The ''Castra Alteium'' (german: Kastell Alzey) is a former late-Roman border fort on the
Danube-Iller-Rhine Limes (DIRL).
It is located in the territory of the city of
Alzey
Alzey () is a ''Verband''-free town – one belonging to no ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the fifth-largest town in Rhenish Hesse, after Mainz, Worms, Germany, Worms, Ingelheim am Rhein ...
in
Rhenish Hesse, Germany. The fort was presumably built in the course of the last reconstruction measures on the Rhine frontier between 367 and 370 AD under the western Emperor
Valentinian I. Previously, there was a Roman civilian settlement (
Vicus
In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus r ...
),
Altiaia, which was devastated by
Alamanni
The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes
*
*
*
on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...
in 352–353. The fort was also destroyed twice, and probably abandoned at the end of the fifth century.
Name
The ancient place name ''Altiaia'' possibly goes back to a pre-Roman Celtic settlement from 400 BC. The Roman name appears for the first time on the dedication inscription of a
Nymphaeum
A ''nymphaeum'' or ''nymphaion'' ( grc, νυμφαῖον), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs.
These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...
reused in the fort wall. The inscription, identifying the population as ''vicani Altiaienses'', and the town as ''vicus Altiaiensium'' or ''vicus Altiaiensis'' is datable to the year 223. The meaning of the name can no longer be determined today. The late antique Alteium (or Altinum ) is mentioned only in
Codex Theodosianus
The ''Codex Theodosianus'' (Eng. Theodosian Code) was a compilation of the laws of the Roman Empire under the Christian emperors since 312. A commission was established by Emperor Theodosius II and his co-emperor Valentinian III on 26 March 429 a ...
and is almost certainly derived from the name of the civil settlement. In the Codex the place is once referred to as Alteio and the other time again as Altino.
Location and purpose
The town of Alzey is located in German federal state of
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
on the western edge of the northern part of the Upper-Rhine Valley (Oberrheinischen Tiefebene) on the left side of the Rhine, about from it. It is surrounded by the northern part of the Alzey hill country, which is adjoined to the north by the
Rheinhessisches Hügelland and to the west by the
Nordpfälzer Bergland
The North Palatine Uplands (german: Nordpfälzer Bergland), sometimes shortened to Palatine Uplands (''Pfälzer Bergland''), is a low mountain range and landscape unit in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and belongs mainly to the Palat ...
. The town is located about southwest of
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
and about northwest of
Worms Worms may refer to:
*Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs
Places
*Worms, Germany, a city
**Worms (electoral district)
*Worms, Nebraska, U.S.
*Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy
Arts and entertainme ...
. Through Alzey flows, partly underground, a section of the
Selz, a left tributary of the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
. The narrow Selz valley begins to widen from Alzey to the north. The Roman civilian settlement was part of the province of
Germania Superior
Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesontio' ...
and was governed from the provincial capital of
Mogontiacum
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Mainz ...
(Mainz). After the administrative reforms of
Diocletian
Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
''Castra Alteium'' was located within in the territory of the new province of ''
Germania Prima
Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura mountains, Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besanço ...
'' and was located in the southwestern area of the former
vicus
In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus r ...
, on a southern spur of the Mehlberg mountain on a steep slope to Selz. From here the garrison had a good view of the surrounding area, especially to the north.
The fort probably protected and monitored a crossing over the Selz and the junction of the road links Mainz-Alzey-Metz and Bingen-Kreuznach-Alzey-Worms. However, the camp was possibly used primarily for the temporary accommodation of units of the mobile field army (
Comitatenses), because there was otherwise little accommodation in the hinterland of Mogontiacum for larger troop contingents. In an emergency, the central plaza could also accommodate tents to quarter additional troops.
Research history
Datable finds of the ''
vicus
In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus r ...
'' date back to the middle of the 4th century AD. The first known reports on Roman finds were written in 1783 by the pastor of Dautenheim, Johann Philipp Walther, who excavated old foundations on a church-owned field (presumably the remains of the eastern wall of the fort) and discovered three Roman inscriptions. In 1869, the ''Mainzer Altertumsmuseum'' acquired late-antique or early medieval finds from Alzey— a pair of gilded-silver crossbow brooches, a silver needle, earrings, two small disc brooches with
almandine
Almandine (), also known as almandite, is a species of mineral belonging to the garnet group. The name is a corruption of alabandicus, which is the name applied by Pliny the Elder to a stone found or worked at Alabanda, a town in Caria in Asia M ...
