The Babilonie is a

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

of the

La Tène culture The La Tène culture (; ) was a Iron Age Europe, European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman Republic, Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age ...

at a height of 255.6 metres above sea level on the northern edge of a rounded hill in the

Wiehen Hills The Wiehen HillsElkins, T.H. (1972). ''Germany'' (3rd ed.). London: Chatto & Windus, 1972. . (, , also locally, just ''Wiehen'') are a hill range in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony in Germany. The hills run from west to east like a long f ...

above the Lübbecke village of Obermehnen in the district of

Minden-Lübbecke Minden-Lübbecke is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northeastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Diepholz (district), Diepholz, Nienburg (district), Nienburg, Schaumburg, Lippe, Herford (district), Herford, Osnabr ...

in the German state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

. The name is derived from the Germanic ''baben'' in the ''lon'' i.e. "up in the woods". The wedge-shaped, double-rampart system, which descends from south to north with the slope, was investigated archaeologically in the first half of the last century, especially by Friedrich Langewiesche, who assessed it as a

refuge castle A refuge castleCreighton, Oliver (2015). ''Early European Castles''. Bloomsbury. or refuge fort (, also ''Fluchtburg'', ''Volksburg'', ''Bauernburg'' or ''Vryburg'') is a castle-like defensive location, usually surrounded by Rampart (fortification ...

. Ceramic and even metalwork finds indicate that it belongs to the

in the pre-Roman

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, e vorrömische Eisenzeit, therefore probably part of an extensive trading network. The fortification has an area of over 12 hectares. The first mapping of this hilltop, which was exceptionally well-suited to the establishment of a large hillfort with its spring high up the hills, was carried out after 1880.Heinrich Schmidt: ''Die Babilonie in Geschichte und Sage''. In: Gemeinde Blasheim (pub.): 969-1969. 1000 Jahre Gemeinde Blasheim. Druck: Bruns, Minden o. J. (1969), p. 84-89. Ceramic finds from the Saxon-Frankish period have also been discovered. According to Paul Höfer there is a legend that refers to Wittekind.Paul Höfer: ''Der Feldzug des Germanicus Im Jahre 16. n.Chr.'' 1884, p. 88

Sources

* Torsten Capelle: ''Wallburgen in Westfalen-Lippe.'' Herausgegeben von der Altertumskommission für Westfalen, Münster, 2010, , p. 22f. No. FBW 12 (''Frühe Burgen in Westfalen Sonderband 1'')

References

{{La Tène hillforts in Westphalia Iron Age Europe Lübbecke Minden-Lübbecke Wiehen Hills La Tène culture Hill forts in Germany