Vexillation camp Eining-Unterfeld

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Vexillation camp Eining-Unterfeld
limes ORL - ( RLK )
Route (RLK) Rhaetian Limes,
route 15
Dating (occupancy) from approx. 172 AD
to before 179 AD
Type Vexillation camp
unit Legio III Italica
size 328 ×> 320 m = over 10.6 ha
Construction Wood earth; some stone buildings
State of preservation Trenches partially visible as a slight subsidence in the terrain
place Eining
Geographical location 48 ° 51 '34.4 "  N , 11 ° 46' 35.4"  E
height 353  m above sea level NHN
Previous Fort Pförring (west)
Fort Eining (south)
Subsequently Small fort Weltenburg-Galget (north)
Upstream Small fort on Hinteren Seeberg (west-northwest)

The Eining-Unterfeld vexillation camp was a Roman military camp that is located north of the Bavarian village of Eining in the Kelheim district in the "Unterfeld" corridor. As an important location for part of the Legio III Italica stationed in Regensburg , the garrison was used for around ten years during the Marcomann Wars from approx. 172 AD and then cleared again.

location

The vexillation camp with findings from the last hundred years and its location on the Danube

Today's corridor "Unterfeld" was part of the area of ​​influence of the cohort fort Abusina and its vicus (camp village), only about one kilometer to the south . The border town of Abusina, founded around 79 AD, was one of the most important and longest occupied fort sites on the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes due to its strategically favorable location and suffered severe damage during the Marcomann Wars. As far as we know today, the camp in Eining-Unterfeld was not affected by this, which could indicate that the site was only set up after the devastating "first strike" of the Germanic tribes . The two so far not found side gates of the vexillation camp established at that time were exactly where the state road now cuts through the military base, which means that in the Middle Ages the well-preserved Roman road embankment was taken over from Eining to Weltenburg. In addition, the Roman ramparts and culverts were still clearly visible in the area at that time. However, the original dimensions of the entrenchment can no longer be fully reconstructed, as the former northwest wall of the facility was washed away by the Danube in later times.

Research history

Concrete knowledge of the ancient site in the Unterfeld existed since an excavation in 1900 by Major General a. D. Karl von Popp for the Reichs-Limeskommission (RLK), who apparently cut parts of the Principia , the staff building. But it was not until 1968 that research under Hans Schönberger , the then director of the Roman-Germanic Commission in Frankfurt am Main, concentrated again on this place. In 1970 he wrote in an essay about his doubts that the square could actually be addressed as a Roman military installation. However, special excavations soon revealed the correct allocation and confirmation that the RLK had largely been right in its considerations. The regular overflights of the square by the aerial photo archaeologist Otto Braasch since 1977 provided a new impetus for further research. Based on his photographs, more precise structures of the interior development could be identified. Small-scale militaria was also found at the probes.

When State Road 2233, which runs from southwest to northeast through the warehouse area, was given a new road surface in August 1992, a new road ditch was created at the same time. Archaeological investigations took place during the construction. This revealed a Roman wall, seven meters long and 0.70 meters wide, running parallel to the modern road, which bends at right angles at its southern end and is thus overlaid by the roadway. Large-scale excavations have not yet taken place at this site.

Building history

In the course of the Marcomann Wars, perhaps in the final phase, around 172 AD, half a legion, around 3,000 men, the Legio III Italica from Regensburg, was assigned to secure the important Roman base Abusina and from here also operations against the Enemy. The Legion was also involved in the reconstruction of the cohort fort and Vicus Abusina.

The Legion's construction crews dug a triple pointed trench with rounded corners for the vexillation camp. The depth of this pointed trench system was 2.8 meters, 2.4 meters and again 2.8 meters from the outside in. The width was accordingly around 6.5 meters, 4.5 meters and 4.0 meters. This means that the outer trench was the steepest and the middle one was the shallowest. The outer and middle trenches were separated by 4.5 meters, the central and inner trenches 2.5 meters.

The excavation material from the trenches was used to build the wall, which, according to excavation findings, was constructed as a turf construction.

The orientation of the 70 × 70 meter Principia to the northwest, towards the Danube, also makes the Praetorial side - the direction towards the enemy - clear. The structure of this staff building followed the standardized Roman scheme. The flag sanctuary ( Aedes or Sacellum ) and the troop treasury were in a semicircular apse in the rear part of the principia ; The administration rooms are grouped around an inner courtyard; the head building formed the parade hall.

