Fort Wörth
Map with all coordinates: | Fort Wörth | |
|---|---|
| limes | ORL 36 ( RLK ) |
| Route (RLK) |
Upper German Limes , Main Line Connection point of the older Odenwald line of the Neckar-Odenwald-Limes connection unsecured |
| Dating (occupancy) | unsecured |
| Type | Numerus fort |
| unit | not known for sure |
| size | 93 × 84 m = 0.78 ha |
| Construction | Stone fort, possibly previously a wood-earth wall |
| State of preservation | only weak ground marks |
| place | Woerth am Main |
| Geographical location | 49 ° 48 '4.7 " N , 9 ° 8" 41.1 " E |
| height | 121 m above sea level NHN |
| Previous | ORL 35 Fort Obernburg north, Main line |
| Subsequently | ORL 37 Fort Trennfurt south, Main line ORL 46b Fort Seckmauern west, Odenwald line |
The Fort Wörth was a Roman Numerus the principality and is located on the northwestern outskirts of the modern town of Wörth am Main , a town of the district of Miltenberg in Lower Franconia . The fort probably belonged to the Main line of the Upper German Limes , but possibly also to the older Odenwald line of the Neckar-Odenwald-Limes , but this has not yet been proven archaeologically with certainty.
Assignment problem
As the starting point of the Odenwald Limes has not yet been finally determined, the area of the Obernburg Fort (ORL 35), which was built around 100/110 AD, is also up for discussion , this question will only be finally clarified through further excavations. Much speaks in favor of Wörth (ORL 36), but there is a lack of significantly datable finds. It is certain that the course of the Odenwald Limes - the next proven military camp of which is the Seckmauern Fort (ORL 46b) - began in the area of the fortifications Obernburg and Wörth, which are close to one another . More recent research suggests that the “Pfitschengraben”, a gorge-like deepened forest valley that provides a direct connection from the Main to the Seckmauern Fort, could represent the beginning of this Limes line. This would also explain the lack of any traces of watchtowers between the Seckmauern and Wörth forts (see below). The Trennfurt Fort (ORL 37), located a little further up the Main, is excluded from all considerations because it is more recent. The garrison of Wörth seems to have been built after the Obernburg fort and after the Seckmauern wood and earth camp, as no late South Gaulish Terra Sigillata has appeared in the finds so far . However, these goods were found in the other forts of the Odenwald Limes. Therefore, it was considered whether the fort Seckmauern, overlaid by the palisade that was built later, would be abandoned after a short time and a replacement with the facility in Wörth was created.
Research and construction history
The fort Wörth was located in 1882 by Wilhelm Conrady on an agricultural area, where he started the first archaeological excavations at the end of October 1882 as route commissioner of the Reich Limes Commission . The investigations had to be interrupted in late autumn 1882 due to floods. The excavations were not resumed until the end of February 1883, but had to be completed by the time the fields were cleared in spring. Another campaign followed in January 1884. Under his leadership, further investigations were carried out in 1887 and 1890.
It is a stone numerus fort 93 meters long and 84 meters wide. The Porta Praetoria (main gate) of the four-gate complex is oriented to the northeast, towards the Main. The fort was reinforced with four corner towers and surrounded by a double pointed moat (simple in Conrady's view). Inside the fort, only the principia (staff building) could be identified. All other internal structures are likely to have consisted of half-timbering and were not detectable with the excavation methods of the time of investigation. Through geophysical investigations at the beginning of the 21st century it could be proven that part of the defensive wall on the south side of the barracks fell into the trench in front of it.
The time of construction and the end of the fort could not yet be reliably dated. Individual scattered and read finds indicate a possible construction as early as the Domitian period , but the focus of the overall sparse finds is the period from the middle of the second to the early of the third century.
Nothing certain is known about the auxiliary troops once stationed here . Possibly it is a Numerus Brittonum et Exploratorum Nemanigensium (for example: Unit of the Brittons and reconnaissance unit from the Mümling stream ). However, this assignment is somewhat problematic in that the same unit is also assigned to the Obernburg fort .
Today, only the weak ground contours of the fort are visible to the trained eye. A bump on the south-western side of the fort can still be found in the arable land of the “Obere Au” corridor, otherwise no structures are visible.
The virtual reconstruction of the fort, as well as finds and information boards can be seen in the community center in Wörth. This permanent exhibition is affiliated with the Wörth am Main Shipping and Shipbuilding Museum .
