Heidenmauer (Palatinate)
Heidenmauer | |
---|---|
Bad Dürkheim | |
Coordinates | 49°27′52″N 8°09′16″E / 49.4644°N 8.1544°E |
Type | hill castle |
Code | DE-RP |
Height | 300 m above sea level (NN) |
Site information | |
Condition | niedergelegt |
Site history | |
Built | around 500 B.C. |
Materials | formerly the Murus Gallicus |
The Heidenmauer ("heathen wall") near the
The Heidenmauer is a
Geography
Location
The site lies one kilometre northwest of Bad Dürkheim, 170 metres above the town, and covers the 300-metre-high, domed summit of the hill and its southeastern hillside of the Kästenberg. The latter is a southern spur of the Teufelsstein, which is part of the Haardt, the eastern range of the Palatinate Forest facing the Upper Rhine Plain. South of the hillfort the little river of Isenach, a left tributary of the Rhine, breaks through the mountain barrier and enters the plain.
Surrounding area
To the left and below the former entrance of the Heidenmauer is the old
History
The Heidenmauer and its associated settlement were established at the end of the
Based on the finds, it appears that the settlers traded in pottery products from
In the 4th century A. D. a small part of the circular rampart as well as the Kriemhildenstuhl below was used by the Romans as a quarry.
Research history
After those parts of Electoral Palatinate that were west of the Rhine had been awarded to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1815, Bavarian state surveyors became interested in the Heidenmauer. However, investigations were first undertaken in 1874/75 by student, Christian Mehlis, who later became a teacher of history and ancient languages in Neustadt an der Haardt.
In 1937–39,
From 2004 to 2006, excavations were undertaken by the Speyer Archaeological Monument Conservation Authority (Archäologische Denkmalpflege Speyer) as part of the Early Celtic Princely Residence programme (Frühkeltische Fürstensitze) financed by the
Layout
The ringwork of the Heidenmauer consists of the rampart-like, apparently demolished stone wall. It surrounds the remains of a settlement, some of which lay open for centuries and some of which was not uncovered until it was excavated.[1][3]
The rampart is two and a half kilometres long in toto and encloses and area of 26 hectares. From its northernmost point to the southernmost corner is about 700 metres; from the westernmost to the easternmost corner is about 600 metres. The plan of the site is in the shape of a
The wall itself, a so-called
Archaeologists suspect that, about 80 metres south of the gateway and above the Kriemhildenstuhl, was a bastion. There the rocks of the wall are facing inwards, which suggests that at this spot, which enables a wide view of the Rhine Plain and the entrance to the Isenach valley, a wooden tower was erected, overlooking the wall.[1]
In front of the arc of the northwestern wall, whose highest points run over the crest of the hill (at 285–300 metres above sea level), is a nearly 500-metre-long and up to 15-metre-wide ditch, which on the very flat summit was clearly intended to increase the height from the ground to the top of the wall. The ditch bends towards the northeast at the northernmost point of the wall, almost forming a right angle, and runs downhill before it ends after a distance of over 100 metres. In this way, during heavy rain, the water from the ditch was led away, preventing it from undermining the wall.[1]
In local folklore there is another legendary story of its origin: Hans von Trotha (around 1450–1503), a castellan regionally known as the robber baron, Hans Trapp, of the South Palatine castle of Bertwartstein (who almost certainly never visited the Heidenmauer site which had already fallen into ruins 2000 years ago), was supposed to have hidden a large supply of sausage in the ditch; this legend gave rise to its popular name, the Wurstgraben ("sausage ditch").[4]
In the area enclosed by the wall are numerous small hillocks of different sizes. These are likely to be the remains of the domestic buildings that have yet to be explored; only a fragment of a floor of beaten clay has been exposed. For this reason, no conclusions can yet be drawn about the number of people who lived here. However, in view of the artefacts found, it was probably an extensive settlement.[1]
In the northern part of the site a spring reaches the surface, whose superfluous water may also have flowed to the northeastern ditch. During the time span of the settlement the site was largely treeless; in the 20th century it was deliberated reforested.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. "Bad Dürkheim – Laufende Arbeiten". Bad Dürkheim – Heidenmauer und Limburg mit Siedlungsumland und Bearbeitung der Fürstengräber von Bad Dürkheim…. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
- ^ Susanne Schütz (2006-08-12), "Keltisches Zentrum für Handel und Handwerk?", Die Rheinpfalz (in German), Ludwigshafen am Rhein, p. 1
- ^ Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. "Bad Dürkheim – Fürstensitze". Bad Dürkheim – Heidenmauer und Limburg mit Siedlungsumland und Bearbeitung der Fürstengräber von Bad Dürkheim…. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
- ISBN 3-9804668-3-3
Literature
- Helmut Bernhard; Thomas Kreckel (2006), Frühe Kelten im Raum Bad Dürkheim, Rheinland-Pfalz (in German), Tübingen
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ISBN 3-934845-07-X
- Walter Eitelmann (1998), Rittersteine im Pfälzerwald (in German) (4th ed.), Neustadt an der Weinstraße: Pfälzerwald-Verein, ISBN 3-00-003544-3
- Arndt Hartung; Walter Hartung (1985), Pfälzer Burgenbrevier : Aufbaustudien (in German) (6th ed.), Ludwigshafen am Rhein: Pfälzische Verlagsanstalt, ISBN 3-9801043-0-3
- Thomas Kreckel, "Die frühkeltische Befestigungsmauer "Heidenmauer" bei Bad Dürkheim, Kreis Bad Dürkheim", Archäologie in Rheinland-Pfalz 2004 (in German), pp. 29–32
External links
- archaeopro.de: Heidenmauer – keltische Höhensiedlung (with aerial photorgraphs and artists' impressions)
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft: Frühe Zentralisierungs- und Urbanisierungsprozesse(menu point Bad Dürkheim)
- Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz, Landesarchäologie-Außenstelle Speyer (Menüpunkt Projekte, Unterpunkt DFG-Schwerpunktprogramm »Frühkeltische Fürstensitze« – Archäologische Ausgrabung auf der Heidenmauer)
- Heidenmauer at keltenwelten