Reconstruction of the rampart wall

An impressive construction

The impressive reconstruction of a section of the rampart was completed in 2022 that once surrounded the area around the Bruchhauser Steine with a length of around 1500 metres. The archaeologically well-researched rampart was built in the Iron Age and is approximately 2300 years old.

A wall of wood, earth and stone

Today’s rampart once consisted of a wall of more than three metres in height with a ditch – the reconstruction at the site that can be marvelled at today is roughly of identical size to the original.
The Iron Age builders constructed the wall from wood and earth, and to do this they built a wooden box construction which was then stabilised and supported by posts at the front and back. There was a cavity between the wood of the front and back of the wall. The builders filled this cavity with earth and rocks.
These fell in because the Iron Age builders dug a wide ditch in front of the wall as an obstacle to approach.

The large structure was probably quite daunting for the people of the Iron Age. An additional protective wall was also erected on the top of the wall to provide security for those who stood on the wall who were observing the surroundings or defending from intruders. With this protective parapet, the rampart wall had a height of over 4.50 metres!

Remains of a large complex

In the course of time the wood of the wall rotted – presumably because the complex no longer had a function, was abandoned and therefore no one repaired the damaged parts. At some point the construction collapsed and the earth, rocks and wooden debris slid into the ditch. This is how the current rampart came into being.

Indicated wall - Indicated parapet - Remains of the box filling - Currently visible rampart - Backfilled ditch Profile of the archaeological excavation
More than 11,000 tonnes of earth alone were moved for constructing the approximately 1,700 metre-long fortification sections. In today's terms this would be around 1,000 truckloads of material.
Iron Age people moved these masses of building material by physical strength and with the help of draught animals. A stupendous achievement!