Roman Watchtower 7/33

At the time of Conrady, the tower, built on a flat hill dominating the surroundings, was still recognizable as a shallow rubble mound. During the excavation at that time, the tower had a size of 4.45 × 4.30 meters, and its walls were 0.85 meters wide. During his excavation, the researcher still found minor mortar traces and a few ceramic shard fragments. The tower was located about 17 to 18 meters behind the Limes palisade. Based on the findings, it is mentioned in the ORL that the palisade might have been interrupted at the tower.

During the conservation work carried out in October 1969, several ceramic shards were found as remnants of the former tower crew. From these, three cups, eight pots, two lids, one bowl, one dish, five grinding bowls, two plates, two jugs of different sizes, and an amphora could be reconstructed. These finds went to the Badisches Landesmuseum. In autumn 1971, the State Forestry Office Walldürn deployed an artillery survey team from the Bundeswehr to prove the wall, ditch, and palisade at several locations between Wp 7/33 and Wp 7/35 using search trenches. In addition, the soldiers were to check the presumed location of Wp 7/34. During these works, a Roman workshop with spalls and three profiled ashlar fragments of red sandstone was found about 10 to 20 meters north of Wp 7/33. Here, stones had obviously been hewn for the tower construction. Two of the ashlar stones still bore minor remains of undecipherable inscriptions. Possibly they had been brought here as spolia to be secondarily walled in. The overall extent of the site remained unknown. The sought-after palisade with carbonized wood showed itself in 1971 in several sections to be very well preserved. As the RLK had already determined at Wp 7/25, the Limes palisade in this area was also not wedged with stones, but placed between parallel wooden beams. The Romans had laid these beams – three on top of each other – horizontally along the palisade. The tower was rebuilt in three layers in 1969; the surrounding ditch was excavated.