The Roman fortlet on the "Blöskopf" near Bad Ems - a contribution to early imperial occupation at the lower Lahn region

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Markus Scholz
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: from 2019 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 431035150

The lower Lahn region and its significance for the Roman-Germanic relations in the early imperial period is conditioned by the Roman military camps near Lahnstein, Limburg, Oberbrechen and Dorlar as well as Waldgirmes, a city in statu nascendi. They are all dated to the late Republican up to late Augustean period. When in 2016 on the mountain spur "Ehrlich" above Bad Ems an timber-earth fort of approx. 8 acre size was discovered it seemed that another Augustan camp had been found. However, excavations carried out by the Goethe-University 2017-18 proved that it has to be dated between 40 and 70 AD.This discovery sheds new light on another well-known monument. For more than 100 years, the approx. 0.8 ha large site on the Blöskopf near Bad Ems confined by a rectangular ditch and wall system was considered to be a Roman blast furnace. Without concrete evidence, it was placed in the context of the nearby passing Upper German Limes and dated to the period around 200 AD. A sondage in 2008 and its examination refute this. Rather, it is a small fortlet-like complex, also from around 40-70 AD. This surprising insight raises questions. A pre-Flavian fortlet on the right bank of the Rhine is at present unprecedented. Unusual for this early period is also the existence of an interior building on stonewall foundations. Which function(s) did the camp have, which the stone construction in its interior? In this context it is also necessary to clarify the dating and function of an adjacent linear entrenchment (a ditch-wall-system) previously unknown, but now visible in the LiDAR scan, by which the Blöskopf pass was blocked to the east and thus also the access to the Lahn was controllable. Are these facilities related to Roman mining activities that have been demonstrated in the region and mentioned by Tacitus? What role did the large camp on the "Ehrlich" 1.5 km away play in this? Did both military sites fall victim to the same fate, as final layers of burned material seem to suggest?If the layout on the Blöskopf could be characterized more precisely, the previously unknown Claudian-Neronic occupation phase of the lower Lahn region could be better classified and interpreted. As a cooperation of the Goethe-University Frankfurt and the GDKE Koblenz, three targeted areas are to be excavated during a six-week campaign. Furthermore, geochemical pottery analysis points to previously unknown connections to military sites in the Rhine-Main area of the same period.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants