Runder Berg
Seen in Bad Urach from North- East
The Round Mountain near Bad Urach is an oval hill (711 m above sea level. NHN ) in the Swabian Alb, which is up projects approximately 250 m above the valley and connected by a narrow saddle with the Swabian Alb. On the approximately 0.45 -acre plateau, several prehistoric and early historic hilltop settlements, especially the castle a small Alemannic king in the 4th and 5th centuries were (see Alemanni hillfort ). After reading numerous finds were made famous by the Round Mountain since 1932, extensive excavations were conducted on the entire mountain and on a terrace on a slope from 1967 to 1984.
Settlement history
Prehistoric settlement
The oldest finds the Round Mountain are in the early to middle Bronze Age, ie in the period around 1600 BC At the end of the Middle Bronze Age, around 1300 BC, the settlement was abandoned, but v of about 1100-750. Chr repopulated. Already from this second phase of settlement some significant findings have remained. After a 200 -year-old settlement break the round the mountain at the same time as many of the Hallstatt prince seats (including Marienberg in Wuerzburg, Mont Lassois, Hohenasperg, Heuneburg ) was settled again around 550 BC and at the same v. the prince sitting around 400 BC destroyed. Some eventually finds testify nor a spätlatènezeitliche settlement from the 2nd and 1st century BC
Early medieval settlement
Soon after the end of the Roman limes, the first Alemanni settled on the mountain laps. At that time, most likely a Alamannic regulus, a petty king, his seat on the Round Mountain. The plateau was then secured with a 220 m long wood and earth wall. Here not only the king lived with his entourage, but also numerous craftsmen such as working Gold and bronze forging and leg Schnitzer. At the beginning of the 5th century, was torn down the whole settlement, including mounting and erected new buildings. As early as the year 500 the king seat fell on the mountain laps of destruction to the victim, apparently in connection with the victories of Clovis over the Alamanni 496 and 507 and the exile of the Ostrogothic Alamannic upper class.
In the 7th and 8th centuries had a Frankish nobleman on the mountain laps his seat in a hall- post construction and measuring 20 × 9 meters is interpreted as the Palas. From the jewelery found in them, disc brooches and spindle whorls is concluded that it is in the buildings surrounding the Palas these were bowers. In addition, there were traces of craft as Webstuben, a forge, a mill and a kitchen. From numerous spores found is closed on the crew with a strong, armed cavalry. This attachment was probably destroyed to Cannstatt to 750 in relation to the criminal court. A good century later a castle on the mountain laps was built. It was protected by a stone wall at the edge of the slope and at least three rectangular towers. Inside a number of comfortably equipped with stove and glass windows building stood. In the first half of the 11th century, the Round Mountain was finally abandoned. Whether it is a direct successor system at the neighboring castle Hohenurach, is not assured.
Research
The exploration of the Round Mountain goes back to Helmut Burkert, who with the approval of the city Urach and the mayor Gerstenmaier conducted by private excavations on the Round Mountain since 1948 and his research in over 100 issues of the 1958-1966 published by him monthly magazine The Albtrauf - Monatsblätter published for culture and local history archive page for the city of Urach. In Albtrauf Burkert presented, inter alia, the problem " castle and dominion " and the question of international immigration and Merovingian fixings for discussion. In 1966, the excavations of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences Vladimir Milojčić and Rainer Christlein continued with the participation of Burkert and published in a multivolume series of publications.