The foundations are quite unusual in that they are narrower at the bottom than
at the top. The thickness of the walls of the minor buildings is about two feet,
that of the defenses about four feet and that of the
Aula nearly five. Not much masonry is preserved above
the medieval soil; it projects several inches and probably would have kept its
thickness over the complete height.
The construction methods used at Werla were those used at nearly all fortresses built during this period. The construction adds further evidence that Werla was used as an Emperor's residence for only about 100 years.
Perhaps the haste of construction and the usage of such materials, as were available, help explain the excavation of beds of mortar. For the same reasons, shallow foundations would have been poured like the projecting, subterranean pillars in front of the gates. These "pillars" were never meant to be visible.
Home!