Category: Castle

Taborkogel Hill in St. Martin im Sulmtal

In the cadastral commune of Aigen, the so-called Taborkogel hill (379 m above sea level) rises about 40 m above the north-facing valley floor of the Black Sulm river. The fortification on this hill is separated from the adjacent Riedelzug ridge to the north by a deep depression and was the subject of archaeological excavations by the former Landesmuseum Joanneum in the summer of 1994. Since the 14th century small, only modestly fortified manor houses, mostly built of earth and wood, have been called “Tabor”.

At each of the four corners of the delta-shaped fortification of about 75 by 65 m there is a semicircular flanking structure. The edge of the fortification is accompanied by a low rampart with a 2- to 3-meter-wide v-shaped ditch in front of it. According to the excavator Diether Kramer, there was a quite massive “fence” on the rampart.
The excavation focused on the castle core, which was explored with four sections. Here, the remains of a wooden building with a stone foundation could be detected, which, as evidenced by the leaf and niche tiles found, had a stately tiled stove – a fine example of the owner’s well-to-do, knightly way of living. The outer walls were probably made of wooden beams, but a half-timbered building cannot be completely ruled out. Before the building was erected, the site had been carefully leveled. Immediately next to the building there was a cistern.

Besides remains of pots with a capacity of 2 to 5 liters, jugs, cups, bowls, plates and lamps made of pottery, there are also some hollow glass finds from Taborkogel hill. Riding utensils – horseshoes, a stirrup fragment and a wheel spur as a sign of the owner’s exalted position – as well as various tools – axes, knives, a pair of scissors, furniture fittings and Gothic padlocks for furniture – complete the spectrum of finds. Bolt irons from crossbows found in the area of the burned building indicate the warlike destruction of the complex.

Text: Mag. Dr. Christoph Gutjahr (unter Einbezug einschlägiger Berichte von Dr. Diether Kramer [†] und Dr. Gábor András Szörényi)

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