Ebnisee small fort

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Ebnisee small fort
limes ORL Wp 9/117 ( RLK )
Route (RLK) Upper German Limes
Vorderer Limes, route 9
Dating (occupancy) at the earliest around AD 159/160 (or AD 233?)
until AD 259/260 at the latest.
Type Small fort
size 21 m × 23 m (= 0.045 ha)
Construction Stone fort
State of preservation Enclosing wall recognizable as rubble wall
place Kaisersbach
Geographical location 48 ° 55 '33.5 "  N , 9 ° 37' 7.6"  E
height 570  m above sea level NHN
Previous Murrhardt Fort (north)
Subsequently Small fort Rötelsee (south)
Location of the small fort Ebnisee. The remains of the rubble walls can still be seen in the wooded area.

The small fort Ebnisee was a Roman fortification of the Upper German Limes , which in 2005 achieved the status of the UNESCO World Heritage Site . The small fort was built 25 meters behind the Roman imperial border and is now located near the Ebnisee lake on the municipal area of ​​the municipality of Kaisersbach in the Rems-Murr district in Baden-Württemberg .

Location and research history

The small fort Ebnisee is located around 400 meters south of the watchtower Wp 9/116, which is the main measurement point of this Limes stretch, around 30 meters behind the Limes wall of the Front Limes, which is still very clearly visible today . From the exposed location, at the highest point of this Limes section, the imperial border could be perfectly monitored. Today the rubble wall of the complex, which is difficult to make out in a rumpled terrace, is in a stand of spruce that was still young in 1957 and was correspondingly low. The small fort takes its current name from the Ebnisee, which was artificially created in 1745 under Duke Eberhard Ludwig . In 1895, Gustav Sixt (1856–1904 ) first noticed and examined the Roman fortifications as part of his research for the Imperial Limes Commission (RLK). It was named Wp 9/117 from this time. A modern excavation to clarify various open questions has not yet taken place.

Building history

The almost square, 21 × 23 meter large camp had only one inlet on the Praetorial Front , the enemy side, in the east and was slightly larger than the nearest southern small fort Rötelsee , but has the same floor plan. In contrast to Rötelsee, where there was no stone defensive tower at the gate, researchers are reconstructing Ebnisee with just such a tower above the driveway to the east. In addition to the usual encircling battlements on the fort wall, which was supported by a wooden structure, the small complex probably had an interior structure made of wood. Sixt could not find a moat, however. Ten to twenty soldiers who have been dispatched from a larger garrison to monitor the border are assumed to be the crew.

Along with the towers, small forts were one of the main bases of the Roman troops directly behind the Limes. However, their use is usually unknown, as are the units that inhabit them.

In the course of the Limesfall , which resulted in the abandonment of the Agri decumates (Dekumatland) in 259/260 AD , the remaining Roman border fortifications were evacuated by the troops if they had not been violently destroyed beforehand. Coins from the reign of Emperor Gallienus (253–260) were found in the small fort Rötelsee to the south. From the also on the Near Limes built fortlet Haselburg a is Antoninian is Gallienus coined earlier 259th

Finds

The finds recovered by Sixt in 1896 include the runner of a hand mill, as it was regularly carried by the smallest unit in the Roman army, the Contubernium , and the tip of a pilum .

On function and dating

The archaeologist and Limes expert Dieter Planck summarized a number of small forts on the Upper Germanic Limes, including Ebnisee, under the name Rötelsee type field guards, similar in size, construction and distance from the border wall . On the basis of datable finds in the systems he has examined, he assumes that this type probably only emerged in the late 2nd century. The archaeologist Andreas Thiel dates this type of fort even younger, to the late Limes period. The reduction of the troops at this point in time resulted in a reorganization of the border surveillance. In the place of the constantly manned tower positions, the small fort of this type had now appeared in order to cope with the surveillance of the border with a crew that would no longer have been sufficient to fill the tower positions.

