Limes Germanicus - Fortlet "Rötelsee" - WP 9/128
N 48° 53.198 E 009° 38.054
32U E 546494 N 5415047
Small Roman fort along the Upper Germanic Limes border near the Southwest German village of Welzheim.
Waymark Code: WMYY2
Location: Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Date Posted: 11/18/2006
Views: 58
A fine commanding view of the Limes which ran just to the east along the current path, was facilitated by the choice of the site for the fortlet.
The first research work was carried out under Gustav Sixt (1856 - 1904) by order of the Reichs-Limeskomission in 1895.
Excavations were once again carried out in 1974 by the Landesdenkmalamt Baden-Württemberg during the reparcelling of the agricultural land of the community. The fortlet with its interior buildings became the first of the Roman camps of the Upper-Germanic Limes to be completely excavated. The preservation of the ramparts and the marking of the sites interior wooden buildings with concrete slabs were carried out on the initiative of the Flurbereiningungsamt Schorndorf and the city of Welzheim.
The size of the fort (interior surface 324 m²) allows one to assume a garrison of ten to twenty soldiers. It was their task to guard the frontier. The gate was directed towards the east and facing the Limes. The proximity to the two forts in Welzheim, some 1.5 km to the south, is conspicuous. The purpose of the fortlet "Rötelsee" may have been to guard a so far unrecognized thoroughfare where the soldiers could control the border traffic of persons and goods and collect customs duty.
Remains of the 1m wide walls of the fort only survived in some places as standing masonry. On the inside, traces of wooden postholes can be recognized running parallel to the wall with its rounded angles. These supported the inner part of the wooden walk along the battlements, the outer part rested on the stone wall itself.
A wooden building with three u-shaped annexes around a paved courtyard was discovered in the fort. There were two to three rooms on every side, each with an access to a covered corridor (porticus) which ran around the courtyard.
Remains of a hearth were found at the end wall of the courtyard. Based on the small dimensions of the building's walls it can be assumed that the foundations were made of stone, but that the standing walls themselves were made of half-timbering. The use of wood as a building material is not unusual for the late second century AD, the time of the fort's construction. The date of the construction is based upon the finds of pottery as well as brooches, pendants, and two coins.
Most Relevant Historical Period: Roman Empire > 27 B.C.
Admission Fee: Free
Opening days/times:
24/7
Web Site: [Web Link]
Condition: Partly intact or reconstructed
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