Roman Castle Anhausen

The Anhausen military camp is a small fort that was originally formed by two different structures – an outer and an inner fort – which likely originated at the same time. The defensive wall of the outer camp, with side lengths of 43.20 by 39.30 meters, occupied an area of approximately 0.17 hectares. The wall had a thickness of 1.72 to 1.80 meters, had rounded corners, and featured only a single gate, flanked by two projecting defensive towers, which was oriented northwards, towards the Limes. A pointed ditch served as an approach obstacle.

The smaller camp was built into the larger fort, utilizing part of its west and south walls. With side lengths of 28.70 by 23.60 meters, it covered an area of just under 0.07 hectares in the southwestern part of the outer fort. The smaller fortification also had only a single gate, oriented northwards, which was flanked not by towers but by recessed gate cheeks. The thickness of the walls that separated it from the outer fort was significantly more massive, at 2.05 to 2.10 meters, than that of the outer walls.

At a later, unspecified time, the inner fort was provided with its own projecting ditch, the construction of which involved breaking through the walls of the outer fort. The smaller structure, which probably originally served as a redoubt, was presumably converted into an independent small fortress at this time. This is also supported by the fact that the walls of the outer fort, unless they also formed the enclosure of the inner fort, were already demolished in Roman times. The ditch of the outer camp was filled with the resulting building rubble.

Inside the fort, traces of barracks were found, primarily in the northwestern area. The internal buildings were likely made mainly of wood. In the southern part of the smaller fort, a well was uncovered and excavated, which yielded some finds. However, the datable material from the fort site as a whole is not sufficient and cohesive enough to allow for a precise dating of the camp. Overall, it is believed to be connected with the expansion of the Limes in this section. It was therefore probably built under Domitian (81–96), but at the latest under Trajan (98–117), and abandoned during the Germanic offensives until 259/260 AD (Limesfall). The ancient name of the site is unknown, and there are no sources regarding the units stationed there. It was likely vexillations (detachments) from the neighboring auxiliary camps.