Saalburg
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The Saalburg is a
Roman fort In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...
located on the
main ridge of the Taunus The main ridge of the Taunus (german: Taunushauptkamm) refers to a 75-kilometre-long ridgeline in the High Taunus mountain in Germany, whose geological core consists of veins of hard Taunus quartzite and which separates the steeply descending Anter ...
, northwest of
Bad Homburg Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's offic ...
,
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It is a cohort fort, part of the
Limes Germanicus The (Latin for ''Germanic frontier'') is the name given in modern times to a line of frontier () fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman Empire and the unsub ...
, the Roman linear border fortification of the German provinces. The Saalburg, located just off the main road roughly halfway between Bad Homburg and
Wehrheim Wehrheim is a municipality in Hesse, Germany some 30 km (20 mi) north of Frankfurt am Main. The town's nickname is "Apfeldorf Wehrheim" (''Apple-village Wehrheim''). Geography Location Wehrheim lies from 300 to 600 m above sea lev ...
is the most completely reconstructed Roman fort in Germany. Since 2005, as part of the Upper German ''limes'', it forms part of a
UNESCO World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
site. In the modern numbering system for the ''limes'', it is ORL 11.


History of research

The earliest examinations of the site were undertaken from 1853 to 1862 by the
Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
Antiquarian Society under the direction of Friedrich Gustav Habel (1793–1867). But the great impulse to provincial Roman
archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
in Germany came in 1892, when the ''Reichs-Limes-Kommission'' (the Imperial Commission for the Roman borders), then chaired by
Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th cent ...
began to research the course of the
Limes Germanicus The (Latin for ''Germanic frontier'') is the name given in modern times to a line of frontier () fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman Empire and the unsub ...
in its entirety, as well as the location of all its forts. In the course of this enormous project, not completed for decades, intensive exploration of the Saalburg and its surroundings was pursued by the
archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
s charged with this stretch of the ''limes'',
Louis Jacobi Louis Jacobi (21 April 1836 – 24 September 1910) was a German architect and archaeologist. He is most notable for his 1889 dig in Pompeii and his reconstruction of the Saalburg The Saalburg is a Roman fort located on the main ridge of ...
(1836–1910) and his son and successor Heinrich Jacobi (1855–1946). In 1897,
Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and List of monarchs of Prussia, King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication on 9 ...
, following a suggestion by L. Jacobi, ordered the reconstruction of the Saalburg fort according to the detailed results of its excavation. As a result, the Saalburg became the most completely reconstructed fort on the entire ''limes''. It also houses the Saalburg Museum, one of the two most important institutions dedicated to the study of the German Limes (the other being the Limesmuseum of
Aalen Aalen () is a former Free Imperial City located in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, about east of Stuttgart and north of Ulm. It is the seat of the Ostalbkreis district and is its largest town. It is also the large ...
). From 1967 to 1993, the museum was directed by the well-known archaeologist Dietwulf Baatz, whose many publications fostered a broad interest in provincial Roman archaeology well beyond specialist circles.


Location

Since
prehistoric times Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
, trade routes like the ''Lindenweg'' or ''Linienweg'' connected the
Rhine-Main The Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, often simply referred to as Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main area or Rhine-Main area (German: ''Rhein-Main-Gebiet'' or ''Frankfurt/Rhein-Main'', abbreviated FRM), is the second-largest metropolitan re ...
plain with the
Usingen Usingen is a small town in the Hochtaunuskreis in Hessen, Germany. Until 1972, this residential and school town was the seat of the former district of Usingen. Coat of arms The earliest seal whose appearance is known – there had been earlier on ...
basin, which had been a centre of population since the
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
. Such routes would have followed a course from the mouth of the Nidda near Höchst, northwards across the low Taunus ridge, as does the modern
Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' ...
456. A location along major communication routes almost always equals a strategic importance. Thus, it is no surprise that the mountain pass beside the Saalburg was first fortified by Roman troops during Domitian's wars against the
Chatti The Chatti (also Chatthi or Catti) were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser (''Visurgis''). They lived in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of that river and in the valle ...
(AD 81-96), when two simple earthen enclosures were erected (''Schanzen'' A and B, located between the restored fort and the modern road).


