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Rainau
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Unless
otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona
Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes,
but you have to acknowledge Livius. |
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Rainau-Buch, seen here as a model, was an infantry fort
(castellum) along the limes
of the Roman province
of Raetia (map).
It is remarkable because it was exactly square. The ancient name of the
settlement is not recorded. Below, a panorama of the area as it looks today
(and a satellite
photo). |
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The remains of the southern gate. The fort was probably used by the
Cohors
III Thracum Veterana, the Third battalion of Thracian Veterans. The
area has not been excavated, but using a georadar, archaeologists found
out that the fort had the normal buildings: a praetorium (headquarters)
in the center, six barracks for six centuries of soldiers, stables, et
cetera. |
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As always, there was a bathhouse outside the fort and a civil settlement
in the neighborhood. The bathhouse was to the northeast, on the slope of
the hill on which the fort was constructed, and near a little river (now
an artificial lake; satellite
photo). The village was to the south and east of the fort. It must
have been a considerable settlement. The five hundred soldiers must have
had their families over there, there must have been pubs and shops.1500-2000
inhabitants is not a bad guess. Fort and town were built in c.150 and evacuated
in c.260, when the Alamans occupied the triangle between the Rhine
and Danube.
This helmet was found near the fort and is now on display in the Limes
Museum in nearby Aalen.
It must have been made in the third century.
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These coins were also found in the area of the Rainau-Buch fort. They
can also be seen in the Limes Museum in Aalen. |
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In the neighborhood of the fort of Rainau-Buch, the remains of several
other Roman buildings re visible. This is all that is left of a monumental
gate in the limes wall near the modern village of Rainau-Dalkingen,
about a kilometer north of the fort. Originally, it was a wooden construction,
but it was rebuilt several times. |
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In the final phase, at the beginning of the third century, it must
have looked like this: almost the façade of a theater, with rather
plumb columns. In the upper gate, there must have been a bronze statue
of an emperor, perhaps Caracalla,
who defeated the Germanic tribe of the Alamans in 213, and may have started
his campaign at Dalkingen. Twenty years later, the Alamans stroke back,
and the gate was burned down. |
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This wooden watchtower has been rebuilt near Rainau-Schwabsberg,
a bit to the west of the gate at Dalkingen. You can easily see it from
the road that leads from Aalen to Ellwangen. In front of the tower is a
low palisade. The original tower was erected in the mid-second century,
was made of wood, and had three floors. |
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The upper level probably served as armory. From the balcony, fire and
smoke signals could be given to the nearby forts of Rainau-Buch. The middle
level was used a sleeping room and contained the entrance; and downstairs
was a cellar. This model, in the Limes Museum, shows a tower made of stone,
but the wooden tower above must have had a similar design. |
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The first stone towers were probably erected in the early third century.
On this picture, you can see the remains of the successor of the wooden
tower above. In fact you can see the foundation of two towers: the upper
wall stands on the remains of an older foundation. |
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To the southwest of Rainau was the limes fort of Aalen,
which has a nice Limes Museum
that supplements the monuments near Rainau. Both sides are part of the
Limesstraße. |
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