Nida (Roman city)

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Site plan of the forts and the civil settlement in Nida-Heddernheim
Roman fountain on the edge of the Roman town settlement
View in the core area of ​​the former Roman city to the north. The plaque indicates the destruction caused by the extensive and far-reaching construction measures of the 20th century. In the 19th century, Nida was known as the “German Pompeii”.

Nida was the main town of the Civitas Taunensium during the Roman Empire . The Roman city lay on the edge of the Wetterau in the northwest of today's city of Frankfurt am Main , in the district of Frankfurt-Heddernheim . The first traces of an at least temporary Roman settlement date from the time of the reign of Emperor Vespasian in the years 69 to 79; Nida was abandoned around 260. The remains of Nida on the "Heidenfeld", which remained largely untouched in the ground, were almost completely destroyed by extensive construction measures in the 20th century during the construction of the Römerstadt settlement and the Frankfurt Nordweststadt . The name of the settlement has been secured by written sources since Roman times and is probably derived from the even older name of the neighboring river Nidda .

history

Early military camp and Flavian period

The Roman military command attached “special strategic importance to the area on the Nidda river when it was occupied”. This is indicated by the archaeological evidence of at least ten mostly only briefly used military camps from around the year 75. The most important of these forts was "Kastell A", also called Alen - or stone fort . Most of the other forts are only known in parts and, with the exception of the stone fort, are only likely to have existed for a very short time.

A civil settlement, a so-called vicus, was built to the west of this fort . In the early fort vicus, people close to the troops such as relatives, craftsmen, traders and innkeepers first settled down. Parcelling can be proven in the area around 90 AD .

Flowering period in the 2nd century AD

Major changes to the original fort village took place during the reign of Emperor Trajan around 110 AD. The troops were withdrawn to the Limes , which was initially associated with a decline in population. At the same time, Nida became the civil administrative center of the region as the capital of the Civitas Taunensium . The Civitas Taunensium was a district of the Roman province Germania superior ("Upper Germania") and Nida was an economic center in the border region of the Upper Germanic Limes as well as a trading center in trade with areas outside the Roman province. In economic terms, Nida was the central location and market for numerous small and medium-sized businesses, including the numerous villae rusticae , which established themselves on the fertile soils of the Wetterau during this time.

Civil settlement soon replaced the military structures in Heddernheim. A large area in the center of the settlement was leveled and served as a forum . Two large thermal baths , the Praetorium , several temples and a theater were also part of the cityscape. A triumphal arch probably also existed. The new urban elites represented themselves through numerous stone monuments and inscriptions. A preserved, colored stone image from one of the so-called Mithraea , sanctuaries of the god Mithras , is significant in terms of art history ; the original is now in the Wiesbaden Museum , a copy in the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum . Other finds from Nida are on display in both museums, for example the Jupiter pillars and the dendrophoric inscription in Frankfurt .

The largely peaceful 2nd century was the heyday of the Roman Nida, and most of the buildings and stone monuments date back to this time. The first difficulties affected the border region with the Marcomann Wars around 170 AD. There are horizons of destruction from Nida as well as from some forts and villas in the area. The Limes im Taunus was strengthened by the number fort in Holzhausen , Kleiner Feldberg and Kapersburg .

Copy of the Dativius-Victor arch in Mainz

Decline and end in the 3rd century

At the beginning of the 3rd century Nida received its own city wall; The basalt stones required were mined in the quarries of today's Bockenheim , which is reminiscent of the name of the basalt road . The extensive structure with a length of 2,750 m certainly served representative purposes on the one hand, but on the other hand perhaps also testifies to the will of the population in a borderland that is becoming increasingly insecure. Similar construction measures are known from other Civitas capitals on the right bank of the Rhine, such as Ladenburg ( Lopodunum ) , Bad Wimpfen , and Rottenburg ( Sumelocenna ) . The Limes system alone, which was not designed for military defense, but for controls in peacetime, could no longer guarantee the cities in the hinterland adequate security since about 230. Finds of militaria (military equipment) and objects that can be assigned to Germanic peoples are sometimes seen as evidence of countermeasures by the civilian population. Several stone monuments give evidence of this difficult time for the residents. The Dativius-Victor-Bogen in Mainz was donated by a Nidenser councilor ( decurio ) perhaps as a thank you for being accepted into safe Mainz.

A serious invasion of the Alemanni , who took advantage of the absence of the Roman troops due to a Persian war, is attested by Herodian for the years 233/234 AD. A coin treasure that was hidden under the threshold of a stone cellar shows the year 227 AD as the final coin and should belong in this context. Emperor Maximinus Thrax (235 to 238) was able to defeat the enemy and stabilize the situation again through a great campaign of revenge deep into Germania. An inscription proves the erection of a giant column of Jupiter in the year 240. In the year 250 the civitas had the Friedberger Leugenstein set, one of the latest Roman stone monuments from the hinterland of the Limes before its abandonment; this shows that there must have been a functioning civitas administration at this point in time.

The Roman era lasted until around 260, when the Romans gave up the Limes in order to take back the imperial borders on the Rhine and Danube, as the river borders made far more military sense in view of the changed situation ( Limesfall ). The fact that Roman Nida was inhabited up to that point is proven by the series of coins from Heddernheim, which ends with 14 coins from Emperor Gallienus (253 to 268). The youngest coin was minted in 258 and was found in the so-called dendrophor cellar . The many stone monuments that were hidden in wells suggest that they would be evacuated according to plan. The walls of the ruins from Roman times were still visible from afar in the 15th century, after which they were reused as building material in Heddernheim and Praunheim.

Excavation vehicle of the museum on the building site of the Northwest City, the area of ​​the former Roman city of Nida
Restored pottery kiln on the embankment of Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse, kiln with a square floor plan

Excavations and research history

In 1823 the first regulated excavations in the ancient Roman city were carried out by the Nassau Antiquity Association . At the time when the site belonged to the Duchy of Nassau , finds of cultural and historical significance were found in the Nassau antiquities collection, which is kept in the Wiesbaden Museum .

After this early phase of research, further investigations were carried out since the Frankfurt History Museum was founded in 1878 , since Heddernheim was added to the Prussian district of Frankfurt in 1885 and finally incorporated into Frankfurt in 1910. This research is particularly associated with the name Georg Wolff . Wolff carried out many investigations on the forts, especially the large stone fort A, on behalf of the Reich Limes Commission (RLK).

