Roman Watchtower 10/15

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, starting around 80 AD. Stone towers followed, which were plastered from 150 AD onwards. Excavations have shown that the white plaster often had incised joints that were painted in terracotta. This created the impression of beautiful ashlar masonry.

The stone tower of tower station Wp 10/15 probably fell victim to road construction work in this area early on, with its debris being used as kerbstones. The timber tower station, which is cut in half by the modern road, was measured in its surface structure by the commission but not archaeologically investigated. Faint, partly swampy traces of the ring ditch and the tower mound are found immediately west of the road in a group of bushes. Within the tower mound, there is a stone foundation, but it is modern and not related to the ancient construction. The timber tower was reconstructed a few meters north in 2010. The reconstruction is largely identical in construction to the one near Rainau-Buch (Wp 12/77 "Mahdholz").