Part of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes and thus a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005, the Pohl fortlet lies on the northeastern edge of the municipality of Pohl in the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate. Today the former military installation is designated as an archaeological monument and is located in the area where Schulstraße leads out of the village toward Lollschied.
The fortlet stood at about 337 metres above sea level at a prominent point of the Limes where the frontier line abruptly changes its course by roughly 75 degrees and then runs to the southeast. This position controlled an important topographical and transport route: a road from the Rhine valley met here a long-distance connection from the lower Lahn valley to the Taunus. The garrison therefore monitored both the Limes crossing and the wedge of terrain created by the change in direction.
Early archaeological excavations by the Reichs-Limeskommission at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries produced only limited findings. According to these, it was a rectangular timber-and-earth fortlet of about 43 × 34 metres. The fortification consisted of an earthen rampart faced with palisades, whose crest carried a narrow parapet walk; a V-shaped ditch up to 2.35 metres deep formed the obstacle to approach. Internal buildings were probably built of wood and likely followed a U-shaped layout with a representative headquarters building at the gate and troop barracks to the sides. Stone fragments in the north corner are interpreted as remains of a later watchtower (Wp 2/23). The garrison consisted of an unspecified Vexillatio; little of the original camp is visible today on the partly built-over site.
A support association was founded in 2007 with the aim of initiating and promoting projects relating to the Limes in the Nassau, Nastätten and Katzenelnbogen area. On the basis of the archaeological evidence, the Limes fortlet Pohl was re-erected in a slightly shifted position as a speculative reconstruction; the construction work took place from 2009 to 2011. The fortlet and the associated archaeological monuments are also protected as cultural monuments under the Monument Protection and Conservation Act of Rhineland-Palatinate; investigations and systematic collection of finds require approval, and chance finds must be reported to the heritage authorities.
The course of the Limes toward the fortlet at Pfarrhofen forms a wide curve around Pohl, running partly through well-preserved woodland, partly across agricultural land, and rising by almost 40 metres.
