Römerschanze near Potsdam
The Römerschanze , also Königswall or Räuberschanze , near Sacrow , a district of Potsdam , is a prehistoric rampart and one of the oldest fortifications in Europe. The name Römerschanze is misleading. It was never entered by a Roman .
location
The Wallburg is located on a wooded spur in today's nature reserve " Sacrower See and Königswald ", 19 m above the shore of the Lehnitzsee , east of the Nedlitz north bridge and southeast of the Stinthorn. Remnants of walls and moats have been preserved from the ground monument .
Research history
The Bronze Age and Slavic fortifications were both archaeologically examined for the first time in 1881 by Carl Schuchhardt and Gerhard Bersu . The excavations in 1908, 1909 and 1911 were of importance for German prehistory research, which is still in its infancy. It was the first major settlement survey outside of the wetland settlements . With the help of the method of post holes discovered and recognized in the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes in 1899, it was possible to prove a Bronze Age post house with a hearth . In addition to this exposure, numerous finds were excavated. In 1956 the Römerschanze was placed under monument protection.
Wallburg
The first settlement of the place began in the burial mound bronze age and extended continuously until the end of the Hallstatt period (stage IIIa - Vb; approx. 1250 to 550 BC). It is not known whether the square was paved from the start. The hill fort can be attributed to the Lusatian culture , which existed in the late Bronze Age and the early Iron Age (1300 to 500 BC) in what is now eastern Germany, Poland , parts of the Czech Republic and Slovakia and parts of Ukraine . Heavy layers of fire at the end of settlement in the 6th century BC Chr. Indicate a destruction or fire disaster. Only in the 8th / 9th In the 19th century the place was repopulated by Slavs. The Slavic castle existed until the 10th century and was then abandoned , like all of the Wilzen hilltop castles . The Slavic bailey settlement was only given up at the beginning of the 13th century.
The hill fort with an area of 175 m by 125 m covers around two hectares. After washing away, the once six meter high ring wall was left with a remaining height of around three meters. The fortification had a construction phase using wood-earth technology. It could accommodate up to 1,000 men. A house with a floor area of 11.50 m by 16.60 m was uncovered from the interior.
Theodor Fontane on the Königswall
In Volume 3 "Havelland" of the walks through the Mark Brandenburg , Theodor Fontane describes the Königswall in the chapter "Fahrland":
- “ This earthwork is the Königswall, in the mouths of the people, like all such primitive fortresses, called the Roman, Robber or Swedish Lair. Expressions that historically give no clue. The name Königswall is hardly better, by the way. "
And further
- “ It is undoubtedly an old camp, a Wendish camp or defense site from the century when Christianity and paganism fought each other here. "
literature
- D.-WR Buck: The "Römerschanze" near Potsdam-Sacrow . In: Potsdam, Brandenburg and the Havelland. Guide to Archaeological Monuments in Germany 37 . Theiss, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-8062-1489-1 , pp. 159-163.
- Max Ebert : Excavations on the Römerschanze at Lehnitz-See . In: Annual report of the Historisches Verein zu Brandenburg ad H. 41, pp. 138–140
- Sven Näther: The "Römerschanze" near Sacrow. Impressive ramparts with traces of settlement from 1000 BC Chr. In: GRAL 3, 1996. Michael Haase Verlag, pp. 196-197.
Web links
- The Römerschanze in Königswald on the site waldjugend-bb.de
swell
Coordinates: 52 ° 26 '30 " N , 13 ° 3' 43" E