The fort


History

Shortly after the two enclosures, around AD 90, a simple wood-and-earth fort was built to house a ''numerus''. A ''numerus'' was a unit of
auxiliary troops The (, lit. "auxiliaries") were introduced as non-citizen troops attached to the citizen legions by Augustus after his reorganisation of the Imperial Roman army from 30 BC. By the 2nd century, the Auxilia contained the same number of inf ...
consisting of 2 ''centuriae'' and numbering about 160 men. There is some evidence that the troop stationed at this fort was a ''numerus Brittonum'', i.e. a unit from
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
, but this is not entirely clear. Late in the reign of
Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
, c. AD 135, the ''numerus'' fort was replaced with a much larger (3.2 hectare) fort for a
cohort Cohort or cohortes may refer to: * Cohort (educational group), a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum * Cohort (floating point), a set of different encodings of the same numerical value * Cohort (military unit ...
, a unit of about 500 men. The new castle was reoriented to face the growing Roman city of Nida (now
Heddernheim Heddernheim is a quarter of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the '' Ortsbezirk Nord-West'' and is subdivided into the ''Stadtbezirke'' Heddernheim-Ost and Heddernheim-West. History Antiquity The Roman town of Nida (Roman town) was situ ...
). Originally, it had dry-built wood-and stone walls, which were replaced in the 2nd half of the 2nd century with mortared stone walls and an earthen ramp (147 × 221 m). The reconstructed fort is based on that third and last architectural phase, but reminders of the second phase are visible in the ''retentura'' (the back of the fort). Part of the second-phase defensive ditch has also been restored and can be inspected there. The cohort fort was occupied by the ''Cohors II Raetorum civium Romanorum equitata'' (2. partially mounted Raetian cohort with Roman citizenship), a partially equestrian 500-men infantry unit, probably under the command of the
legionary The Roman legionary (in Latin ''legionarius'', plural ''legionarii'') was a professional heavy infantryman of the Roman army after the Marian reforms. These soldiers would conquer and defend the territories of ancient Rome during the late Republi ...
headquarters at Mogontiacum (modern
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 ...
). The cohort had initially been stationed at ''Aquae Mattiacorum'' (
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
), had then been moved to the
Butzbach Butzbach () is a town in the Wetteraukreis district in Hessen, Germany. It is located approximately 16 km south of Gießen and 35 km north of Frankfurt am Main. In 2007, the town hosted the 47th Hessentag state festival from 1 to 10 June ...
fort (ORL 14) and finally to the Saalburg. The fort existed in that form and with that occupancy until the fall of the German ''limes'' in c. AD 260. During the intervening period, the name of the unit is repeatedly mentioned in stone inscriptions, as are the names of some of its commanders. In the early 3rd century, the situation along the limes became increasingly unsettled. A
preventive war A preventive war is a war or a military action which is initiated in order to prevent a belligerent or a neutral party from acquiring a capability for attacking. The party which is being attacked has a latent threat capability or it has shown t ...
under
Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...
, who marched against the
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 ...
and their
Chatti The Chatti (also Chatthi or Catti) were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser (''Visurgis''). They lived in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of that river and in the valle ...
allies from
Raetia Raetia ( ; ; also spelled Rhaetia) was a province of the Roman Empire, named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west with T ...
and Mogontiacum in AD 213, lowered the Germanic pressure on the border only temporarily. The town of Nida (capital of the regional ''civitas'') was given a defensive enclosure around that time. Already around 233, the Alemanni entered Roman territory again; further major incursions took place in 254 and 260. Eventually, all areas east of the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
were lost during the major political and economic crisis of the mid-3rd century. In the course of these events, the Saalburg fort appears to have been abandoned deliberately and without military action. After the abandonment of the Upper Germanic Limes, the fort was used as a quarry.


