Long wall

The long wall in Rhineland-Palatinate is a Roman fortification from the 4th century, which was built under the late Roman Emperor Valentinian I (364 - 375 AD).

History

The wall had a total length of about 72 km and was supposed to protect a late antique imperial domain area, which covered an area of about 220 km². Two donations from the Frankish king Dagobert I from the 7th century show that the imperial domain later passed into the possession of the Frankish kings.

The exact protective function of this wall is not clear nowadays. Since the fortification had a maximum height of about two meters, it is assumed that it served more to protect against incoming game than for purely military purposes. This thesis is supported by the fact that the wall encloses an area with limestone soils that is one of the most fertile in the Trier region.

Several villae rusticae within the wall district or nearby , probably had the task of supplying the imperial court in Trier ( Augusta Treverorum ). These include the Villa rustica Newel and the Villa Welschbillig . The latter is known for the splendid “Hermenweiher”, a basin in front of the main facade of the complex, on which 112 herms from ancient personalities were set up. The pieces are now in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier . In the Middle Ages , a castle of the Trier electors was built on the ruins of the villa . Post-Roman history is therefore very similar to that of the Palatiolum in Trier-Pfalzel .

Appearance of the long wall

Individual fragments or remains of this fortification are preserved in Kordel , Butzweiler and Welschbillig ( Trier-Saarburg district ). In Herforst ( Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm ) a section of the wall was reconstructed from original stone material.

The average width of the wall was 60 cm. It was reinforced by pilaster strips integrated into the floor in an alternating sequence , with a width of 40 to 48 cm and a length of 7.40 m. These supporting pillars protrude up to 42 cm into the ground. Two inscriptions were found in the wall which, together with military finds, indicate that the Primani military unit had built it.

literature

Heinz Cüppers : The long wall. Domain district. In: H. Cüppers (Ed.): The Romans in Rhineland-Palatinate. Licensed edition, Nikol, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-933203-60-0 , p. 436f.
Thomas HM Fontaine: The Trier area in the 4th century. In: Alexander Demandt , Josef Engemann (ed.): Konstantin der Große. Emperor Caesar Flavius Constantinus. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2007, ISBN 978-3-8053-3688-8 , pp. 333–338.
Karl-Josef Gilles: Butzweiler, Trier-Saarburg district. In: Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier (ed.): Guide to archaeological monuments of the Trier region. Trier 2008, ISBN 978-3-923319-73-2 ( series of publications of the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier 35 ) p. 96f.
Karl E. Becker: memory. Space and time . Paulinus, Trier 1981, pp. 51-54.
Heritage and cultural association Herforst Heerbischda Beschkläpa (Ed.): On the trail of the long wall. Eastern section . Weiler, Bitburg 2004.

Web links

Entry on the late Roman long wall at Ramsteiner Kopf (Butzweiler, Newel municipality) in the database of cultural assets in the Trier region .
Text about the long wall on the website of the Butzweiler Heimatverein ( Memento from September 11, 2005 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

^ Thomas HM Fontaine: The Trier area in the 4th century. In: A. Demandt, J. Engemann (ed.): Konstantin der Große. Emperor Caesar Flavius Constantinus. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2007, p. 335f.
↑ CIL 13, 4139 ; CIL 13,4140 .

49.817254 6.638542Coordinates: 49 ° 49 ′ 2.1 " N , 6 ° 38 ′ 18.8" E

[1] Thomas HM Fontaine: The Trier area in the 4th century. In: A. Demandt, J. Engemann (ed.): Konstantin der Große. Emperor Caesar Flavius Constantinus. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2007, p. 335f.

[2] CIL 13, 4139 ; CIL 13,4140 .