The exhibited print by the Swiss-German engraver Matthäus Merian (1593–1630) appeared in 1646 in the Topographia Archiepiscopatuum Moguntinensis Trevirensis et Coloniensis. The presumed cenotaph of Drusus is once again depicted under the name ‘Aichelstein’ – the transformation that the monument has undergone in the almost 130 years since Huttich’s study is clearly visible. After its top was removed in 1528 and in 1552, for reasons involving military strategy, many unsuccessful attempts were made to demolish the entire monument.
The so-called Aichelstein is depicted towering on the edge of the terrain. The walkway at the middle of the building is accessible via a bridge and affixed with a battlement. The soldier patrolling there and the figures playing in the foreground point to a change in the use of the building, which is also archaeologically verifiable. The monument was transformed to serve as a watchtower and later integrated into the Schweikardsburg, the forerunner of the Mainz Citadel, in the second half of the 17th century. Compared to the neighbouring residential buildings, the Eichelstein appears significantly smaller here than in Huttich’s depiction and instead more strongly emphasises contemporary fortification work on the site.
Further Reading
- Klein Michael J.: Drusus d. Ä. und seine Denkmäler in den Publikationen des 16. bis 18. Jahrhunderts, in: Detlef Rössler / Stephanie-Gerrit Bruer (Ed.): Festschrift für Max Kunze. Der Blick auf die antike Kunst von der Renaissance bis heute, Ruhpolding 2011, pp. 289–298.
- Panter, Andreas: Der Drususstein in Mainz und dessen Einordnung in die römische Grabarchitektur seiner Erbauungszeit, Mainz 2007.
- Pelgen, Stephan: Mainz. Vom ‚elenden Steinklumpen‘ zum Denkmal. Aus der Geschichte der Mainzer Römerruinen, Mainz 2003 (Archäologische Ortsbetrachtungen 3).
