Small fort Hönehaus

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Small fort Hönehaus
(small fort Rehberg)
limes ORL - ( RLK )
Route (RLK) Upper German Limes ,
Front Limes, route 7
Dating (occupancy) 1st half of the 3rd century AD
until 259/260 AD at the latest
Type Small fort
size approx. 46 m × 39.5 m
(= approx. 0.2 ha)
Construction stone
State of preservation Enclosure clearly visible preserved
place Book -Hettingen
Geographical location 49 ° 32 '34.3 "  N , 9 ° 23' 15.2"  E
height 459  m above sea level NHN
Previous Small fort "An der Altheimer Straße" (north)
Subsequently Small fort Rinschheim (south)

The small fort Hönehaus , also known as the small fort Rehberg , was a Roman military camp on the so-called "Front Limes" of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes . The UNESCO World Heritage site is located on the “Rehberg” in the “Great Forest” near Hettingen , municipality of Buchen in the Neckar-Odenwald district . The foundations, which were well preserved when they were found, have been preserved and are freely accessible.

Location and research history

KK Hönehaus in the course of the Limes
Floor plan of the KK Hönehaus based on the findings of the RLK
Limes course in the greater area of ​​the small fort
Western access to the small fort
View from the northeast corner over the Hönehaus small fort

Topographically favorable, in a hilly stretch of land criss-crossed by deep valley incisions, the small fort, built on the limestone, was positioned south of a clear Limes break. The palisade was 78 m away from here. The soldiers were offered an excellent view of the Free Germania as well as to the north and south lying watchtowers from the flat terrain spur of the "Rehberg" . The height fell on the area belonging to the Roman province of Germania superior to the west clearly into the "Rehgrund". Only 350 m to the north-west was the not much older, probably only briefly or not at all occupied small fort “An der Altheimer Straße” . At the aforementioned Limes bend, an approximately 80 km long, dead straight piece of the "Vorderen Limes" begins up to the watchtower at the hamlet of Haghof, which belongs to the municipality of Alfdorf .

In 1892 this site was first dug by the Reich Limes Commission (RLK) under the line commissioner Wilhelm Conrady (1829 to 1903). In 1968 and 1969 the walls in the "Great Forest" were exposed again and, after the investigations, they were built up at the same height. Since then, the small facility has been considered the best preserved on its route.

Building history

Research assumes that the nearby small fort "An der Altheimer Straße" was a predecessor that was abandoned after the construction of the topographically more favorable Hönehaus small fort, measuring around 39.5 × 46 meters (= 0.2 hectares). Another consideration is to address the camp as a well-located main survey point for the long straight Limes stretch that begins there. With fire signals, one could reach Wp 9/116 at the small fort Ebnisee from the nearby Limes watchtower around 75 km south .

The 1 to 1.1 meters wide and in 1892 still five to six layers high, the enclosing wall of the fortification, which was equipped with round corners, had single-lane driveways with re-entrant, not very high quality cheeks on the west and east sides. Similar findings were also found at the Haselburg fort. In the area of ​​the eastern inlet, at the end of the cheeks, there were post holes measuring 40 × 40 centimeters. They probably carried a roof or were attached to the gate. The east gate was 2.40 to 2.50 meters wide, the west gate 2.60 to 2.70 meters wide. There were no brick sleepers.

During the re-investigations in 1968/1969 it was found that the tongue walls of the gates protruding into the interior of the fort had been added in a separate construction process, possibly even during a later construction phase. The techniques of construction also differed from those of the defensive wall.

The crew quarters inside, of which there were no traces, were probably made of wood. This is suggested by pieces of red-burned braid clay. The clay was burned when the barracks burned down. Capstones of the former battlements were also found, which were placed on the fortifications made from local limestone slabs. The fort had neither a wall nor a surrounding moat. Only in the area immediately behind the fence was a blackish, 30 to 40 centimeter thick and four to five meter wide layer with remains of tools, shards, utensils and animal bones. A well was not located.

According to the available finds, such as particularly late Rheinzabern terra sigillata and pottery with heart-shaped profiles, the small, not very carefully constructed fortification only existed for a short time in the 3rd century until the final Limes fall in 259/260 at the latest . The coin material ranged from the reign of Emperor Caracallas (211-217) to Gordian III. (238-244). A total of four denarii from four different imperial rulers were discovered in 1892.

