The Celtic Viereckschanze at Wermutshausen
The rectangular ski jump in the forest Hagenholz with a length of 117 respectively. 124 m and a width of 87 respectively. As numerous similar structures show, 97 m belongs to the late period of the Celtic period, also known as the Latène period. These soil monuments, which are particularly widespread in southern Germany, were built in the 1st and 2nd centuries BC. Particularly characteristic are the ramparts with their pointed, up to 2.5 m deep, pointed ditches and the mostly clearly elevated corners of the ramparts. Although the ditch can only be seen on the surface as a slight hollow and the rampart has flattened over the millennia, this Viereckschanze represents a particularly outstanding ground monument. As excavations in Bavaria and Württemberg have shown, these are Entrenchments probably around sanctuaries, ie around enclosures of the holy area, in whose interior temples made of wood and up to 35 m deep cult shafts were found.
The more than 2000 year old Keltenschanze is one of 70 Keltenschanzen in Baden-Württemberg. The field name "Schloßgraben" indicates that for a long time people believed that there used to be a castle here, of which only the moats can be seen. Only since the end of the 19th century. Investigations have shown that it is a Celtic building. Today's researchers are of the opinion that the Viereckschanzen could also have been pacified manors. Whether there was a connection with the Celtic oppidum in Finsterlohr, about 11 km away as the crow flies, is likely, but cannot be proven, as there are no written records from the Celtic period.
The next settlements were near Kreuzfeld, near Burgstall and near Röttingen.