Fort Obernburg

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Fort Obernburg
Alternative name Nemaninga (only in local usage, without scientific basis)
limes ORL 35 ( RLK )
Route (RLK) Upper German Limes , route 6 ( Main line )
Dating (occupancy) around 100/110 AD
to around 260/275 AD
Type Cohort fort
unit a) Cohors I Germanorum  ?
b) Cohors IIII Aquitanorum equitata civium Romanorum
size approx. 2.9 ha
Construction a) wood-earth?
b) stone
State of preservation completely built over
place Obernburg am Main
Geographical location 49 ° 50 ′ 28 "  N , 9 ° 8 ′ 45.5"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 50 ′ 28 "  N , 9 ° 8 ′ 45.5"  E
height 129  m above sea level NHN
Previous ORL 34 Niedernberg Castle (north)
Subsequently ORL 36 Fort Wörth (south)
The Obernburg fort with the beneficiarier station after excavations from 1882 to 2007

The Obernburg fort was a Roman cohort fort in the middle of the old town of Obernburg am Main , a town in the Miltenberg district in the Bavarian administrative district of Lower Franconia . The fort belonged to the Main line of the Upper German Limes and is now completely built over. The former Roman garrison site became known nationwide due to its rich inscription finds, most of which come from the consecration area of ​​a beneficiary station , as well as extensive, newly acquired knowledge about the structure of the station.

location

The fort was built as part of the Nassen Limes on the western bank of the Lower Main. The river has dug itself deep into the landscape, but has not yet formed a very wide bed. The surrounding mountain ranges have received their rugged shapes from mostly small, narrow valleys that supply the Main with water via small rivers and streams. The Roman bank terrace of the river was relatively narrow and was bordered in the west by tree-covered, steeply rising slopes. Diagonally opposite the fort, the Spessart river Elsava flows south, coming from the west, the Mümling into the Main. To this day, research continues to discuss whether Obernburg should not be related to the Neckar-Odenwald-Limes, which begins a little further south , as the starting point of this border section known today began in Fort Wörth. According to modern knowledge, this garrison, less than eight kilometers south of Obernburg am Main, was built a little later than the Odenwald Limes, which was initially laid out as a post route in around 110/115 AD. Obernburg, which was built around 100/110 AD, could have played a certain role at the northern end of this border section in the initial phase.

Wilhelm Conrady (1829–1903), route commissioner of the Reich Limes Commission, was the first to determine the structure of the fort and found important finds
The location of the fort at the northern apex of the Odenwald Limes.

Research history

The above-ground structures of the stone fort must have been formative until the Middle Ages, as the main routes of the camp and parts of the fortifications are clearly visible as streets in the cityscape, even if nothing of the visible masonry has survived. Badgasse takes the course of Via praetoria , the street leading to the south-east to the main gate ( Porta praetoria ) of the camp, and Römerstraße (formerly: Hauptstraße) corresponds to the course of Via praetoria , which leads to the south-west and north-east gates ( Porta principalis dextra and Porta principalis sinistra ). Even the Via decumana at the rear of a Roman garrison with its route to the fourth camp gate in the northwest, is partially taken up again in its approximate course from Schmiedgasse. The Obere Gasse in turn traces the front part of the southern front of the fort. In order to point out the Roman military camp, the former Porta praetoria was marked on the spot in the pavement of Badgasse after 1984 .

As the location of a Roman fort, Obernburg was mentioned in the relevant literature as early as 1771, but the fort was thought to be in the vineyards above the city. After the later route commissioner of the Reichs-Limeskommission (RLK), Wilhelm Conrady , had tried in vain to find the garrison in 1882, he succeeded in the autumn and winter of 1884, despite difficult conditions, in schematically mapping the structure of the fort under the dense, medieval overbuilding . His excavation cuts and probes revealed the dimensions of the complex, its four gates and, in broad outline, the Principia , the staff building of the garrison. In 1901 a fragment of a relief with the Roman goddess of victory Victoria was found in the area of ​​the former Principia front, at the confluence of Schmiedgasse and Römerstraße today . In the same area, the remainder of a building inscription emerged from the ground in 1921, to which the Victoria fragment certainly belonged.

Around 100 meters from the southern fort wall, seven altars of the Roman road police ( beneficiaries ) were discovered during the construction of a petrol station in 1954 . In 1959 a Roman fountain came to light around 200 meters north of the fort in a new school building (today Obernburg care center), which contained the remains of two giant Jupiter columns from the Roman camp village. Until 1984, north of the fort, in the area of ​​the former police station (until 2008) at Römerstraße 93, the ancient burial ground with many finds became known. As early as 1849, Major Maximilian Ney, who was then assigned to Obernburg to fight the revolution, had commissioned a division of soldiers to dig up “a lot of Roman vessels that appeared to have come from graves” along the road leading north out of the town in the area of ​​today's district court to let. The finds came to the Germanic National Museum in Nuremberg, where they could not be correctly assigned until 1968 due to a typographical error in the entry list (Oberndorf instead of Obernburg). Evidence of the older Holz-Erde predecessor fort was also provided several times. Among other things, excavations in the Löwengarten in 1985/86 and the new construction of the police station at Miltenberger Straße 13 in 2004. Between 2000 and 2007, investigations were again carried out in the area of ​​the petrol station built in 1954, and the entire road police station with a consecration area was recorded .

