Axel von Berg
As part of a project to complete the history of the fortress, the Directorate General of Cultural Heritage, National Archaeology Board, in association with fortresses, castles and antiquities, carried out investigations and digs to obtain possible information about former settlements.
By far the most common finds can be dated to the late Bronze Age, in the period between 1200 and 900 BC. Surprisingly, remains of buildings from this early period, which formed part of the earliest fortifications on the fortress plateau, were also recorded. As defence for one section, a trench for palisades was maintained, dug into the rock and hence blocking the southern outcrop of the plateau (image 1). The late Bronze Age palisade trenches mark the start of the long history of the fortress complex on Ehrenbreitstein through until recently.
An additional focus are finds dating back to the Iron Age / Celtic Hunsrück–Eifel culture. An excellent find from this period is an almost complete, twisted bronze neck ring with a hook fastening (image 2). The many finds at this site point to a further hilltop fortified settlement in the Iron Age which stood here opposite the mouth of the Moselle from the 7th century BC.
According to finds, a fortified ‘burgus’ occupied the site from Roman times until the early 5th century AD. The series of antique coins uncovered to date starts at the 2nd century AD and ends with coinage from Emperor Magnus Maximus in around 388/390 AD. (image 3). Slingshots in bronze and lead found on the fortress escarpment are proof of fighting to defend the Rhine limes (fortifications) of late antiquity in the 4th century AD.
Carolingian ceramic finds and early medieval weapons prove the start of medieval fortifications on the Ehrenbreitstein plateau in the 9th and 10th centuries. These finds point to a fortified complex on this site which emerged from the first castle which was mentioned in the 10th century.
The so-called ‘Hellengraben’, the moat surrounding the medieval fortress, dates back to the second half of the 12th century and was built by the Trier archbishop Hillin to secure the fortress at this point. Almost the entire length of the moat was uncovered and recorded during excavations in 2003 and 2004. The solid trench, measuring several metres wide and dug deep into the rock, like the old prehistoric palisade trenches, blocked off the spur of the northern plateau.
The hill-side, southern flank of the moat survived in its original condition, with the abutments of the drawbridge still recognisable here. The northern wall of the moat up to the plateau was dismantled as part of building work to erect a bastioned complex in the 16th and early 17th centuries along with the so-called ‘Hellenbau’, which was significantly altered as a result of the work. According to the finds, work to fill in the ‘Hellengraben’ began only in the late 17th century, immediately following bombardment of the fortress in 1688. During this period, a large, vaulted cellar was built on the rubble in the still widely open moat along the direction of the trench. This enormous vaulted cellar, which is still recognisable to some extent today, formed the substructure of the former residence built on top of it in the late 17th and early 18th century under the Trier prince-electors Karl Kaspar von der Leyen and Johann Hugo von Orsbeck. Coats of arms stones belonging to Johann Hugo von Orsbeck found in the rubble of the building provide evidence of the frenetic construction work taking place in this period (image 4). After French troops had blown up the former prince-electors’ fortress and residence, the Prussians erected a large-scale neoclassical fortress on the spur in the 19th century.
