Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – Since autumn 2021, archaeologists of the Regional ᴀssociation of Westphalia-Lippe (LWL) have been excavating the area of the former Roman shore fort on the Lippe in Haltern am See.

The ground marks show that two posts stood unusually close together here. This is a special structural case for which there is as yet no plausible explanation. PH๏τo: LWL/ P. Hessel

The Romans had an ancient naval base there and according to the experts, it was already rebuilt four times 2,000 years ago. Each time, the rebuilding of this strategically important area was based different floor plan.

The investigations, which lasted several months, became necessary due to planned new construction measures.

So far, knowledge about this area was largely based on the results of excavations in the years 1901 to 1904. According to the LWL experts, the current investigations expand the previous understanding of the small military river port that was located here 2,000 years ago, and to its defense made of wood-earth wall and moat.

The “Hofestatt” complex and the Roman shore fort

Between Kardinal-von-Galen-Platz and the sports field in Haltern, a spur-like terrace extends 500 meters south from Weseler Straße to the school centre.

Wooden posts dug vertically into the ground served as the framework for the wood-earth wall. The completely rotted wood is visible as a dark mark in the post pit. PH๏τo: LWL/ P. Hessel

In today’s cityscape, this spur is so heavily built over that it hardly stands out optically.

On the other hand, the excavators in 1901 could still clearly see the striking appearance of this field with the name “Hofestatt” in the terrain. The Lippe flowed along the foot of the terrace well into the 16th century, which is why Friedrich Koepp, who headed the excavation at the time, chose the name “uferkastelle” for this site early on.

Even at the time of the Roman occupation, the Hofestatt advanced like a peninsula far into the Lippe Valley, so that the Romans could use this terrain for their military purposes. The patrol boats with which the legionnaires secured the ship transports on the Lippe were docked here. It was not until 1547/1548 that the Lippe shifted its course by 900 meters to the south as a result of a hundred-year flood.

The Roman foundation traces stand out prominently in the yellow sand. The filled moat continues as a wide lane under the street “Am Uferkastell”. PH๏τo: LWL/ P. Hessel

Since the shore fort was extensively built over from the 1950s – without archaeological support – the construction project now gives the LWL experts the opportunity to research the archaeological remains using modern methods.

“With the current excavation, we are going on a journey through time in two ways. On the one hand to the old excavators, whose results we can check after 120 years, and on the other hand to the Romans and their construction technology,” reports Dr. Bettina Tremmel, Roman expert in LWL archeology for Westphalia.

Four construction phases testify to the importance of the naval base

The naval base was completely rebuilt four times, each time with a different fort layout. Since 2021, a large number of pits and ditches, which have clearly been preserved as soil discoloration over two millennia, have been uncovered and documented.

Roman Haltern, River port, model. Dated to 5 BC –ca. 17 AD. Creator: Marco Prins. Source: Haltern, Westfälisches Römermuseum

The majority of these are the post ditches of the oldest phase and the post traces of the third phase. The construction of the oldest phase is similar to that in the Roman camp at Bergkamen-Oberaden, the partial reconstruction of which has been on display there since 2012.

The findings of the third phase show parallels in the reconstructed wood-earth wall of the Aliso Roman Park in the LWL Roman Museum in Haltern am See. The remains of various Roman rubbish pits had already been cleared out, since the excavators of 1904 had already emptied these rubbish pits.

The excavation will be completed in the next few weeks.

original story – here

Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Staff Writer