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The frontier
Rome emphases the claim to power
The Upper German-Raetian Limes stretches between the Rhine and Danube rivers. With a length of 550 kilometres it is the world’s second longest building, only topped by the Great Wall of China. The construction of the Limes is a grand effort, and the final construction phase is only reached after more than hundred years.
Phase 1, since 89 AD:
The first phase’s characteristics
are forest aisles, a path, and watchtowers. The frontier was already visible
prior to this phase, but oriented towards the natural topography. Now,
the forest aisles are laid out, and watchtowers are built in more or less
regular distances. Occasionally, a wooden fence accompanies the path,
and precedes the palisade which is to come later on. The watchtowers consist
of wood, at least for the most part. At ground level, they are fortified
with a mixture of clay, rocks and sods. Moreover, a trench leads around
the towers. The sentries are able to communicate between the towers by
lighting a torch, or blowing a horn. This method allows them to quickly
warn the nearest forts, thus reinforcement can be there as fast as possible.
But even the reinforcement would not allow the Romans to fight big battles—there
are only fifty soldiers available per kilometer.
Phase 2, around 120 AD:
A solid palisade is erected next to the
path. The thick logs, however, do not implicitly stand as close to each
other as shown on the drawing. Occasionally, they have a distance of up
to 40 centimetres. It is no obstacle for a single person of course, but
tumbrels can not pass it anyway. This makes clear, that the Limes is not
a fortification designed to repel sieges or large armies, but a visible
demarcation of the Roman Empire. The main focus is to control and oversee
possible enemy gatherings and cross-border trade. At guarded checkpoints,
people can cross the border. They have to pay a toll of course; the Roman
Empire needs to be financed. In parts, the Main and Danube rivers represent
the Roman frontier. The name for those parts is Wet Limes, the Romans
control them by using fast patrol boats.
Phase 3, around 150 AD:
The wooden watchtowers get demolished. More
durable stone towers are built only a few meters next to the former positions.
They consist of three floors, just like the now obsolete wooden towers.
The entrance can only be reached by using a ladder, which shall prevent
a fast storming. On the ground floor, there is a pantry; the middle floor
is the soldiers’ common room. The third floor is often equipped
with a wooden gallery surrounding the walls. Four to eight soldiers are
detailed for guarding such a tower. In some cases, the towers are plastered,
and decorated with joints, which let the towers appear as if they were
built with unusually large stones.
Phase 4a, since the end of the 2nd,
or the beginning of the 3rd century AD:
After parts of the Limes have been destroyed
during recent years, the Romans are once again repairing and even rearming
the frontier now. A trench and a rampart are added to the already existing
palisade, while a stone wall with the height of three meters is built
in the province of Raetia (which today is Hungary). This system, consisting
of palisade, trench and rampart, has been a scientific fact for a long
time. By now, a new theory is seemingly more applicable:
Phase 4b, since the end of the 2nd,
or the beginning of the 3rd century AD:
Newer insights have proven that palisade,
trench and rampart had never existed simultaneously. Instead, the palisade
is supposed to having vanished in the process of the second century AD.
This disappearance roots in the attacks by rebellious German tribes, and
the neglect of the Romans (which have to fight a tribe called “Markomannen”
elsewhere). The palisade can not be reconstructed, as the surrounding
woods are almost completely stubbed—back then, only wood is used
for heating. The Romans solve that problem by choosing the trench-rampart-system.
Between 254 AD and 260 AD, the Romans have to retreat: an advancing union
of Germanic tribes (called “Alamannen,” meaning “all
men”) eventually forces them to give up the Limes, and therefore,
their frontier.
Continue with: The empire rearms
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