The area of ​​Nida remained undeveloped as "Heidenfeld" until the establishment of the Roman town 1927–1929. Even at the time of this construction project, only emergency rescues could be carried out under great time pressure. During the construction of the Northwest City 1961–1973, the last remains of the archaeological substance were dredged away and thus destroyed forever, since the State Office for Monument Preservation was not given sufficient time for regular excavations and securing finds. A few larger area excavations were carried out by Ulrich Fischer , the then head of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History (now the Archaeological Museum Frankfurt ) between 1954 and 1965. The excavations focused on the stone fort, the northern vicus wall, an area in the center of Nida and the cemetery on Saalburgstrasse in the north. The process is not unique in Hesse, as evidenced by the development of the Roman settlements of Hanau-Salisberg , Nidderau -Heldenbergen and Groß-Gerau- “Auf Esch” , also in the second half of the 20th century. Due to the extensive structural and civil engineering work in Heddernheim, however, the complete and irretrievable destruction of one of the region's most important Roman settlements quickly became apparent.

Hobby archaeologists rescued some valuable pieces as " robbery graves ", for example the " painter's grave " which is now in the Archaeological Museum; however, a significant part of their finds remained in private hands. The hobby archaeologists have come together in the “Archaeological Forum Nida” and - together with the Heddernheimer Bürgererverein - set up a local history museum in the New Castle in Alt-Heddernheim, in which finds from Roman times are also exhibited.

A section of the Archaeological Museum in Frankfurt is dedicated to the finds from Nida. The number of stone monuments is particularly noteworthy here and allows insights into the life of a civil town. The Nidacorso in the northwest center refers to the former settlement at the same place. A Roman door threshold is still visible today at the corner house Wenzelweg / In der Römerstadt, as it was integrated into the foot of the building as a spacer to protect the corner of the house from carts turning around. Two Roman pottery kilns were restored near the northwest center on Heddernheimer Steg on the embankment to Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse . Furthermore, a small remnant of the wall of the eastern fence around Nida in front of the house "Am Forum" No. 29 has been preserved, as well as a well on the footpath below the curtain wall . In addition, numerous street names remind of the Roman past of today's Frankfurt district. An archaeological “circular route” with 12 stations explains the Roman past by means of a few panels.

In the last few years there have been occasional smaller excavations in Heddernheim. Larger area excavations are rare due to the overbuilding. The vast majority of the ancient settlement is considered to have been destroyed. In 2014/2015, a larger area near the embankment was exposed in front of the northern gate of the Roman city between Erich-Ollenhauer-Ring, Titusstraße and Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße, which has remained undeveloped until recently and houses the area guard 21 of the Frankfurt fire brigade . Roman graves have been discovered near the pottery kilns, which have been restored for a long time.

Castles

Alenkastell (A)

The Alenkastell , often also called the stone fort, was discovered by Georg Wolff in 1896. In the Limeswerk it was given the number 27. Wolff excavated the fort defenses and part of the staff building (principia) . Excavations from 1957 to 1959 in the northern part revealed two previous buildings in wood-earth construction. This was evidenced by the three construction phases of the crew barracks. The last phase of timber construction was destroyed by fire, possibly related to the uprising of Lucius Antonius Saturninus in 89. The stone fort covered an area of ​​186 × 282 m and had 30 towers in addition to the four gates. The wall consisted of basalt rubble with sandstone blocks in front of it. In front of the wall there was a double pointed ditch on all sides. The fort was oriented with the main gate (porta praetoria) to the south to the Nidda. A larger workshop complex (fabrica) was also found to be the interior development .

The complex, which is relatively large with 5 hectares, probably served as a garrison for several units. The following troops are mentioned on 16 inscriptions and tombstones:

Since the 32nd volunteer cohort of Roman citizens is occupied in the Ober-Florstadt fort from 90 AD , the fort was probably designed for a cavalry and infantry unit together. The 4th Vindeliker cohort could have replaced this. It is later documented as an occupation of the Großkrotzenburg fort .

Fort B

The wood-earth camp B, excavated between 1903 and 1906, is an annex to the stone fort A. Its pointed moat bends at an obtuse angle into the outer moat of the stone fort. It had an area of ​​80 × 292 m, the only documented gate was on the east side in the extension of the via principalis of the stone fort and was a wooden structure with two passages. Furthermore, a larger building could be detected inside through post pits , which was interpreted as a magazine building.

Camp B is the youngest of all wood-earth forts in Heddernheim. It was abandoned together with the Alenkastell after 103 AD.

Fort C

A 420 m long south side and the 280 m long west side of Fort C could be detected north of the Alenkastell from 1901 to 1908. In front of the western gate there was a 16.50 m long pointed ditch (titulum) . Another pointed ditch branched off from the gate in the direction of the southeast corner, so that an asymmetrical triangular shape would result. The north and east flanks of the fort could not be verified.

Fort C is therefore considered to be a provisional or short-term camp used by a reduced force. This would suggest that its location does not refer to the later routing of the Roman roads running in front of the W-Gate.

Fort D

Since 1910, the western (length 400 m) and southern moats (130 m) with gate and the southwest corner of Fort D have been excavated. The southern moat was no longer detectable in the moat area of ​​the Alenkastell. After a small change in direction, the western trench merged into the western trench of camp C. From this it becomes clear that Fort D must have existed before Alen Fort A, but after Fort C. Wolff assumed that D could have served as a construction warehouse due to its location around the Alenkastell. There is a rapid succession of the individual forts in the early occupation phase under Emperor Vespasian.

Castles E and F

To the northeast of Camp C, Wolff could observe two pointed ditch profiles in two brickworks. Possibly these belong to another camp E.

The north-western corner of Camp F was discovered in 1925–1926 by Friedrich Gündel on the grounds of the Christian Cemetery in Heddernheim. Gündel suspected an almost square camp with a side length of 100 to 110 m. Ceramic finds from the pointed moat and the palisade moat dated it to the Domitian period.

Fort G

Several pointed trenches from Camp G were discovered in the 1960s during the construction work for the north-west town. Initially, the northern ditch could be traced at a distance of about 80 m from the later city wall over a length of 260 m. A corresponding, parallel southern ditch could be detected in 1961 at a distance of 160 m. While the eastern boundary remains unknown, the western boundary was a pointed ditch in a construction pit on Ernst-Kahn-Straße. The fort would have taken up an area of ​​at least 4 hectares.

