Katzenberg Hillfort

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Katzenberg Hillfort (German: Spätrömische Höhenbefestigung Katzenberg or Römerwarte Mayen) is a Roman refuge fort near Mayen in Germany dating to the 4th century. The fortification on the Katzenberg hill was built around 300 AD after the Roman limes had been overrun and Germanic tribes had invaded and plundered the Roman Empire (the so-called Limesfall). The inhabitants of the Roman vicus, which was located on the site of the present-day town of Mayen, could escape to the fort in time of danger. At that time, town walls were built around the provincial capitals of Trier, Cologne and Mainz, as well as around smaller places like Koblenz or Andernach. The Katzenberg was the largest of about 60 Late Roman hillforts which were constructed in the Eifel and Hunsrück regions. They were used for about 70 years and then, after a 30-year pause, used again, in some cases until about 450 AD. On the uppermost crest of the hill is a small military outpost, the lower-lying open areas were probably used by the civilian population in the event of a threat. The fort covered an area of 1.2 hectares. The remains of the Late Roman hillfort were discovered around 1900 and excavated for the first time between...

- Angelika Hunold, Alwin Punstein, H. Wolfgang Wagner & Franz Wierschem: Rekonstruktion der römischen Moselschiefer-Dächer auf dem Katzenberg bei Mayen/Eifel und weitere Beiträge zur über 2000-jährigen Handwerks- und Bergbaugeschichte des Schiefers. Der Anschnitt, 56, 2004, H.1: 27 - 34, 10 ill., 1st map, 2 tab., Bochum, 2004.

- Ewald Hoppen, Angelika Hunold & H. Wolfgang Wagner: Römerwarte - Abschluss einer Rekonstruktion zur Handwerks- und Bergbaugeschichte auf dem Katzenberg bei Mayen. Der Anschnitt, 57, 2005, H. 4: 169 - 171, 4 ill., 1 tab., Bochum, 2005.

- H. Wolfgang Wagner & Wolfgang Schultheis: Römischer Dachschiefer – Neue Funde und neue Erkenntnisse. In: Der Anschnitt. Vol. 63, Bochum 2011, pp. 202–206.