Roman forts near Friedberg

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Roman forts near Friedberg
Alternative name Fortresses of Friedberg-Rederzhausen
limes -
Dating (occupancy) Founding: late August to Middle Tiberian or - more likely - late Iberian-early Claudian / Claudian
Type Small fort
size a) Fort I: 144 × 115 m
b) Fort II: 144 (?) × 115 m
Construction a) Kastell I: wood and earth
b) fort II: Earth
State of preservation preserved underground, visible in the aerial photo;
a) Fort I: northeast corner in the direct area of ​​use of a farm;
b) Fort II: southern half largely modern overbuilt
place Friedberg -Metzgerhof
Geographical location 48 ° 19 '57 .5 "  N , 10 ° 57" 44.7 "  E
height 490  m above sea level NHN

The Roman forts near Friedberg , also known in literature as the forts of Friedberg-Rederzhausen , are two Roman military camps located close to each other that were established during the occupation phase of the Lech region in the 1st century AD. The Roman times way of using this space, which was only occupied for a short time, is speculative. The site is located south of the city of Friedberg and the community Kissing in western neighborhood of the farmyard Metzgerhof in Bavarian-Swabia Aichach-Friedberg southeast of Augsburg . The southwestern part of Fort I already belongs to Kissing.

location

The fortified sites were established in the left Lechauen on a lower terrace of the Lechfeld . Geologically, this level was created by gravel from the Würmzeitung , which is superimposed colluvially . Around 100 meters west of the forts, a Roman road from Augsburg, the so-called Via Julia , runs upriver towards the south between these and the Lech . Around 250 meters east of the two ski jumps, the Hagenbach, a tributary of the Lech, flows in a north-easterly direction. At the level of the north fort (Fort II) it is called Friedberger Ach after the tributary of the Riedbachgraben . With the exception of the Metzgerhof, which appears in the historical maps for the first time after the middle of the 19th century, the current buildings in the wider area around the fortifications did not emerge until the 20th century.

Research history

The aerial archaeologist Otto Braasch succeeded in May 1980 during his systematic overflies of the area around the Roman provincial capital Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg), the discovery of a previously unknown fort - like structure, the fortification later called Fort I on agricultural land. A subsequent field inspection , supervised by the archaeologist Wolfgang Czysz , provided the certainty that the finding was actually a Roman fort. In the summer of 1982, only about 300 meters an apparently very similar second attachment could north of the fort I from the plane traces (Castle II) are documented. Through various field inspections, other Roman sites around the two plants became known. In the same year, an excavation by the Roman-Germanic Commission of the German Archaeological Institute under the archaeological direction of Siegmar von Schnurbein took place at Fort I, which covered 1700 square meters, while at Fort II only a smaller area was examined.

Building history

The two fort-like structures with an unknown function cannot be addressed as a regular type of garrison. It is possible that short-term labor camps can be seen in the forts near the road between Augsburg and Salzburg , as Schnurbein suspected. The archaeologist also suspected that their task could have had to do with the development of the country and the establishment of an internal organization and infrastructure for the new province of Raetia . Czysz had already made a similar statement earlier. Schnurbein also assumed that both forts existed one after the other.

Castle I.

The rectangular fort I with its rounded corners (playing card shape) comprised a total of 144 × 115 meters. With its two narrow sides, it is oriented slightly offset in a west-east direction. The excavators of 1982 were surprised by the unusually small dimensions of the double trench, which exposed on all four sides of the complex to allow access. Each trench was 1.0 to 1.20 meters wide and 0.80 to one meter deep. Apparently, no wood-earth wall had been built behind the enclosing trenches. The excavator suspected a sod wall instead. Gate structures and other fortification measures could not be identified either. Accordingly, the crew of this slightly secured facility probably had no remarkable enemies to fear.

In the interior of Fort I, traces of a wooden structure were visible, which, however, probably did not cover the entire inner surface. A few parallel post pits were documented, which could have come from barracks. However, the examined section from 1982 was too small to be able to provide a concrete statement on this. Nevertheless, the presence of the military can be proven by a few militaria finds as well as by finds that belonged to harnesses. Larger cellar pits and well systems were completely missing, which obviously indicates that the small system was probably only used for a short time. The fort square may have been occupied several times in its history. This could be indicated by two small buildings within the camp area that deviate in their alignment from the main axes of the fort. In addition, the locations outside of the two camps contain indications of such a scenario.