A few ovens were excavated in the southern ditch. Finds from Terra Sigillata carefully point to an earlier date than Alenkastell A.

Castles H, J and K

During the construction of a water pipe in 1929, two contiguous trenches were discovered in Bernadottestrasse. One of these may be a parallel trench 140 m away that was observed in the Im Weimel street . Both brought sherds of the 1st century AD and probably belonged to another fort H.

Another pointed ditch was discovered in 1963 in the excavation pit in the Roman city 182–188, 102 m west of the vicus development. He could be followed over 14 m and probably belongs to another J.

In 1929 the southern corner of a pointed trench in the Alt-Praunheim street , which is considered part of Camp K. The trench did not contain any dating finds.

Praunheimer Lager (L)

To the north of Heerstrasse (formerly Elisabethenstrasse ), the so-called Praunheimer Lager (L) was discovered in the pits of a brickworks in 1905. Its size has been completely recorded at 270 × 340 m. There are no dating finds from the Praunheim camp. Due to its location on the road to Hofheim and Mainz, it will also belong to the early occupation.

Civil settlement

Leugenstein from the Civitas Taunensium from Friedberg in the Wetterau Museum . The stone gives the distance to Nida with 10 Leugen to (a Nida [l (eugas)] X) .
So-called " Wetterauer Ware ", a Terra Sigillata imitation from the Rhine-Main area in the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum
Restored stove with a round base in the protective structure on Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse
A sign today indicates the existence of a wooden bridge over the Nidda in Roman times.
Corner house Wenzelweg / In the Roman town with a Roman door threshold
Roman doorstep

Legal status, population and civil administration

As a city on the borderland of the Imperium Romanum , Nida never had the status of a regular Roman city ( colonia or municipium ). In contrast to many other villages in the region, however, Nida achieved the status of a civitas capital, probably towards the end of the reign of Emperor Trajan or at the beginning of Hadrian's reign. The residents were thus mostly provincials without Roman citizenship ; isolated veterans will have settled down who were granted citizenship after completing their military service.

Even if the civitates mostly went back to tribal communities, the civitas of the Taunensier seems to refer to a geographical term that was already used before. There is no archaeological evidence of intensive settlement for the Wetterau before the arrival of the Romans. Nearby Celtic oppida - such as the heather drink oppidum - are much earlier, probably around 50 BC. Has been abandoned. In addition to the few Germanic tribes that can be found in the finds, the population will have mainly consisted of partially Romanized immigrants from Celtic Gaul, which is also supported by a statement in the Germania des Tacitus about the inhabitants of the Dekumatland . In the finds from the Roman city of Nida, this can be seen in the ceramics or fibulae . Further evidence of a Gallo-Roman population is available in the form of names and representations of gods as well as the naming material of the dedicatory inscriptions.

Information on the size of the population is largely avoided in the literature. In Heddernheim this is mainly due to the fact that the urban living quarters and the burial grounds are only partially known. There are also no concrete indications of the number of residents in a typical vicus building. With around 45 hectares of walled area later, Nida was one of the larger Civitas main towns on the right of the Rhine. A population in the high three-digit or low four-digit range would be assumed.

Although the river name and the place name Nidda / Nida, which is probably derived from it, is a very old name, it cannot be assigned an exact origin either. It is documented on numerous inscriptions, for example on a Leugenstein from Friedberg (a Nida [l (eugas)] X) , the Heddernheimer dendrophoric inscription , and probably two dedicatory inscriptions from Mainz-Kastel . In the inscription on the dendrophores, the vicus Nida and the inhabitants are explicitly mentioned as Vicani Nidenses .

As the seat of the administrative district and suburb of the Civitas Taunensium , Nida was organized like a Roman city. A kind of "Senate" (ordo decurionum) consisted of the most influential people in the bourgeoisie, usually wealthy traders or large landowners. These councilors ( decuriones ) elected two duoviri every year, following the example of the Roman consulate . These offices are also evidenced by the inscriptions in Nida, namely the duumvir Licinius Tugnatius Publius, the seven decurions Dativius Victor, C. Paternius Postuminus, Quietius Amandus, C. Sedatius Stephanus and Stephanius Maximus, Tertinius Catullinus and a Firmus. Another inscription names an aedile who supervised the market and trade.

The building inscription of the horreum from Fort Kapersburg names a numerus nidensium as a unit of the fort . The unit was recruited in name from Nida or the Civitas.

Economy and trade

In addition to the central function of the camps on the Limes and the villae rusticae of the border region, Nida, as in many vici of the north-west provinces, had a local trade that is well documented by finds.

Crafts quarters are difficult to determine. The metalworkers' finds of cinder and casting crucibles and the pottery kilns are scattered across the city, probably due to the slowly growing structures that emerged from the camp village. There seem to have been larger pottery quarters on the northern arterial road and in the west of the settlement on both sides of the platea novi vici .

A total of 105 pottery kilns have been found in Heddernheim, which, however, must also be extrapolated to the time in which the camp village and the civil town existed. Mainly household crockery was produced, but also lamps, cult vessels and funerary urns. The production of different glossy clay cups was particularly varied . An occasionally suspected production of Terra Sigillata in Nida goes back to the misinterpretation of some finds. For example, a Rheinzabern shaped bowl from JANVS was used as a template for the production of imitations. The regionally widespread, so-called Wetterau goods , mostly thin-walled, red-painted vessels that were made in Nied or Heddernheim, are also considered imitations .

Furthermore, the professions of bricklayer, carpenter, blacksmith, locksmith, cabinet maker, bone carver, painter, bronze caster, bronze, gold and silversmith, stonemason, shoemaker, butcher, barber and doctor are mainly evidenced by tool finds. The finds reveal a focus on the non-ferrous metal processing professions. The focus in the field of pottery, bone carving or metalworking can also be related to good preservation conditions for the finds, which are not the case with other professions.

In addition to these local productions, which are very typical for a small Roman town, the trade in imported goods is documented by numerous finds. Terra Sigillata was initially obtained from South Gallic pottery such as La Graufesenque , later on, East Gallic manufacturers such as Trier ( Augusta Treverorum ) or Rheinzabern ( Tabernae ) dominate due to the favorable transport routes . Crockery dealers are well documented by several closed find complexes. In a cellar north of the forum excavations from 1961–1962 found at least 45 brand-new, shattered bowls of the shape Dragendorff  33 . In the basement of a large, presumably two-story residential and shop building west of the forum, there were also large masses of sigillata vessels.