inlay, and pendants, each richly decorated with golden filigree wire. Such crossbow brooches were worn only in pairs at the shoulders. Together with two small brooches, such as small disc brooches, they formed the "vierfibeltracht" which was typical of the women's fashion in the 6th century. In the 1870s the teacher Gustav Schwabe presented a collection of Roman finds, which were later lost. In 1871/1872 a votive altar to the goddess
Sulis came to light in the north wall. Another altar found in Alzey was dedicated to
Fortuna. Another example was dedicated to Minerva by the
fuller Vitalianus Secundinus. In the foundations of the late antique church building in the fort they encountered fragments (
spolia
''Spolia'' (Latin: 'spoils') is repurposed building stone for new construction or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut and used in a built ...
) of a
gate
A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...
way, which was probably originally erected in a place of worship of the god of the springs Apollo-
Grannus
Grannus (also ''Granus'', ''Mogounus,'' and ''Amarcolitanus'') was a Celtic deity of classical antiquity. He was regularly identified with Apollo as Apollo Grannus and frequently worshipped in conjunction with Sirona, and sometimes with Mars and ot ...
, probably the sulfur spring at today's tax office.
In 1902 the section commissar of the ''Reichs-Limeskommission'' (RLK), Karl Schuhmacher (1860-1934), and the local historian Jakob Curschmann (1874-1953), identified a part of the wall and the foundations of a round tower at the southwest corner. Nursery owner Jean Braun, then the owner of the fort and later co-founder of the Alzey Museum, continued to investigate and discovered further remains of the wall on the west side. By 1904, during construction, further remains of the fort wall and, at the cemetery of the former St. George's Church, ancient sandstone slabs and sarcophagus components came to light. In 1904, the preservationist Soltan dug large parts of the eastern wall. The east gate was only very poorly preserved; it could only be stated that the gate towers extended behind and in front of the wall. In 1906, further foundations of the fort were discovered and partially restored.
In 1909, the prehistorian Eduard Anthes (1859-1922) took over the supervision of the excavations, supported by the district and city of Alzey, the Historical Association of the Grand Duchy of Hesse, and the ''Römisch-Germanischen Kommission'' excavations. In the same year Braun also discovered the west gate, whose passage was mostly filled with rubble. The southeastern corner tower was of high structural quality and its existing masonry still exhibited several courses. On the south wall, Braun discovered two well-preserved rooms of a barracks attached to the castle wall. The two rooms were dug to a depth of . At the bottom of the eastern chamber many animal bones were found; presumably this part of the building served as a slaughterhouse. In the western iron fragments and tools as well as two stones which may have served as anvils were uncovered. In front of the building was a well shaft covered with sandstone slabs. By 1909, about of the perimeter wall had been uncovered. At most of the sites examined it was only below the surface. Their rising masonry was still partially preserved up to a height of . In 1925, the prehistorian
Wilhelm Unverzagt
Wilhelm Unverzagt (21 May 1892 – 17 March 1971) was a German prehistorian and archaeologist.
Education and First World War
Born in Wiesbaden, Rhenish Hesse, Unverzagt studied classical philology, archaeology, and geography at the universities ...
(1892-1971) succeeded in finding the so-called "Alzey burn layer" which marked the end of the second settlement phase of the fort. Above this layer mainly ceramics of the late 4th century AD were recovered. The complex of
migration period
The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...
ceramics from the excavations is still used in research today as a tool to date other sites of this era. Several excavation campaigns in the fort area were also conducted by the ''Institut für Vor- und Frühgeschichte '' of the
Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz
The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...
.
Finds
For the dating of the fort mainly the coin finds and a brick temple of the
Legio XXII Primigenia
Legio XXII Primigenia ("Fortune's Twenty-Second Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army dedicated to the goddess Fortuna Primigenia. Founded in AD 39 by the emperor Caligula for use in his campaigns in Germania, the XXII ''Primigenia'' ...
were important. The objects found in the excavation area, mainly Roman glassware and ceramics, give some information about the origin of the fort's inhabitants. Noteworthy in this context is a comb with a bell-shaped handle, which was widespread among the East Germanic peoples. Other comb types from Alzey come from
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
Germanic regions. Half-round, serrated belt buckle plates of the "Muthmannsdorf" type have been mainly observed on the Danube and in the Elbe and eastern Germanic areas, but provincial Roman types are also represented. In 1929 a 5 x 11.5 cm limestone slab with three engraved busts and two Christ monograms was discovered in the southeast corner of the fort. Also found was an early Christian bread stamp from the 4th century used to stamp the
eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
ic bread.. The discovery of Spiral
fibulae
The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity is ...
of the "Mildenberg" type, which did not originate before 440 AD, marks the Alamannic settlement phase of the fort.
