Roman camp Marktbreit

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The Roman camp Marktbreit is an early Roman legionary camp from the time of Emperor Augustus on the boundary of the Lower Franconian town of Marktbreit am Main in the Kitzingen district in Bavaria .

location

The ground monument is strategically located northeast of today's city on the "Kapellenberg", a terrain spur in the acute angle between the Main ( Latin Moenus ) and Breitbach . Due to its progressive form here Main is the so-called Maindreieck . In ancient times there was probably a ford here . It is the only camp discovered on this river so far, at the same time the furthest east of its time and one of the largest in the Germania magna . Findings show that there was a Hallstatt settlement here before . A grave of the Cord Ceramic Culture was also found .

Finding

The camp was discovered in 1985 by aerial photo archaeologist Otto Braasch , who also discovered the Roman marching camp in Wilkenburg in 1990 . Both camps are among the few Roman camps identified on the basis of aerial photographs. Probes , but above all magnetometer examinations during the processing of the site from 1986 to 1993 by the State Office for Monument Preservation in Würzburg, then showed an older, about nine hectares, and a younger, about 37 hectare warehouse. Only the ditch of the smaller one has survived, so that it cannot be classified more precisely in terms of time and probably did not have a long useful life.

In addition to a 2.8 meter wide wood and earth wall and two defensive trenches with gate systems, there are also remains of the interior of the larger camp. An architectural peculiarity is a praetorium (commandant's apartment) that is axially related to the principia (staff building) and connected to it . Such a central staff structure can be found analogously in the Roman camp in Haltern . Like the irregular floor plan and the design of the gate areas, this detail ensures that the complex dates back to the Augustan period . In addition, crew quarters ( contubernia ) and a wooden bathing facility could be examined.

The finds in the excavated area were extremely thin. Six coins and a Terra Sigillata stamp from the Aretine producer Gnaeus Ateius were found and are available for more precise dating of the complex. The most recent pieces are three aces , two of which come from Lugdunum (present-day Lyon ) and one, only half of which has been preserved, from Nemausus (present-day Nîmes ). They were made in the years between 7 BC. BC and 3 BC BC, which is the term post quem for the last time the legionary camp was used.

Historical meaning

Initially, the camp was associated with the Roman campaign against the Marcomanni under King Marbod in 5/6 AD , in which no less than twelve legions and their auxiliary troops were involved. While the Commander-in-Chief Tiberius marched north from the Carnuntum camp (today near Petronell-Carnuntum ) against King Marbod, the Legate Gaius Sentius Saturninus made an advance from Mogontiacum ( Mainz ) in an easterly direction, following the course of the Main, towards Bohemia . Shortly before the unification of the two armies, however, the campaign had to be broken off because of the Pannonian uprising .

In terms of time, the Marktbreit camp fits well into this historical scenario, but its size and representative facilities make it unlikely that it was simply a transit camp with a small core workforce to secure the deployment and supplies during the campaign. Rather, the facility is likely to have been planned as a military center after a large-scale conquest of Germania. For example, the two legions stationed in Mogontiacum (today Mainz ) should have been moved to Marktbreit. Due to its location on the Main and the connection to the northern extension of the Via Claudia Augusta, its geographical position was very favorable for long-term control of the greater area, at the same time the agricultural conditions in the region were sufficient for the constant supply of a larger standing army. Correspondingly, in view of the historical background , Bernd Steidl assumed that the camp was built between 5/7 and 9 AD, probably during the governorship of Publius Quinctilius Varus (7-9 AD). The Varus Battle in 9 AD, however, meant a severe setback for the Roman expansion policy in Germania and by 16 AD at the latest the troops stationed in Marktbreit were returned to the camps further west on the Rhine.

This relatively short period of occupancy of the Marktbreit fort explains the extreme lack of finds. It is not yet clear whether the expansion of the facility was ever fully completed, but the large buildings certainly made an impression on the residents of the area. In any case, after the campaign was broken off, the fortification was no longer needed and was therefore destroyed by fire.