Due to amphora finds , imports of olive oil from southern Spain are common, as are wines from Gaul and also mostly southern Spanish fish sauces ( garum ) . The imported goods documented by finds also include glasses from Northern Italy, Gaul and the Near East, bronze work (mainly statuettes and vessels) from Gallic and Italian workshops, figural terracottas from Central Gaul , Trier and Cologne, votive stones from the Danube provinces, marble and limestone for inscriptions and architectural ornamentation, amber and precious stones for making jewelry, colored pigments and oysters , which were pickled in brine, imported from the Atlantic coast. Due to poor conservation conditions, there is hardly any evidence of the trade in fabrics, hides, leather, woods, various foods, perfumeries, incense, spices, exotic animals and slaves. Finds of weights made of lead, iron, bronze and stone as well as various scales are also to be regarded as indicators of trade.

Streets

The street in the Römerstadt / Heerstraße still essentially follows the course of a paved, dead straight Roman street that led from Mogontiacum (Mainz) to the western gate of the fort. At the height of the houses in the Roman city 145 to 165 - only a few meters away from today's pavement - paving stones and cellars from this era have been preserved, as well as the remains of a colored fresco from the 2nd century. The camp village, where innkeepers, merchants, boatmen and women who moved with the soldiers settled down, developed west of the fort along the arterial road there. For these the name platea novi vici has been handed down, which indicates the name Novus Vicus for the earliest civil settlement. Further north, roughly along today's Haingrabenstrasse, ran a second, older connection road to Mainz, the platea praetoria . Both street names are documented by inscribed dedications to the geniuses of the streets. The streets of the city were covered with gravel. For the platea praetoria , for example, a 70 cm thick pile of gravel can be detected.

In addition to Elisabethenstrasse to Mainz, Nida was the starting point and intersection of numerous other Roman roads. Immediately north of today's Eschersheimer swimming pool, at the level of the "Bubeloch" and southwest of the theater, there were Roman wooden bridges over the Nidda. The roads led from there to Bergen or to the Roman settlement on the Frankfurt Cathedral Hill and on to the neighboring Civitas capital Dieburg ; as a result of the straightening of the river, however, the current course of the Nidda no longer corresponds to that in Roman times. The thermal baths near Bad Vilbel were reached along the Nidda . In the north, Nida was connected to numerous fort locations such as Okarben , Friedberg , Saalburg Fort and Kleiner Feldberg Fort . Another side street was an extension of the street in front of the Westthermen (“Thermenstraße”) to the south.

Residential buildings

As in most of the Roman vici of the northwestern provinces, the houses in the city of Nida were predominantly strip houses . A particularly large number of these were excavated along the southern road (platea novi vici) . The houses in Nida, between 5 and 11 m wide and up to 40 m long, bordered the street with their narrow gable, where mostly a portico shared with the neighboring houses was blinded. There was also a cellar in the front area of ​​the house, which was used to store supplies, as evidenced by the marks left by shelves and amphorae.

A floor plan of the strip houses has not been proven. Shops, workshops or restaurants in the front part of the house, storage sheds and wells in the rear of the property would be assumed. In the last settlement phase of the 3rd century, the strip houses had a stone base and half-timbered walls . The roofs were covered with slate.

A few houses deviate from this type of construction and were designed a little more generously. The moat house was named after its location above the filled trenches of the Alenkastell. The building with a floor space of 9.50 × 17 m had six living rooms and a two-part vestibule. The basement was in the back of the house. More expensive private houses of the wealthy classes were found away from the center. Some had inner courtyards with colonnades. However, none of these have been excavated using modern methods.

In the wider area of ​​the city, there is evidence of a densification of villas. In the immediate vicinity of the city, only three to four systems can be addressed as such. Among them is the so-called Praunheimer Villa , which was excavated by Georg Wolff 450 m west of the city from 1898–1904, as well as the Villa Philippseck . The latter was located 200 m to the east and was excavated by F. Gündel together with a knight seat from the 16th century. The elaborate structure with striking corner projections is also known as villa urbana .

Forum

In the acute angle between the platea praetoria and the platea novi vici in front of the western gate of the fort, after the fort was abandoned and the camp village was presumably reduced, the city's forum was built around which important buildings were later grouped. The triangular shape is rare for such structures, but there is a parallel in the triangular square of the fort vicus at Fort Zugmantel . The area of ​​the forum in Nida was around 17,500 m².

In addition to their function as a market and meeting place, forums in Roman cities usually had a court hall (basilica) , government building (curia) and usually a larger temple. Well-documented examples of such systems in rectangular form are in Augst ( Augusta Raurica ) , Kempten ( Cambodunum ) and Ladenburg (Lopodunum) . Little is known about the Heddernheimer Forum as the area was not extensively investigated. A rectangular building of 8 × 10 m could possibly belong to the substructure of a podium temple . Finds of stone monuments from a neighboring well are also part of the public buildings.

Important public buildings were grouped around the forum. To the west of it were the west baths, south of the hall and the praetorium with east baths. In the north, a large building with a front of 25 m bordered the forum, which is interpreted as a magazine.

Praetorium

The public lodging house in the southeast of the settlement is one of the best excavated buildings. It was south of the major intersection. The 62 proven rooms are grouped around a central courtyard. A two-story structure is assumed. To the east there was another courtyard ( palaestra ) enclosed by a portico and the east thermal baths. A courtyard and stable building south of the facility may have been used to accommodate wagons and draft animals. The building was designed with a further portico facing the street. The whole complex was 43 × 70 m in size.

Thermal baths

Directly to the east of the praetorium were the generously equipped Ostthermen with a size of 36 × 64 m. Finds of square brick tiles, colored wall plaster and stone architectural fragments give evidence of the furnishings. Behind the palaestra attached to the praetorium , the bathing tracts ( frigidarium , caldarium , tepidarium ) were divided along an axial central tract. Changing rooms, the cold water basin, the sweat bath ( sudatorium ) and flush toilets were built on to the side.