Limes course between the small fort Ebnisee and the small fort Rötelsee

Remains and course of the Limes structures in this section
ORL Name / place Description / condition
Wp 9/118 "Royal oak" In 1863, the archeology pioneer Eduard Paulus (1837–1907) mentioned this tower site without giving any details. Nothing was visible above ground at the time the OLR was being drawn up. But the tower was excavated by Sixt in 1895. The heavily damaged building was only five meters behind the middle of the Limes Wall. Sixt was able to measure its south and north sides with 4.32 × 4.45 meters.
Wp 9/119 "Stock" The RLK suspected the tower location, but it was not found.
Wp 9/120 "Hofwiesen" The RLK suspected the tower location, but it was not found.
Wp 9/121 "Bürg" In descriptions from the 1980s, the tower ruins documented by the RLK are indicated as visible. Obviously there is nothing to be seen here today. From here to the south over the open farmland, the remains of the Limes are only barely noticeable.
Wp 9/122 "Elsen" Tower not visible. Paul had this part of the tower excavated without documenting the findings or the location. The route commissioner Sixt, who is responsible for the RLK, apparently failed to make further inquiries.
Wp 9/123 "Eckartsweiler" The RLK only guessed that the stone tower was. The tower was located north of the location assumed by the RLK and has been preserved as a slight elevation of around 0.30 meters.
Wp 9/124 "Baumgärtle" The tower was excavated by Paul without detailed documentation. He reports on "still significant rubble" . The archaeologist Ernst von Herzog (1834–1911) later learned that the property owner had dug up the stones and removed them. During a follow-up examination by Sixt, a flat hill in the meadow could still be recognized at the point described by Paulus. There was no documentation of the excavation, which Sixt had obviously also carried out. The archaeologist Dietwulf Baatz also found a flat hill here. During a renewed prospecting in 2001, nothing could be seen.
Wp 9/125 "Döllen" Presumed tower location, not visible.
Wp 9/126 "Blumenau" As early as 1863, Paul reported about this stone tower and mentions that people in the area thought they had a chapel or sentry box in front of them. Sixt carried out an investigation for the RLK, but failed to provide precise documentation. Therefore, speculation is already being made in the ORL about the exact location. The tower is not visible. Only small remains of the wall and ditch have survived today.
Wp 9/127 "Rübäcker" Sixt had discovered the tower, but only dug the west side without documentation and measured the distance to the Limes Wall at eleven meters. The ORL notes that an error must have been made when the tower location was subsequently measured, since a tower would not have had a wide view at the specified location. Nothing is visible at the location today.
KK Small fort Rötelsee

Even Rudolph Friedrich von Moser suspected in his description of the Oberamt Welzheim when explaining the Gausmannsweiler castle stables that this might be more of a Roman fortification of the Limes , which was used until medieval times or was visible as a landmark , as it was used to describe the boundaries of the wilderness Limpurg was named. Only the tower locations Wp 9/120 “Hofwiesen” or Wp 9/121 “Bürg” would be considered.

Lost property

The finds from the fort and the watchtowers are kept in the Württemberg State Museum in Stuttgart.

Monument protection

The small fort Ebnisee and the mentioned ground monuments have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage as a section of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes since 2005 . In addition, the facilities are 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

  • Dietwulf Baatz : The Roman Limes. Archaeological excursions between the Rhine and the Danube . 4th edition, Mann, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7861-2347-0 , p. 245.
  • Christian Fleer: Typification and function of the small buildings on the Limes. In: E. Schallmayer (Ed.): Limes Imperii Romani. Contributions to the specialist colloquium “Limes World Heritage Site” in November 2001 in Lich-Arnsburg. Bad Homburg v. d. H. 2004, ISBN 3-931267-05-9 , pp. 75-92 (=  Saalburg-Schriften 6).
  • Dieter Planck , Willi Beck: The Limes in Southwest Germany . 2nd edition, Theiss, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-8062-0496-9 .
  • Adolf Schahl, Johannes Gromer: The art monuments of the Rems-Murr-Kreis . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin 1983, ISBN 3-422-00560-9 .

