Sulz Castle

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Sulz Castle
limes ORL 61a ( RLK )
Route (RLK) Neckar-Odenwald-Limes ,
older Neckar line
Dating (occupancy) around AD 74 to the early 2nd century.
Vicus to the middle of the 3rd century.
Type Cohort fort
unit Cohors XXIIII voluntariorum civium Romanorum  ?
size a) 130 x 110 m = 1.45 ha
b) 150/157 × 112 m = 1.75 ha
Construction a) Wood and earth fort.
b) Stone fort
State of preservation Partial conservation of a vicus building
place Sulz am Neckar
Geographical location 48 ° 21 '35 "  N , 8 ° 38' 12"  E Coordinates: 48 ° 21 '35 "  N , 8 ° 38' 12"  E
height 527  m above sea level NHN
Previous ORL 61 Rottenburg Fort (northeast)
Subsequently ORL 61b Waldmössingen Fort (southwest)
Geislingen Fort
(southeast, Alblimes )

The Sulz fort was a Roman border fort on the Neckar line of the Neckar-Odenwald-Limes . It is located with the associated vicus as a ground monument in the area of Sulz am Neckar , a town in the Rottweil district in Baden-Württemberg .

location

Site plan
(excavation 1895)

The Sulz fort with the vicus fort is located southeast of the center of Sulz in an exposed position on a mountain spur about 100 m above the Neckar. From this point, the Neckar itself, as well as the road leading from Sumelocenna ( Rottenburg ) via Waldmössingen to Arae Flaviae ( Rottweil ) could be monitored, as well as the connection to Geislingen that bends from the Neckar at Sulz and on via Lautlingen to Burladingen , with the one here the alblimes began.

Due to the topographical features of the mountain spur, the camp is located in a terrain that is steeply sloping on three sides.

Research history

The fort, which had long been suspected at this point, was discovered by the Sulzer Antiquities Association in 1890/91. A systematic archaeological investigation was carried out in 1895 by the Imperial Limes Commission . Other excavations accompanying and pre-construction were carried out in the 1970s to 1990s in both the fort and vicus area. Much is still unexplained, partly because the processing of the excavated findings is still a long way off, partly because important areas, especially the vicus, have been destroyed forever by overbuilding.

Fort

Floor plan and sections
(excavation 1895)

The fort was initially built as a wood and earth fort in the Vespasian period, probably around the year 74 AD. In this construction phase, with sides of around 130 m by 110 m, it took up an area of ​​around 1.45 hectares. Later it was replaced by a stone fort, which with its sides of 150/157 m by 112 m took up an area of ​​about 1.75 hectares. The orientation of the camp, which is not completely symmetrical due to the topographical conditions of the mountain spur, is not entirely clear. It is possible that the original northeast orientation was later replaced by a southeast orientation.

Three camp gates have been identified for the stone construction phase, a fourth can be assumed. All gates were flanked on both sides by towers. The defensive wall was also reinforced with towers at its rounded corners. In addition, there was an unusually high number of intermediate towers. All towers were built at the same time as the wall, as they are integrated into its foundations.

The interior development is only partially known. Traces of some crew barracks could be detected, as well as fragments of the principia (staff building) and a horreum (granary).

According to Dietwulf Baatz, the garrison can be found under Emperor Domitian (81–96) from Westkastell III. Cohors XXIIII voluntariorum civium Romanorum ("24th cohort of volunteer Roman citizenship") withdrawn from Heidelberg-Neuenheim should be accepted, an auxiliary association consisting of around 500 infantry. According to this assumption, the troops first reached Benningen at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries and were moved to the newly established Front Limes in Murrhardt around 159/160 AD .

Vicus

Small finds
(excavation 1895)

As with every Roman military camp, a small vicus was built in Sulz , in which the relatives of the soldiers as well as traders, craftsmen and innkeepers settled. Due to the topographical conditions, however, it was not created directly in front of the fort, but a little down the valley on the Roman road leading from Sumelocenna to Arae Flaviae . Here it developed along the road to a length of about 400 m. Most of the buildings were striped houses six to seven meters wide and 20 to 40 m long, the porticoes of which opened onto the street. With the help of dendrochronology, it was possible to determine the felling date of 97 ± 10 AD.

Up to seven construction phases could be verified for the buildings. While wood and half-timbered construction dominated in the older phases, stone was often used as a building material in later times. Most of the buildings had partial basements. The largest and best preserved of these cellars has been preserved and made accessible to the public under a protective structure. Two almost life-size statues of Mercury and Rosmerta , two reliefs of Mercurius and Epona and a large collection of smaller images of gods were found here. This cellar may have served ritual purposes.
The finds from the other houses allow some conclusions to be drawn about the economic basis of the vicus . Pottery, blacksmiths 'workshops for iron and non-ferrous metal processing and goldsmiths' workshops can be accepted.

There were two horizons of destruction by fire within the vicus at the beginning and at the end of the 2nd century. The vicus, the settlement of which is documented by the finds for the year 233, will probably have come to an end during the internal and external political and economic crisis of the empire around the middle of the 3rd century.

Monument protection

The Sulz Castle and the aforementioned ground monuments are protected as cultural monuments according to 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.

See also

literature

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Dietwulf Baatz: The Roman Limes. Archaeological excursions between the Rhine and the Danube . Mann, Berlin 1993. ISBN 3786117012 . P. 210.
  2. ^ Gabriele Wesch-Klein : A mortar fragment with graffito from Heidelberg-Neuenheim. In: Find reports from Baden-Württemberg. Vol. 16. Theiss, Stuttgart 1992. p. 530.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ↑ 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 6, Theiss, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 380621252X , p. 386.
  5. ↑ Müller 1986, p. 582, assumes warlike events in the second fire, summer 2005, p. 334 f., Contradicts this, without being able to provide a plausible explanation on his part.