Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes

The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes (german: Obergermanisch-Raetischer Limes), or ORL, is a 550-kilometre-long section of the former external frontier of the Roman Empire between the rivers Rhine and Danube. It runs from Rheinbrohl to Eining on the Danube. The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes is an archaeological site and, since 2005, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Together with the Lower Germanic Limes it forms part of the '' Limes Germanicus''.

The Limes used either a natural boundary such as a river or typically an earth bank and ditch with a wooden palisade and watchtowers at intervals. A system of linked forts was built behind the Limes.

Terminology

The term '' limes'' (plural: ''limites'') originally meant "border path" or "swathe" in Latin. In Germany, "Limes" usually refers to the Rhaetian Limes and Upper Germanic Limes, collectively referred to as the '' Limes Germanicus''. Both sections of ''limes'' are named after the adjacent Roman provinces of '' Raetia'' (Rhaetia) and '' Germania Superior'' (Upper Germania).

In the Roman ''limites'' we have, for the first time in European history, clearly defined territorial borders of a sovereign state that were visible on the ground to friend and foe alike. Most of the Upper German-Rhaetian Limes did not follow rivers or mountain ranges, which would have formed natural boundaries for the Roman Empire. It includes the longest land border in the European section of the ''limes'', interrupted for only a few kilometres, by a section that follows the River Main between Großkrotzenburg and Miltenberg. By contrast, elsewhere in Europe, the ''limes'' is largely defined by the rivers Rhine ( Lower Germanic Limes) and Danube ( Danube Limes).

Function

The function of the Roman military frontiers has been increasingly discussed for some time. The latest research tends to view at least the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes not as a primarily military demarcation line, but rather a monitored economic boundary for the non-Roman lands. The ''limes'', it is argued, was not really suitable for fending off systematic external attacks. Thanks to a skillful economic policy, the Roman Empire extended its influence far to the northeast, beyond the frontier. Evidence of this are the many border crossings which, although guarded by Roman soldiers, would have enabled a brisk trade, and the numerous Roman finds in "Free Germania" (as far as Jutland and Scandinavia). Attempts were occasionally also made, to settle Roman legions beyond the ''limes'' or, more often, to recruit auxiliaries. As a result, the Romanization of the population extended beyond the ''limes''.

Research history

Interest in the ''limes'' as the remains of a site dating to the Roman period was rekindled in Germany at the time of the Renaissance and Renaissance humanism. This was bolstered by the rediscovery of the '' Germania'' and '' Annales'' of Tacitus in monastic libraries in the 15th and early 16th centuries.

Scholars like Simon Studion

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