development

A first wood-earth fort was located in the period shortly after AD 100/101 and AD 100/110, respectively , after analysis of the finds and the supra-regional contexts of the find, among others by archaeologists Egon Schallmayer and Barbara Pferdehirt Identification of a building inscription that was found in the area of ​​the vestibule belonging to the staff building, probably replaced by the stone fort in 162. This date corresponds to a number of dendrochronological data from the time of the construction of the wooden Limes palisade on the Front Limes (younger Odenwald line) and its continuation through the Rhaetian Wall. In addition, the founding date of the camp villages ( Buch Fort ) and important construction work in other forts ( Aalen ) on the border corridors developed at that time can be linked to the sixties of the 2nd century. This decade stands for major expansion and fortification measures on the border with the Germanic Barbaricum . Judging by the findings of the various layers of fire, it was at least partially destroyed again around 233 AD during an Alemanni attack. However, it remained occupied until the Upper German Limes area ( Dekumatenland ) was cleared around AD 260/275. The coin series ends as early as 244/247 during the reign of the emperor Philip Arabs . After the retreat of the Romans, however, the camp village was apparently partially repopulated, as related findings suggest.

Fort

Wood and earth fort

For a long time, in the built-up area south of the Porta principalis dextra of the stone fort, at least one older wood-earth camp with a two-phase fort moat has been known - in sections. The ditch, which was cut in 2004 at Miltenberger Straße 13, is overlaid by a younger Roman road that leads straight to the southwest gate of the stone fort. This wood-earth warehouse could therefore be the oldest Roman military installation on this site. It is possible that this camp also existed for some time parallel to the stone fort, only to be abandoned and finally to be built over by the ever-expanding camp village.

Stone fort

The almost rectangular, 188 × 166 meters (= 2.98 hectares) stone fort Obernburg has the largely standardized floor plan typical of the Middle Imperial period with rounded corners (playing card shape). The praetorial front, the main side of the fort facing the enemy with the porta praetoria , was oriented to the southeast, towards the Main.

Fort wall

The defensive wall was 2.10 meters wide with the base. Overall, the wall width varied between 1.85 to 2.25 meters in the base area. As the findings found several times during the excavations showed, the battlements were once crowned with the semi-cylindrical stone borders typical of Limes forts.

To the north of the southwestern intermediate tower there were three layers of very well-preserved ashlar masonry of the defense with clean joints. It emerged from this that the lower part of the wall was structured similarly to the watchtowers on the Odenwald Limes. On the foundation there was a 20 centimeter high block layer, after which the fence receded ten centimeters. In this area there was a layer of 22 centimeters high, wedge-shaped base cornices with their sloping surfaces pointing outwards. Two layers of stone, each 22 centimeters high, had survived above this ledge. The blocks were between 38 and 73 centimeters long. In the rubble of the tower there were also two pieces of the cornice cornice and semicircular tin lids.

Gates and towers

On at least three sides of the fort there was a double-lane gate, each flanked by two towers. The double-door structure of the Porta decumana (north-west gate ) is a mere assumption by Conrady, since a large beer cellar had been in its place for years as early as 1884 and the rear storage wall was in places almost completely demolished in places, so that its course was only partially due to the discoloration of the Fort moat could be traced.

After investigations in the area of ​​the southwestern intermediate tower in the retentura (rear camp) of the garrison, it was found that this tower protruded 20 cm from the defensive wall. This type of construction was repeated in all the other parts of the tower, with the exception of the four corner towers, of which no clear traces were left.

Trenches

As an obstacle to the approach, behind a berm , which was measured in several places between 70 and 75 centimeters wide, a 3.75 meter wide pointed ditch was laid around the facility, which during the investigation by Conrady on a then free meadow area around 20 meters in front of the northwestern medieval City wall, still 1.60 meters deep, was preserved. The trench section showed that there was a ditch 15 to 20 centimeters deep at the bottom . After Conrady found no further evidence of a second fort ditch in the investigated area at Roman ground level at a distance of one meter from the outer edge of the ditch, he suspected that Obernburg might have only had one ditch.

Interior development

It was naturally difficult to identify traces of the interior development in the densely populated medieval town center of Obernburg, but the coarse structures of the principia (staff buildings) could be proven beyond doubt.

Principia

This administrative building, which with its offices was grouped around a rectangular inner courtyard, occupied the center of the garrison directly behind the intersection of the Via principalis and the Via praetoria . Lying across the Via principalis , in front of the Principia , was a large multi-purpose hall, the exact dimensions of which are not known for Obernburg. It is best to examine the remains of the wall from the area of ​​the rear buildings of the staff building. There, in the central axis of the building, was the flag sanctuary, which also contained a cult image of the emperor. The service rooms were arranged side by side to the left and right of the sanctuary. This sanctuary, in which the standards of the unit were kept, had a semicircular apse in Obernburg that protruded from the rear wall of the fort. The design of the sanctuary with apses had become common in the Roman castles, especially in the Germanic area, from the middle of the 2nd century. This construction detail suggests that the inscription found in 1921 describes at least the stone construction of the staff building.

Storage bath

The bath belonging to the fort, which was most likely shared by the residents of the camp village, could not be located until today.

