Roman Watchtower 1/75

The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes, with a length of 550 km from Eining near Regensburg to Rheinbrohl on the Rhine, is the largest archaeological monument in Germany and has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Limes (Latin: border path/wall) refers to the border fortifications of the Roman Empire, which were erected towards the end of the 1st century AD.

This border was monitored by more than 900 towers, which were built in timber construction during the initial phase from around 80 AD. Stone towers followed, which were plastered from 150 AD onwards. Excavations have shown that the white plaster often had cracked joints that were painted in terracotta. This created the impression of beautiful ashlar masonry.

Watchtower 1/75

The foundations of the ruin of a rectangular stone tower, which were very well preserved already at the time of the excavations by the Reich Limes Commission, were re-excavated, conserved, and reconstructed with several layers of stone in the 1990s. It is a rectangular watchtower with side dimensions of 5.20 m by 4.40 m. The wall thickness is up to 1.20 m, and the foundation plinth projects 15 to 20 cm. The structure was built on an artificially created hill and was located about 31 m behind the palisade of the Limes in Roman times. The tower was destroyed by fire. A wooden predecessor building was not proven or not searched for.