Feldheimer Wald small fort

Feldheimer Wald small fort
Alternative name	Wp 4/69
limes	ORL NN ( RLK )
Route (RLK)	Upper German Limes, ; route 4 ; (northern weather route)
Dating (occupancy)	unknown
Type	Small fort
unit	unknown vexillatio
size	around 26 m × 35 m = 900 m²
Construction	Stone fort
State of preservation	flat bumps
place	Hunger
Geographical location	50 ° 28 '15.9 " N , 8 ° 52' 25.9" E Coordinates: 50 ° 28 '15.9 " N , 8 ° 52' 25.9" E
height	172 m above sea level NHN
Previous	Small fort Langsdorf (northwest)
Subsequently	ORL 17: Inheiden Fort (southeast)

The small fort Feldheimer Wald was a Roman border fort on the northern Wetterau stretch of the Upper German Limes , which was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 2005 . The soil monument, still recognizable through its deformation of the ground, is located west of Hungen , a town in the district of Gießen in Hesse .

Location and research history

Plan of the small fort based on the findings of the Reich Limes Commission

The small fort Feldheimer Wald is located around two kilometers west-southwest of the center of today's town of Hungen. It is located in the northern corner of the "Feldheimer Wald", not far from the northern edge of the forest to the agriculturally used areas. The name of the forest does not refer to a modern settlement, but to the deserted Feldheim , a nearby, submerged village.

In ancient times the small fort in Feldheimer Wald and Langsdorf closed the gap in border surveillance between the larger forts in Inheiden and Arnsburg . The small forts were responsible for monitoring Limes crossings; some of the crews for the watchtowers and the border strips were assigned from them. In peaceful times, these services mostly consisted of controlling the movement of people and goods.

The small fort was discovered in 1842 by the Inheiden district forester Henkel and examined in more detail in 1843/1844 by the rent clerk Christian Wilhelm Fabricius on behalf of Count Otto zu Solms-Laubach . At that time, the former fence could still be traced as a 0.25 m high dam. The fort was first mentioned in writing in 1843 in the prehistory of the Wetterau written by Johann Philipp Dieffenbach and later by Karl August von Cohausen . The investigations of the Reich Limes Commission (RLK) finally took place in the years 1896/1897 under the direction of the route commissioner Friedrich Kofler . In 2008, a geoelectric prospecting was carried out, but it only yielded an unsatisfactory measurement image. Because of this, a second inspection with georadar took place in 2009. Now the small fort could be measured according to the latest criteria. But even now the former interior development was still unclear.

Findings

View from the north of the fort area

With a width of around 26 meters and a length of 34.7 meters, the military camp covered an area of around 890 m², making it a small fort typical of the Upper German Limes. The enclosure, rounded at its corners, consisted of a heavily mortared wall.

The excavators in 1843/1844 claim to have found what is probably the only gate on the southeast side. Should the camp follow the usual construction scheme of similar small forts at the same time, the actual access is likely to be towards the Limes, i.e. on the northeast side.

No traces of the interior construction could be found. These buildings were either U-shaped or arranged to the side of a central alley and were probably constructed of wood or half-timbered.

The dating of the fort is unclear. The high concentration of ash, charcoal and bricked clay suggests a possibly violent end to the small fortification.

The name of the fort crew is unknown, it is likely to have been the vexillatio of one of the larger neighboring auxiliary troops.

Limes course in the vicinity of the fort

The Limes can only be seen as a slight elevation on a short stretch in front of the fort. It has been almost completely eroded by the agriculture that has been practiced there for centuries . Coming from the neighboring fort Langsdorf, it initially runs from northwest to southeast. Immediately to the east of the small fort, however, it describes a bend and then pulls in an approximately easterly direction before swiveling again in the south-east direction at the level of Wp 4/72. The fort was located in the northern Limes arch in the Wetterau . The watchtowers Wp 4 / 67-68 and Wp 4 / 70-71 were in the immediate vicinity. The small fort itself was designated as Wp 4/69.

Monument protection

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

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 , p. 163.
Dietwulf Baatz in D. Baatz and Fritz-Rudolf Herrmann (eds.): The Romans in Hessen . Licensed edition of the 3rd edition from 1989. Nikol, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-933203-58-9 , p. 406.
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).
Margot Klee : The Limes between Rhine and Main. Theiss, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-8062-0276-1 , p. 105.

Documentation by the Reich Limes Commission:

Ernst Fabricius , Felix Hettner , Oscar von Sarwey (ed.): The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes of the Roemerreich . Department A, Volume II, 1: Lines 3 to 5, Petters, Berlin / Leipzig 1936, Lines 4 and 5, pp. 124f. as well as Table 10, Figure 3.

Remarks

^ Rector of the Friedberger Augustinerschule and one of the most important regional archaeologists of his time

↑ 24.0 m on the northeast and 26.6 m on the southwest side.

↑ 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.

↑ At 50 ° 28 '37.87 " N , 8 ° 51' 54.23" O .

↑ Western tower location at 50 ° 28 '11.25 " N , 8 ° 53' 18.33" O and the Eastern tower location at 50 ° 28 '11.13 " N , 8 ° 53' 19.8" O .50.469791666667 8.88842550.469758333333 8.8888333333333

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b Margot Klee : The Roman Limes in Hessen . Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2009. ISBN 978-3-7917-2232-0 . P. 142.
^ Johann Philipp Dieffenbach: On the prehistory of the Wetterau, at the same time as a contribution to antiquity . Leske, Darmstadt 1843, p. 226, note 386 and p. 308f.
^ Karl August von Cohausen: The Roman border wall in Germany. Military and technical description of the same . Kreidel, Wiesbaden 1884, p. 71, 6.

[2] Rector of the Friedberger Augustinerschule and one of the most important regional archaeologists of his time

[5] 24.0 m on the northeast and 26.6 m on the southwest side.

[6] 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.

[7] At 50 ° 28 '37.87 " N , 8 ° 51' 54.23" O .50.477186111111 8.8650638888889

[Klee2009_142-1] A ^b Margot Klee : The Roman Limes in Hessen . Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2009. ISBN 978-3-7917-2232-0 . P. 142.

[3] Johann Philipp Dieffenbach: On the prehistory of the Wetterau, at the same time as a contribution to antiquity . Leske, Darmstadt 1843, p. 226, note 386 and p. 308f.

[4] Karl August von Cohausen: The Roman border wall in Germany. Military and technical description of the same . Kreidel, Wiesbaden 1884, p. 71, 6.