Castle II

Only the eastern narrow side and the associated approaches of the southern and northern fronts are known of Fort II. In terms of these dimensions, the camp could have corresponded to the dimensions known from Fort I. The width of the trench at this second fort was 0.50 to 0.80 meters. The depth of the trench that was still preserved was measured at 0.50 to 0.60 meters. In contrast to Fort I, no signs of construction activity or pits could be found inside this facility. The alignment of the two narrow sides of this fort was oriented almost exactly to the west-east.

Finds and time allocation

The field inspection, which was carried out shortly after the aerial archaeological discovery of Fort I, revealed, in addition to heavy pottery fragments that could not be further dated, clearly early Roman mortars, amphorae and mainly fragments of terra sigillata. According to Czysz's assessment, the spectrum of forms of these sigillates belonged to the late Iberian-early Claudian period. The archaeologist speculated that most of the recovered pieces were probably no longer made in Italy, but came from the newly established South Gallic pottery around Lyon and La Graufesenque .

According to Schnurbein, the "altogether quite modest finds" of his excavation can be dated "to the period from the 1st to the 3rd century AD", whereby the actual useful life of the two forts was in the 2nd and 3rd decade of the 1st AD Century - in the late August to Middle Tiberian times. In addition to terra sigillata from Italy and southern France, the range of small finds included further ceramic fragments, remains of colored glass vessels, some fibulae as well as parts of soldier's costume and armament, all in a very fragmented condition. For his very precise temporal analysis, the archaeologist used primers and especially the early sigillates . The numismatist Bernhard Overbeck expressed his surprise that Schnurbein did not go into detail in his processing of the 16 coins found, the series of which ended with two clearly datable aces , which were used during the reign of Emperor Tiberius (14–37) from 22/23 AD . were coined. The number of republican coins is quite high with 27 copies (as of 2001). In addition to the pieces mentioned by Schnurbein, Overbeck presented another 18 coins from the find area, which came out of the ground as field readings. According to Overbeck, the final coins deserved special attention, whereby the singular and completely isolated find of a coin from the reign of Constantius II (337-361) minted around 355/361 is to be regarded as a plowed-out wastage from the nearby Roman highway. The last early Roman coin was in 1986, at the time of publication of the evaluation by the numismatist Overbeck, a Dupondius from the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54), minted in Rome around 50/54 , which may revise the proposed Middle Tiberian end date by Schnurbein to the Claudian period. The thesis of a Claudine foundation could be supported by the Providentia- Asse recovered from the excavations in 1982 on the fort area. These very frequently minted coins were struck until the reigns of the emperors Caligula (37–41) and Claudius. Two other coins, already picked up in the 19th century, cannot be identified and are generally assigned to the early imperial period. In addition, 20 more unpublished coins were added by 2001, which were in private hands. More recent research with the coin material confirms Overbeck's thesis that the site was used beyond the Tiberian period and was probably only abandoned around the middle of the 1st century AD. The relatively high number of five denarii (as of 1986) at these two fort sites remains a mystery . Without further ado, such solvent coins were not lost. At that time, a denarius was more than the daily wage of an auxiliary soldier.

Monument protection

The forts at Friedberg and Kissing as well as the facilities mentioned are protected as registered ground monuments within the meaning of the Bavarian Monument Protection Act (BayDSchG) . Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to authorization, accidental finds must be reported to the monument authorities.

literature

  • Maria Radnoti-Alföldi , Hans-Markus von Kaenel (Hrsg.): The coins found in the Roman period in Germany , Bavaria. Department 1: Bavaria, Volume 7: Schwaben, Mann, Berlin 1962, p. 164
  • Wolfgang Czysz : A new Roman fort near Augsburg . In: The Archaeological Year in Bavaria 1980 (1981), pp. 112–113.
  • Siegmar von Schnurbein : Newly discovered early imperial military installations near Friedberg in Bavaria . In: Germania 61 (1983), pp. 529-550.
  • Siegmar von Schnurbein: The new Roman forts near Friedberg, Aichach-Friedberg district, Swabia . In: The Archaeological Year in Bavaria 1982 (1983), pp. 99-101.
  • Siegmar von Schnurbein: The forts of Friedberg-Rederzhausen . In: Die Römer in Schwaben (=  workbooks of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation 27), Munich 1985, p. 30 ff.
  • Bernward Ziegaus : Roman found coins from selected places in the foothills of the Alps from the 1st century BC. until the reign of Tiberius - an overview . In: Claus-Michael Hüssen , Walter Irlinger , Werner Zanier (eds.): Late Latène and early Roman imperial times between the edge of the Alps and the Danube. Files from the colloquium in Ingolstadt on October 11 and 12, 2001 (=  Colloquia on Pre- and Early History 8), pp. 53–66; here p. 58.