Building inscription

Building inscription from the transverse hall of the Principia , today in the Roman Museum Obernburg

The inscription from the area of ​​the Principia , preserved in fragments, is named by the Cohors IIII Aquitanorum equitata civium Romanorum as the fort occupation. The missing letters are reconstructed in the restored building inscription that can be seen in the Römermuseum Obernburg, slightly different from the text AE 1923, 30 , which Georg Hock added. However, this does not have a significant impact on the content.

Imp (eratori) Caes (ari) Marco [Aurelio]
Antonino Aug (usto) [tr (ibunicia) p (otestate) XVI]
[c] o (n) s (uli) III et imp (eratori) C [aes (ari)]
[L (ucio) A] urelio Vero [Aug (usto)]
[tri] b (unicia) potest (ate) II co (n) s [uli II]
[co] h (ors) IIII Aq (uitanorum) eq (uitata) c (ivium) R (omanorum)

Translation:

The Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus , in possession of the tribunician power for the sixteenth time, consul for the third time, and the Emperor Lucius Aurelius Verus Augustus , in possession of the tribunician power for the second time, consul for the second time, (has) the 4th partially mounted Cohort of Aquitaine Roman law (the camp / fort built).

The date of the inscription in the year 161/162 results from the imperial titulature.

Small finds

During the excavations on the western corner, two brick stamps of the Mainz 22nd Legion “Primigenia” as well as a round, 82 millimeter medallion with the manufacturer's inscription “Iustus fecit” (Justus made this) were found in addition to ordinary clay and sigillata shards. While searching in vain for traces of the completely demolished tower between the western corner and the Porta decumana , Conrady found the only coin from the excavation of 1884, a denarius of the emperor Elagabal (218 to 222), in the presumed area .

Troops and military personnel

Cohors I Germanorum

The auxiliary group stationed here perhaps at the beginning of the 2nd century consisted of the Cohors I Germanorum ("1st  cohort of Germanic peoples"), which has been documented for Upper Germany . This assumption is based on four brick stamps that were found in 1994 during the excavation for the Obernburg care center. Then she replaced the Cohors II Hispanorum in Bad Wimpfen , which in turn moved to Stockstadt on the Main . In addition to brick stamps, there is also an inscription of the 1st Germanic cohort. In the further course of the construction of the younger Odenwald Limes, this unit was moved forward to the Jagsthausen Castle location . The earliest inscription on this Limesline was placed in Jagsthausen before the death of Emperor Antoninus Pius (138 to 161).

Cohors IIII Aquitanorum

Lucius Petronius Florentinus, commander of the Cohors IIII Aquitanorum , dedicated this stone to Jupiter

There are some unanswered questions about the history of the unit. It is not certain whether the grave inscription from the vicinity of Saint-Lizier in ancient Aquitaine for a centurion of the Cohors Aquitanorum quarta is actually identical with the auxiliary troops mentioned in Obernburg, especially since the inscription is assigned to the Julio-Claudian era. If this dating is correct, a military diploma from Debeletz, Bulgaria, dated September 20, 82 AD, in which it is reported that it was Emperor Vespasianus (69 to 79 AD) who the Cohors IIII Aquitanorum has set up. From the CIL XVI.20 diploma it is known that the cohort was in Upper Germany on May 21, 74 AD. The Bulgarian military diploma confirms this location around eight years later. Another mention of this unit in Upper Germany, which has been handed down several times, took place on October 27, 90 AD. Before their deployment in Obernburg, the Aquitanians were stationed in Fort Friedberg on Burgberg in Wetterau. This is inferred from the unit's brick stamps found there. The troops are said to have stayed there until 89 AD. However, it is not known when it was moved to Obernburg. On September 8, 116 and 130, and on October 16, 134 the Aquitanians were confirmed again in Upper Germany. Whether the unit is identical to the Cohors IIII Aquitanorum mentioned in Upper Pannonia in 204 cannot be said either. In the Roman army, the names of units were sometimes given twice.

A commander of the Aquitaine, the Praefectus cohortis (cohort prefect) Lucius Petronius Florentinus from the port city of Saldae , today Béjaïa , in the North African province of Mauretania Caesariensis , was known by name several times in Obernburg. His dedicatory stele to Jupiter , made of sandstone, was found walled in in the Obernburger Gasthaus zur Krone. It is noteworthy that an altar to the patron goddesses of the parade ground has been preserved by the same officer, from which, in addition to his Mauritanian origin, it can be seen that his father Lucius originally came from the Stellatina tribe in the area of ​​the Etrurian city ​​of Veii . And a third stone is named by Lucius Petronius Florentinus. It was built by the military doctor Marcus Rubrius Zosimus from Ostia for the health of his commander and came to light northeast of the fort near the arterial road there. With this stone, Marcus Rubrius Zosimus fulfilled a vow. Apparently Lucius Petronius Florentinus was seriously ill or wounded and was able to recover. This sandstone altar is now in Aschaffenburg.

I (ovi) O (ptimo) M (aximo)
Apollini and Aes
culapio Saluti
Fortunae sacr (um)
per salute L (uci) Pe
troni Florenti
ni praef (ecti) coh (ortis) IIII
Aq (uitanorum) eq (uitatae) c (ivium) R (omanorum) M (arcus) Ru
brius Zosimus
medicus coh (ortis) s (upra) s (criptae)
domu Ostia
v (otum) s (olvit) l (ibens) l (aetus) m (erito)

Translation:

Dedicated to Jupiter, the best and greatest, to Apollo and Aesculapius , to Salus, to Fortuna . For the health of Lucius Petronius Florentinus, commander of the 4th partially mounted cohort of the Aquitanians under Roman law, Marcus Rubrius Zosimus, doctor of the above-mentioned cohort, from Ostia, gladly redeemed his vow with pleasure and for a fee.

