Rekonstruierter Limesabschnitt mit Palisade, Wall, Graben und Wachturm WP 9/83 bei Großerlach - Grab

The Limes

The border of the Roman Empire

In many areas of Germany, you come across traces of the Romans again and again. Be it a fort, a column, a road or the remains of a very long border. While working on the book “Deutschland – eine Reise durch die Zeit” (Germany – a journey through time) about places and landscapes of German history, I once again dealt with the history of the Limes and began to photograph the subject of the Limes bit by bit.

This developed into this series about the border of the Roman Empire in what was then Germania, which still runs through four German states today. The history of the Limes is as complex as its length:

The expansion of the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes was preceded by a long history of conquests – the borderline existed from about 100 to around 260 A.D. The Limes is named after the two Roman provinces of Upper Germania (Germania superior) and Raetia (Raetia).
In the north, the border began at Rheinbrohl on the Rhine and continued through the heights of the Westerwald and Taunus through the Wetterau in Hesse, where the Limes made a wide arc south to the Main. There, the border ran along the river for a few kilometres before, from Miltenberg, it ran as if drawn with a ruler through forests and over hills to Lorch. At the Limes bend near the border of the then provinces of Upper Germania and Raetia, the Limes once again ran dead straight eastwards, enclosed the fertile Nördlinger Ries in a wide arc and ended at Eining southwest of Regensburg on the Danube.

The 550 km long Limes is the second longest archaeological monument after the Great Wall of China, if one likes to use superlative comparisons.
Even though the Limes with its watchtowers and palisade is reminiscent of the seemingly insurmountable German-German border, the Roman outer border was an open border and served to control trade, levy customs duties and regulate border crossings from Germania into the Roman Empire.

What did the border look like? Mounted soldiers controlled the border region along a cleared post path between watchtowers built in line of sight. Later, the border was reinforced with a continuous wooden palisade. Wooden posts were cut in half and aligned with the flat side facing Germania.
After about 50 years, the palisade fence was not renewed and was replaced from 160 AD by a system of ramparts and ditches. A ditch about 2 m deep was dug and a correspondingly high earth wall was heaped up. Behind it, the wooden towers were replaced by three-storey towers made of stone, plastered in white with joint lines painted in red and connected by the patrol road.
In the province of Raetia, on the other hand, a stone wall up to 3 m high replaced the wooden palisades. However, there were always regional peculiarities.

Along the Limes there were more than 100 smaller and larger forts where soldiers were stationed and which were often located at already existing road connections. The forts were easily accessible by roads for supplies. Goods were also transported to and from Germania on these roads. Border crossings were possible at Limes passages. All in all, the structure of the Limes is reminiscent of the organisation of today’s borders.

Let’s start with the numerous reconstructions of the Limes.

Replica of a Limes watchtower in Osterburken (WP 8/32), made of stone, plastered white and with red grouting, in full scale — Limes near Osterburken
Modern replica of the Limes tower WP 8/32 made of stone, plastered in white and with red grouting in original size (reconstruction from 2013).Limes bei Osterburken.

A reconstruction of the Limes, featuring a wooden palisade, runs across the centre of the picture; behind it stands a stone replica of watchtower WP 3/15, illuminated in the evening. — Limes near Kastell Zugmantel
Watchtower WP 3/15, replica of a stone Limes tower with wooden palisade.

The Limes border in the woods near Siegelsberg, close to Murrhardt. Above the ditch and rampart, which runs in a dead straight line up the slope through the woods, stands the stone tower of sentry post WP 9/91, ‘Hirschreute’. — Limes near Murrhardt - Siegelsberg
Traces of the Limes in the forest near Siegelsberg, watchtower WP 9/91 „Hirschreute“ above the ditches.

A reconstructed section of the Limes featuring a wooden palisade, a rampart, a ditch and a stone watchtower on the Heidenbuckel — Limes near Großerlach-Grab
Reconstructed part of the upper germanic Limes near Grab on the Heidenbuckel hill, watchtower WP 9/83, palisade, walls and ditches.

Reconstruction of a section of the Limes, comprising a rampart, a ditch and a wooden palisade, in front of the Rötelsee small fort — Limes near the small fort Rötelsee
Reconstructed section of the Upper Limes with wall, ditch and palisade near Welzheim.

Wooden palisade and Limes tower WP 4/49 on the Obersteinberg near Pohlheim in Hesse — Limes near Pohlheim
Limes watchtower WP 4/49, a stone fort with a rampart, moat and wooden palisade (reconstructed in 1967) on the Obersteinberg near Pohlheim in Hesse.

The Limes and Nature

I am particularly interested in the traces of the Roman frontier in the landscape, such as the remains of the rampart and ditch still visible today along the Upper German Limes in the Taunus and the Swabian Forest, or the many inconspicuous mounds along the frontier where watchtowers once stood.

Over the centuries, the forest has encroached upon the border fortifications. Some sections of the rampart and ditch are still clearly visible in the landscape, whilst others have become flat mounds that are barely recognisable beneath dense vegetation. In winter, when the leaves have fallen, the contours often stand out more clearly. I therefore often take photographs between November and March.