Since the Ostthermen had a clear structural reference to the Praetorium, the citizens of Nida were probably dependent on their own thermal baths. These so-called west thermal baths were built on the west side of the triangular market square. They had a size of 45 × 68 m, which corresponded to a size usual for provincial cities. The civil use is underlined by a double sequence for men and women. The palaestra with an area of ​​13.6 × 20.4 m was designed as an inner courtyard. In one corner of the courtyard was the substructure for a stone monument or statue.

theatre

A wooden theater was found in the south of the settlement. It is the only known of its kind on the right bank of the Rhine and offered space for around 1,000 to 1,500 people. During the excavations in 1929, the building was dated to the time of the fort in Heddernheim. The theater was probably given up after the troops withdrew because there were not enough spectators there.

temple

From Nida there are no reliable findings of above-ground temples. Nevertheless, there are numerous references to such temples through inscriptions and other stone monuments. Statues of Dea candida and Mercurius negotiator can be addressed as cult images of sanctuaries. Disproportionately frequent finds that point to so-called mystery religions are also due to the sources, which are based on the stone monuments. In the case of the underground mithraea, there are also favorable conservation conditions.

Mithraea

A total of five sanctuaries of the Mithras cult were found in Heddernheim. In 1826 the excavations in the “Heidenfeld” became famous through the discovery of two mithraea in the northwest of the vicus . The rotatable cult image from Mithraeum I discovered in the process is still used today in numerous treatises on the Mithraic cult. Mithraeum III was discovered west of the Praetorium in 1894. The majority of the finds from these first three Mithraea are in Wiesbaden.

Dendrophoric inscription from a cellar in the Roman city of Nida-Heddernheim in the Archaeological Museum in Frankfurt am Main
Triangular votive sheet made of bronze with a representation of Jupiter and Dolichenus , today in the holdings of the Wiesbaden Museum

Mithraeum IV was located southwest of the wooden theater. It was found empty in 1926 and was probably given up prematurely because of the construction of the nearby southern city wall. Finds of a fifth Mithraum could be collected privately in the 1960s during the construction of the Northwest City without any documentation of the context of the find.

Magna Mater / Kybele and Dendrophore Cellar

The presence of the Magna Mater or Cybele cult is also evident from an inscription, which therefore became known as the dendrophoric inscription. The college of dendrophori (= "tree bearers") was part of a major holiday of the cult. On March 22nd, they brought a newly felled and decorated tree bearing an image of Attis . The inscription proves that a meeting house (scola) was built with own funds together with the college from neighboring Dieburg. The land was assigned to them by the citizens of Nida.

The inscription was found in 1961 in a very small cellar in the northwest of the vicus . The mentioned building or a temple of the goddess herself could not be proven.

Jupiter Dolichenus

A Dolichenum as a sanctuary of Iupiter Dolichenus is only attested by finds. It consists of an altar, five silver votive sheets , two bronze hands, two bronze reliefs in triangular shape and a bronze tabula ansata , which was presumably used to label a votive offering. The finds came from private finders into the art trade early in the 19th century and were sold to Berlin and the British Museum in London. The altar and an inscribed hand came into the possession of the Counts of Solms-Rödelheim . Only a few parts came into the possession of the museums in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden.

According to Friedrich Gustav Habel, the site is suspected to be directly southwest of the forum.

city ​​wall

The last remaining remnant of the Roman city wall - a wall in front of the house at Am Forum 29, formerly part of the eastern defenses

When the border region became less secure in the 3rd century (see Imperial Crisis of the 3rd Century ), Nida also needed a city wall. It was built at the beginning of the century. Some of the buildings and residential areas of the originally widespread development fell victim to the east, south and west. It had a length of 2,750 m and consisted of a 6 m high and 2 m wide wall. In addition to the eight gates, towers were added at regular intervals. In front of the wall was a 7 m wide and 2.25 m deep trench as well as a 23 m wide approach barrier made up of numerous pits ( Lilia ) , which served as protection against attacks by riders. The wall itself was built using shell technology. A core of cast masonry was faced with sandstone blocks. Some of the tin ceilings were found in the Spitzgraben. Most of the stones fell victim to stone robbery in post-Roman times.

Due to the lack of written sources, it cannot be said from which side this construction program was initiated. The monumental building, however, testifies to the will of the population in the border region. The careful construction shows that it was not built in a sudden emergency. Numerous other settlements to the right of the Rhine such as Dieburg or Ladenburg were also fenced off during this period. It remains unclear who took over the defense of the wall. If it was not a question of regular soldiers, the stronger presence of Teutons in the finds from the 3rd century could be an explanation. The fact that the population in the border region took measures on their own in view of the state crisis under the soldier emperors is occasionally documented by inscriptions, such as an inscription from the Altenstadt fort .

These measures probably include the so-called hall construction , an apparently military building from the third century south of the market square. The finds (including three of the helmets found in Heddernheim, military primers and parts of a sword hanger) clearly indicate military use.

Port facility on the Nidda

In 1927–1929, the remains of a Roman port facility were excavated southeast of the city below Hadrian Street on the Nidda. It had docking ramps on both banks and several larger buildings on the city side that served as warehouses or offices. In Roman times the river had a water depth of just under 1 m with a gradient of 0.7 ‰ and a water flow of 9.50 m³ / s. It is not entirely clear whether this was also sufficient for larger barges, especially the flat-bottomed booms that were preferred in Roman times .

The connection to the river network of the Rhine and Main was particularly important for the supply of the Roman city. A considerable part of the ceramic products and other building materials for the buildings on the Limes and in the civitas in the port of Nida were handled by the nearby military brickworks in Nied . Fragile or particularly heavy goods were generally preferably transported by water. Together with the well-developed Roman roads, the transshipment point increased the importance of Nida as a regional economic center.

Burial grounds

The painter's grave from Nida-Heddernheim, grave inventory of a Roman painter with 29 paint pots in the Archaeological Museum in Frankfurt am Main

A total of eleven burial fields are distinguished in the archaeological literature. Since these were not extensively excavated and scattered over large areas north and west of the city, it cannot be said whether this distinction was also valid in antiquity. As is customary in Roman cities, these were outside the urban area along the arteries.

Cemetery 1 was located in the area of ​​what will later be the southern west gate of the city and is believed to be one of the early military cemeteries. In addition to a few cremation graves, the finds include two gravestones of soldiers from the 32nd volunteer cohort.

Grave field 2 extended on both sides along the northern arterial road to Mainz and contained 300 cremation graves from the period between 70 and 120 AD as well as a few subsequent burials. Although ten soldier or equestrian tombstones are known from the cemetery, it was not a pure military cemetery.

Cemetery 3 was the northern part of the "older Praunheimer grave field" along today's Hainstrasse in the area of ​​the Praunheimer villa. Probably a burial ground from the time of the fort, but probably used by civilians.