The vow stone of Caius Tettius Secundus, another cohort prefect of the Cohors IIII Aquitanorum equitata civium Romanorum , was abducted a long way and found in Nieder-Ingelheim , 120 kilometers away . It is believed that the deportation is related to the construction of the Ingelheim imperial palace .

Numerus Brittonum et Exploratores Nemaningenses

A consecration stone that was carried off to Aschaffenburg in the Middle Ages names 178 other troops for August 13th that were previously associated with Stockstadt and then with Obernburg, six kilometers away:

Apollini et
Dianae n (umerus) Brit (tonum)
et explorat (ores)
Nemaning (enses) c (uram)
agen (te) T (ito) Aurel (io) / Firmino | (centurione)
leg (ionis) XXII Pr (imigeniae) P (iae) F (idelis) / v (otum) s (olverunt) l (ibentes) l (aeti) m (erito) Idibus
Augus (tis) Orfito
et Rufo co (n) s (ulibus)

Translation:

For Apollon and Diana. The unit of the Brittonen and the reconnaissance unit of the Mümling under the supervision of Titus Aurelius Firminus, Centurion of the 22nd Legion "Primigenia", dutiful and loyal . They have honored their vows with pleasure, joyfully, and for a fee. In the Ides of August when Orfitus and Rufus were consuls.

Another inscription that was dragged to Aschaffenburg and has now disappeared is known from the same army units:

I (ovi) O (ptimo) M (aximo) [et Genio?]
n (umeri) Brit (tonum) [et expl (oratorum)]
Neman [in] g (ensium)
Q (uintus) B [3] ius
Br [3] us | (centurio)
[l] eg (ionis) XXII P [r (imigeniae) P (iae) F (idelis)]
v (otum) s (olvit) l (ibens) l (aetus) m (erito)
Inscription of a logging squad of Legio XXII in the Roman Museum.

Translation:

Jupiter, the greatest and the best ... The unit of the Brittons and the reconnaissance unit of the Mümling under the centurion Quintus B ... ius Br .... us of the 22nd Legion "Primigenia", dutiful and faithful, has their vows gladly, happily and redeemed for a fee.

The number Brittonum probably contributed as exploratores the Nemaningensium behalf. Perhaps these two associations were in the wood and earth warehouse south of the stone fort, but this is questionable. If the first inscription came from Obernburg, this camp should have still existed in 178. Based on the findings from the new excavations, it can be stated that the presence of the two units could only have been there for a short time. Therefore, it makes sense to assume that the Brittons and reconnaissance planes were the crews for Fort Wörth and look for the origin of the stones there.

Legio XXII Primigenia

The headquarters of Legio XXII Primigenia , located in Mogontiacum (Mainz), has repeatedly assigned special departments for special tasks throughout history. In 1889, a short distance to the left flank of the Obernburg fort (northeast side), near the beginning of the corner rounding to the Praetorialfront, during excavations for a new building for the Wörn tannery at a depth of around one meter, the altar stone made of red sandstone from a vexillation of the Mainz Legion was discovered dated to the year 207. At that time there was a command of the Legion for wood procurement in Obernburg, which was led by the centurion Publius Volusinius Sabinus and his deputy, the Optio Titus Honoratius Dentilianus. Since several of these chronologically consecrated inscriptions by logging troops in the area of ​​the Main Limes have come down to us (dated from 206 to 214 AD), as well as due to other verifiable events in Upper Germany, science assumes a large-scale multi-year construction or renovation program for military sites at the time this province.

Vicus , grave fields and post-castle use

Jupiter giant column (replica) in front of the museum in Obernburg.
Late Roman glass bowl with Christian motifs in the Roman Museum.

On its landside, the fort was surrounded by a spacious camp village ( vicus ) . The extension in the south was about 350 m, north about 250 m, the population is roughly estimated at 500 to 1000. The size of the vicus changed over time; The 2004 excavation in the southernmost part of the camp village revealed that this area was probably only inhabited until the end of the 2nd century, as there were no younger groups of finds. In particular, to the south of the Porta principalis dextera , along the Roman road to Wörth recorded there, larger contiguous areas have so far been examined. It became clear that at this garrison square, too, one can expect the typical elongated wooden strip houses in the civilian settlement. For the Obernburger Vicus alone, three Jupiter columns have been identified, which are very common in northern Upper Germany. The representation of a group of riders of the columns, which is shown in the local Roman museum, is interesting. The rider carries a wheel as an attribute, which is usually associated with the Celtic storm god Taranis . An altar belonging to the same find, also consecrated to Jupiter, has the same three-spoke wheel in the gable. This can be interpreted as an indication of local religious beliefs. To the north of the fort, at the end of the vicus area there, the former police inspection (until 2008) discovered many finds from the Roman burial ground.

As a state institution there was a beneficiary station in the Vicus (see separate section), which replaced a large state-owned company for processing non-ferrous metals. A private brick production, a bone carving and a manufacturer of fittings for representative boxes and chests could be proven in the Obernburger Lagerdorf. A found blank column points to stonemasons or sculptors who probably obtained their raw material from quarries on the Limesstrasse between Obernburg and Wörth, possibly also from the northern outskirts.

