Michelsberg (Kelheim)
The Michel mountain is a mountain near Kelheim in Bavaria at the mouth of the Danube delta and Altmühltherme, which rises 126 meters above the Danube. On it stands the Hall of Liberation, built in the 19th century.
Oppidum
Between the third and the first century BC when this was an Iron Age oppidum called Alkimoennis. The oppidum was mentioned about 100 AD by the geographer Claudius Ptolemy in his Geographike Hyphegesis under this name and described as situated at the mouth of " Alcomona " ( Altmühltherme ) and Danubius ( Danube ).
With an area of 600 hectares, it was probably one of the largest of its kind in Europe. The settlement was protected by walls consecutively staggered across the Michel Mountain, while the steep slopes to the Danube and Altmühltherme formed a natural barrier. Even today, three earthen banks available. The outer western wall is 3.28 km long and extends from the precipitous edge of the Danube River to the southern bank of Altmühltherme. The Altmühltherme Wall, located on the southern shore Altmühltherme along the river, has a length of at least 3.3 km. The inner wall has a length of 930 m.
The fortifications consisted of an eleven -meter wide and six meter high earth bank and a wall mounted upstream, against the earth was heaped up. The wall consisted of wooden posts that were anchored about a meter deep in the soil and perhaps overtopped the dam by up to two meters. Between the posts limestone plates were coated without mortar. To keep up to the pressure of the Erdwalles, the wall was connected to train with ground anchors in the dam. During an attack, the townspeople were of the wood earth ramparts down fight the attacker. In the grounds there still reveals four pliers gates.
Mining
The area is covered with vast Iron Age and medieval Erzschürfstellen. In the bottom of Michel mountain can be up to three meters thick layers of coal and slag find. Due to this, it can be assumed that it has acted in Alkimoennis an Iron Age " industrial complex " on the iron ore was recovered and smelted in open cast mining in a big way.
Reconstruction
In the courtyard of the Archaeological Museum in the Duke case an original section as well as the reconstruction of the original height of the ramparts can be visited.
Environment
To the south west lies the Danube upstream of the beginning of the reserve world Burger Close and after a few kilometers of the Danube Gorge and the monastery world castle.