Römerlager Untereggingen

The Römerlager Untereggingen is a Roman military camp in the village of Untereggingen, part of Eggingen in the Waldshut district. It sits on a plateau 485 to 490 metres above sea level, high above the Wutach valley to the north. The site was chosen for its commanding view and control over the valley, making it a strong strategic position. The camp was discovered in 1986 by Rolf Gensheimer during aerial archaeology surveys. Earlier images from 1979 and 1980, taken by private pilots, also showed signs of the camp. Excavations in 1994 found a V-shaped ditch up to a metre wide and deep, with evidence it may once have been 1.7 metres deep. Geomagnetic surveys in 1998 revealed the outline of a parallelogram-shaped enclosure covering at least 7.5 hectares, with sections of the ditch measuring 150 metres on the west, 250 metres on the north and 350 metres on the east. Inside the camp, no buildings have been found, only traces of a possible palisade line just inside the ditch. The lack of datable finds suggests it was a temporary camp, possibly used in the 1st century as a marching camp or staging post. Its location on the Roman advance route from Vindonissa towards the upper Danube and Neckar regions points to early Flavian times, though some sources describe it as ‘early Roman’.