I've given you some information about the history of the reconstructed Saalburg fort in this post. Today we'll have a closer look at the main gate, the porta praetoria, and the walls. The gate was reached by a bridge (not a drawbridge) crossing the inner ditch surrounding the fort. The outer ditch was interrupted in front of the gate.
The statue of the Emperor would not have stood in front of the gate in Roman times, but in the yard of the principia.
It looks quite impressing and it was supposed to impress the Germans who might cross into the agri decumantes to trade with the Romans. If you look closely at the right wing, you can see the lower part is open and people are passing through - to give you a size comparison.
The windows are closed by shutters in a way that the defenders were protected even if they opened the shutters to shoot arrows at attackers. In the model below, the shutters are open.
As said before, the gate would have been painted white, and the vicus, the village outside the fort, would have been more than some mossy stone foundations.
(The foreground is a bit blurred because I had to shoot through the glass of the vitrine)
On a rainy day you can't blame the Romans' love for white walls; it would make the place look a bit more cheerful.
This view shows the inside from a wider angle. To the left are the two granaries (the museum), to the right the commander's house (praetorium). It is a later addition and therefore has the correctly painted walls. It houses rooms for the staff working in the museum today. I'm pretty sure the original granaries didn't have such large windows, but I suppose some concessions to the modern use had to be made.
One of the features the Roman border fortresses share is the combination of a stone wall - surrounded by additional ditches and earthen walls - with an earthen rampart on the inside that also serves as battlement. The reconstructed fortifications of the German Saalburg fortress present a good, if rain blurred, example.
Walls and crenellations seen from the inside
I suppose this unsual combination goes back to the history of Roman fortresses. They all began as semi-permanent structures with earthen walls and timber palisades on top, a more elaborate version of the marching camps.
Along the frontiers (the limes Germanicus, the Hadrian's Wall, the Syrian limes, and the Welsh forts) the fortresses were later rebuilt in stone, most of them in the 2nd century AD. Besides the stone buildings inside the forts, the defenses of earthen walls and trenches got an additional stone wall, watch towers, and stone gatehouses.
Walls seen from the outside
There are no trenches here today because of the situation in the middle of a town. The shots throught the trees and foliage look romantic, but of course, in Roman times trees would not have allowed to grow so close to the fort and give some sneaky Germans the chance of cover. There are different estimations how large the cleared areas were and it might have differed in different countries, but a minimum of bowshot distance can be assumed.
The ramparts added to the stability of the walls, definitely well enough to stop a ram, and neither the German nor the British tribes had any more elaborate siege engines. They usually tried to climb the walls or breach the gates only to meet with pointy pila poking at them. Attacks on fortresses were not very frequent; the tribes prefered to attack the Romans outside when they were stretched out in marching columns.
I bet after walking a day with full equipment through bad weather, Roman soldiers would have been very glad to see those walls. Probably after sweating under a hot German summer sun as well.
: August 20, 2007
I wish I lived somewhere where the history was older than 1785...
Thanks Ann, you're welcome.
Constance, it's so much fun to live in Europe if you're a history geek. What is strange is that I've not yet taken pics of my hometown - not that we have famous remains, but some pretty ones.
Interesting two-lane construction to the gates.
I wonder if the white-wash also had a defensive purpose, in that it would be reflective/squinty, though only by day, of course.
At one time, stucco was applied to stone and brick building in N.A. as an insulator.
December, I like the unpainted ones, too. It's just that white would have given an even more authentic feel. But the mere size of the whole fort is impressing - some foundations don't give you that.
Bernita, the while colour surely would have been seen far. It's debated whether the Hadrian's Wall was painted - I think it would have looked splendid.
The two lane construction is so typical that even the wooden forts of the first stage had it. The gaps in the earthen walls at Hedemünden point to two lane gates as well.
Nice picturss
I really can’t see from the photo’s. Does each of the portals in the have usual inner and outer gates.
Just catching up on blogs!
What a great fort. I would love to visit it. Love the wall - and everything looks so modern!!
Horrible weather this summer, eh?
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