Archaeology, architecture

The Saalburg in its final architectural phase, in the form reconstructed today, as a cohort fort typical for this part of the limes, a 147 by 221 m rectangle with 4 gates. The 3.25 m interior was enclosed by a double ditch and a mortared defensive wall; its external face was whitewashed and painted with a
trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...
pattern of
ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
blocks. On the inside, an earthen ramp was placed along the length of the wall, to enable defenders to access the top. The corners were rounded and not crowned with towers, but all four gates were flanked by two towers each. The fort was oriented in such a way that its main gate, or ''porta praetoria'' faced south-south-east, that is away from the ''limes'' but towards Nida. The central structure of the fort was a large ''principia'', a central plaza surrounded by housing or offices for the higher officers, which was flanked by a roofed hall for assemblies of the fort's garrison. The ''praetentura'' (front part of the fort) contained the ''praetorium'' (the fort commander's residence) to the west of the ''via praetoria'', and a large ''
horreum A ''horreum'' (plural: ''horrea'') was a type of public warehouse used during the ancient Roman period. Although the Latin term is often used to refer to granaries, Roman ''horrea'' were used to store many other types of consumables; the giant Hor ...
'' (grain store) to its east. The rest of the fort's interior, today a park-like area of grass and trees, should be visualised as packed with further buildings: stables, magazines, workshops and, of course, the actual troop quarters, subdivided into contubernia. Two such troop barracks have been reconstructed in the southeast part of the fort. For the general arrangement and terminology of Roman fort architecture, see
Castra In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...
.


Vicus

The Saalburg is not only the most consistently reconstructed ''limes'' fort, it is also the only one to have had its
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 ...
(adjacent civilian settlement) partially excavated and preserved. The parts of the vicus visible today are located mostly to the south of the fort, on both sides of the road that linked it with Nida, the regional capital and base of further garrison behind the border. The village begins immediately outside the main gate, where the ruins of a
mansio In the Roman Empire, a ''mansio'' (from the Latin word ''mansus,'' the perfect passive participle of ''manere'' "to remain" or "to stay") was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or ''via'', maintained by the central government for the use ...
(an official hostel) and, behind it, of a bath for the soldiers were found. These are followed along the road by the preserved basements and foundations (partially reconstructed) of residential houses and of - as believed in the time of the excavations - a
mithraeum A Mithraeum , sometimes spelled Mithreum and Mithraion ( grc, Μιθραίον), is a Mithraic temple, erected in classical antiquity by the worshippers of Mithras. Most Mithraea can be dated between 100 BC and 300 AD, mostly in the Roman Emp ...
, a shrine to the
Mithras Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman mystery religion centered on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mithra, the Roman Mithras is linke ...
, a deity popular among the Roman army. The fort's bath was relatively large and quite elaborately designed to have all the main features of Roman
Thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...
. It has an ''apodyterium'' (changing room), a ''frigidarium'' (cold bath), two ''tepidaria'' (lukewarm baths', a ''caldarium'' (hot bath) and a ''sudatorium'' (sauna). The complex was heated from the ''praefurnia'' (firing places); and all rooms except the ''apodyterium'' and ''frigidarium'' were served by a
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 ...
system (underfloor and wall heating). Archaeologists assume that the overall complex (fort and vicus) housed a population of up to 2,000 (500 soldiers, 1,500 civilians).


