Small fort Henchir el-Hadjar
Map with all coordinates: | Small fort Henchir el-Hadjar | |
|---|---|
| Alternative name | fort romain de Hinshir al-Hadjar |
| limes |
Limes Tripolitanus (back line) |
| Dating (occupancy) | possibly late 3rd century |
| Type | Small fort |
| unit | unknown |
| size | 38.80 m × 38.80 m (= 0.15 ha) |
| Construction | stone |
| State of preservation | very well-preserved complex with clearly visible structural structures |
| place | Henchir el-Hadjar |
| Geographical location | 33 ° 42 ′ 16.9 " N , 9 ° 48 ′ 33.2" E |
| height | 123 m |
| Previous |
Tebaga-Clausura (west) small fort Benia Guedah Ceder (southwest) |
The small fort Henchir el-Hadjar , originally also known as Henchir-M'himès , is a late Roman military camp whose crew was responsible for rear security and surveillance tasks on the Limes Tripolitanus in the Province of Tripolitania . The border fortifications formed a deep system of forts and military posts. The small border guard is located at the northeast exit of the Tebaga Narrows in southern Tunisia , Gabès Governorate .
location
Henchir el-Hadjar, east of the mouth of Wadis Melab and west of Wadis Taoujout, lies in the plain of Sidi Guenaou that begins west of Djebel Bessioud. In this area it was the easternmost military base of the Tripolitan Limes. Its position in the middle of the north-eastern exit of the Tebaga Strait, which opens wide here, made it possible to monitor several intersecting highways. So not only the connections from the coastal town of Tacapae ( Gabès ) across the narrowness to the western desert oases remained in the eye of the military, but also a route running from northwest to southeast along the mountain ranges of the Djebel Tebaga and the mountainous region of Dahar . The actual control of the cross-border commuters was taken over by a guard station at the Tebaga-Clausura , a barrier system secured with ramparts, ditches, walls and watchtowers at the narrowest point of the narrowness, which limited border traffic to a single crossing. Another crossing a little further south over the Matma mountain range, which is already rising there, the northernmost end of the Dahar, also had to be monitored by the Roman troops. There were no barriers there.
Building history
The square, 38.80 × 38.80 meters (= 0.15 hectare) complex was built in the style of a quadriburgium typical of late antique fortifications . In the four corners stood rectangular towers, which protruded far from the connection of the very carefully constructed surrounding wall. The north-west corner was best preserved at over six meters high. There were also two similarly designed intermediate towers on the south and north sides. The only access to the east was flanked by two rectangular towers. An enemy penetrating here could be intercepted by a clavicle gate protruding into the interior of the fort, which resembled a similar construction at the small fort Benia Guedah Ceder to the southwest . No traces of other buildings are known from inside the fortification. The structural design resembles similar fortifications on the Tripolitan Limes which all belong to late antiquity . Henchir el-Hadjar also has a circumferential, 20 meter wide ditch and a wall in front of it, the highest point of which is around 38 meters from the fence. The finds consisted of rich late Roman ceramics, including two fragments of lamps with Christian motifs. Remains of the Roman wells were found 100 meters northeast of the fort.
More buildings
About 250 meters away, in the same direction as the fountain, was a badly damaged building with external reinforcements. To the south of the site there could have been another structure measuring 30 × 30 meters. To the east, around 20 meters away, the remains of a cistern made of Roman concrete ( Opus caementitium ) were discovered. Another 3 x 3.50 meter rectangular cistern was found 1.5 kilometers north of the small fort. A rectangular 3 × 3 meter cistern is said to be located 1.5 kilometers north of Henchir el-Hadjar. The remains of a Roman dam can be found on the edge of the wadis Taoujout to the east. It may have served to direct the water to Henchir el-Hadjar.
literature
- David J. Mattingly : Tripolitania. Taylor & Francis, 2005, ISBN 0-203-48101-1 , p. 317, Fig. 10: 2.
- Néji Djelloul: Les fortifications en Tunisie. Ministere de la culture, Agence de mise en valeur du patrimoine et de promotion culturelle, 1999, ISBN 9973917332 , p. 24.
- Pol Trousset: Recherches sur le limes Tripolitanus, du Chott el-Djerid à la frontière tuniso-libyenne. (Etudes d'Antiquites africaines). Éditions du Center national de la recherche scientifique, Paris 1974, ISBN 2-222-01589-8 , pp. 59-60.
- Julien Poinssot : Ruines peu importantes. Inscription. In: Bulletin trimestriel des antiquités africaines . 1883, SS 313.
Remarks
- ↑ Julien Poinssot : Ruines peu importantes. Inscription. In: Bulletin trimestriel des antiquités africaines . 1883, SS 313.
- ↑ Michael Mackensen : forts and military posts of the late 2nd and 3rd centuries on the "Limes Tripolitanus" . In: Der Limes 2 (2010), pp. 20–24; here: p. 22.
- ↑ Neji Djelloul: Les fortifications de Tunisie. Ministere de la culture, Agence de mise and valeur du patrimoine and de promotion culturelle, 1999, ISBN 9973917332 , p. 24.
- ↑ Tebaga-Clausura; Area of the ancient passage. 33 ° 40 '15.95 " N , 9 ° 37' 3.52" E
- ^ Pol Trousset: Recherches sur le limes Tripolitanus, du Chott el-Djerid à la frontière tuniso-libyenne. (Etudes d'Antiquites africaines). Éditions du Center national de la recherche scientifique, Paris 1974, ISBN 2-222-01589-8 , pp. 59-60; here: p. 59.
- ↑ Small fort Benia Guedah Ceder 33 ° 39 ′ 18.12 ″ N , 9 ° 36 ′ 56.3 ″ E
- ^ A b Pol Trousset: Recherches sur le limes Tripolitanus, du Chott el-Djerid à la frontière tuniso-libyenne. (Etudes d'Antiquites africaines). Éditions du Center national de la recherche scientifique, Paris 1974, ISBN 2-222-01589-8 , pp. 59-60; here: p. 60.