When a motorway from Würzburg to Bad Mergentheim was planned in the 30s of the last century, soil investigations revealed an anomaly in the soil which, in retrospect, turned out to be a Keltenschanze. Located in the middle of the forest between Schönfeld and Gerchsheim, it is still a monument of special standing today, even if not much can be seen anymore. The large ramparts are still visible and the former cistern, albeit littered, still gives an idea of how big the settlement must have been.
As part of the Taubertal hiking days, over 50 people wanted to find out more about the history of the Keltenschanze and were guided by Norbert Deckert and Henry Müller. From the Gerchsheimer gymnasium and festival hall, the path led through the Spitalwald, which takes its name from the former possessions of the Würzburg Dietrich monastery and later also partly belonged to the brothers of Oberzell Abbey. The current sisters only moved into the monastery later. We continued on the A81 motorway to the Gerchsheim Schönfeld district boundary, which Norbert Deckert himself can easily find with information boards.
Along the border and parallel to the motorway, the group hiked through the mixed autumn forest until they arrived at the Keltenschanze. “And where should it be now?” Asked some foreigners. Because apart from a ditch and the wall that goes with it, there is not much left to see of the once imposing structure, which was inhabited until the 15th century. Contrary to what some sources suggest, the Rohrensee settlement no longer existed during the Thirty Years’ War. One can only speculate about why it was abandoned. Norbert Deckert suspects that property disputes between the Würzburg monastery and Churmainz, who shared the property of the village at the time, led to the residents being expelled. He does a lot of research in old sources and has already uncovered quite a few stories from his homeland together with the local homeland and cultural association.
A large house on one hectare of hill
The former Keltenschanze had a dimension of 88 meters in the north, 72 meters in the east, 64 meters in the south and 36 meters and 60 meters in the northwest. The area was 0.665 hectares. A large rectangular house measuring 19.3 meters by 11.6 meters with the entrance near the southern long side was found in the area. During the March excavation in the interior of the ski jump in 1938, stones and fire rubble were discovered on a weak elevation that was quite extensive. The investigation revealed a compact layer of fire, which was heavily interspersed with burnt clay. In the rubble were numerous ceramic shards as well as some metal objects such as horseshoes, ploughshare, sickle and spade fittings, of which a stirrup, a spur and an artistically worked padlock are particularly mentioned.
The unusual thing about the system is the pentagonal shape. This is due to the shape of the stream at that time, which the builders simply adopted as a boundary surface, explains Norbert Deckert. Unfortunately the excavations were stopped by the beginning of the Second World War and the construction of the motorway, working title A40, was never realized. When the A81 was later built, the route was shifted further west so that the Keltenschanze did not play a role. She fell into a deep sleep and is only now slowly being recalled to people’s minds. Further excavation work may be pending if the State Monuments Office decides to dig. Norbert Deckert is convinced that objects from the time of the Celts can still be found.
If you want to marvel at the better preserved facilities: They can be visited in Brehmen, Bütthard or near Richtstetten. But only the system in the Gerchsheim / Schönfeld district has the pentagonal shape.
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