Saalburg Museum

Although the Saalburg is known mainly as an archaeological park and museum, it also serves a number of scientific functions less obvious to the visitor. The most striking features for the modern visitor are the fully reconstructed walls and gates, the ''principia'' with its ''
aedes ''Aedes'' is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except perhaps Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: ''Aedes albopictus'', a particularly invasive spe ...
'' (shrine containing the '' signa militaria'' or standards), the assembly hall, the ''
horreum A ''horreum'' (plural: ''horrea'') was a type of public warehouse used during the ancient Roman period. Although the Latin term is often used to refer to granaries, Roman ''horrea'' were used to store many other types of consumables; the giant Hor ...
'' (provisions store), the two barracks buildings with their rebuilt interior ''contubernia'' and the partially reconstructed ''praetorium''. The ''horreum'' contains an informative exhibition, focusing on cultural, historical, architectural, and military aspects of Roman
Germania Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north- ...
. The museum exhibits a large collection of well-preserved military and domestic equipment from the Saalburg and other sites in the area as well as a series of architectural and terrain models. Since its reconstruction, the Saalburg has functioned also as an internationally renowned centre of research, concerned with provincial Roman archaeology in general, the ''limes'' in particular. The heart of the centre is a specialised library of 30,000 volumes and 2,200 slides. The ''Saalburgmuseum'' regularly organises colloquia and has its own series of academic publications. Since the 1980s, the Saalburg is also the venue of occasional classical concerts.


Surroundings

Only about 200 m north of the ''porta decumana'' (back gate), the ''limes'' runs by in a west-easterly direction. Part of the border defense (ditch, bank and palisade) has been reconstructed here. As along most of its extent in the Taunus area, the ''limes'' near the Saalburg is remarkably well preserved and can be easily followed through the landscape. Ditch and bank are distinctly visible for long stretches, and many of the former watch towers have been partially preserved or are visible as small mounds. Thus, the Saalburg is a good starting point for further exploration of the ''limes''. The Saalburg in the context of the local limes'' between the ''Kleinkastelle'' (small forts) of Heidenstock to the southwest and Lochmühle to the northeast: Near the Saalburg, a copy of the ''Jupitersäule'' (a type of painted tall sandstone
stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
dedicated to
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
and common in the German provinces) of Mainz has been erected.


Saalburgbahn

The reerection of the fort in the late 19th and early 20th century led to a surge of interest by the local population, including visitors using the
spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
at
Bad Homburg Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's offic ...
. To provide comfortable access, the Bad Homburg
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
company constructed a direct rail link, the ''Saalburgbahn''. After a pre-
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
flourish, the company was badly affected by post-war inflation and a massive drop of visitor numbers to the spa. Eventually, the service was closed; scanty traces of its embankment and the (closed) station remain.Frankfurter Verkehrsverbund/FVV-Informationen Nr. 1 Today, the fort can be reached by an hourly bus link from Bad Homburg.


References


Literature

* Dietwulf Baatz: ''Saalburg (Taunus)''. In: Die Römer in Hessen. Nikol, Hamburg 2002, * Dietwulf Baatz: ''Der Römische Limes. Archäologische Ausflüge zwischen Rhein und Donau''. Gebr. Mann, Berlin 2000, * Margot Klee: ''Die Saalburg''. Theiss, Stuttgart 1995. (Führer zur hessischen Vor- und Frühgeschichte 5), * Margot Klee: ''Der Limes zwischen Rhein und Main''. Theiss, Stuttgart 1989, * Anne Johnson: ''Römische Kastelle des 1. und 2. Jahrhunderts n. Chr. in Britannien und in den germanischen Provinzen des Römerreiches.'' Zabern, Mainz 1987. (Kulturgeschichte der antiken Welt, Vol. 37), * Egon Schallmayer (ed.): ''Hundert Jahre Saalburg. Vom römischen Grenzposten zum europäischen Museum.'' Zabern, Mainz 1997, * Heinrich Jacobi: Kastell Nr. 11 Saalburg, Der obergermanisch-raetische Limes des Römerreiches, Series B, Vol. II, Frankfurt 1937 (the original publication of the excavation). *Since 1910 (with interruptions), a Saalburg Annual (''Saalburg Jahrbuch'') with scholarly articles on provincial Roman archaeology is published. More than 50 volumes exist. *Since 1995, the''Saalburg-Schriften'' present archaeological studies to a popular audience.


External links


Saalburg Museum Website







3D model
of Saalburg {{authority control Roman fortifications in Germania Superior Buildings and structures in Hochtaunuskreis Bad Homburg vor der Höhe Chatti Reconstructions of Roman sites Museums in Hesse Archaeological museums in Germany Museums of ancient Rome in Germany Taunus