Civil settlement and contact with the non-Roman population

Not far from the camp, a civilian camp village ( canabae ) developed, where craftsmen and traders gathered. In fact, various influences of Roman culture on agriculture and handicrafts in the surrounding area can be proven, but in the end Marktbreit was dependent on supplies from non-Germanic areas throughout its existence and the acculturation of the surrounding population did not come out beyond a very small stage.

Monument protection and remains

The area of ​​the camp is a ground monument 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. The found material is u. a. in the Roman cabinet in the Malerwinkelhaus (Bachgasse 2, Marktbreit). Furthermore, an archaeological circular hiking trail with eight information boards was laid out from the parking lot on the Main to the Kapellenberg, which gives an impression of the enormous dimensions of the market-wide legionary camp.

literature

  • Martin Pietsch, Dieter Timpe , Ludwig Wamser : The Augustan military camp Marktbreit. Previous archaeological findings and historical considerations . In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission . Volume 72, 1991, pp. 263-324.
  • Martin Pietsch: The central building of the Augustan legionary camp of Marktbreit and the Principia of Haltern . In: Germania . Volume 71, 1993, pp. 355-368.
  • Axel Posluschny, The Hallstatt period settlement on the Kapellenberg near Marktbreit, Lower Franconia. In: Bavarian history sheets. Vol. 62, 1997, pp. 29-113.
  • Siegmar von Schnurbein : The Augustan bases in Main Franconia and Hesse. In: Ludwig Wamser (Ed.): The Romans between the Alps and the North Sea. Civilizational legacy of a European military power. Catalog manual for the state exhibition of the Free State of Bavaria, Rosenheim 2000 (= series of publications of the Archaeological State Collection. Volume 1). Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2000, ISBN 3-8053-2615-7 and ISBN 3-927806-24-2 , pp. 34–37 (with floor plan).
  • Ludwig Wamser: Legion camp Marktbreit. Marktbreit, district of Kitzingen. In: Derselbe (Ed.): The Romans between the Alps and the North Sea. Civilizational legacy of a European military power. Catalog manual for the state exhibition of the Free State of Bavaria, Rosenheim 2000 (= series of publications of the Archaeological State Collection. Volume 1). Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2000, ISBN 3-8053-2615-7 and ISBN 3-927806-24-2 , pp. 436-438 (catalog number 250, with images of real and virtual models).
  • Klaus Weyer: From the Celtic shrine to the Carolingian mission monastery - Neustadt am Main. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-8260-6740-2 , pp. 21-25 (chapter “The Romans in Mainfranken”).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ludwig Wamser: Legion camp market broad. Marktbreit, district of Kitzingen. In: Derselbe (Ed.): The Romans between the Alps and the North Sea. Civilizational legacy of a European military power. Catalog manual for the state exhibition of the Free State of Bavaria, Rosenheim 2000. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2000, ISBN 3-8053-2615-7 and ISBN 3-927806-24-2 , pp. 436–438, here p. 438 (catalog number 250d ).
  2. ↑ Bernd Steidl: Main Franconia between Celts and Teutons. In: Between Celts and Teutons. Northern Bavaria and Thuringia in the age of the Varus Battle. Archaeological State Collection / Thuringian State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology, Munich / Weimar 2009, pp. 123–151, here pp. 143–147.
  3. ↑ Bernd Steidl: Romans, Teutons and the Main. An introduction. In: Same: Romans and Teutons on the Main. Selected archaeological studies. Logoverlag Eric Erfurth, Obernburg am Main 2016, ISBN 978-3-939462-29-3 , pp. 11–19, here p. 13.
  4. ↑ Bernd Steidl: Main Franconia between Celts and Teutons. In: Between Celts and Teutons. Northern Bavaria and Thuringia in the age of the Varus Battle. Archaeological State Collection / Thuringian State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology, Munich / Weimar 2009, pp. 123–151, here pp. 147–150.

Coordinates: 49 ° 40 ′ 11.8 "  N , 10 ° 9 ′ 18.2"  E