Burgstall Romatsried

Burgstall Romatsried stands on a spur of a hill east of Romatsried in the Ostallgäu district of Swabia. The site was settled in the Bronze Age and later fortified in the early Middle Ages. In the 12th century it was destroyed by violence.

The excavations of 1935–37, led by Ludwig Ohlenroth, uncovered bronze-age sherds and an arm-ring, along with many objects from the 11th and 12th centuries. A nearly square cellar-house or early stone tower was found on the south front, built of mortared rubble on boulder foundations. Nearby lay a small rectangular church with an apsed chancel, about 14 metres long, built of carefully dressed tufa blocks on coarse Nagelfluh footings.

The west side is defended by a striking tiered rampart system up to seven metres high. A deep ditch runs along the south front, and in the north an outer rampart and ditch once protected the approach. The interior measures roughly 120 by 90 metres. Traces of iron-smelting hearths, post-built houses and a two-aisled hall called a ‘Sala’ show a densely settled place. The remains of mounted warriors’ equipment suggest the site’s final violent end in the mid-12th century.