Neuwirtshaus small fort
| Neuwirtshaus small fort | |
|---|---|
| limes | ORL NN ( RLK ) |
| Route (RLK) | Upper German Limes, route 5 (eastern weather route) |
| Dating (occupancy) |
hadrianic time; Time of the task unclear |
| Type | Small fort |
| unit | unknown vexillatio |
| size | 21 × 25 m = 0.0525 ha |
| Construction | Wood-earth fort; Wall at least partially turf |
| State of preservation | Terrain deformations visible in the forest |
| place | Hanau - Wolfgang |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 6 '40.3 " N , 8 ° 58' 58.4" E |
| height | 110 m above sea level NHN |
| Previous | ORL 22: Rückingen Fort (north) |
| Subsequently | ORL 23: Großkrotzenburg Fort (south) |
The Neuwirtshaus small fort was a Roman fort on the Wetterau stretch of the Upper German Limes , which was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 2005 . The ground monument is located in a dense forest area about 500 meters southeast of the outskirts of Hanau - Wolfgang ( Main-Kinzig district in Hesse ) and northeast of the forest settlement of Hanau- Großauheim , near Neuwirtshaus , a small collection of houses with two restaurants that does not have the status of a district.
location
The Neuwirtshaus small fort is 87 meters (300 Roman feet ) from the Limes, which runs relatively precisely from the north, coming from the Wetterau , to the south, towards the Main at Großkrotzenburg fort . The small fort is located on a barely visible sand dune in forest section 75 Torfhaus .
To the north is the Doppelbiersumpf , an extensive swamp area south of the Kinzig and part of the Bulau . In places the Limes was designed as a stick path with a palisade in front of it . Further south is the Schiffslache , an old arm of the Main, also a wetland. This meant that the area was difficult to reach from the neighboring forts Großkrotzenburg and Erlensee-Rückingen, especially in damp weather. About 300 meters south of the fort, a traffic route that was used in prehistoric times, the so-called Birkenhainer Straße, crosses the Limes.
The Limes runs near the fort mainly under a modern forest path. The attentive observer will only notice the height of the route and to the east of it the ditch in places. The Limes is much more visible on short sections south of the barbecue area at Neuwirtshaus and especially north of the federal motorway 45 , where, protected by the forest area, the wall has the best overall preservation on the eastern Wetteraustrail.
Until a few years ago, the area was difficult to find because it was in a conservation area. An information board was set up in 2002. The fort area itself is still overgrown by thick undergrowth, but some of it is accessible.
Research history
Early excavations in the small fort took place in 1856, 1862, 1883 and 1913. However, these provided only very imprecise results, mainly because the excavation methods used at the time made it difficult to interpret the pure wood and earth findings of the camp. A follow-up investigation in 1977 was therefore much easier: Since numerous ground plans were already known of similar forts, a single excavation cut in the south of the complex was sufficient to clarify the findings. This led (from the outside) through both upstream defensive trenches, the wall and the southern part of the crew barracks with eaves on the outside and the portico area on the inside.
Archaeological evidence
The facility was oriented to the east, towards the Limes. It was enclosed by two circular ditches; There was probably a bridge in front of the only gate. The outer ditch can still be seen clearly, the inner one has been leveled by the collapse of the wall. The 3.5 to 4 meter wide wall probably consisted of turf that was reinforced by regularly inserted wooden struts. It included a rectangular inner area of 21 × 25 meters (= 0.0525 hectares).
Inside was a U-shaped wooden building, the middle part of which was probably reserved for offices or the commandant's apartment. The inner courtyard was open to the gate and partially protected from the weather by the overhanging roof of the barracks. Since no roof tiles were found, the building should have been covered with wooden shingles or a thatched roof. The fragment of a glass window shows that at least some of the windows were glazed. Two stone foundations between the gate and the building suggest a battlement over the gate.
Dating and interpretation
The regular arrangement of the nearby guard posts Wp 5/11 to 5/15 as well as the proximity to Wp 5/13 suggest that the small fort was later added to the existing chain of guards. The finds suggest an edification in Hadrianic times. A rare find from the fort is a silver finger ring with leaf-shaped decorations. The time when the facility was abandoned cannot be dated from the few finds. There was also no evidence of violent destruction. The lack of dating finds is not surprising because of the very small excavation cut. Finds from the old excavations are missing - as is largely the case in the entire old district of Hanau - because most of them were burned with the collections of the Hanau Historical Museum in the Second World War . Few finds from recent excavations can be seen in the Steinheim Castle Museum , including the aforementioned silver finger ring.