Cemetery 4 was located to the north of the city near burial ground 10; like cemetery 3, it is probably part of the fort period without any soldier graves being occupied.

Grave field 5 was on both sides of Saalburgstrasse and belongs to the time of the civil town. Mostly cremation graves, but also few body burials are documented.

Cemetery 6 was along the road to Okarben Castle. As with grave field 5, no precise information on the number of burials or the chronology can be given because systematic excavations are missing. A special feature of burial ground 6 is the discovery of the so-called painter's grave, which is exhibited in the Archaeological Museum. In addition to eating and drinking utensils (for example a large double-handled mug) it contained 29 paint pots with pigment residues. Analyzes showed that the painter had four basic colors (iron red, copper blue, lead white and lead red) available.

With 71 graves, grave field 7 was a little further outside, also on Okarbener Strasse. This also belongs to the city period of the 2nd century. A special feature is the enclosure in the form of an irregular square, which was probably an expression of a community. This may suggest a college of craftsmen or funeral directors, as has been proven in many Roman cities. The grave goods do not show any differences to other grave fields.

Grave field 8 was in front of the northwest corner of the city wall. Only a few cremations and body burials could be recorded here through finds from construction pits, which made it possible to classify them in the city period.

The “Younger Praunheimer Grave Field” (9) was in front of the south west gate of the city and it should have been the largest and most respected cemetery; however, it was only examined very incompletely. The graves were on both sides of the road to Mainz. In addition to the prominent location on the main street, the finds also point to more elegant burials. In addition to the usual cremation burials, it also contained numerous body graves. It is noticeable that there are more cremation graves in stone boxes than in the northern burial fields. In addition to body burials in wooden coffins, three stone sarcophagi were also found here.

Cemetery 10 was created in the 3rd century in place of the earlier cemetery 4, with the old cremation graves being partially cut. Apparently nothing of the predecessor was visible above ground. It consisted of 50 body burials, which were very poorly equipped. The grave of a Germanic in Roman service is significant.

The small burial ground 11 was far to the west in the Praunheim area. The 10 cremation graves originally formed the eastern end of grave field 2. What is striking is a group of irregularly buried body graves with poor gifts. Some of them were in a very unnatural position: one skeleton was missing its head, two others were violently torn, one was in a twisted position. It is likely to be a matter of special burials of socially outcasts (criminals, etc.), as is often documented in the outskirts of Roman necropolises.

literature

Current overview displays

  • Peter Fasold : Nida: capital of the civitas Taunensium. In: Vera Rupp , Heide Birley (Hrsg.): Country life in Roman Germany. Theiss, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-8062-2573-0 , pp. 91-94.
  • Peter Fasold: From Augustus to Aurelian. New research on Roman Frankfurt. In: Frank Martinäbüttel , Ulrich Krebs , Gregor Maier (eds.): The Romans in the Rhine-Main area. Theiss, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-8062-2420-7 , pp. 41-54.
  • Peter Fasold: City of the Taunenser. In: Egon Schallmayer u. a. (Ed.): The Romans in the Taunus. Societäts-Verlag Frankfurt am Main 2005, ISBN 3-7973-0955-4 , pp. 12-14.
  • Peter Fasold: On the establishment of the Civitas capital Nida. In: Egon Schallmayer (Ed.): Traian in Germanien, Traian im Reich. Report of the Third Saalburg Colloquium. Saalburg Museum, Bad Homburg v. d. H. 1999, ISBN 3-931267-04-0 , pp. 235-246 (Saalburg-Schriften 5).
  • Peter Fasold: Excavations in the German Pompeii. Archaeological research in Frankfurt's north-west city. Museum of Prehistory and Early History, Frankfurt am Main, 1997.
  • Peter Fasold: Nida-Frankfurt. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 15/1, Metzler, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-476-01485-1 , Sp. 980-984.
  • Ingeborg Huld-Zetsche : Nida - A Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. Stuttgart, 1994 (publications of the Limes Museum Aalen 48).
  • Ingeborg Huld-Zetsche: Frankfurt am Main. Heddernheim, Nordweststadt, Praunheim: military camp and Civitas capital. in: Dietwulf Baatz , Fritz-Rudolf Herrmann (Hrsg.): The Romans in Hessen . 3rd edition 1989. Licensed edition Nikol, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-933203-58-9 , pp. 275-293.
  • Rainer Wiegels : Nida. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 8, Metzler, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-476-01478-9 , Sp. 889.
  • Peter Fasold: The Romans in Frankfurt . Schnell and Steiner, Regensburg, 2017 ISBN 978-3-7954-3277-5

Investigations into sub-areas of archaeological research

To the main Civitas towns on the right bank of the Rhine

  • Klaus Kortüm : Cities and Small Town Settlements. Civil structures in the hinterland of the Limes. In: Imperium Romanum. Rome's provinces on the Neckar, Rhine and Danube. Archäologisches Landesmuseum Baden-Württemberg, Esslingen 2005, ISBN 3-8062-1945-1 , pp. 154-164.
  • C. Sebastian Sommer : The urban settlements in Upper Germany on the right bank of the Rhine. In: Hans-Joachim Schalles (Hrsg.): The Roman city in the 2nd century AD. The functional change of public space. Colloquium Xanten May 2 to 4, 1990, Rheinland-Verlag, Cologne 1992 ISBN 3-7927-1252-0 (= Xantener Reports , Volume 2) pp. 119–141.

Burial grounds

  • Peter Fasold: Thousands of deaths. The burial places of the Roman military camp and Civitas capital Nida in the north of Frankfurt. Archaeological Museum, Frankfurt 2004, ISBN 3-88270-348-2 (Archaeological Series 20).
  • Peter Fasold: The burial places of the Roman military camp and Civitas capital Nida (Frankfurt am Main-Heddernheim and -Praunheim). 3 volumes, Frankfurt 2006–2011 (writings of the Frankfurt Museum for Pre- and Early History 20).
  • Wolfgang Czysz / Hans-Gert Bachmann: The grave of a Roman painter from Nida-Heddernheim. In: Germania 55, 1977, pp. 85-107.

city ​​wall

  • Carsten Wenzel: The city fortifications of Nida-Heddernheim. Frankfurt, 2000, ISBN 3-88270-339-3 (writings of the Frankfurt Museum for Pre- and Early History 17).

