Burungum (Haus Bürgel)

According to the Antonine Itinerary, a Roman fort called Burungum was situated 11 kilometers north of Durnomagus (Dormagen); it has been identified with the Roman remains underneath the medieval castle Haus Bürgel (near Monheim am Rhein). Today, this site is on the east bank of the Rhine, but the great river has changed its course several times and the ruin of Burungum was on the "correct" west bank until the fourteenth century.

Archaeologists have identified fourth-century walls and other military objects, which prove that the site was in use as a fort after Constantine I the Great (306-337) restructured the Rhine limes. From an earlier date (second half of the first century) comes pottery from the kilns of the Twenty-second legion Primigenia at Xanten, which has been discovered on several places near Haus Bürgel. It is not known where the soldiers stayed in this period. A first-century cemetery corroborates that people were living in the neighborhood during the Early Roman Empire.

Constantine's castle, which could accommodate about 150 soldiers, measured 64 x 64 m; the walls were about 2¼ m wide; there were twelve towers. The medieval tower that is still visible, rests on ancient foundations.

The site was abandoned when the Franks took power in the fifth century. An interesting testimony is the small treasure of 139 bronze coins that were buried in the bathhouse; its owners never returned to excavate them, and the Franks, who ignored Burungum, never found it. The latest coin can be dated to 408, which means that the site was still intact after the crisis of 406/407, when many Germanic tribes (e.g., the Vandals) crossed the Rhine. Rome never recovered from this catastrophe. Burungum appears to have held out for some time, and was abandoned later, when the Franks started to fill in the vacuum.

The site remained abandoned until about 1019, when a "castle in Burgela" is recorded.

Links

• Haus Bürgel (museum)
• A satellite photo can be found here.