  • The fort findings, documented in drawings by the trade teacher Karl Otto Hartmann from Walldürn in 1892

  • Floor plan of the east gate

  • North cheek of the east gate

  • South cheek of the east gate

  • Northeast corner, interior view

  • Southwest corner, interior view

  • West gate from the north

Finds and whereabouts

During the conservation in October 1967, a small votive house made of gray red sandstone was salvaged by forest workers not far from the northern interior of the fort. In addition, remains of sigillates, amphorae fragments and shards of other vessels came to light. The dedication on the votive house reads Bonis Casibus Quintinius l (ibertus) Lecto / r ex v (oto) . A freedman named Quintinius I. Lector had dedicated this stone to the gods of “lucky coincidences”.

Many finds from the small fort, including weapons, are now on display in the Buchen District Museum.

Limes course between the small fortifications Hönehaus and Rinschheim

Traces of the Limes structures between the small forts Hönehaus and Rinschheim.
ORL Name / place Description / condition
KK Hönehaus see above
Wp 7/49 " Great Forest " Wp 7/49 is only assumed; archaeologically not proven.
Wp 8/1 " Great Forest " The square, 5 × 5 meter stone tower with its 70 meter thick walls was partially excavated by the chief forester Hof in the 1870s and fully examined by Conrady in 1892. It turned out that the neatly executed masonry had only survived on the north and west sides. To the north of Wp 8/1, the Limes ditch and the palisade could also be detected.

In 1970 there was a rediscovery, drawing and subsequent conservation. Conrady's statements were partially confirmed. The north-east and south-west corners were completely destroyed, the remaining wall remains on average 0.30 and in the south still 0.50 meters high. The rising, 0.75 to 0.80 meter wide masonry consisted of double-shell limestone rubble stones with mortar residues. The wall shell cuboids were quite even and small-sized. The outside length of the square structure was 5.20 × 5.20 meters. In the course of the conservation, a masonry of four to five layers above the original findings took place. The Limes moat could not be archaeologically recorded in this area.

Wp 8/2 " Great forest / Rinschheim border "
Wp 8/2 with the palisade
The rectangular, 4.90 × 4.66 × 4.80 × 4.80 meter large stone tower was partially exposed in 1880 by the antiquity-loving private scholar Karl Christ (1841–1927) and completely by Karl Schumacher (1860–1934) for the RLK in 1893 dig up. In 1970 it was uncovered, measured and re-preserved. The information from the ORL was fully confirmed. The original masonry, which was built using double-shell technology, was 0.75 to 0.90 meters wide and was still on average 0.70 to 0.90 meters high. The outside of the walls consisted of hand blocks of different sizes. On the outside there was a 0.5 to 0.10 meter wide plinth shoulder. The interior was filled with leveled, mortar-poured rubble stones. Inside the tower, the excavators of the Imperial Limes Commission discovered small remains of possibly two layers of fire adhering to the stones. In addition to shards, there was a silver fibula from the 3rd century. The structure was surrounded by two rectangular trenches, 0.6 and 1.1 meters apart. The inner one was a steeply sloping palisade or fence trench, the outer a shallow drainage ditch. Unfortunately, during the renewed excavation by the State Forestry Office Walldürn without prior archaeological investigations, the inside of the tower was so lastingly cleared to the ground that it was no longer possible to check the fire observations made by the RLK in 1970. At that time, however, individual fragments of jugs and pots could still be picked up. About 17.40 meters from the eastern front of the tower, the RLK discovered the palisade moat of the Limes.
Wp 8/3 " Steinberg " Of the stone tower, only a 9-meter-wide and 1 to 1.5-meter-high rubble hill made of limestone can be seen today.
Wp 8/4 " Steinberg " Wp 8/4 is only assumed; archaeologically not proven. Only ceramic shards that could roughly indicate the location are secured. In the past, the lack of foundations on site was attributed to the rocky subsoil. The complete destruction is said to be due to the earlier agriculture.
Wp 8/5 " Hohlsteige "
The palisade between Wp 8/4 and Wp 8/5
Wp 8/5 is only assumed; archaeologically not proven. It may be in a pile of rubble found here.
Wp 8/6 " Kühbaum "
Presentation of findings on Wp 8/6 with the palisade and ditch

The on Kühbaum preferred tower was on the western edge of the dome in the area of a powerful stone slide discovered and secured by search sections which Karl Schumacher (1860-1934) on behalf of the Reich Limeskommission undertook (RLK). "Bricks, chunks of mortar and Roman shards" could still be made out of the tower, which was already badly damaged at that time . Today nothing can be seen at this point.