Research suggests that after the Romans withdrew from the forts of the Main Limes, over time, Germanic tribes settled in the abandoned camp villages as well as in the wider area, as well as in the fort area, or at least stayed temporarily. Alemannic finds are known from several fort locations on the Main Limes, for example from Stockstadt and Großkrotzenburg . Not only late antique coins were found in Obernburg, but in 1996 during an excavation on the occasion of a new construction project in the fort area, a glass bowl with Christian motifs, imported from Italy, was discovered. The piece dates to the late 4th century.

Benefit station

The Obernburg beneficiary station, which was excavated until 2007
One of the beneficiaries dedicatory inscriptions
Rider of a giant column of Jupiter with a three-spoke wheel in the Roman Museum.

With the excavations from 2000 to 2007, it was possible for the first time to research and document the floor plan of a Roman beneficiary station with all essential sub-areas, i.e. official and living rooms as well as the consecration area. For the first time, it was possible to gain insights into how the station is integrated into the vicus .

As early as May 1954, seven consecration altars were salvaged by Roman street policemen ( beneficiaries ) in the course of a new filling station , which had been placed by the two provincial legions in Mogontiacum (Mainz) and Argentoratum (Strasbourg). Since these altars were mostly erected near a corresponding beneficiary station, the researchers now had an approximate idea of ​​the location of this service building. The search cuts at that time were unsuccessful. After the petrol station was demolished, the property should be rebuilt. In the run-up to this renewed development, the Munich State Archaeological Collection, together with the Bavarian State Monuments Office, used the opportunity to extensively examine the site from July 2000. In addition to a large consecration area, the official building was also encountered and the south-western, rear part was examined. A subsequent excavation in 2002 was the rear northern area of ​​the structure. The last archaeological work in 2007 was dedicated to the northern front area of ​​the station, which is located under an undeveloped part of the property. The south-western Roman main and arterial road to Wörth was also cut. The findings were astonishingly good, as the ancient office was built near the foot of the town hill and an erosion channel had its embankment area here. After the station was abandoned, sandy hillside clay was deposited 1.10 to 2.50 meters above the ancient horizon. The excellent starting point for the excavations was initially clouded by the non-compliance with agreements, as the excavation work had started before the arrival of the excavation team under the direction of the archaeologist Bernd Steidl . Those responsible had not only destroyed a core area of ​​the ancient sanctuary, but also caused some serious damage to the monuments. At the last moment, the archaeologists were able to prevent the loading of the demolition rubble from the petrol station, which contained ten partially decorated, half-tonne altar plinths. In addition, a complete consecration altar and one that had just been smashed were saved.

According to evidence of a coin find and the oldest datable consecration stone, the station was built shortly before 144 AD (verifiably after 140 AD) about 100 meters from the south-west gate of the fort on the road from there to the neighboring fort Wörth and was located within the vicus zone. As the research showed, there had already been a 45 × 30 meter large Roman half-timbered building in front of this building, the dimensions of which could only be partially recorded during the previous excavations. 17 ovens and production waste indicate an unusually large non-ferrous metal processing company ( Fabrica ). It was probably run by the state. Schallmayer speculated that this building could belong to an older fort, while the excavator Steidl was thinking of a free and exposed production facility on the main road. A smaller area of ​​this Fabrica burned down, the rest was put down as planned in order to create the construction site for the official building. Around the year 200 the building was renovated and redesigned. The youngest datable altar from the sanctuary of the station dates from January 13, 224, donated by the beneficiary Nertinius Festus, who had been deposited by the 8th "Augusta" legion in Strasbourg . Ten to twenty years later at the most, the office burned down completely, and some altars were overturned. Weapons found could perhaps indicate a military event. Individual parts of the service building that were still usable were apparently removed for reuse after the destruction.

Station building

In contrast to the wooden houses that predominate in the vicus , the station building is a representative stone building around 30 × 18 meters in size. It follows a Mediterranean construction scheme, which is rare in fort towns on the Limes. The inner courtyard ( peristyle ), which was finally paved with large sandstone slabs , with a surrounding colonnade, housed a running fountain in its center, the square trough of which consisted of interlocked sandstone slabs . The living and working rooms around the courtyard are mostly limited by light half-timbered walls. The alleged housing of Benefiziariers in the rear, south corner of the building has brick walls with paintings were provided. The mortar floor (with sandstone splinters) of the room lay over a sewer heating system that was fed through a pit in the neighboring room. To the north of the living room the dining room ( triclinium ) is assumed, which is separated from the kitchen by the connecting passage from the inner courtyard to the consecration area. Under the kitchen and utility room, which had a brick stove, was a storage cellar, to which it was connected by a staircase. A writing room is assumed in the room to the east. In addition to a large hearth, bronze ornaments of military equipment and a bronze inkwell were found in the area. Other rooms equipped with hearths are assumed to be living rooms. The front area of ​​the beneficiary station can only be reconstructed due to the excavation of the northeast corner, the largest area was destroyed by modern housing developments. In front of the stone wall was a row of rooms with rammed earth floors, presumably with offices, which was bordered by a half-timbered wall on the street. A row of columns ( portico ) is assumed at a distance of about one meter in front of it. The paving of the street was last extended in the area of ​​the station up to the half-timbered wall. A sewage ditch ran between the house and the street, the cover of which is only suspected in the paved area. An approximately 9 × 5 meter large half-timbered extension north of the front had three rooms with a total of two fireplaces and suggests its use as living space.