[ Claudia Theune: ''Germanen und Romanen in der Alamannia. Strukturveränderungen aufgrund der archäologischen Quellen vom 3. bis zum 7. Jahrhundert''. (= ''Ergänzungsbände zum Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde'', Band 45) de Gruyter, Berlin 2004, , S. 412.]
Development
The mild climate, the rolling hills and fertile loess soil made the region attractive for settlers from an early period. The first signs of settlement in the Alzey area can already be found from the Neolithic period (
Linear Pottery culture
The Linear Pottery culture (LBK) is a major archaeological horizon of the European Neolithic period, flourishing . Derived from the German ''Linearbandkeramik'', it is also known as the Linear Band Ware, Linear Ware, Linear Ceramics or Inci ...
). Later, peoples of the
Michelsberg culture settled here. Towards the end of the 2nd millennium BC. Illyrians (
Urnfield culture) immigrated to the area around Alzey. From the early
La Tène period the Alzey region was populated by
Celts
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...
. When the Romans occupied the region around the year 50 BC. they founda small late La Tène settlement, which was probably inhabited by members of the
Treveri
The Trēverī (Gaulish: *''Trēueroi'') were a Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, if not earlier, until their displacement by the Franks. Their domain lay within the southern fringe ...
and
Mediomatrici tribes. There was probably a Celtic settlement on the Selz ford at the intersection of two busy trackways. Possibly the inhabitants also exploited the nearby sulfur springs.
With the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar the border of the Roman Empire was advanced to the Rhine. Legionary camps were built in
Bingen,
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
and
Worms Worms may refer to:
*Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs
Places
*Worms, Germany, a city
**Worms (electoral district)
*Worms, Nebraska, U.S.
*Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy
Arts and entertainme ...
during the
Augustan Age. The Celtic settlements were followed by the Roman ''Vicus Altiaia'', which was founded around the middle of the first century BC. In addition to the limes road, which ran along the Rhine, there was another road connection which led from Worms to
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...
via Alzey. Under
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
the region around Alzey experienced its economic and cultural heyday. Numerous estates, such as the Roman villa of
Wachenheim, supplied the border garrisons with food.
Altaia was burnt by the Alemanni under
Chnodomar
Chnodomar (Latinized Chnodomarius) was the king of an Alamannic canton in what is now south-west Germany, near the Rhine from sometime before 352 till 357. He seems to have had a recognized position among the other Alamanni.
Early career
Chnodo ...
in the middle of the 4th century AD (352/353). In 370, in the course of the last Roman reinforcements on the Rhine Limes, the late antique Castrum Alteium was built on the ruins of the civilian settlement. The fort's name is mentioned in connection with two visits of Emperor
Valentinian I, in 370 and 373, who probably issued some laws or
rescript
In legal terminology, a rescript is a document that is issued not on the initiative of the author, but in response (it literally means 'written back') to a specific demand made by its addressee. It does not apply to more general legislation.
Over ...
s here.
No evidence of an earlier military facility could be detected. Despite the intricately constructed defenses, the fortress was, according to coin finds, only occupied by Roman troops for a few years. It may have been completely vacated as early as 383 in the wake of the usurpation of British governor
Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus (; cy, Macsen Wledig ; died 8 August 388) was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 383 to 388. He usurped the throne from emperor Gratian in 383 through negotiation with emperor Theodosius I.
He was made emperor in B ...
, when the western emperor, Gratian, assembled troops near
Lutetia (Paris) to oppose him. Most likely, the garrison of Altaia were also part of Maximus' army, with which, in 388, he fought the eastern Emperor
Theodosius I
Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...
at the
Battle of the Save
The Battle of the Save was fought in 388 between the forces of Roman usurper Magnus Maximus and the Eastern Roman Empire. Emperor Theodosius I defeated Magnus Maximus's army in battle. Later Maximus was captured and executed at Aquileia.
Backg ...
at
Siscia and
Poetovio.
After 400 the
Comitatenses and
Limitanei
The ''līmitāneī'' (Latin, also called ''rīpēnsēs''), meaning respectively "the soldiers in frontier districts" (from the Latin phrase līmēs, meaning a military district of a frontier province) or "the soldiers on the riverbank" (from the ...
of
Stilicho were withdrawn from most of the Rhine forts when Emperor
Honorius moved his residence from Trier to
Arles
Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...