Wp 8/7 " Aurain "
The palisade between Wp 8/7 and Wp 8/8
Wp 8/7 is suspected to be west of the Zossenberg between the country road and field path, but has not been proven archaeologically.
KK Rinschheim

Monument protection

The small fort Hönehaus and the aforementioned ground monuments have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage as a section of the Upper German-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. 234 f.
  • Willi Beck and Dieter Planck : The Limes in Southwest Germany . 2nd edition, Theiss, Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-8062-0242-7
  • 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 writings 6) Bad Homburg v. d. H. 2004, ISBN 3-931267-05-9 , pp. 75-92.
  • Britta Rabold, Egon Schallmayer, Andreas Thiel : The Limes . Theiss, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-8062-1461-1
  • Rainer Wiegels : A Roman inscription house from the small fort Hönehaus (Odenwald) , Germania 51, 1973, 543 ff.

Web links

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

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b Dieter Planck : New research on the Upper German and Raetian Limes . In: Hildegard Temporini (ed.): The rise and fall of the Roman world . Part II, Volume 5, 1, de Gruyter, Berlin – New York 1976, ISBN 3110066904 , p. 419.
  2. ^ A b c Dieter Planck: The Romans in Baden-Württemberg. Roman sites and museums from Aalen to Zwiefalten. Theiss, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8062-1555-3 . P. 57.
  3. ↑ Caracalla, Severus Alexander , Maximinus Thrax and Gordian III. (Limesblatt 2/1892, column 36).
  4. ↑ AE 1978, 532 .
  5. ↑ ORL = numbering of the Limes structures according to the publication of the Reich Limes Commission on the O bergermanisch- R ätischen- L imes
  6. ↑ KK = unnumbered K linseed K astell
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g h 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. 70.
  9. ↑ Wp 7/49 suspected at 49 ° 32 '34.12 "  N , 9 ° 23' 20.24"  O .
  10. ^ 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, Otto Petters, Heidelberg, Berlin and Leipzig 1931, p. 85.
  11. ^ A b A. Daubner, Peter Florian Mauser (Fridolin Reutti) in: Find reports from Baden-Württemberg . Volume 5, Stuttgart 1980, p. 139.
  12. ^ Willi Beck, Dieter Planck: The Limes in Southwest Germany . 2nd edition, Theiss, Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-8062-0242-7 , p. 49.
  13. ↑ Wp 8/1, stone tower, at 49 ° 32 '27.79 "  N , 9 ° 23' 22.15"  O .
  14. ↑ Wp 8/2, stone tower, at 49 ° 32 '6.28 "  N , 9 ° 23' 30.16"  O .
  15. ↑ Wp 8/3, stone tower, at 49 ° 31 '50.2 "  N , 9 ° 23' 35.44"  O .
  16. ↑ Wp 8/4 suspected at 49 ° 31 '39.93 "  N , 9 ° 23' 40.59"  O .
  17. ↑ Wp 8/5 suspected at 49 ° 31 '28.06 "  N , 9 ° 23' 45.04"  O .
  18. ↑ a b Philipp Filtzinger, Dieter Planck, Bernhard Cämmerer (ed.): The Romans in Baden-Württemberg. Theiss, Stuttgart, Aalen 1976. ISBN 3806201331 . P. 374.
  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, Otto Petters, Heidelberg, Berlin and Leipzig 1931. p. 86.
  20. ↑ Wp 8/6, stone tower, at 49 ° 31 '16.33 "  N , 9 ° 23' 49.17"  O .
  21. ↑ Wp 8/7 suspected at 49 ° 30 '58.56 "  N , 9 ° 23' 55.83"  O .
  22. ↑ fortlet Rinschheim at 49 ° 30 '54.36 "  N , 9 ° 23' 42.07"  O .