Reconstructed Roman Watchtower Zugmantel (Limesturm Zugmantel)

This watchtower was reconstructed on the site of the former Roman fort Zugmantel to remind visitors that they are here on the former northern border of the Roman Empire. This border was secured by the Limes Germanicus or the Upper German-Raetian Limes. To the north of here lived the so-called barbarian tribes. The Romans never managed to subdue them. The expansion of their vast empire came to an end here. The Limes stretches for several hundred kilometers from the Main to the Rhine. Nowhere are his traces so well preserved as here in the Taunus.

Near the Zugmantel fort there was a crossing between the Limes and an important road connection that ran between the provincial capital Mainz (Mogontiacum) and the Germanic region in the Limburg Basin and therefore had to be specially secured by a fort. Today, only a few elevations and ramparts in the forest area are visible from the Roman fort and the camp village. However, a good impression of the Limes complex can be obtained from the replica of WP 3/15, which was built just a few meters from its original location. The original square Limes tower made of stone had a base area of around 6.3 x 6.3 meters and was surrounded by a pointed ditch. Its remains were discovered in 1966 during the expansion of the B417 and subsequently excavated archaeologically. It was proven that it was destroyed by fire - probably around 260 AD when the Limes fell.
A replica of this tower was reconstructed in 1972, but today it no longer fully corresponds to the current state of science. Next to the watchtower, a Limes palisade with a rampart and ditch was reconstructed over a length of about 50 meters.

The reconstructed Roman watchtower Zugmantel, also known as Limesturm WP 3/15, is a fascinating testimony to Roman border defense in the Taunus region – in the middle of the forest and full of history.