Roman Watchtower 3/55

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.

Already documented by Rossel and Cohausen, the tower site of a wooden and a stone tower was investigated in 1894 by the commission under Jacobi.
The wooden tower was circularly surrounded by a 1.2 m deep, 12 m diameter ditch and an eight-meter-wide rampart. In the center of the complex, four large post holes, 1.2 m deep into the bedrock, formed a slightly irregular quadrangle with sides measuring 4.5 m to 5.0 m.