Ringwallburg Heunstein

The Ringwallburg Heunstein stands on the Heunstein hill, a 471-metre-high ridge in the Lahn-Dill district of Hesse. It is a remnant of a Celtic hillfort built in the Late La Tène period, now visible only as faint traces of the enclosing rampart and ditch. The site lies within a wooded area north of Dillenburg, between the Dietzhölze and Nanzenbach streams. Archaeologists first recorded the site in 1879 when Karl August von Cohausen drew a simple plan. Heinrich Behlen produced a more detailed survey early in the 20th century, and between 1925 and 1931 Dr Ferdinand Kutsch led excavations on behalf of the Nassau Antiquities collection. The fort stretches for about 650 metres along the crest, enclosing roughly twelve hectares. A semicircular annex once protected the spring now called Heuweiher, showing how the Celts guarded their water supply. Visitors walk through quiet woodland along the old rampart line, where the earthworks are still just perceptible. The hilltop offers long views over the surrounding valleys. Few artefacts remain, but some fine pottery links the site to the nearby Dünsberg oppidum. The presence of early La Tène brooches suggests earlier occupation before the defences were added.