Small fort Degerfeld

Small fort Degerfeld
limes	ORL NN ( RLK )
Route (RLK)	Upper German Limes, route 4 (Wetterau route)
Dating (occupancy)	around 100 AD to the beginning of the 3rd century
Type	Small fort
unit	unknown
size	0.3 ha
place	Butzbach
Geographical location	50 ° 26 '35.9 "  N , 8 ° 39' 21.5"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 26 '35.9 "  N , 8 ° 39' 21.5"  E
height	236  m above sea level NHN
Previous	Small fort Hunnenkirchhof
Subsequently	Small fort Dicker Wald
Backwards	ORL 14: Fort Butzbach (east-south-east)

The small fort Degerfeld (also Wp 4/35 after the naming of the Imperial Limes Commission ) was a Roman fort on the Wetterau line of the Upper German Limes . It was located in the northwestern urban area of ​​what is now Butzbach in the Wetterau district in Hesse .

Degerfeld fort and Butzbach fort

location

The small fort was used to monitor a border crossing on the Weinstrasse , a route from Mainz ( Mogontiacum ) via Friedberg to the Limes that was probably already used in prehistoric times . To the north it led through the Giessen basin into the core area of Chatten around Kassel and Fritzlar .

The large Butzbacher fort Hunneburg was at the rear of the small fort Degerfeld. The fort vicus began only 300 m to the southeast. In today's Butzbach cityscape, the location of the small fort can be traced back to three prominent high-rise buildings. The small fort is next to the southernmost one.

Research history

The small fort was discovered in 1893 by Friedrich Kofler , route commissioner of the Reich Limes Commission. In 1896/97 it was examined in more detail by Wilhelm Soldan . More extensive excavations took place between 1964 and 1966.

Situation 2013 with information board

investment

Wood and earth fort

The first fortification was a small fort in wood and earth construction around 100 AD. The wall enclosed an inner area of ​​636 m² with a total size of approx. 0.1 ha. The only gate was in the north-east, the other flanks had small intermediate towers in the middle, the traces of which have been found. A simple ditch ran in front of the wall.

The interior development consisted of a U-shaped building with an inner courtyard, to which the living quarters of the guards opened up.

The wood and earth fort was rebuilt in the first half of the 2nd century, presumably in the time of Emperor Hadrian . After the middle of the 2nd century it was destroyed by fire.

Stone fort

A stone fort, slightly larger with 0.3 ha (external dimensions), replaced the previous building in the same place. The gate was now on the southeast side facing away from the Limes. The stone fort existed until the beginning of the 3rd century AD.

Limes course from the small fort Degerfeld to the small fort Dicker Wald

The Limes runs from the small fort outside Butzbach to the northeast along a field path and only becomes visible again at the Griedeler Markwald . The good state of preservation there results from the fact that it was included in the Solmser Landwehr there and reformed in the Middle Ages . The Limes runs here on the watershed between Lahn and Wetter .

The very exact line did not emerge until the 2nd century AD, which is why only stone towers can be found there. Before that, there was a guided tour that was more adapted to the site, where the earlier wooden tower sites were identified. When they were numbered by the Imperial Limes Commission, the wooden tower sections were therefore marked with an asterisk (*).

Traces of the Limes structures between the small forts Degerfeld and "Dicker Wald":

ORL	Name / place	Description / condition
KK	Small fort Degerfeld	see above
Wp 4/36		suspected in the area of ​​today's B 3
Wp 4/37	" At the Blunt Tower "	presumed at the height at the beginning of the Griedeler Markwald with a view of the Butzbacher valley
Wp 4/37 *		Wooden tower hill 300 m from the pile ditch
Wp 4/38		high stone tower, 22 m behind the Limes wall
Wp 4/39	" Gambach Forest "	Flat stone tower hill immediately north of a forest path, easily confused with a medieval or modern lime kiln, which sits about 80 m southwest of it on the Limeswall
Wp 4/39 *	" Riding School "	Heavily ransacked wooden tower 100 m behind the Limeswall. A wooden tower hill and a small, barrack-like wooden structure, both surrounded by a moat, were found.
Wp 4/40		well-preserved stone tower hill
Wp 4/40 *		Two wooden tower points 400 m behind the pile ditch, one of them was cut through an asphalt forest road. On the opposite, south-western side of the forest road is a tiny fort, probably a wooden structure.
KK	Small fort "Dicker Wald"	see main article Small fort Dicker Wald

Monument protection

The small fort Degerfeld and the adjacent Limes facilities have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage as a section of the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes since 2005 . In addition, they are ground monuments within the meaning of the Hessian Monument Protection Act . Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to approval, and accidental finds are reported to the monument authorities.