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b Andreas Thiel : On the function of the small fort on the Upper German Limes . In: Yearbook 2003/2004 of the Heimat- und Altertumsverein Heidenheim an der Brenz e. V. Heidenheim 2004. ISSN  0931-5608 . P. 72f.
  2. ^ A b Dieter Planck : The Romans in Baden-Württemberg. Roman sites and museums from Aalen to Zwiefalten . Theiss, Stuttgart 2005, p. 197.
  3. ^ Wilhelm Schleiermacher : The Roman Limes in Germany. An archaeological guide for road trips and hikes , Mann, Berlin 1967, p. 155.
  4. ↑ Oscar Paret : Württemberg in prehistoric and early historical times , Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1961, p. 341.
  5. ↑ a b The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes of the Roemerreiches Volume 4: Lines 7 to 9 (The Upper Germanic Limes from Miltenberg am Main to Haghof near Welzheim), published by Otto Petters, Heidelberg, Berlin and Leipzig 1931. P. 185.
  6. ^ Egon Schallmayer: The Limes. Story of a border . Beck, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-406-48018-7 , p. 65.
  7. ↑ ORL = numbering of the Limes structures according to the publication of the Reich Limes Commission on the O bergermanisch- R ätischen- L imes
  8. ^ A b Eduard Paulus: The Roman border wall (Limes transrhenanus) from Hohenstaufen to the Main. In: Writings of the Württembergischer Alterthums-Verein 6/1863 . Stuttgart 1863, p. 16.
  9. ^ Ernst Fabricius, Felix Hettner, Oscar von Sarwey (ed.): The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes of the Roemerreich . Section A, Volume 4. Lines 7 to 9, Petters, Heidelberg, Berlin, Leipzig 1931, p. 185.
  10. ↑ Wp 9/118 at about 48 ° 55 '15.14 "  N , 9 ° 37' 18.11"  O .
  11. ↑ Wp 9/119 at about 48 ° 55 '3.85 "  N , 9 ° 37' 22.1"  O .
  12. ↑ Wp 9/120 at about 48 ° 54 '52.82 "  N , 9 ° 37' 25.94"  O .
  13. ↑ Among other things: Willi Beck, Dieter Planck: The Limes in Southwest Germany . 2nd edition, Theiss, Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-8062-0242-7 . P. 86.
  14. ↑ a b c d e 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. 104.
  15. ↑ Wp 9/121 at about 48 ° 54 '40.3 "  N , 9 ° 37' 30.45"  O .
  16. ^ Ernst Fabricius, Felix Hettner, Oscar von Sarwey (ed.): The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes of the Roemerreich . Section A, Volume 4. Lines 7 to 9, Petters, Heidelberg, Berlin, Leipzig 1931, p. 186.
  17. ↑ Wp 9/122 at about 48 ° 54 '30.67 "  N , 9 ° 37' 34.41"  O .
  18. ↑ Wp 9/123 at 48 ° 54 '17.82 "  N , 9 ° 37' 39.21"  O .
  19. ^ Ernst Fabricius, Felix Hettner, Oscar von Sarwey (ed.): The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes of the Roemerreich . Section A, Volume 4. Lines 7 to 9, Petters, Heidelberg, Berlin, Leipzig 1931, p. 187.
  20. ↑ Wp 9/124 at about 48 ° 54 '1.15 "  N , 9 ° 37' 44.94"  O .
  21. ↑ Wp 9/125 at about 48 ° 53 '51.45 "  N , 9 ° 37' 48.89"  O .
  22. ^ A b Ernst Fabricius, Felix Hettner, Oscar von Sarwey (ed.): The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes of the Roemerreich . Section A, Volume 4. Lines 7 to 9, Petters, Heidelberg, Berlin, Leipzig 1931, p. 188.
  23. ↑ Wp 9/126 at about 48 ° 53 '34.1 "  N , 9 ° 37' 55.15"  O .
  24. ↑ 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. 105.
  25. ↑ Wp 9/127 at about 48 ° 53 '25.37 "  N , 9 ° 37' 58.63"  O .
  26. ↑ KK = unnumbered K linseed K astell
  27. ↑ fortlet Rötelsee at 48 ° 53 '11.72 "  N , 9 ° 38' 1.84"  O .
  28. ↑ Rudolph Friedrich von Moser: Description of the Oberamt Welzheim , Verlag der Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, Stuttgart and Tübingen 1845, p. 137
  29. ↑ Dieter Planck: Investigations at the watchtower 9/116 on the Kaisersbach mark, Rems-Murr-Kreis. In: Find reports from Baden-Württemberg. 4/1979. Stuttgart 1979. p. 214 ff., Here: p. 221, doi: 10.11588 / fbbw.1979.0.24505 .