Martberg
The Martberg is a mountain between Pomerania and Karden on the Lower Moselle, on which there was an oppidum of the Treveri in pre-Roman times and an extensive temple district in Roman times where the god Mars Lenus was worshiped. The name can be traced back to the worship of this deity.
Topographical location
The Martberg is about 40 km upstream from the mouth of the Moselle in Koblenz. It is a table mountain, the highest point of which is 273.2 m above sea level and thus approx. 190 m above the Moselle. Together with the neighboring Hüttenberg, it forms a mountain plateau with a total area of more than 70 hectares, which slopes down into very deep valleys on three sides. In the south the plateau is bounded by the Moselle , in the northwest by the Pommerbachtal and in the northeast by the Brohlbachtal. It is only accessible from the north via a narrow ridge.
Research history
The Martberg has been known since time immemorial as a rich site of Roman antiquities. The first systematic research was carried out between 1885 and 1890 by the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn under the direction of Joseph Klein. Even then, a large, enclosed temple district with numerous temples and outbuildings could be identified. In 1987 the State Office for Monument Preservation Rhineland-Palatinate in Koblenz examined the Martberg ramparts through several excavation cuts. The systematic archaeological research of the Martberg has been running since 1994 under the direction of the State Office for Monument Preservation Koblenz and with the support of the German Research Foundation .
Settlement history
The first traces of settlement on the Mart and Hüttenberg can be traced back to the Neolithic . This is evident from some excavated settlement pits and surface finds. A more intensive settlement can be proven for the springtime La Tène. Settlement activity on the Mart and Hüttenberg peaked in the late La Tène period. The settlement reached its greatest expansion in the 1st century BC. The latest research through excavations and geomagnetic investigations has shown an almost complete settlement of the Martberg plateau (approx. 50 ha) and a partial settlement of the Hüttenberg. The settlement image was characterized by groups of courtyards consisting of a mostly square house with a floor area of approx. 25 to 50 m² and smaller storage houses (approx. 4 to 15 m²). Numerous metal cinder and furnace remains were found within the settlement, which represent the remains of metal workshops. Far-reaching trade relationships can be seen in the import of Roman wine amphorae. Evidence of the Martberg as a mint was provided by the finds of blanks and coin molds and underlines its function as a superordinate central location. During the time of its greatest expansion, the city was fortified by a 3.2 km long post slot wall, which was renewed at least three times. In the course of the Romanization, the settlement on the Martberg was abandoned in the 1st century AD in favor of the Vicus Cardena , today's Treis-Karden , which arose on the Moselle . However, the sacred area in the center of the mountain remained and flourished in the centuries that followed.
sanctuary
At the highest point of the mountain there was already a sacred area at the time of the Celtic city, which was rebuilt and expanded in several phases during the Roman era. The oldest evidence of religious acts dates back to the middle of the 1st century BC. At that time a rectangular 10 × 12 m trench was dug in the area of Temple K (see fig.), In which numerous sacrificial objects were deposited. In the early Roman Empire , the central cult area was replaced by a representative wooden temple and supplemented by additional temples and a rectangular enclosure. In the 3rd century AD, the expansion of the temple precinct reached its peak. Now in the center there was a mighty, stone temple in Gallo-Roman construction, which was surrounded by three smaller temples. The district was separated from the outside by a large 60 × 70 m foyer. In the course of Christianization, the temple district was given up around 400 AD. The village of Cardena , located below the Martberg, developed into the religious center of the new religion .
Countless offerings that were found during the excavations testify to the religious activities on the Martberg. In the late La Tène period it was mainly coins, fibulae and weapons that were sacrificed and in some cases ritually destroyed before they were laid down. In Roman times, the Celtic custom of sacrificing coins and jewelry continued. Thousands of coins, hundreds of fibulae and jewelry are evidence of this. What was new was the sacrifice of countless miniature clay vessels. Of particular importance are two inscription stones that prove the veneration of the Treverian god of healing Lenus-Mars in the sanctuary . One of these inscriptions is written in Latin and Greek and was donated by a Greek named Tychicos, who thanks Lenus-Mars for his healing. Another special feature of the find on the Martberg is its enormous wealth of coins. There are over 10,000 coins in museum collections, countless those that have been lost over the centuries. Around 2000 of these are Celtic coins and the Martberg is one of the most important sites for research into Celtic coinage .
Reconstructions
In 2004 the temple district was partially rebuilt and is accessible to visitors together with further reconstructions of the Celtic settlement in the Martberg Archeology Park. Many archaeological finds from research on the Martberg can be viewed in the Treis-Karden Abbey Museum and in the Koblenz State Museum .
literature
- Joseph Klein: The Martberg near Pomerania on the Moselle and its cult site. In: Bonner Jahrbücher 101, 1897, pp. 62–116.
- Alfred Haffner : The Mart and Hüttenberg near Pomerania / Karden, an oppidum in the eastern Trever region. In: Trier, Augustus city of the Treverians. Mainz 1984, pp. 106-111.
- Martin Thoma: The Gallo-Roman temple district on Martberg near Pomerania on the Moselle. Koblenz 2006.
- Claudia Nickel, Martin Thoma, David Wigg-Wolf : Martberg: sanctuary and oppidum of the Treveri. (= Reports on archeology on the Middle Rhine and Moselle, vol. 14), Koblenz 2008.
- Claudia Nickel: The late Celtic-early Roman settlement in the oppidum on the Martberg (district of Cochem-Zell, Rhineland-Palatinate). In: Martin Schönfelder, Susanne Sievers (eds.): L'age du fer entre la Champagne et la Vallée du Rhin. - The Iron Age between Champagne and the Rhine Valley. Verlag des Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseums, Mainz 2012, ISBN 978-3-88467-193-1 , pp. 291–336.
Web links
- Website of the Martberg Archeology Park
- ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Latest research on Martberg )
- Panorama at Martberg on the Moselle
Coordinates: 50 ° 10 ′ 43.3 " N , 7 ° 17 ′ 11.4" E