Amelungsburg (Süntel)
Encyclopedia
The Amelungsburg is a circular rampart
that is located on the Amelungsberg hill on the Süntel
ridge in the district of Hameln-Pyrmont in the German state of Lower Saxony
.
There is no clear evidence yet about the date of construction of the rampart system. Finds, like Germanic spindle whorls and shards of pottery have been stated to the time of Christ's birth and suggest that the site may have been used by the Cherusci
coalition under Arminius
.
The site appears to have been extended during Charlemagne
's Saxon Wars
. In A.D. 782 in the Süntel
, a Frankish army led by the Saxon Duke Widukind
was annihilated. The Frankish took revenge at the blood court
in Verden an der Aller.
Circular rampart
A circular rampart is an embankment built in the shape of a circle that was used as part of the defences for a military fortification, hill fort or refuge, or was built for religious purposes or as a place of gathering....
that is located on the Amelungsberg hill on the Süntel
Süntel
The Süntel is a massif in the German Central Uplands that is up to . It forms part of the Weser Uplands in Lower Saxony southwest of Hanover and north of Hamelin.-Geographical location:...
ridge in the district of Hameln-Pyrmont in the German state of Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
.
There is no clear evidence yet about the date of construction of the rampart system. Finds, like Germanic spindle whorls and shards of pottery have been stated to the time of Christ's birth and suggest that the site may have been used by the Cherusci
Cherusci
The Cherusci were a Germanic tribe that inhabited parts of the northern Rhine valley and the plains and forests of northwestern Germany, in the area between present-day Osnabrück and Hanover, during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD...
coalition under Arminius
Arminius
Arminius , also known as Armin or Hermann was a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci who defeated a Roman army in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest...
.
The site appears to have been extended during Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
's Saxon Wars
Saxon Wars
The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the more than thirty years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of disaffected tribesmen was crushed. In all, eighteen battles were fought in what is now northwestern Germany...
. In A.D. 782 in the Süntel
Süntel
The Süntel is a massif in the German Central Uplands that is up to . It forms part of the Weser Uplands in Lower Saxony southwest of Hanover and north of Hamelin.-Geographical location:...
, a Frankish army led by the Saxon Duke Widukind
Widukind
Widukind was a pagan Saxon leader and the chief opponent of Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars. Widukind was the leader of the Saxons against the Frankish king Charlemagne...
was annihilated. The Frankish took revenge at the blood court
Blood court
Blood Court or high justice in the Holy Roman Empire referred to the right of a Vogt to hold a criminal court inflicting bodily punishment, including the death penalty.Not every Vogt held the blood court...
in Verden an der Aller.