See also

• List of forts on the Upper German-Raetian Limes

literature

• Dietwulf Baatz : The Roman Limes. Archaeological excursions between the Rhine and the Danube. 4th edition. Gebr. Mann, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7861-2347-0 , pp. 154f.
• Dietwulf Baatz: Limes. Western Wetterausrecke (Wetteraukreis) . In the S. and Fritz-Rudolf Herrmann: The Romans in Hesse. Licensed edition of the 1982 edition. Nikol, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-933203-58-9 , pp. 401f.
• Christian Fleer: Typification and function of the small buildings on the Limes. In: Egon Schallmayer (Ed.): Limes Imperii Romani. Contributions to the specialist colloquium “World Heritage Limes” November 2001 in Lich-Arnsburg (= Saalburg-Schriften. 6). Bad Homburg vd H. 2004, ISBN 3-931267-05-9 , pp. 75-92, especially p. 78.
• Werner Jorns , Walter Meier-Arendt : The small fort Degerfeld in Butzbach, Kr. Friedberg (Hessen). In: Saalburg-Jahrbuch 24, 1967, pp. 12–32.
• Margot Klee: The Limes between Rhine and Main. Theiss, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-8062-0276-1 , p. 96.
• Vera Rupp , Heide Birley: Hikes on the Wetteraulimes. Archaeological hikes on the Limes from the Köpperner Tal in Taunus to the Drususeiche near Limeshain (= guide to Hessian prehistory and early history. 6). Theiss, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8062-1551-0 , pp. 126-137.
• Hans-Günther Simon : The small fort Degerfeld in Butzbach, Kr. Friedberg (Hesse). Dating and Finds. In: Saalburg-Jahrbuch 25, 1968, pp. 5-64.
• Ernst Fabricius , Felix Hettner , Oscar von Sarwey (ed.): The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes of the Roman Empire / Abt. A, Vol. 2.1. Lines 3 to 5. Petters, Heidelberg / Berlin / Leipzig 1936.

Web links

Commons : Kleinkastell Degerfeld  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

1. ↑ ORL = numbering of the Limes structures according to the publication of the Reich Limes Commission on the O bergermanisch- R ätischen- L imes
2. ↑ KK = unnumbered K linseed K astell
3. ↑ 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. An additional asterisk (*) refers to a guard on the older Limes line.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Dietwulf Baatz in: D. Baatz, F.-R. Herrmann (Ed.): The Romans in Hessen. 1989, p. 246.
2. ↑ Dietwulf Baatz in: D. Baatz, F.-R. Herrmann (Ed.): The Romans in Hessen. 1989, p. 401; Vera Rupp, Heide Birley: Hikes on the Wetteraulimes. Theiss, Stuttgart 2005, p. 126; Christian Fleer: Typification and function of the small buildings on the Limes. In: Egon Schallmayer (Ed.): Limes Imperii Romani. Bad Homburg v. d. H. 2004, p. 78.
3. ↑ Dietwulf Baatz in: D. Baatz, F.-R. Herrmann (Ed.): The Romans in Hessen. 1989, p. 401; Hans-Günther Simon : The small fort Degerfeld in Butzbach, Kr. Friedberg (Hesse). Dating and Finds. In: Saalburg-Jahrbuch 25, 1968, p. 16.
4. ↑ Gail Schunk-Larrabee: Location of the Roman stone tower (Wp 4/37) in the Griedeler Forest near Butzbach. In: Hessen Archeology 2006, pp. 85–86.