Stockstadt Roman Fort

Following several years of excavations, mainly in the early 20th century, evidence was uncovered indicating the existence of a fort complex comprising two previously documented predecessor buildings, as well as a succession of different troops stationed there.

The site is of significant archaeological interest due to the large number of stone monuments that have been discovered, particularly in the vicus area, which encompasses two mithrae, a Jupiter Dolichenus sanctuary and a beneficiarius station.

The discovery of a boat hook in Groß-Bieberau provides evidence that the river was utilised for a considerable distance into the valleys of the Odenwald.

[1] An early Roman road, the existence of which is evidenced by the discovery of significant remains in the form of the Bickenbach marsh bridge at the small fort of Allmendfeld, initially connected the West Gate with Gernsheim on the Rhine.

[2] The Roman military encampment was situated to the south of the current residential development, occupying both sides of the Rhine-Main railway between Stockstadt station and the River Main.

It is uncertain whether the frequent change of cohorts was a distinctive feature of the fort at Stockstadt or whether it occurred at other sites in the Limes region.

The numerous remains, particularly the stone monuments bearing the names of the troop units, provide a coherent picture of the chronological sequence of events at the Stockstadt site.

Although there are also features of chronologically consecutive fort complexes from some military sites in the region, the source situation concerning the units stationed there is generally poor in comparison to Stockstadt.

The remaining four bricks had likely been used during a repair and bore the much later stamps of the Cohors IIII Vindelicorum (4th Cohort of the Vindelics) from the Großkrotzenburg fort down the Main.

The significance of the transhipment centre is evident from the dedicatory inscription for Jupiter Dolichenus of a soldier of Legio XXII, who was dispatched to Stockstadt with a lumberjack detachment.

[10] The presence of two mithraeums and a sanctuary for Jupiter Dolichenus provides evidence of oriental cults in Stockstadt during the late second and third centuries.

[8] The cult of Jupiter Heliopolitanus from Heliopolis (Baalbek), which was relatively uncommon in the north-west provinces, is also documented in the nearby town of Zellhausen.

pia fidelis (second part-mounted cohort of Spaniards, dutiful and loyal), previously stationed at Fort Wimpfen in the valley.

The introductory formula [I]n h(onorem) d(omus) d(ivinae) (In honour of the imperial house) of the decurion dedication suggests that it was created in the time of Antoninus Pius, at the earliest.

In 1897, it became apparent that a comprehensive investigation was necessary in order to assess the potential impact of a proposed pulp factory to be constructed by the Aschaffenburger Aktien-Gesellschaft für Maschinenpapier-Fabrikation (now Sappi GmbH) on the site.

Conrady supervised the archaeological research until shortly before his death, while the factory engineer Carl Wirth, who had a great interest in Roman antiquities, was in charge of the site.

The stone monuments were subsequently donated to the Saalburg Museum, which had provided technical assistance and sent trained workers to the site following Conrady's death.

[15] In 1962, during the excavation of a factory building in the northern storage area of the cohort fort, a coin hoard comprising at least six aurei and 1,315 denarii was discovered in a jar.

The discovery of a pottery and brickworks district comprising over 80 cremation and fire-filled graves provided further insights into the burial grounds.

A stylistic analysis of the Stockstadt altars reveals that they form a less cohesive group than the numerous finds from the beneficiarius centre nearby Obernburg.

Although stylistically they can be dated to the last quarter of the 2nd century AD, they were discovered in the later Mithraeum I, which suggests that a significant portion of the inventory was reused in the subsequent construction of the building.

While the monuments from civilian settlements, such as the Giant Columns of Jupiter, are in the Gallo-Roman tradition, military personnel from very different regions of the Roman Empire have been found at Stockstadt.

[34] A total of three successive fortifications were identified, with a probable rapid structural sequence from the first smaller redoubt to the construction of the cohort fort.

One reason for this is that, due to the excavation methods employed by the RLK, no features of wooden buildings from the military or civilian area were identified in the entirety of Stockstadt.

[40] Its architectural style is comparable to those of the forts at Saalburg, Marköbel, Langenhain and Butzbach, which were probably constructed at the same time and, as far as is known, were designed for a part-mounted cohort (cohors equitata).

A notable number of twelve tin capstones were discovered, in addition to five angled pieces (potentially originating from the unroofed corner towers).

The wall was accompanied by an embankment on the interior, with a width estimated to be between 4.60 and 5.10 metres, based on the evidence of the via sagularis (rampart road).

A second road ran in a parallel direction approximately 100 metres to the west, which presumably reached the rear fort gate (porta decumana).

In the vicinity of the landing stage, numerous consecration altars of beneficiarii consulares have been unearthed from the largely boggy ground since 1886.

The deposition of settlement waste within the building, which was subsequently destroyed by fire in the 3rd century, provides corroboration for the chronological sequence of the two mithraeums.