, and the heartland of Italy was increasingly threatened by barbarian invasions. In the winter of 406/407 some Germanic tribes, including the
Burgundians
The Burgundians ( la, Burgundes, Burgundiōnes, Burgundī; on, Burgundar; ang, Burgendas; grc-gre, Βούργουνδοι) were an early Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared in the middle Rhine region, near the Roman Empire, and ...
, simultaneously crossed the lightly-guarded Limes between Mogontiacum (Mainz) and Borbetomagus (Worms) and devastated the Rhine and Gaulish provinces. The
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The ...
also destroyed the fort, which had probably been abandoned six years earlier. Then Germanic tribes settled as Roman allies (
Foederati
''Foederati'' (, singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the ''socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign stat ...
) in the Upper Rhine border fortresses around Worms, which were assigned to them for settlement in 413/414 by treaty with the Roman government in
Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...
. In return, they undertook responsibility for the frontier defense in this area and, together with other allied tribes and the remnant of the regular Limitanei, securing of the Rhine border. Members of East Germanic tribes are archaeologically detectable in the fort from 407 onwards, presumably Burgundian warriors and their families. Possibly the castle was also used occasionally until 425 by the Comitatenses.
The treaty with the Burgundians lasted about 20 years, until 436/437. The increasing demand for independence
by Burgundy under king
Gundahar
Gundaharius or Gundahar (died 437), better known by his legendary names Gunther ( gmh, Gunther) or Gunnar ( non, Gunnarr), was a historical king of Burgundy in the early 5th century. Gundahar is attested as ruling his people shortly after they ...
(also called Gundicharius or Gunther) was crushed by order of the Western Roman army commander and regent
Aëtius by his
Hunnic auxiliary troops. The survivors then relocated to the region of
Sapaudia (now
Savoy
Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps.
Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south.
Savo ...
or the
Rhone Valley), but there they gained strength in the late 5th century and rebuilt a new empire in western Switzerland. At this time also the end of the second phase of Alteium and thus the abandonment of the fort as a Roman military base occurred. It is possible that some of the Burgundians, supported by tribes on the right bank of the Rhine, defended themselves against the deportations, which caused the fortifications of the fort to be destroyed. These events were also reflected in the medieval epic of the
Nibelungenlied and formed the template for the legendary figure of the bard
Volker von Alzey. According to the archaeologist
Jürgen Oldenstein Jürgen Oldenstein (born 1947 in Düsseldorf ) is a German provincial Roman archaeologist.
Beginning in 1968 Oldenstein studied Provincial Roman Archeology, Pre- and Early History, and Ancient History at the Goethe University Frankfurt, and 1970/71 ...
he could have been the Burgundian commander of the fort.
Around 450, once again Alemannic
foederati
''Foederati'' (, singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the ''socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign stat ...
moved into their quarters into the fort. In 454 Emperor
Valentinian III murdered his commander Flavius Aëtius, whereby also Roman rule over the region around Alzey came to an end. After Valentinian's death in 455
Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
and Alemanni overran the Rhine provinces and conquered
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
and Trier. After the
Battle of Tolbiac
The Battle of Tolbiac was fought between the Franks, who were fighting under Clovis I, and the Alamanni, whose leader is not known. The date of the battle has traditionally been given as 496, though other accounts suggest it may either have been ...
in 496, the Alamanni came under Frankish rule and the fort was again burned. In the cultural strata of the 6th century, only isolated sporadic traces of settlement were found. After the death of its founder
Clovis I
Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single kin ...
511, the Frankish Empire was divided into two parts, and Alzey was assigned to the eastern part of the empire,
Austrasia
Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the F ...
, with its capital at Mediomatricum (
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...
). From 843, after the conclusion of the Treaty of Verdun, Alzey was assigned to the eastern realm. In 897 Alzey was first mentioned as a German
fiefdom. The ruin of the fort probably marked the view of the city until around 1620, since the engravers of the early 17th century depicted them on vignettes at that time. After that, the fort almost completely cleared for the extraction of building materials by the urban population.