Murals

  • Rüdiger Gogräfe: The Roman wall and ceiling paintings in northern Upper Germany . Neustadt an der Weinstrasse 1999, ISBN 3-9805635-2-9 , pp. 322-358 (Archaeological Research in the Palatinate 2).
  • Mathilde Schleiermacher: The fresco room by Nida. Frankfurt 1995, ISBN 3-88270-326-1 (Archaeological Series 15).

Ceramic manufacture / Wetterauer goods

  • Susanne Biegert: Roman pottery in the Wetterau. Frankfurt 1999, ISBN 3-88270-334-2 (writings of the Frankfurt Museum for Pre- and Early History 15)
  • Vera Rupp : Wetterauer goods. A Roman pottery in the Rhine-Main area. Frankfurt 1988, ISBN 3-7749-2317-5 (writings of the Frankfurt Museum for Pre- and Early History 10).

Dendrophor cellar

  • Peter Fasold: The ceramics from the dendrophor cellar in Nida-Heddernheim. In: Saalburg-Jahrbuch 47, 1994, pp. 71-78.

Coin finds

  • Helmut Schubert: The found coins of the Roman period in Germany (FMRD) Dept. V: Hessen . Vol. 2, 2: Darmstadt; Frankfurt am Main . Mainz 1989, ISBN 3-7861-1552-4 , pp. 19-300.
  • Helmut Schubert: The Roman found coins from Nida-Heddernheim. Frankfurt 1984 ISBN 3-88270-301-6 (Archaeological Series 2)

Mithras

  • Ingeborg Huld-Zetsche: Mithras in Nida-Heddernheim. Frankfurt 1986, ISBN 3-88270-306-7 (Archaeological Series 6)

Stone monuments

  • Walter Meier-Arendt u. a. (Ed.): Roman stone monuments from Frankfurt am Main. Frankfurt 1983 (Archaeological Series 1).

Research history

  • Ingeborg Huld-Zetsche: 150 years of research in Nida-Heddernheim. In: Nassauische Annalen 90, 1979, pp. 5-26.

Excavation publication of the forts by the Reich Limes Commission

Nida in the 3rd century AD

  • Alexander Reis: Nida-Heddernheim in the 3rd century AD Frankfurt 2010, ISBN 978-3-88270-505-8 (writings of the Archaeological Museum Frankfurt 24)

Publications from the excavation phase 1954 to 1965

  • Ulrich Fischer : Excavations in the Roman stone fort of Heddernheim 1957–1959. Frankfurt 1973, ISBN 3-7829-0146-0 (writings of the Frankfurt Museum for Pre- and Early History 2).
  • Ulrich Fischer u. a .: Excavations in the Roman vicus of Nida-Heddernheim 1961–1962 . Verlag R. Habelt, Bonn 1998, ISBN 3-7749-2844-4 (writings of the Frankfurt Museum for Pre- and Early History 14).

Older studies, mostly out of date as overall presentations

  • Friedrich Gustav Habel : The Roman ruins near Heddernheim , In: Nassauische Annalen 1, 1827, pp. 45-77.
  • Reports on Roman finds in Heddernheim Vol. I-VI from the Frankfurt Association for History and Regional Studies, 1894–1918.
  • Georg Wolff: The Roman city of Nida near Heddernheim and its prehistory . Jügels-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1908.
  • Friedrich Gündel: Nida-Heddernheim. A popular science guide through the prehistoric and Roman facilities in the "Heidenfelde" near Heddernheim. M. Diesterweg-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1913.
  • Karl Woelcke: The new city map of Nida-Heddernheim. In: Germania 22, 1938, pp. 161-166.

