Castellum Romain de Zugmantel, 83–260

Map of the Roman border fortifications at the strategically important Hühnerstraße road across the Taunus mountains. A strong garrison was required to protect the Limes gate et les tours de guet in this area. The upper section of the map shows the Limes border defences. The former Limes gate in the upper left-hand corner of the map has been widened to accomodate Bundesstraße B417 federal road. The enlarged version of the map shows the location of the tour de guet immediately adjacent to the gate. The footpath along B417 leads from the tour de guet to a small circular amphitheater called "Rundschanze". The path then continues from the amphitheater to the rectangular cohort castle located at the Ortlen intersection. There are two paths leading from the castle a la colonie civile et la source de l’Aar which provided potable water for the castle garrison. A large circular amphitheater can be seen on the right-hand side of the map.

Border Castle at Limes Germanicus

Talus et arena of the amphitheater

The arena in the center of the small amphitheater

Arena et talus. The reconstructed tour de guet can be seen on the right.

Source of the Aar et reservoir

Right-hand section of the large amphitheater

Centre right-hand section of the large amphitheater

Centre left-hand section of the large amphitheater

Left-hand section of the large amphitheater

Directions

Autobahn A3 Frankfurt-Köln
Exit Idstein im Taunus
B275 toward Taunusstein
Before Neuhof take the B417 toward Limburg
At the Ortlen intersection, turn right into the Zugmantel parking area. The entrance to the parking area is immediately after the athletic field.

Garmin Points Tournants GPS	Latitude	Longitude	Élévation
Castellum Saalburg	-	-	-
Limes Germanicus at Saalburg	-	-	-
Castellum Zugmantel	N 50°11’26.0"	E008°12’09.3"	407 m
Tour de Guet Wp 3/15 at Zugmantel	N 50°11’33.9"	E008°12’09.9	405 m
Limes Germanicus at Zugmantel	N 50°11’33.9"	E008°12’09.9	400 m
Wachtposten Wp 3/18	N 50°11’27.5"	E008°13’37.8"	457 m
Wachtposten Wp 3/26	N 50°11’51.8"	E008°17’00.5"	354 m
GPS waypoints in WGS-84 format, taken avec a handheld GARMIN eTrex Summit Global Positioning System.

A small wooden castle was built at the Zugmantel site from 83 to 86 a.d. It was later enlarged to a numerus castle avec a garrison de 200 hommes from Numerus Treverorum. The final expansion to a cohort castle came during the reign of Emperor Carcalla. The fortification was then garrisoned by Cohors II Treverorum. Around 260 A.D. the threat posed by the Alamanni tribes was such that le Limes de Haute Germanie could no longer be held. The border was moved back to the western shore of the Rhein river, because the riverline was easier to defend. The abandoned Zugmantel castle was used as a quarry when the Hühnerstraße road was built en 18e siècle. Only remnants of talus can be seen today, but the reconstructed Tour Guet Romaine at Limes Germanicus is well worth a visit.

Questions Fréquents

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Campagnes, Batailles et Évènements de l’Antiquité