In addition to the staff building, only a representative building inside the warehouse could so far be clearly identified, which was lavishly expanded in stone during the short inventory phase of the facility; the so-called “ Legate Palace ”, which is a little higher in the area than the Principia, in the rear storage area. It corresponds to the known construction, a walk-in rural Roman Villa Rustica and has on its show facade with two vestibules provided corner projections , which are interconnected by a covered portico. The width of the system is around 50 meters. A room attached to the rear of the otherwise geometrical layout could be part of a bathroom. For the time being, this building will be understood by researchers as the residential palace ( praetorium ) of the camp commandant, but it may actually be a villa rustica , which was built on this site after the vexillation camp was abandoned . This could also be suggested by a few more recent finds.

As aerial photographs show, another large stone building was built next to the praetorium , but its layout and function cannot be seen from the air. In this way, a small square of walls that could not be explained in detail could be observed in front of the southern cubic corner projections of the residential palace.

Important finds

A scattered coin treasure comprising 27 pieces was recovered in the camp. Overall, the series of 54 coins from the Unterfeld in 1999 breaks off with a denarius from Emperor Mark Aurel (161-180) for Lucilla from 161/169 and another denarius from Emperor Lucius Verus (161-169) from 166/167 , but coins from the 3rd century are still represented, including a piece from the reign of Emperor Severus Alexander (222–235) and some late antique specimens. The series of terra sigillata finds seems to coincide with the presumed end of the garrison. There is, however, speculation that a repopulation of the square in the 3rd and 4th centuries is to be considered. The sparse find evidence of later sigillates or later coins could indicate this.

In addition to the means of payment, the remainder of a primer (Form Exner Group II 18) came to light, as it was u. a. also from the Augusta Raurica (Augst / Kaiseraugst ) from the Limes fort Stockstadt as well as from the Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium ( Cologne ) and from Gaul . The dating of this type of fibula by Kurt Exner to the second half of the 2nd century was doubted by Sabine Rieckhoff . A square bronze finger ring as it was discovered in a similar form in Aub- Baldersheim (Beckmann type 8b or Rihas type 25 Var. I) also comes from the storage area .

Also important are the numerous documented brick stamps with the name of Legio III Italica, which there still bears the nickname Concors , which it only carried during its earliest Raetian phase.

Current condition

With the naked eye, very little of the vexillation camp can be seen in the area today. The weather and the plow have almost completely leveled the earth walls and ditches. However, it is possible to perceive the former north trenches east of the state road at their bend to the south-east as a wasteland cut up to two meters deep, partly tree-lined, and to trace them to the south-east through an adjacent dirt road around 250 meters. The storage area is still used for agriculture today.

Monument protection

The Eining-Unterfeld vexillation camp has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage as a section of the Upper German-Rhaetian Limes since 2005 . It is also protected as a registered ground monument 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

Remarks

  1. ↑ Hans-Jörg Kellner (edit.): The coins found in the Roman period in Germany. Department I. Bavaria, Volume 2. Lower Bavaria . Mann Verlag, Berlin 1970, p. 47.
  2. ^ A b Rainer Christlein , Otto Braasch : The underground Bavaria . Theiss, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-8062-0855-7 , p. 188.
  3. ↑ Michael Rind : News on the Roman Eining . In: The archaeological year in Bavaria 1992 (1993), pp. 107-108; here: p. 107.
  4. ^ Thomas Fischer : The Romans in Germany . Theiss, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3806213259 , p. 110.
  5. ↑ Thomas Fischer, Erika Riedmeier Fischer: The Roman Limes in Bavaria . Pustet, Regensburg 2008. ISBN 978-3-7917-2120-0 , p. 160
  6. ↑ a b Allard Wijnand Mees : Organizational forms of Roman pottery manufacturers using the example of Arezzo and Rheinzabern. Taking into account papyri, inscriptions and legal sources, part 1. Habelt, Bonn 2002. ISBN 3884670735 . Pp. 72, 74 and 84.
  7. ^ Wolfgang Czysz, Lothar Bakker: The Romans in Bavaria . Theiss, Stuttgart 2005. ISBN 3806210586 . P. 154
  8. ^ Thomas Fischer: The Romans in Germany. Theiss, Stuttgart 1999. ISBN 3806213259 . P. 110.
  9. ↑ Kerstin Hoffmann: Small finds from the Roman Empire from Lower Franconia. Studies on the history of settlements and the cultural relationship between Germans and Romans. Leidorf, Rahden 2004, ISBN 3896463527 , p. 30.
  10. ↑ Kerstin Hoffmann: Small finds from the Roman Empire from Lower Franconia. Studies on the history of settlements and the cultural relationship between Germans and Romans. Leidorf, Rahden 2004, ISBN 3896463527 , p. 70.
  11. ↑ Wolfgang Czysz , Karlheinz Dietz , Hans-Jörg Kellner , Thomas Fischer : Die Römer in Bayern , Theiss, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-8062-1058-6 , p. 154.