Gaulskopf (Taunus): Site of a Roman Limes Watchtower
Site at a Glance
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Classical
- Eras represented
- Classical
- Civilizations
- Roman
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Tower
On this page4 sections
History
Roman frontier
Gaulskopf (Taunus) is a hill in Ober-Mörlen, Germany, where Roman watchtower WP 4/16 stood on the Limes, Rome’s frontier system. The tower occupied a position between the small forts at Kaisergrube and Am Eichkopf. Its designation follows the numbering system of the Imperial Limes Commission, which investigated and documented the frontier.
From the tower, a line of sight extended via the watchtower on Johannisberg to the Roman fort at Friedberg. Similar towers at Wölfersheim-Wohnbach and Kapellenberg near Hofheim am Taunus probably belonged to a signaling chain.
Reconstruction and heritage status
Only ruins of the original tower remained before its reconstruction. Financed by Gustav Oberlaender, a German-born hosiery manufacturer in the United States, the rebuilt tower was inaugurated in 1926. Since 2005, the tower and surrounding Limes installations have formed part of the UNESCO World Heritage property of the Upper German-Raetian Limes, a Roman frontier zone in what is now Germany.
Remains
The reconstructed watchtower stands in the summit area of Gaulskopf, a 396.8 m hill in the Eastern Hintertaunus. The surrounding land descends north toward the Usa valley, while the summit offers a broad view over the Eastern Hintertaunus heights and the Wetterau.
The tower is 15.1 m high, with sides measuring 8 m. Forty-seven steps lead through an intermediate level to an enclosed viewing platform 8.8 m above the ground. Sixteen round-arched windows open onto the platform.
