The Altstadt fort is located 1.7km east of the centre of Miltenberg and 60m from the river Main. In antiquity the fort was bordered to the west and east by the boggy estuaries of the Springbornbach and the Mudau. The Springbornbach, which today flows along the northwestern fort wall, supplied the fort with fresh water.

The praetorium of the169m x 159m large cohort fort fronted the Main. The "cohors I Sequanorum et Rauracorum equitata", a cavalry cohort, built an earth-and-timber fort around 159/160 AD. This was later expanded with stone.

The stationing of the auxiliary troops of the Numerus exploratorum Triputiensium is not clear.

There was probably a dock for the ships at the Main. A bath was excavated in front of the eastern fort wall.

Chronology

Earlier stray finds.
Earth-and timber fort around 159/160 AD; expansion in stone in the 2nd century; repeated destruction by the Alamanni in 233 AD; abandonned around 248/249 AD.
There is proof of usage by Germanic settlers until 400 AD.
In the Middle Ages the remains of the fort buildings were again resettled. The location "Walehusen"/Wallhausen was abandoned in the 13th century. The name "In der Altstadt" south of the Fürstlich-Lohenstein-Park is reminiscent of these days.

Monument

Category: fort, canabae / vicus, cemetery, beneficiarius station, Roman road

Cohort fort on 2.72 hectares. Earth-and-timber fort with a 2m wide earth-and-timber wall; a turf bank. The stone fort with a double V-shaped ditch, gate, corner tower and other towers in between have been partially excavated. "Principia" and "horreum" within the walls. Fort bath. Street southwest of the fort, street from the southeastern gate, "vicus" with a beneficiarius station.

Current State: The fort area can be recognized as a clear elevation in the ground between the railroad tracks and the shore of the river Main. The fort wall at the Main was used as foundation under the medieval wall which can be seen today.
The cemetery is at the site of the current sewage works.

Monument Protection: Yes - UNESCO World Heritage Site, 2005. Located on primarily unbuilt, farmed meadows and fields, the fort area was only disturbed by medieval construction.

Presentation: There are signboards in the restaurant parking lot at the site of the "porta principalis sinistra", at the area of the fort bath, and at the site of the "porta principalis dextra" at the ruins of the medieval bell tower.

Research: The Roman fort was not discovered until the mid-19th century because it lay below medieval construction. The first excavations occurred during the railroad construction in 1875. These were continued from 1878 under the direction of the Reichs-Limeskommission. Further examinations were conducted by Bernhard Beckmann from 1970-1976 and Ludwig Wamser from 1988-1989.

Literature
Conrady-Leonhard 1911. ORL A, Bd. 4, Strecke 7-9, 57-59. ORL B, Bd. 3, Nr. 38. Beckmann 1977. Schönberger 1985, 479 E 59. Sommer 1988, 676f. Beckmann 1989. Wamser 1989. Beckmann 1990. Baatz 2000, 215ff. Limesstraße 2002, 71. Beckmann 2004. Steidl 2008, 236ff.

Links

Deutsche Limeskommission: Kastell Miltenberg Altstadt