Two names appear for this spot, and both belong to the same stretch of frontier that crosses the Wetterau near Butzbach. A watchtower numbered 4/37 stood here in the second century, one in a chain of tall lookouts built just behind the Limes palisade, with a view along the line to the neighbouring towers and out across the forest to the north, the land of the Chatti. Little remains today, a low platform of earth and some fallen stones, perhaps with a marker, but towers like this were the eyes of the Roman army, and their quiet watching was the daily business of the frontier.
The setting is a different place from the open fields to the east. This is the foot of the Taunus, where the ground rises in low, wooded ridges and the villages sit in shallow valleys. The woods are mixed oak and beech, with small streams, and in spring the floor is carpeted in wild garlic, whose smell drifts into the lanes. Roe deer step out at dusk, and the sound of a cuckoo is common in May. Butzbach itself is a medieval town that grew up beside the line.
The roads between Butzbach and the villages on the edge of the Taunus are smooth and quiet, with gentle bends and short climbs through forest, while the Taunus proper, to the south, has livelier routes with hairpins and views, including the climb to the Feldberg, which is popular with motorcyclists on dry weekends and watched by the police. Wet leaves in autumn and ice in winter are the main hazards, and fog can fill the valleys in October. The best time is May to June, when the woods are fresh.
Butzbach is two kilometres away, with a good range of shops, fuel stations and restaurants, and its position on the main road makes it easy to reach. The local bakeries sell pretzels and plum cake, and in the Wetterau a Sunday lunch usually means roast pork. Forest tracks are closed to motorised traffic, so leave the bike in a village and walk the last distance, with a map in your pocket.