Abschnittsbefestigung Kalmusfels

The section fortification of Kalmusfels is an ancient earthwork on a rocky spur that juts into a dry valley. It stands about 1 050 metres south-east of the old church of St Vitus in the Upper Palatinate village of Illschwang. Only a low rampart and ditch remain of the original defences, but the site is protected as a monument under German law. Archaeologists classify it as a prehistoric hilltop enclosure and give it the reference D-3-6536-0042. The surviving earthworks stretch for two metres across and rise barely half a metre above the ditch bottom. A footpath cuts through the centre of the rampart and leads to a viewpoint on the rock. Inside the enclosure the ground is flat for 75 metres but drops steeply on the western and eastern sides. To the north the terrain ends in sheer cliffs several metres high. The whole spur commands wide views over the surrounding countryside.