Sanctuary

The consecration district, which had been expanded twice, was behind the station as viewed from the Roman road. In it, the beneficiaries put up a consecration stone in thanks for the six months of service they had successfully completed on site, which was consecrated to at least the highest state god Jupiter , often also his wife Juno or the protective spirit of the place ( genius loci ), and more rarely to other gods. During the excavations in 2000 and 2002, at least 75 sets of consecration altars, some only through the pedestal, were verified. After all, 30 altars could be recovered completely or in fragments. With the old finds from 1954 and two spoils from the medieval town wall of Obernburg and the church in neighboring Eisenbach , 39 beneficiary dedications have now been at least partially preserved. The researchers reckon with a total of around 160 stones that originally stood at the beneficiary station. Most of them, some of them still protruding upright from the alluvial clay, were misused as cheap building material in the Middle Ages. Corresponding traces with spoil from the excavation site testify to this.

Roman Museum

See main article: Römermuseum Obernburg

The Roman past of Obernburg is presented in the local Roman Museum. The showpiece of the museum is the large stone collection on the ground floor. It contains, among other things, inscription stones of the beneficiarii consulares , the building inscription from the staff building of the cohort fort as well as fragments of several Jupiter giant columns . In front of the museum there is a reconstruction of such a column.

See also

literature

General

  • Egon Schallmayer : The Odenwald Limes. Along the Roman border between the Main and Neckar. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2309-5 , pp. 68-72.
  • Bernd Steidl: World Heritage Limes - Rome's border on the Main . Accompanying volume for the exhibition in the Archäologische Staatssammlung München 2008. Logo, Obernburg 2008, ISBN 3-939462-06-3 .
  • Wolfgang Czysz u. a .: The Romans in Bavaria. Licensed edition, Nikol, Hamburg 2005, ISBN 3-937872-11-6 .
  • Bernhard Beckmann in: Dietwulf Baatz and Fritz-Rudolf Herrmann: The Romans in Hesse. Licensed edition, Nikol, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-933203-58-9 , pp. 457–459.
  • Dietwulf Baatz : The Roman Limes. Archaeological excursions between the Rhine and the Danube . 4th edition. Gebr. Mann, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7861-2347-0 .
  • Felix Teichner : On the chronology of the Roman Obernburg a. Main, district of Miltenberg, Lower Franconia. In: Report of the Bavarian Heritage Monument Care 30/31, 1989/90 , pp. 179-234 ( online ).
  • Joachim von Elbe : The Romans in Germany. Excavations, sites, museums RV-Verlag, Berlin 1977. ISBN 3-575-01188-5 . P. 207 ff.

Individual studies

  • Bernd Steidl: The statio of the beneficiarii consularis in Obernburg a. Main - Final excavations at the front of the building. In: The archaeological year in Bavaria 2007. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8062-2156-5 . Pp. 84-86.
  • Marcus Jae: On the early Roman times and the stone fort of Obernburg. In: The archaeological year in Bavaria 2006. P. 91–94.
  • Bernd Steidl: The station of the beneficiarii consularis in Obernburg am Main. In: Germania 83 . Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2005. ISBN 3-8053-3428-1
  • Bernd Steidl: Guarantor for law and order - the beneficiary station of Obernburg am Main. In: The Archaeological Year in Bavaria 2000 . Konrad Theiss publishing house. Stuttgart 2001. ISBN 3-8062-1579-0 . P. 81 ff.
  • Michael Hoppe, Heide Lüdemann: New investigations in the fortress Obernburg a. Main. In: The Archaeological Year in Bavaria 1996 . Konrad Theiss publishing house. Stuttgart 1997. ISBN 3-8062-1311-9 . P. 132 ff.
  • Heide Lüdemann: A Rhodan relief medallion from the northern vicus of the Roman fort Obernburg a. Main. In: The Archaeological Year in Bavaria 1994 . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1995. pp. 120-122.
  • Dirk Rosenstock: Excavations in the vicus of the Roman fort Obernburg a. Main, Miltenberg district, Lower Franconia. In: The Archaeological Year in Bavaria 1986 . Konrad Theiss publishing house. Stuttgart 1987. pp. 121-124.
  • Wilhelm Schleiermacher : New finds of Roman inscription stones on the Lower Main . Aschaffenburger Jahrbuch 2, 1955. S. 134 ff.
  • Josef Michelbach: Roman house, Obernburg. Finds from the Obernburg fort. City of Obernburg am Main, 1954.
  • Georg Hock: New Roman finds from Obernburg. In: Germania 13, 1929 . P. 59 ff.
  • Wilhelm Conrady: The latest Roman finds in Obernburg. In: West German Journal for History and Art No. 9 . Verlag F. Lintz, 1890. P. 164 ff.
  • Wilhelm Conrady and J. Jacobs in the series Der Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes of the Roemerreiches (Eds. Ernst Fabricius , Felix Hettner , Oscar von Sarwey ): Department B, Volume 3, Fort No. 35 (1903)