Around 45 meters southeast of the Porta Principalis Dextra was the fort bath, of which nothing can be seen in the fenced orchard . The thermal baths went through several construction periods.
The vicus was located in 2004 during a geophysical prospecting northwest of the fort. However, due to the overbuilding, the former extent of the vicus is no longer topographically traceable.
Limes course between the forts Wörth and Seckmauern
From Fort Wörth the Limes moves irregularly in a westerly direction. Up to the following Seckmauern fort, three guard posts are assumed due to the topographical conditions and the average distance between two watchtowers. But they are not archaeologically secured. Another tower (Wp 10/4 “ At the damp wall ”) is said to have been in the immediate vicinity of the Seckmauern fort. But it has not been proven either. The course of the Limes itself has not been fully clarified either; the palisade trench was at best shown as a shallow, 80 cm to 85 cm deep and around 110 cm wide hollow.
| ORL | Name / place | Description / condition |
|---|---|---|
| ORL 36 | Fort Wörth | see above |
| Wp 10/1 / | "Moorrain" | Only suspected, not proven archaeologically. |
| Wp 10/2 | "On the Schneeberg" | Only suspected, not proven archaeologically. |
| Wp 10/3 | "In the gate" | Only suspected, not proven archaeologically. |
| ORL 46b | Fort Seckmauern |
|
| Wp 10/4 | "By the damp wall" | Only suspected, not proven archaeologically. |
Monument protection
The Fort Wörth and the adjoining Limes structures are ground monuments according to the Bavarian Monument Protection Act (BayDSchG). 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, Gebr. Mann, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7861-2347-0
- Dietwulf Baatz and Fritz-Rudolf Herrmann: The Romans in Hesse. Licensed edition, Nikol, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-933203-58-9
- Wolfgang Czysz u. a .: The Romans in Bavaria. Licensed edition, Nikol, Hamburg 2005, ISBN 3-937872-11-6
- Margot Klee: The Roman Limes in Hessen. History and sites of the UNESCO World Heritage. Pustet, Regensburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7917-2232-0 , pp. 182f.
- Egon Schallmayer : The Odenwald Limes. Along the Roman border between the Main and Neckar. Theiss, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2309-5 , pp. 72-74.
- Bernd Steidl: Limes World Heritage: Rome's border on the Main. Logo, Obernburg am Main 2008 ISBN 3-939462-06-3 pp. 96–101 (exhibition catalogs of the Archäologische Staatssammlung 36).
- Wilhelm Conrady : To explore the Roman Limes down the Main from Miltenberg . In: West German Journal for History and Art 1, 3rd year (= Pick's monthly 10th year), 1884, pp. 266–287; here: pp. 271–282.
- Wilhelm Conrady in the series The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes of the Roemerreiches (Eds. Ernst Fabricius , Felix Hettner , Oscar von Sarwey ): Department B, Volume 3, Fort No. 36 (1900)
- Ernst Fabricius, Felix Hettner, Oscar von Sarwey: The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes of the Roemerreiches , Section A, Volume 5: Route 10 (The Odenwald Limes from Wörth am Main to Wimpfen am Neckar), 1926, 1935
Web links
- Fort Wörth on the side of the German Limes Commission
- Fort Wörth on the side of the German Limes Road
- The Main Limes - Wörth am Main Short video on YouTube
Individual evidence
- ↑ Egon Schallmayer: The Odenwald Limes. Along the Roman border between the Main and Neckar. Theiss, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2309-5 . P. 70.
- ↑ Egon Schallmayer: The Odenwald Limes. Along the Roman border between the Main and Neckar. Theiss, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2309-5 . P. 67.
- ^ Wilhelm Conrady : To explore the Roman Limes down the Main from Miltenberg . In: West German Journal for History and Art 1, 3rd year (= Pick's monthly 10th year), 1884, pp. 266–287; here: pp. 271–282.
- ↑ Egon Schallmayer: The Odenwald Limes. Along the Roman border between the Main and Neckar. Theiss, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2309-5 , p. 72.
Remarks
- ↑ ORL = numbering of the Limes structures according to the publication of the Reich Limes Commission on the O bergermanisch- R ätischen- L imes
- ↑ ORL XY = consecutive numbering of the forts of the ORL
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 49 ° 47 '56.5 " N , 9 ° 7' 2.5" E
