Local tradition holds that Bad Homburg's documented history began with the mention of the Villa Tidenheim in the Lorsch codex, connected with the year 782. This Villa Tidenheim was equated with the Old Town, called "Dietigheim". This connection is also reflected in street names. Local historian, R�diger Kurth, doubted these traditional stories based on his study of written sources and local factors. In 2002 Kurth initiated archaeological digs by the University of Frankfurt under the leadership of Professor Joachim Henning. The excavations showed that there was no evidence of settlement between the beginning of the Christian Era and the 13th century. It appears that the historical record which makes mention of Wortwin (or Ortwin) von Hohenberch � as Homburg's founder � as a documentary witness in Eberbach in about 1180 is the first concrete evidence of the town's existence.
As early as 1962, in a dig under the Hirschgangfl�gel ("Hart Stalking Wing") at Bad Homburg's Schloss (stately home), two burnt layers were discovered, which the man conducting the dig, G�nther Binding, took as evidence of two former castles having been built on the site one after the other, but each having burnt down later.
Further digs by the University of Frankfurt at Bad Homburg's Schloss in April 2006, once again initiated by Kurth and under Professor Henning's leadership, led to the discovery that it was actually only one burnt layer from a half-timbered building � possibly a castle with towers � which from ceramic finds could be dated to the 12th or 13th century. Most likely this building stood in connection with Wortwin's "castle". Quite possibly, though, a further cultural layer from an even earlier time lies waiting to be discovered underneath these remains. Investigations using methods from natural science (carbon-14 dating and micromorphological analysis) will show whether the dating can be made more precise.
Homberg acquired market rights about 1330, but the
