Roman military camp Ingolstadt-Zuchering (temporary camps II and III)

The Rhaetian Danube Limes

The Roman military camps Ingolstadt-Zuchering (temporary camps II and III) , also known as castles II and III , are two former, short-term Roman military buildings that were built during the occupation phase of the Danube region for short-term use in wood-earth construction. As ground monuments , the partially preserved, directly adjacent facilities are located under an agricultural area southeast of Seehof, a district belonging to Zuchering in the district of Ingolstadt Süd in Bavaria .

location

The Zucheringer gravel plain was already settled in prehistoric times. Significant finds come from a necropolis of the Urnfield Culture and late Bronze Age excavated in Zuchering-Ost . In Zuchering-Süd there was a settlement from the early Bronze Age . Traces of early settlement also came to light during the excavations at the Roman camps discovered here.

Camps II and III, erected to the north of marshy mosses, are located on the largely flat terrain of a slightly elevated Worm Ice Age low terrace of the Danube. They were probably built almost at the same time as Camp I , which is around 350 meters to the southeast . The river is now just under four kilometers north of the discovery zone. During antiquity , it formed wide loops in this section and shaped the border region of the Roman province of Raetia with an overflowing meadow landscape . The Sandrach , which flows by around 500 meters north of Camp III , today uses the bed of a former arm of the Danube in places, which brings it very close to the Oberstimm auxiliary fort around 2.5 kilometers to the east . The course of the old loop of the river at camp I can still be seen as a vegetation image in aerial photographs. There was evidently no risk of flooding during the 1st century AD, although Camp I with its northern part extends into the slight depression of the lower terrace. Only later did the Danube and the floods emanating from it reach the former garrison over a longer period of time and remove the northern part of the ground monument. Camps II and III were spared this fate. Only in modern times were both affected by gravel mining and were already half destroyed by the time they were discovered.

Research history

The Donausüdstrasse in particular became interesting for science at an early stage. In 1890, the historical association Ingolstadt acquired two bronze hairpins and two bronze spiral bracelets, which came from a sand pit on the Roman road "between the hamlet of Seehof and the village of Zuchering" . These finds, however, belonged to the Bronze Age. Roman finds from the area around the Donausüdstraße in Zuchering were already known in the past. In 1970, for example, a coin of the emperor Commodus, who ruled between 180 and 192, came to light , which was minted in Rome in 187/188 .

During a flight in the region around six kilometers south of Ingolstadt's old town, aerial photo archaeologist Otto Braasch discovered three Roman military camps southeast of Zuchering-Seehof between 1978 and 1982, as well as an adjacent section of the Donausüdstraße. With the help of field inspections that have been carried out since the 1980s, the scientists gained an initial picture and were able to determine the duration of the facilities.

The surviving southwestern part of Camp II was excavated in 1985 as part of an emergency excavation by the Bavarian State Monuments Office under the direction of the archaeologist Claus-Michael Hüssen , as it was suddenly threatened by the expansion of the existing gravel pit. In addition, a construction company used the previously preserved southeastern area for its own purposes. After the investigations, a large part of the preserved area of ​​camp II with the Donausüdstraße running in front of it was destroyed. After the quarry pond created by gravel mining was briefly extended to the east to the site of the construction company by 2005, the last possible traces of fortification have also disappeared.

Camp III, known only from aerial photographs, was largely destroyed at the time of its discovery in the 19th century by the construction of a railway line to Ingolstadt that was abandoned in the 1990s and by modern gravel mining.

Military camp Ingolstadt-Zuchering II

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

Military camp Ingolstadt-Zuchering II
limes	Rhaetian Limes; older Danube line
Dating (occupancy)	short-term use, late Iberian - early claudic
Type	temporary warehouse
size	about 0.9 ha?
Construction	Wood earth
State of preservation	completely destroyed by gravel mining
place	Zuchering- Seehof
Geographical location	48 ° 42 ′ 41.5 "  N , 11 ° 25 ′ 32"  E
height	368  m above sea level NHN
Previous	Erdkastell Nassenfels (west)
Subsequently	Burgus Zuchering-Seehof (south) ; Roman military camp Ingolstadt-Zuchering (Fort I) (southeast)

The military camp Ingolstadt-Zuchering II was a provisional, only very briefly used fortification. Like its counterpart, Camp III, it was possibly built in connection with the construction of the Donausüdstrasse. This assumption is supported by studies on similar facilities such as the small forts of Friedberg-Rederzhausen east of the Lech . In addition to Hüssen, the archaeologists Wolfgang Czysz and Siegmar von Schnurbein also support the fundamental idea that sites of this type served to develop the country.

The location of the garrison evidently referred to this important military and trade route, the remains of which could be seen as a 19-meter-wide route with drainage ditches at the side in front of the south gate of the camp. Only later did Roman engineers relocate the road running on a dam to the south, directly in front of the southern trench of Camp I. Perhaps they wanted to counteract the flooding that began at that time in the lowland at Camp I.