The main task of the small fort was probably to monitor the border traffic on Birkenhainer Straße. Especially when the weather continued to be bad, the closest watchtowers were probably manned and supplied from there and it was used for communication along the Limes.
There are no indications of the troops stationed there. The storage building offered space for a maximum of 40–50 men. An occupancy of 20-30 men is more likely. It should have been a command from one of the neighboring cohort fort Rückingen or Großkrotzenburg.
Monument protection
The Neuwirtshaus small fort, as part of the Upper German-Raetian Limes, has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 2005 . It is also a ground monument according to the Hessian Monument Protection Act . Research and targeted collection of finds are subject to approval. Incidental finds are to be reported to the monument authorities. In the past, however, these regulations could not prevent the ground monument from being visited by predatory graves . Numerous small holes testify to their destructive burrowing work.
Limes course between the Neuwirtshaus fort and the Großkrotzenburg fort
| ORL | Name / place | Description / condition |
|---|---|---|
| KK | Neuwirtshaus small fort | See above |
| Wp 5/14 |
  The tower sites were destroyed during the construction of federal highway 8 , so that nothing can be seen in the area. To the south of this tower point, the Limes is clearly visible in the forest over a length of 750 meters. |
|
| Wp 5/15 | Groß-Auheim peat quarry |
 |
| Wp 5/16 | Flat rubble mound of a former stone tower, the basaltic foundations of which had sides of 5.10 × 5.30 m with a wall thickness of about one meter. The tower was about 30 meters away behind the palisade moat. Between the Großkrotzenburg train station and the Franziskanergymnasium Kreuzburg there is a sign pointing to the Limes. No remains of the tower can be seen above ground. | |
| ORL 23 | Großkrotzenburg Castle | → Main article Großkrotzenburg Castle |
See also
literature
- Dietwulf Baatz : The Roman Limes. Archaeological excursions between the Rhine and the Danube. 4th edition. P. 172f. Gebr. Mann, Berlin 2000. ISBN 3-7861-2347-0 .
- Claus Bergmann: Limes and Neuwirtshaus small fort . In: Guide to archaeological monuments in Germany, 27. Hanau and the Main-Kinzig district . Pp. 170-173. Theiss, Stuttgart 1994. ISBN 3-8062-1119-1
- Wolfgang Czysz : The small fort Neuwirtshaus . In: Dietwulf Baatz and Fritz-Rudolf Herrmann : The Romans in Hessen³ . Licensed edition of the 1989 edition, pp. 337-340. Nikol, Hamburg 2002. ISBN 3-933203-58-9
- Wolfgang Czysz: Archaeological follow-up investigation at the Neuwirtshaus small fort near Hanau . New Magazine for Hanau History 6, No. 5, 1977, pp. 121–128.
- Wolfgang Czysz: The Roman Limes between Kinzig and Main . (Archaeological monuments in Hessen, 3). Department for Prehistory and Early History in the State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen, Wiesbaden 1979. ISBN 3-89822-003-6
- Ernst Fabricius , Felix Hettner , Oscar von Sarwey (Hrsg.): The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes of the Roemerreiches / Abt. A, Vol. 2.1. Lines 3 to 5. Petters, Berlin and Leipzig 1936. pp. 168–173. and panels 16, Figs. 1-4.
- 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, especially p. 79 (Saalburg-Schriften 6).
- Margot Klee: The Limes between Rhine and Main. Theiss, Stuttgart 1989. ISBN 3-8062-0276-1
- Ferdinand Kutsch : Hanau. Part 2 , Frankfurt am Main 1926 (catalogs of West and South German antiquity collections 5) p. 129f.
Web links
- Kleinastell Neuwirtshaus on the official website of the city of Hanau
Online publication
- Limes World Heritage on the official website of the State Office for Monument Preservation Hesse with a complete, downloadable Limes development plan Hesse (pdf, 248.50 MB, 650 pages; in it Limes route Wp 5/13 to 5/16 pp. 607–610, Neuwirtshaus small fort pp. 611– 613)
Remarks
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ ORL = numbering of the Limes structures according to the publication of the Reich Limes Commission on the O bergermanisch- R ätischen- L imes
- ↑ KK = unnumbered K linseed K astell
- ↑ ORL XY = consecutive numbering of the forts of the ORL
