Based on Kees Peterse’s reconstruction, the rampart and gate of this fortress was reconstructed in 2016, full scale and in situ. An important discovery was made during the reconstruction process: an extra wall was added to the exterior of the gate and served a double function.

During the Augustan German Wars (between 12 BC and 16 AD), the Romans likely had military posts at Haltern on the Lippe river from the beginning, for their fleet for example. After abandoning the fortress at Oberaden in 8 or 7 BC, Haltern became their main camp and settlement in the Germanic territories. At this location the Romans built a large legionary fortress, which was still in use in 9 BC when the Roman army was soundly defeated during the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. There are increasing indications that the fortress was only abandoned for good after Emperor Tiberius ceased hostilities in 16 AD.

The legionary fortress initially covered 16.7 hectares but was at some point expanded by an additional 1.6 hectares by moving the eastern section of the rampart forward. The fortress was surrounded by two V-shaped ditches – approx. 4.5 and 5 metres wide and 2.5 metres deep – and a 3-metre-wide earth and timber rampart with wooden panelling on both sides. Towers were erected at regular intervals along the rampart.

For the reconstruction of the rampart and towers, Kees Peterse was able to build on the knowledge he had gained in the reconstruction of the ramparts of the slightly older Oberaden fortress. The rampart in Haltern also consisted of two parallel wooden walls, with the 3-metre space between these filled with material excavated when digging the surrounding ditches. Each wall had opposing posts set deep in the ground, with each pair connected with tie beams to form a truss. Planks were then attached to the posts on the inward-facing side of the resulting ‘corridor’. 

A height of 3 metres (10 Roman feet) has also been used in the reconstruction for the rampart of Haltern, that’s to say, that’s the height at which the uppermost tie beams of the trusses, those which would support the parapet walk, were secured. Following the example at Oberaden, the upper tie beams are reconstructed as anchor beams, attached to the posts using mortise and tenon joinery, with the tenons extending through the posts.

The posts rise above the level of the parapet walk where, on the exterior of the rampart they support the parapet and on the interior a simple railing. In the reconstruction, the parapet is clad with planks on both sides of the posts. The merlons, high enough to protect a standing soldier, and the crenels between these follow the intervals of the trusses, meaning that between two trusses (3 metres) there is always one merlon and one crenel.

Towers were situated along the rampart at intervals of about 23.5 metres (80 Roman feet), the same spacing used for the towers at the fortress at Oberaden. But unlike in Oberaden, they were formed by four posts from the rampart itself, which were buried deeper in the ground and were also about 10cm thicker than the other posts. As a result, the towers in Haltern were aligned with the rampart. The towers themselves have also been reconstructed based on the depiction of similar towers in the relief on Trajan’s Column in Rome. The posts supported a 3-by-3-metre (10-by-10-Roman-foot) platform, uncovered and with an open railing, at a height of 3 meters (10 Roman feet) above the parapet walk.

Unlike in Oberaden, the rampart under the gate towers was not filled with earth. This made the wooden panelling in this section vulnerable to attack with battering rams and artillery, as well as fire. To counter this, in the reconstruction, for reinforcement, the gate towers are given additional support by a plank-lined wall of posts mounted close together in a sill plate. Because the gate towers also jutted outward in relation to the rampart, this made it impossible for attackers to enter the area between the ditch and the rampart from the road leading to the gates.