116 on the Kaisersbach marker, Rems-Murr-Kreis. In: Find reports from Baden-Württemberg 4 (1979), p. 214ff., Here: p. 214.
  71. ↑ Andreas Buchner: Journeys on the Devil's Wall. First issue. Regensburg 1821. p. 58.
  72. ↑ Dieter Planck: Investigations at the watchtower 9/116 on the Kaisersbach mark, Rems-Murr-Kreis. In: Find reports from Baden-Württemberg 4 (1979), p. 214ff; here: p. 216.
  73. ↑ a b c Dieter Planck: Investigations at the watchtower 9/116 on the Kaisersbach marker, Rems-Murr-Kreis. In: Find reports from Baden-Württemberg 4 (1979), p. 214ff; here: p. 218.
  74. ↑ Dieter Planck: Investigations at the watchtower 9/116 on the Kaisersbach mark, Rems-Murr-Kreis. In: Find reports from Baden-Württemberg 4 (1979), p. 214ff .; here: p. 220.
  75. ^ A b Dieter Planck: Investigations on the watchtower 9/116 on the Kaisersbach marker, Rems-Murr-Kreis. In: Find reports from Baden-Württemberg 4 (1979), p. 214ff; here: p. 221.
  76. ↑ Dieter Planck: Investigations at the watchtower 9/116 on the Kaisersbach mark, Rems-Murr-Kreis. In: Find reports from Baden-Württemberg 4 (1979), p. 214ff; here: p. 228.
  77. ↑ fortlet Ebnisee at 48 ° 55 '33.6 "  N , 9 ° 37' 9.3"  O .