The medieval fortification Turmbauerkogel hill near Eibiswald was the first motte in Styria to be investigated according to modern archaeological criteria – a little more than 50 years ago.
It is located halfway between the upper Saggau river valley and the Radlberg hill not far from the border to Lower Styria/Slovenia, on an important regional traffic route to the middle Drau river valley, and was owned by servants to the sovereign. The predominantly ceramic finds mostly date from the 13th and 14th centuries.
The Turmbauerkogel fortification is located halfway between the upper Saggau river valley and the 669 m high Radlberg hill, i.e. on an important regional traffic route into the middle Drau river valley. It has impressive dimensions and stretches in a north-south direction over a length of almost 450 m. However, the complex is hardly 50 m wide, so that an elongated, stretched appearance is created. The north and south ends of the complex are formed by the two mounds Turmbauerkogel 1 (north mound) and Turmbauerkogel 2 (south mound), which are each reinforced by rampart and ditch.
Turmbauerkogel 1
The Turmbauerkogel 1 (490 m a.s.l.) consists in its core of an approximately 5 m high motte mound (plateau size 15 by 20 m), whose western area shows recent disturbances by a roadway. On the western, eastern and northern sides a 10 to 14 m wide plateau extends around the mound, which is enclosed by a rampart in the western area. Further remains of the rampart do not exist anymore; they may have either been eroded or pushed off to facilitate agricultural use. In the southwestern area, the rampart is intersected by what must have been a later roadway, the track of which continues up the motte hill. It is unclear whether this road corresponds to the former access into the site.
Turmbauerkogel 2
Just under 350 m south of Turmbauerkogel 1 there is Turmbauerkogel 2 (505 m a.s.l.). The core of this complex is formed by a motte mound (plateau size 15 by 18 m), which today protrudes almost 4 m above the backfilled, circumferential ditch. Originally, there was a height difference of almost 7 m. The ditch separates the motte mound from a continuous rampart with a diameter of over 40 m, which has partially slid down in the steep eastern area. Another ditch, fronted to the south, has been archaeologically documented but is no longer recognizable in the terrain. On Turmbauerkogel 2 there probably was a stone tower, on Turmbauerkogel 1 a wooden tower with a stone foundation. Both motte mounds are fronted in the southern area by a flat area measuring about 30 by 15 m, in which the actual outer bailey with the farm buildings was located. The area between the two motte hills, which slopes gently to the north and is today characterized by agricultural land and the “Turmbauer” farmstead, could have been an extensive outer bailey, but there is no archaeological evidence for this.
The first motte in Styria
In 1954, the regional archaeologist Walter Modrijan of the Joanneum made two search sections on the two Turmbauerkogel hills, which brought to light some ceramic material. This undertaking provided the impetus for the first-ever modern archaeological investigation of a motte in Styria. The center of the excavation activities, run in 1968 by the Department for Prehistory and Early History of the University of Vienna, was Turmbauerkogel 2. The ceramic finds from the two archaeological excavations show a chronological distribution from the 12th to the 15th century, with the 13th and 14th centuries being most strongly represented. Animal bones are from chicken, cattle, sheep, and pig. Three iron keys, a iron clevis pin for a crossbow (scattered find, 15th/16th century), forged iron nails, an iron clamp, and a stone cannonball complete the range of finds.
In the service of the sovereign
Historical research assigns the site to servants who held a provincial office and court in the area of today’s municipality of Eibiswald, the central village in the upper Saggau river valley. The office and district court in Eibiswald can be traced back to a document from 1265 (“officium et iudicium provinciale circa Ybanswalde”) which also provides the first evidence for the name Eibiswald. It is very likely that the fortress Turmbauerkogel was the seat of the knight Iwein, who gave the village its name but cannot be found in historical sources on Eibiswald. It is unclear whether the news of the “hovs ze Ibanswalde” from 1294 refers to the Turmbauerkogel fortification or to the castle near the newly-built upper market of Eibiswald, which was later expanded to a castle. It is obvious to assume that the relocation of the castle is connected with the extension or new establishment of the market. However, the finds from the Turmbauerkogel prove that the older complex was still in use until the 15th century. Today’s Turmbauer farmstead, probably the former Meierhof, can be interpreted as the successor of the former castle complex.
Text: Mag. Dr. Christoph Gutjahr