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b c d Bernhard Overbeck : Fund coins from Rederzhausen, district Aichach / Friedberg. A contribution to the early Roman history of the Augsburg area . In: Yearbook for Numismatics and Monetary History 36 (1986), p. 95.
  2. ↑ a b Wolfgang Czysz : A new Roman fort near Augsburg . In: The Archaeological Year in Bavaria 1980 (1981), pp. 112–113; here: p. 112.
  3. ↑ Römerstrasse at 48 ° 19 '59.56 "  N , 10 ° 57' 5.77"  E ; Römerstrasse at 48 ° 20 ′ 16.65 "  N , 10 ° 56 ′ 54.66"  E ; Römerstrasse at 48 ° 19 ′ 44.15 "  N , 10 ° 57 ′ 14.97"  E ; Römerstrasse at 48 ° 19 '27.39 "  N , 10 ° 57' 21.52"  O ; Roman Road at 48 ° 20 ′ 38.56 "  N , 10 ° 56 ′ 40.4"  E ; Römerstrasse at 48 ° 19 ′ 44.15 "  N , 10 ° 57 ′ 14.97"  E ; Römerstrasse at 48 ° 19 ′ 8.64 "  N , 10 ° 57 ′ 28.05"  E ; Römerstrasse at 48 ° 19 ′ 44.15 "  N , 10 ° 57 ′ 14.97"  E ; Römerstrasse at 48 ° 19 ′ 8.64 "  N , 10 ° 57 ′ 28.05"  E ; Roman Road at 48 ° 18 ′ 50.11 "  N , 10 ° 57 ′ 34.85"  E ; Roman road at 48 ° 18 ′ 27.81 ″  N , 10 ° 57 ′ 43.66 ″  E
  4. ↑ Kastell II at 48 ° 20 '5.88 "  N , 10 ° 57' 49.31"  O
  5. ^ A b c Siegmar von Schnurbein: The new Roman castles near Friedberg, Aichach-Friedberg district, Swabia . In: The Archaeological Year in Bavaria 1982 (1983), pp. 99-101; here: p. 99.
  6. ↑ Wolfgang Czysz : A new Roman fort near Augsburg . In: The Archaeological Year in Bavaria 1980 (1981), pp. 112–113; here: p. 113.
  7. ^ A b c d Siegmar von Schnurbein: The new Roman forts near Friedberg, Aichach-Friedberg district, Swabia . In: The Archaeological Year in Bavaria 1982 (1983), pp. 99-101; here: p. 100.
  8. ↑ Wolfgang Czysz : A new Roman fort near Augsburg . In: The Archaeological Year in Bavaria 1980 (1981), pp. 112–113; here: p. 112.
  9. ↑ a b Bernward Ziegaus : Roman found coins from selected places in the foothills of the Alps from the 1st century BC. until the reign of Tiberius - an overview . In: Claus-Michael Hüssen , Walter Irlinger , Werner Zanier (eds.): Late Latène and early Roman imperial times between the edge of the Alps and the Danube. Files from the colloquium in Ingolstadt on October 11 and 12, 2001 (=  Colloquia on Pre- and Early History 8), pp. 53–66; here p. 58. Note: Ziegaus makes a mistake with the indication of 17 coins in Overbeck 1986. There actually 18 coins are listed.
  10. ^ Bernhard Overbeck : Fund coins from Rederzhausen, district of Aichach / Friedberg. A contribution to the early Roman history of the Augsburg area . In: Yearbook for Numismatics and Monetary History 36 (1986), p. 98.
  11. ^ Joachim Jahn : On the development of Roman pay payments from Augustus to Diocletian . (=  Studies on Fund Coins from Antiquity 2) (1984), p. 66.