Fortifications
Since the terrain dropped off sharply to the north, it was carefully measured in the late 4th century AD and planned in detail. Finds of coins and stamped tiles point to the years between 367 and 370 AD. The square floor plan, slightly skewed toward the northwest in order to the inclusion of a break in the slope to the north, measured and covered an area of . The camp showed the typical features of late Roman fortifications prevailing since the 3rd century. Its corners were rounded and reinforced with cantilevered towers. Inside, there was no
intervallum, instead, all barracks and workshops - with the exception of the headquarters building - were set directly to the defensive wall to save space. The wall itself had deep foundations to hinder undermining during sieges. Corner, intermediate, and gate towers extended into the
glacis
A glacis (; ) in military engineering is an artificial slope as part of a medieval castle or in bastion fort, early modern fortresses. They may be constructed of earth as a temporary structure or of stone in more permanent structure. More genera ...
. The water supply was ensured by three wells, on the north-western, southern, and south-westerm corners. The courtyard was kept dry by an elaborate drainage system, which drained in the moat. Structurally almost identical camps were located at
Bad Kreuznach
Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, most well known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke, which is one of the few remaining bridges in th ...
and
Horbourg. For the water supply, the fort had several wells, including a deep, two-phase well in the courtyard. Phase 1 was bordered by a
puteal, of which remains were found. In addition, a gravel filling was spread around this area to help keep it dry.
Three usage periods can be distinguished:
* Phase 1: Valentinianic
* Phase 2: Burgundian
* Phase 3: Alemannic
Defensive walls
The defense consisted of a wall, long up to wide, which extended upwards to . As a rule, the three-meter-wide foundation of the wall extended up to deep into the ground. At the top, it terminated with a wide, non-tapered socket projection. The wall consisted essentially of
rubble masonry
Rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Analogously, some medieval cathedral walls are outer shells of ashlar with an inn ...
. Most of the building material was scavenged by demolishing the ruins of the vicus. Wooden forms were used to achieve a good mortar bond between the wall core and outer facing. The outer cladding on both sides of the wall was composed of hand-cut limestone quarried the immediate vicinity of the fort. Spolia could only be found in the north wall.
Gates
The fort was accessible through two gates, one in the east and the other in the west. The gates were designed as single towers similar to those at
Andernach, which stood on rectangular foundations extending equally inward and outward. The west gate rested on a high foundation and had a wide passageway. The wide long rectangular tower extended outward and inward. The passage and part of the westbound road were paved with flagstones on which the wear-marks of cartwheels were found. In the slightly wider main (east) gate (porta praetoria) there was also an elevated footpath. In the 5th century the gate was walled up by the Alamannic occupiers.
Towers
The fort wall was equipped with -high towers at regular intervals on the long sides and the corners, probably about fourteen. The corner towers had a three-quarter-round shape, stood on rectangular foundation, and did not protrude into the fort They were hollow inside and had a wall thickness of . The intervening towers, also hollow, also stood on square foundations and extended over the fort wall half-round (so-called horseshoe towers). In 1909, an intermediate tower between west gate and southwest corner was examined more closely. Its front projected from the fort wall and had a diameter of . The masonry was still rose to a height of four courses (). The foundation was square and connected to the fort wall, which was reinforced on the inside by a meter strong projection (''risalit'').
[Eduard Anthes: 1909, S. 4–5, Jürgen Oldenstein: 1992, S. 15–16.]
Moat
As an additional defense, in the first phase of construction the Roman builders dug a moat approximately wide and deep about in front of the defensive wall. Possibly the fort was surrounded by two moats. Whether the moat was interrupted at the gates could not be determined. It was later partially converted by the Burgundians into a simpler moat, up to wide.
[Jürgen Oldenstein: ''Kastell Alzey. Archäologische Untersuchungen im spätrömischen Lager und Studien zur Grenzverteidigung im Mainzer Dukat''. 2009 (Habilitationsschrift Universität Mainz 1992), S. 16–17.]
Interior development
The east and west gates were connected by the main road through the camp. Nothing is known about other roads in the camp interior.
Phase 1
The Valentinian period interior was very carefully constructed and consisted of elongated, multi-story, single-room camp and barracks buildings built on the rear side directly on the defensive wall (west, south and east). The barracks walls were plastered. The buildings probably extended into the corners of the fort, but this could only be shown at the northwest barracks. The rooms were laid out at regular intervals and measured on average of . The partitions were thick. In some rooms, a floor of flat stone slabs was observed. The entrance areas had only pavement over wooden floorboards. Room I of the west barracks also had a simply constructed
hypocaust
A hypocaust ( la, hypocaustum) is a system of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air passes. This air can warm th ...
heating system. The foundations of the rooms on the western wall are still visible today. On the south wall, there were also traces of a roof supported by simple wooden posts along the barracks fronts for a walkway (
portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
) surrounding the entire courtyard. It is believed that the two-story barracks blocks were divided into a total of 234 rooms, in which up to 2,000 men could be accommodated. The courtyard was, as often observed in late antique castles, completely kept free of buildings. This type of space utilization was, however, the exception for larger forts in the western provinces. Due to the buildings being built directly behind the walls, and to the strong fortifications, the fort could also be defended successfully by a small number of men. Parts of the barracks blocks were probably destroyed between 388 and 407 by marauding
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The ...