Building history

The Rhaetian Danube Valley was evidently controlled by Roman troops from Augusta Vindelicorum ( Augsburg ) before around AD 40 . It is possible that camps II and III, which belong to this period, were built a little earlier than camp I. In addition to being used as a construction warehouse for Donausüdstraße, camps II and III could also be evidence of an initial exploration phase of the Danube region. It is therefore likely that they were created during the reign of Emperor Tiberius (14–37). At that time it was obviously possible to monitor the region with only a small presence of troops. In addition to semi-permanent and short-term military camps such as in Zuchering, additional garrison sites were only created at exposed locations. However, the country was not only developed along the west-east running Danube, but also via the valleys coming from the south, which flowed in front of the Danube floodplains. With the establishment of the Oberstimm site, the first phase of military security for this section of the Danube was completed.

Ramparts and ditches

Camp II, which was most likely rectangular in plan, whose entire dimensions were no longer fully comprehensible due to the severe modern destruction during the excavation, existed as a lightly built wood-earth system with rounded corners. In the aerial photo, the southwest corner with a large part of the southwest side and a gate passage placed there could still be seen. As an obstacle to the approach, the fortification had a double ditch, which had already been heavily eroded during the 1985 investigation and was therefore only very slightly visible in the underground. The inner trench was measured with a width of up to 1.50 meters, its depth given as only 0.70 meters. The outer trench was still 1.20 meters wide and a maximum of 0.50 meters deep. A distance of 1.30 meters was determined between the two trenches. About 40 meters from the south-west corner, both trenches were exposed in front of the four-meter-wide gateway. As a typical apron protection of temporary Roman camps, two short trenches (titula), slightly offset in parallel, were found around five meters in front of the gate . They had a length of 6.20 meters and were 1.0 or 0.60 meters wide and 0.20 meters deep.

The location of the still detectable gate led Hussen to consider that it could only have been located on a narrow side, otherwise the trenches of camp II would have overlapped with those of camp III. After making comparisons with similar systems, the archaeologist assumed that this narrow side must have been 84 meters long. The longitudinal orientation of the camp would therefore be in a south-west-north-east direction. According to these findings, camp II was probably around 0.9 hectares in size.

Found good

Before the excavation in 1985, the preserved western part was inspected with the help of a metal detector. Only an iron Roman fingering was found, the setting of which once held a gemstone that had already been lost when it was found. The excavation itself did not hold any further finds. The filling of the double trench was completely sterile with regard to Roman finds. This finding reinforced the impression that the facility was only used for a short time.

Military camp Ingolstadt-Zuchering III

Military camp Ingolstadt-Zuchering III
limes	Rhaetian Limes; older Danube line
Dating (occupancy)	short-term use, late Iberian-early claudic?
Type	temporary warehouse
size	approx. 0.5 ha?
Construction	Wood earth
State of preservation	partially preserved underground, visible in the aerial photo
place	Zuchering- Seehof
Geographical location	48 ° 42 ′ 44 "  N , 11 ° 25 ′ 26"  E
Previous	Nassenfels Castle (west)
Subsequently	Burgus Zuchering-Seehof (south) ; Roman military camp Ingolstadt-Zuchering (Fort I) (southeast)

The military camp Ingolstadt-Zuchering III as used Camp II also short term. It is located immediately north-west of Camp II. Both systems may date from the same period and may have been built for the same, temporary tasks. As with Camp II, it would also be possible to use it as a construction warehouse for the southern Danube road, which is described in more detail below, or to use it in the course of the Roman occupation of the Danube region.

Camp III, possibly also built during the late-Iberian or early Claudian period, had an even more provisional fence than camp II. According to the aerial photographs, only a ditch delimiting the storage area could be identified. Inspections of the remaining area of ​​the rectangular complex did not reveal any findings. Like Camp II, this facility did not offer any real protection from attacking enemies. From the previously unexcavated rectangular fortification, the almost 70 meter long west side with the rounded southern and northern corners has been preserved. The aerial archeology reveals a 20-meter-long section of the northern trench. A four-meter-wide driveway can be seen in the middle of the western front. In front of this, the trench stops. If the trenches of camps III and II do not overlap, camp III can have a maximum size of 70 × 70 meters (around 0.5 hectares).

Donausüdstrasse

The material for the construction of the dam on the older and younger Donausüdstraße was obtained directly on site. In this way, accompanying material removal pits along the route can be clearly seen in the aerial photographs. However, the road embankment itself has not survived in the area described here. It was also found that the younger route was narrower than the older one. During the archaeological investigations in the lateral ditches of the older route, some Roman finds were recovered in addition to the Latène period . The finds from the Latène period evidently found their way into the Roman strata during the road construction . During the area excavation at Camp II, older trench structures were also found outside the fortification, which contained material from the Latène period.

Monument protection

The fund areas and the other 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

• Claus-Michael Hüssen : The forts in Zuchering and the expansion of the Donausüdstraße. In: 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. Habelt, Bonn 2004, ISBN 978-3-7749-3297-5 , pp. 74-75; here: p. 75.
• Claus-Michael Hüssen: Roman camps on the Danube in Ingolstadt-Zuchering. In: Wolfgang Czysz u. a .: Roman provincial research. Festschrift for Günter Ulbert on his 65th birthday. Leidorf, Espelkamp 1995, ISBN 3896460005 , pp. 95-110.
• Karl-Heinz Rieder: Archeology in the Ingolstadt region. In: Helmut Bauer (ed.): The Danube between Lech and Altmühl. Past and present of a cultural landscape. Exhibition catalog, Donau Courier, Ingolstadt 1987, ISBN 3920253205 , pp. 18–31.