Web links

Commons : Kastell Obernburg  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Unencumbered by lack of scientific evidence to go home to research and tourism promotion assume that Obernburg due to the fact that there may also be a small auxiliary forces unit called Exploratorum Nemaningensium has been stationed, the place name in ancient times Nemaninga have had. In fact, nothing is known about the ancient names of either the fort or the vicus.
  2. ↑ If it was previously assumed that the fort was about 3 hectares in size, an excavation from 2006 showed that the position of the Decuman side (presumably due to a measurement error) at the excavation site was 3.15 m further towards the interior of the fort. See Marcus Jae: On the early Roman times and the stone fort of Obernburg. In: The archaeological year in Bavaria 2006. p. 94.
  3. ↑ The altar of Paternius Amandus, see AE 1978, 00533 , was sunk in a well together with two giant riders and other objects.
  4. ↑ For an Obernburg quarry in the direction of Wörth, Roman use could be proven through the discovery of parts of a Hercules statuette , which was consecrated to Hercules maliator . So far (2010) this is the only proven Roman quarry on the Main Limes, but due to the nature of the stoneware found in this section, further quarries are suspected, especially in the Miltenberg area. (see Bernd Steidl: Limes World Heritage: Rome's Border on the Main. Logo, Obernburg am Main 2008, ISBN 978-3-939462-06-4 , pp. 124–125.)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Egon Schallmayer: The Odenwald Limes. Along the Roman border between the Main and Neckar. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2309-5 . P. 70.
  2. ↑ a b c Bernd Steidl : Limes World Heritage: Rome's border on the Main. Logo, Obernburg am Main 2008, ISBN 978-3-939462-06-4 , p. 109.
  3. ↑ a b Ludwig Wamser: For guidance. In Bernd Steidl: Limes World Heritage: Rome's border on the Main. Logo, Obernburg am Main 2008, ISBN 978-3-939462-06-4 , p. 9.
  4. ↑ Egon Schallmayer: The Odenwald Limes. Along the Roman border between the Main and Neckar. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2309-5 . P. 35.
  5. ↑ Egon Schallmayer: The Odenwald Limes. Along the Roman border between the Main and Neckar. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2309-5 . P. 74.
  6. ↑ Joseph Fuchs , Alte Geschichte von Mainz, 1771, Volume I, p. 33: “where there was a small Roman castle on the Pfalrayn”; Volume II (1772) p. 272, however: "large strong castle on the mountain at the imaginary town of Obernburg" (from Leo Hefner: 1900 years Obernburg am Main)
  7. ↑ JF Knapp : Roman monuments of the Odenwald, especially the county of Erbach and the rule of Breuberg . Engelmann, Heidelberg 1813. p. 85
  8. ^ Wilhelm Conrady: The excavation of the Limes fort in Obernburg a. M. In: West German magazine for history and art No. 4 . Verlag F. Lintz, 1885. p. 157.
  9. ^ Wilhelm Conrady: The latest Roman finds in Obernburg. In: West German Journal for History and Art No. 9 . Verlag F. Lintz, 1890. p. 172.
  10. ^ Leo Hefner: 1900 years Obernburg am Main . Editor: City of Obernburg am Main, 1984. pp. 5–6.
  11. ↑ a b c d e Egon Schallmayer: The Odenwald Limes. Along the Roman border between the Main and Neckar. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2309-5 . P. 69
  12. ↑ Egon Schallmayer: The Odenwald Limes. From the Main to the Neckar. 1st edition. Konrad Theiß Verlag, Stuttgart 1984. ISBN 3-8062-0328-8 . Pp. 56-57.
  13. ↑ Barbara Pferdehirt: The Roman occupation of Germania and Rhaetia from the time of Tiberius to the death of Traian. Investigations into the chronology of southern Gaulish relief sigillata. In: Yearbook of the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz 33, 1986. pp. 221–320; here: p. 279.
  14. ^ Claudia Theune: Teutons and Romanes in the Alamannia. Walter de Gruyter publisher. Berlin 2004. ISBN 3-11-017866-4 . P. 410.
  15. ^ Claudia Theune: Teutons and Romanes in the Alamannia. Walter de Gruyter publisher. Berlin 2004. ISBN 3-11-017866-4 . P. 126.
  16. ^ Wilhelm Conrady: The excavation of the Limes fort in Obernburg a. M. In: West German magazine for history and art No. 4 . Verlag F. Lintz, 1885. pp. 164-165.
  17. ^ Wilhelm Conrady: The excavation of the Limes fort in Obernburg a. M. In: West German magazine for history and art No. 4 . Verlag F. Lintz, 1885. p. 163.
  18. ^ Wilhelm Conrady: The excavation of the Limes fort in Obernburg a. M. In: West German magazine for history and art No. 4 . Verlag F. Lintz, 1885. p. 165.
  19. ^ Wilhelm Conrady: The excavation of the Limes fort in Obernburg a. M. In: West German magazine for history and art No. 4 . Verlag F. Lintz, 1885. p. 162.