.
There were no barracks along the northeast wall or in the northeast corner. Here there was a larger, complex free-standing building, which was identified as the fort's headquarters (
Principia). It had a long rectangular plan and was divided by a central corridor into two equal-sized, hall-like interior rooms.
Phase 2
The reconstruction of the fort in the Burgundian period deviated from the previous plan, especially in the interior. Those barracks still usable were renovated and equipped with new wooden floors, and the fort wells were cleared. The buildings which were too badly destroyed, for example a part of the northwestern barracks, were demolished. New residential buildings had an upper floor consisting mostly of
half-timbered
Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
construction with threshold beams on stone foundations and rammed earth floors. They were preferably built behind the towers. Due to the lack of roof tiles it is assumed that they were either covered with
thatch or wooden shingles. The Burgundians placed these half-timbered houses in an irregular arrangement on the previously undeveloped courtyard.
The headquarters building was transformed into a three-nave, basilica-like building and decorated with murals. An extensive fire layer from the period after 425 marks the end of this second settlement phase of the fort. The defenses were rendered unusable and the rubble was disposed of in the two well shafts. In the backfill of the southern ditch was a
half-siliqua from the reign of Emperor
Valentinian III. (419-455).
Phase 3
The Alemannic period was characterized by mostly civil use. The destruction debris in the interior was leveled, above it erected half-timbered buildings with plans on the Roman model whose roofs were now covered with tiles again. On the ruins of a Valentinian barracks, a ''Fabrica'', also tiled, was built, in which
cullet
Glass recycling is the processing of waste glass into usable products. Glass that is crushed or imploded and ready to be remelted is called cullet. There are two types of cullet: internal and external. Internal cullet is composed of defective p ...
and scrap metal was melted for reuse. The Principia was rebuilt in the 440s, or possibly only in the 6th century, to a simple aisleless church, the direct predecessor of the St. George Church, the parish church of Alzey to the fifteenth century. Phase 3 extended to the middle of the 5th century AD, when the buildings were also destroyed by fire.
Garrison
In the course of the Diocletian imperial reform, especially after the reorganization of the Roman provinces from 297, the northern part of the Germania superior was assigned to the new province of Germania Prima. ''Mogontiacum'' (Mainz) served as the headquarters of the new military commander, the ''Dux Germaniae Primae'', who commanded the border troops (
Limitanei
The ''līmitāneī'' (Latin, also called ''rīpēnsēs''), meaning respectively "the soldiers in frontier districts" (from the Latin phrase līmēs, meaning a military district of a frontier province) or "the soldiers on the riverbank" (from the ...
) in this section. This area of responsibility was divided in the 5th century to two new commanders, the ''Dux Mogontiacensis'' and ''
Comes tractus Argentoratensis
The (literally: "count of Strasbourg region") was in late antiquity commander of units of the mobile field army of the Western Roman Empire, operating along the Rhine frontier (Danube–Iller–Rhine Limes) in the Diocese of Gaul.
Definition
Th ...
'' in
Straßburg. The fate of the units of Germania Prima, as well as the time of their deployment in the province, is controversial. Older research usually held the view that the Roman frontier defense in the area of Mainz was infiltrated in 406/407 by Germanic tribes, who largely overran and the remaining units of limitanei the comitatenses (mobile field army) were incorporated into the German forces. Recent research, however, sometimes expresses the opinion that the local Roman administration, supported by Germanic foederati, remained capable of action until the middle of the 5th century, possibly even until the end of the Western Roman Empire in 476/480. The garrisons of the forts, in which only foederati were stationed, do not appear as irregular troops in the
Notitia Dignitatum
The ''Notitia Dignitatum'' (Latin for "The List of Offices") is a document of the late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very few surviving documents of ...
.
References
{{coord, 49.7429, 8.1174, type:landmark_region:DE, display=title
Roman frontiers
4th-century fortifications
Roman fortifications in Germania Superior