Remarks

1. ↑ Hans Peter Uenze: News about an old find. Supplements to the grave find of Axtbrunn ("Pichl"), district of Aichach-Friedberg. In: Bavarian history sheets 75, 2010, pp. 69–86; here u. a .: p. 84.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Claus-Michael Hüssen: Roman camps on the Danube in Ingolstadt-Zuchering. In: Wolfgang Czysz u. a .: Roman provincial research. Festschrift for Günter Ulbert on his 65th birthday. Leidorf, Espelkamp 1995, ISBN 3896460005 , pp. 95-110; here: p. 96.
3. ^ ^{A b} Karl-Heinz Rieder: Archeology in the Ingolstadt region. In: Helmut Bauer (ed.): The Danube between Lech and Altmühl. Past and present of a cultural landscape. Exhibition catalog, Donau Courier, Ingolstadt 1987, ISBN 3920253205 , pp. 18–31; here p. 28.
4. ^ Xaver Ostermair: Bronze finds near Ingolstadt, Bavaria. In: News about German antiquities. 1st year, 8, 1890, p. 53.
5. ↑ Josef Reichart: A Roman coin from Zuchering. In: Collective sheet of the Historisches Verein Ingolstadt 80, 1971, p. 9.
6. ^ Claus-Michael Hüssen: Roman camps on the Danube in Ingolstadt-Zuchering. In: Wolfgang Czysz u. a .: Roman provincial research. Festschrift for Günter Ulbert on his 65th birthday. Leidorf, Espelkamp 1995, ISBN 3896460005 , pp. 95-110; here: p. 100.
7. ↑ ^{a b} Claus-Michael Hüssen: Roman camps on the Danube in Ingolstadt-Zuchering. In: Wolfgang Czysz u. a .: Roman provincial research. Festschrift for Günter Ulbert on his 65th birthday. Leidorf, Espelkamp 1995, ISBN 3896460005 , pp. 95-110; here: p. 105.
8. ↑ ^{a b} Claus-Michael Hüssen: Roman camps on the Danube in Ingolstadt-Zuchering. In: Wolfgang Czysz u. a .: Roman provincial research. Festschrift for Günter Ulbert on his 65th birthday. Leidorf, Espelkamp 1995, ISBN 3896460005 , pp. 95-110; here: p. 106.
9. ↑ ^{a b} Claus-Michael Hüssen: Roman camps on the Danube in Ingolstadt-Zuchering. In: Wolfgang Czysz u. a .: Roman provincial research. Festschrift for Günter Ulbert on his 65th birthday. Leidorf, Espelkamp 1995, ISBN 3896460005 , pp. 95-110; here: p. 108.
10. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Claus-Michael Hüssen: Settlement change and continuity in the Upper Bavarian Danube region and in the Munich gravel plain from the occupation under Augustus to the Tiberian-Claudian period ; here: The forts in Zuchering and the expansion of the Donausüdstraße. In: 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. Habelt, Bonn 2004, ISBN 978-3-7749-3297-5 , pp. 74-75; here: p. 75.
11. ^ Claus-Michael Hüssen: New research results on troop camps and rural settlements on the Danube and in the Raetian Limes area. In: Limes XVIII. Proceedings of the XVIIIth International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies held in Amman, Jordan (September 2000). BAR, Oxford 2002, pp. 535-548; here p. 537.
12. ^ Claus-Michael Hüssen: Roman camps on the Danube in Ingolstadt-Zuchering. In: Wolfgang Czysz u. a .: Roman provincial research. Festschrift for Günter Ulbert on his 65th birthday. Leidorf, Espelkamp 1995, ISBN 3896460005 , pp. 95-110; here: p. 110.
13. ↑ ^{a b} Claus-Michael Hüssen: Roman camps on the Danube in Ingolstadt-Zuchering. In: Wolfgang Czysz u. a .: Roman provincial research. Festschrift for Günter Ulbert on his 65th birthday. Leidorf, Espelkamp 1995, ISBN 3896460005 , pp. 95-110; here: p. 104.
14. ^ Karl-Heinz Rieder: Archeology in the Ingolstadt region. In: Helmut Bauer (ed.): The Danube between Lech and Altmühl. Past and present of a cultural landscape. Exhibition catalog, Donau Courier, Ingolstadt 1987, ISBN 3920253205 , pp. 18–31; here: pp. 28–29.
15. ^ ^{A b} Karl-Heinz Rieder: Archeology in the Ingolstadt region. In: Helmut Bauer (ed.): The Danube between Lech and Altmühl. Past and present of a cultural landscape. Exhibition catalog, Donau Courier, Ingolstadt 1987, ISBN 3920253205 , pp. 18–31; here: p. 29.