Roman Watchtower 14/78

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 cracked joints, which were painted in terracotta. This created the impression of beautiful ashlar masonry.

At Wp 14/78, the location of the Limes on the mountain spur becomes particularly clear. The name of the field, Pfahlbuck, already indicates that the knowledge of the Pfahl, as the Limes fortifications were often called in earlier times, was never completely lost in this area. To the north, the Kälbertal lies down in the valley; to the south and west, the Altmühl flows deep below. In antiquity, there was visual contact from here to the Böhming fort. On the visible older, approximately 11 x 11 m large wooden tower mound, the still approximately 20 to 40 cm deep ring ditch and the four post holes, approximately 20 cm deep, excavated by the RLK, can be recognized.