  20. ^ Anne Johnson (German adaptation by Dietwulf Baatz ): Römische Kastelle . Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1987, ISBN 3-8053-0868-X , p. 152.
  21. ↑ a b AE 1923, 00030
  22. ^ Wilhelm Conrady: The excavation of the Limes fort in Obernburg a. M. In: West German magazine for history and art No. 4 . Verlag F. Lintz, 1885, p. 164.
  23. ↑ AE 1994, 01308 ; Heide Lüdemann: A Rhodan relief medallion from the northern vicus of the Roman fort Obernburg a. Main. In: The Archaeological Year in Bavaria 1994 . Theiss, Stuttgart 1995. pp. 120-122.
  24. ↑ Egon Schallmayer: The Odenwald Limes. Along the Roman border between the Main and Neckar. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2309-5 . P. 149.
  25. ↑ Egon Schallmayer: The Odenwald Limes. Along the Roman border between the Main and Neckar. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2309-5 . P. 26.
  26. ^ A b Walburg Boppert: Roman stone monuments from the Mainz-Bingen district. In the series Corpus Signorum Imperii Romani. Germany Volume 2, Germania superior. Part 10. Publishing house of the Roman-Germanic Central Museum. Mainz 2005. ISBN 3-88467-090-5 . P. 104.
  27. ↑ CIL 16,00028
  28. ↑ CIL 16,00020
  29. ↑ CIL 16,00036
  30. ↑ AE 2004, 01910
  31. ↑ AE 2003, 02056
  32. ^ Helmut Schubert: The coins found in the Roman period in Germany. Dept. V Hessen, Mann Verlag. ISBN 3-7861-1292-4 . P. 182.
  33. ↑ Dietwulf Baatz: The Roman Limes: archaeological excursions between the Rhine and the Danube. Mann Verlag, Berlin 1993. ISBN 3-7861-1701-2 . P. 178.
  34. ↑ CIL 16, 00062
  35. ↑ AE 1982, 00718
  36. ↑ CIL 16,00080
  37. ↑ CIL 03, 03913
  38. ↑ CIL 13, 06620
  39. ↑ AE 2003, 01274
  40. ↑ CIL 13, 06621
  41. ↑ CIL 13, 11959
  42. ↑ CIL 13, 06629
  43. ↑ CIL 13, 06642
  44. ↑ CIL 13, 06623 as well as Helmut Castritius , Manfred Clauss , Leo Hefner: The Roman stone inscriptions of the Odenwald (RSO). Contributions to the investigation of the Odenwald 2 , 1977, pp. 237-308. No. 28.
  45. ^ Wilhelm Conrady: The latest Roman finds in Obernburg. In: West German Journal for History and Art No. 9 . Verlag F. Lintz, 1890. pp. 165ff.
  46. ↑ Bernd Steidl: Limes World Heritage: Rome's border on the Main. Logo, Obernburg am Main 2008, ISBN 978-3-939462-06-4 , p. 207.
  47. ↑ a b Marcus Jae / Alexander Reis: Preliminary report: excavation in the Roman civil settlement 2004
  48. ↑ B. Beckmann in: D. Baatz / F.-R. Herrmann: The Romans in Hesse p. 459.
  49. ↑ Bernd Steidl: Limes World Heritage: Rome's border on the Main. Logo, Obernburg am Main 2008, ISBN 978-3-939462-06-4 , pp. 145-149.
  50. ↑ Egon Schallmayer: The Odenwald Limes. From the Main to the Neckar. Konrad Theiß Verlag, Stuttgart 1984. ISBN 3-8062-0328-8 . P. 57.
  51. ↑ Bernd Steidl: Limes World Heritage: Rome's border on the Main. Logo, Obernburg am Main 2008, ISBN 978-3-939462-06-4 , pp. 104, 106, 107, 128, 130.
  52. ↑ Egon Schallmayer: The Odenwald Limes. Along the Roman border between the Main and Neckar. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2309-5 . P. 57.
  53. ↑ Bernd Steidl: Limes World Heritage: Rome's border on the Main. Logo, Obernburg am Main 2008, ISBN 978-3-939462-06-4 , pp. 215-217.
  54. ^ Bernd Steidl: The statio of the beneficiarii consularis in Obernburg a. Main - Final excavations at the front of the building. In: The archaeological year in Bavaria 2007. Theiss, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8062-2156-5 , p. 85.
  55. ↑ Bernd Steidl: The station of the beneficiarii consularis in Obernburg am Main. In: Germania 83 . Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2005, ISBN 3-8053-3428-1 . P. 89.
  56. ↑ Bernd Steidl: Limes World Heritage: Rome's border on the Main. Logo, Obernburg am Main 2008, ISBN 978-3-939462-06-4 , p. 138.
  57. ↑ Reference point: Steindenkm 00032
  58. ↑ Bernd Steidl: Limes World Heritage: Rome's border on the Main. Logo, Obernburg am Main 2008, ISBN 978-3-939462-06-4 , pp. 109-112.
  59. ↑ Bernd Steidl: Limes World Heritage: Rome's border on the Main. Logo, Obernburg am Main 2008, ISBN 978-3-939462-06-4 , p. 111.
  60. ↑ a b Bernd Steidl: Limes World Heritage: Rome's border on the Main. Logo, Obernburg am Main 2008, ISBN 978-3-939462-06-4 , pp. 111-112.
  61. ^ Bernd Steidl: The statio of the beneficiarii consularis in Obernburg a. Main - Final excavations at the front of the building. In: The archaeological year in Bavaria 2007. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8062-2156-5 . Pp. 84-86.
  62. ↑ The number of stones found in Obernburg is impressive, a much larger part has not yet been published due to the new discoveries: CIL 13, 06624 ; AE 2001, 01540 ; AE 2002, 01067 ; AE 2004, 01009 ; AE 1957, 00050 ; AE 1957, 00052 ; AE 1957, 00047 ; AE 1957, 00048 ; AE 1957, 00049 ; AE 1957, 00051 and a.