Web links

Commons : Nida-Heddernheim  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Peter Fasold: Excavations in the German Pompeii. Archaeological research in Frankfurt's north-west city. Museum of Prehistory and Early History, Frankfurt am Main 1997, p. 14.
  2. ↑ The presumption relates to finds of stone monuments, including the so-called Liktoren relief. See I. Huld-Zetsche: Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. Pp. 18-19.
  3. ↑ Dietwulf Baatz in: D. Baatz, F.-R. Herrmann (Ed.): The Romans in Hessen , pp. 211–212.
  4. ↑ Peter Knieriem in: Egon Schallmayer (ed.): The Augsburg victory altar - testimony to a troubled time. Saalburg Museum Bad Homburg vd H. 1995 p. 39 (Saalburg-Schriften 2).
  5. ↑ a b For the inscription of the Dativius-Victor arch, see CIL 13, 11810 .
  6. ^ Helmut Schubert: The coins found in the Roman period in Germany (FMRD) Dept. V: Hessen. Vol. 2.2: Darmstadt: Frankfurt am Main. Mainz 1989, ISBN 3-7861-1552-4 , pp. 298-299.
  7. ↑ a b CIL 13, 7352 .
  8. ↑ a b c CIL 13, 9123 .
  9. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche in: D. Baatz, F.-R. Herrmann (Ed.): Die Römer in Hessen , p. 291, same: Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. P. 61.
  10. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche, Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. Pp. 38. 61-62.
  11. ^ Heddernheim district museum
  12. ↑ Peter Fasold, Thomas Flügen, Erwin Hahn, Andrea Hampel, Gotthard Kowalczyk, Markus Scholz: A "private cemetery" in the Roman NIDA. In: hessenARCHÄOLOGIE 2015. Yearbook for archeology and palaeontology in Hessen. , Wiesbaden 2016, pp. 75–79.
  13. ↑ Georg Wolff: The fort and the earth camp of Heddernheim. In: Ernst Fabricius , Felix Hettner , Oscar von Sarwey (ed.): The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes of the Roemerreiches Dept. B 2,3 No. 27 (1915).
  14. ↑ Among other things, CIL 13, 7365 (4, p 125) , CIL 13, 11948 .
  15. ↑ Among others, CIL 13, 7362 (4, p. 125) , CIL 13, 7381 (4, p. 125) , CIL 13, 7382 , CIL 13, 7383 (4, p. 125) .
  16. ↑ Among other things, CIL 13, 7331 , CIL 13, 11947 , AE 1978, 542 .
  17. ↑ for example Pomponius Mela : De Chorographia 3.25; Tacitus , Annales 12.28 Latin text ; for the history of tradition, see Andreas Mengel: Gesucht: Der mons Taunus. In: E. Schallmayer u. a. (Ed.): The Romans in the Taunus. Frankfurt am Main 2005, pp. 15-19.
  18. ↑ D. Baatz in: The Romans in Hessen. Pp. 76-77.
  19. ↑ A. Jockenhövel in: Fritz-Rudolf Herrmann u. Albrecht Jockenhövel: The prehistory of Hesse. Konrad Theiss Verlag Stuttgart, 1990, ISBN 3-8062-0458-6 , p. 295.
  20. ^ P. Fasold: Excavations in the German Pompeii. 1997 pp. 41-42; An overview of the existence of Germanic finds from the 1st century AD in the Wetterau and the Untermaing area can be found in Bernd Steidl: Early imperial Germanic settlement in the Wetterau. In: V. Rupp (Hrsg.): Archeology of the Wetterau. Friedberg 1991 pp. 217-233.
  21. ^ Tacitus, Germania 29 Latin text .
  22. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche: Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. Pp. 27-28. An immigrant from Metz who identifies himself as a citizen of the civitas Mediomatrici is documented in a dedicatory inscription for Mithras in Heddernheim: CIL 13, 7369 .
  23. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche: Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. Pp. 22, 52-53.
  24. ↑ Information from Klaus Kortüm: Cities and small-town settlements. Civil structures in the hinterland of the Limes. In: Imperium Romanum. Rome's provinces on the Neckar, Rhine and Danube. Archaeological State Museum Baden-Württemberg, Esslingen 2005, pp. 154–164. After C. Sebastian Sommer: The urban settlements in Upper Germany on the right bank of the Rhine. 1992 (Xantener reports 2) p. 140 "can be expected with a few thousand inhabitants". However, on p. 139, Sommer points out that Heddernheim was the only main town on the right of the Rhine where there must have been larger undeveloped areas within the walling.
  25. ↑ a b AE 1962, 232 .
  26. ↑ CIL 13, 7263 (4, p 123) ; CIL 13, 7264 (4, p 123) .
  27. ↑ CIL 13, 7265 .
  28. ↑ CIL 13, 7394 .
  29. ↑ CIL 13, 7357 .
  30. ↑ CIL 13, 7370 .
  31. ^ AE 1898, 75
  32. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche, Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. P. 29.
  33. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche, Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. Pp. 29-30.
  34. ^ V. Rupp, Wetterauer Ware - A Roman pottery in the Rhine-Main area . Writings of the Frankfurt Museum for Pre- and Early History 10, 1988, pp. 23–36.
  35. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche, Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. P. 30.
  36. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche in: Die Römer in Hessen p. 285.
  37. ^ P. Fasold: Excavations in the German Pompeii. 1997 p. 29.
  38. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche in: The Romans in Hessen pp. 284-285.
  39. ↑ For the trade in Nida and the evidence in the finds, see I. Huld-Zetsche, Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. Pp. 31-33.
  40. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche in: The Romans in Hessen. Pp. 280-281.
  41. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche: Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. P. 26-27 Fig. 28 a and b.
  42. ↑ CIL 13, 7335 ; CIL 13, 7337 - through the inscriptions we also learn that there were altars for the genii in the streets.
  43. ↑ See Georg Wolff: The southern Wetterau in prehistoric and early historical times with an archaeological map. Frankfurt am Main 1913.
  44. ↑ D. Baatz in: The Romans in Hessen. P. 111; I. Huld-Zetsche in: The Romans in Hesse p. 280.
  45. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche: Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. Plan pp. 24-25.
  46. ↑ on the strip houses in Nida see P. Fasold: Excavations in the German Pompeji. 1997 pp. 23-24.
  47. ↑ For the villas see Vera Rupp, The rural settlement and agriculture in the Wetterau and in the Odenwald during the Imperial Era (up to and including the 3rd century). In: H. Bender, H. Wolff (ed.): Rural settlement and agriculture in the Rhine-Danube provinces of the Roman Empire. Passau / Espelkamp 1991/1994, pp. 239-240. (Passau university publications on archeology 2).
  48. ↑ See D. Baatz in: D. Baatz / F.-R. Herrmann (Ed.): The Romans in Hessen. P. 502.
  49. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche: Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. P. 20.
  50. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche: Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. P. 21.
  51. ↑ About David Ulansey: The Origins of the Mithraic Cult. Cosmology and Redemption in Antiquity . Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-8062-1310-0 , Fig. 2.1.
  52. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche: Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. P. 46
  53. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche, Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. P. 28 fig. 107.
  54. ↑ CIL 13, 7424 ; Peter Knieriem in: Egon Schallmayer (ed.): The Augsburg victory altar - testimony to a troubled time. Saalburg Museum Bad Homburg vd H. 1995 p. 39 (Saalburg-Schriften 2).
  55. ^ I. Huld-Zetsche in: D. Baatz, F.-R. Herrmann (Ed.): The Romans in Hessen p. 291; P. Fasold: Excavations in the German Pompeii. 1997 p. 43; Nida-Heddernheim in the 3rd century .
  56. ↑ Figures based on Martin Eckoldt: Shipping on small rivers in Central Europe in Roman times and the Middle Ages. Writings of the German Maritime Museum 14, Oldenburg, Hamburg, Munich 1980 p. 89; Eckoldt thinks this is sufficient for larger ships; I. Huld-Zetsche: Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. P. 33 means that instead of larger ships, only small barges could be used. It is still unclear whether the Nidda was navigable upstream, for example as far as the Ober-Florstadt fort on the Limes. Most recently Jörg Lindenthal: The rural settlement of the northern Wetterau in Roman times. Materials on the prehistory and early history of Hesse 23 (Wiesbaden 2007) p. 7; P. Fasold: City of the Taunenser. P. 13.
  57. ↑ So probably also in Heddernheim a collegium fabrum tignariorum (carpenters) CIL 13, 7371 , see also I. Huld-Zetsche: Nida - a Roman city in Frankfurt am Main. P. 31.
  58. ↑ Among other things in the Roman grave field of Kempten-Keckwiese, see Michael Mackensen : The Roman grave field on the Keckwiese in Kempten. Materialh. Bayer. Pre. 34 (Kallmünz 1984) and Andrea Faber: The Roman burial ground on the Keckwiese in Kempten. Materialh. Bayer. Pre. 75 (Kallmünz 1998); on the special burials see also Peter Fasold: Roman grave custom in southern Germany. Stuttgart 1992, pp. 21–22 and Fig. 34 (Writings of the Limes Museum Aalen 46).

Coordinates: 50 ° 9 ′ 14.8 "  N , 8 ° 38 ′ 15.9"  E

This article was added to the list of excellent articles on August 29, 2009 in this version .