Some sections lie in the middle of the forest, others cross fields or run alongside today’s footpaths. What was once a sharply defined border has, over time, become part of the landscape – not always noticeable unless you are specifically looking for it.

The foundations of Watchtower WP 10/10 on the Odenwald Limes, overgrown with plants and trees — Odenwald Limes
Foundation of the Watchtower WP 10/10 of the Odenwald Limes.

A ditch in the forest, traces of the Limes near the former Roman provincial border between Raetia and Upper Germania — Limes in the Rotenbachtal
The visible wall and ditch near the former Roman provincial border between Raetia and Upper Germania runs through the forest in the Rotenbach valley.

Like a path, the Limes winds its way through the forest near the Sandplacken Pass in the Hochtaunus — Limes in the Taunus
Traces of the course of the Limes with rampart and ditch in the forest near the Sandplacken Pass in the Hochtaunus mountain range.

the grass-covered foundations of watchtower WP 14/64 in the woods near Erkertshofen — Raetian Limes near Erkertshofen
Foundation of the Watchtower WP 14/64 in the woods near Erkertshofen in Bavaria.

Foundation of the Limes watchtower WP 14/5 in the woods at Vorderen Schlossbuck near Gunzenhausen — Limes near Gunzenhausen
Foundation of watchtower WP14/5 on the Vorderer Schlossbuck hill near Gunzenhausen, Bavaria.

the stone-built foundation of the Limes on the provincial border between Raetia and Upper Germania — Roman provincial border between Raetia and Upper Germany
Start of the raetian border in the Rotenbach Valley near Schwäbisch-Gmünd.

The foundations of the Watchtower (WP 7/32), visible through the light and covered by foliage, in the woods near Walldürn — Limes near Walldürn
The barely visible foundations of Watchtower WP 7/32 in the woods near Walldürn.

Limes Watchtowers

The reconstructions of the watchtowers along the Limes vary enormously. Each reconstruction is based on the state of research at the time it was built. This, in turn, makes comparing the watchtowers particularly interesting.

2002 rekonstruierter steinerner Wachtturm WP 3/26 mit weißem Verputz und roten Fugenstrichen in Idstein, Hessen — Idstein, Hesse
Watchtower WP 3/26, built of stone with white render and red joint lines, dating from 2002.

Rekonstruierter hölzerner Wachturm WP 14/48 bei Burgsalach, Bayern — Burgsalach, Bavaria
Reconstructed wooden watchtower WP 14/48, built in 1972.

Rekonstruierter Wachturm WP 14/63 bei Erkertshofen, Bayern — Erkertshofen, Bavaria
Reconstructed watchtower WP 14/63, built in 1992.

Rekonstruierter hölzerner Wachturm WP 9/64 am Römergraben bei Geisselhard — Mainhardt, Baden-Württemberg
The wooden watchtower WP 9/64, built in 1972, at the Römergraben near Geisselhard.

Rekonstruierter hölzerner Wachturm WP 14/78 auf dem Pfahlbuck bei Kipfenberg — Kipfenberg, Bavaria
Watchtower WP 14/78 on the Pfahlbuck, a wooden reconstruction from 1996/97.

Teilrekonstruktion des Wachturms WP 9/96 auf dem Heidenbühl bei Murrhardt — Murrhardt, Baden-Württemberg
Partial reconstruction of watchtower WP 9/96 from 1969 on the Heidenbühl.

Fundament des sechseckigen Wachturms WP 9/51 bei Gleichen — Gleichen, Baden-Württemberg
A notable feature along the Limes is the foundation of the hexagonal watchtower WP 9/51.

Rekonstruierter hölzerner Wachturm WP 12/77 bei Rainau — Rainau, BW
Watchtower WP 12/77, built of timber in 2008.

Fundament des Wachturms WP 12/77 im Mahdholz bei Rainau — Rainau, BW
Foundation of watchtower WP 12/77 in Mahdholz.

Teilrekonstruktion des Wachturms WP 13/2 bei Mönchsroth — Mönchsroth, Bavaria
Watchtower WP 13/2, partial reconstruction from 1986.

Fundament des Wachturms WP 12/10 bei Lorch — Lorch, BW
Foundation of watchtower WP 12/10.

Fundament des Wachturms WP 14/17 auf dem Ritterner Espan bei Theilenhofen — Theilenhofen, Bavaria
Foundation of tower WP 14/17 on the Ritterner Espan, reconstruction from 1964.

Rekonstruierter Wachturm WP 4/33 in Fachwerkbauweise mit Lehmfüllung bei Butzbach — Butzbach, Hesse
Watchtower WP 4/33, half-timbered with clay infill (dating from 1898, renovated in 1957).

Rekonstruierter Wachturm WP 10/15 „Im oberen Haspel“ am Odenwaldlimes bei Vielbrunn — Near Vielbrunn, Hessen
Watchtower WP 10/15 ‘Im oberen Haspel’ on the Odenwald Limes, reconstruction built in 2010.

Limes forts and more

It was not only soldiers who lived along the Limes. Within the forts and the neighbouring civilian settlements (vicus), a distinct way of life developed, characterised by craftsmanship, trade and – as the preserved thermal baths show – a certain level of comfort. Life along the Limes was more varied than its mere function as a border would suggest. This series shows only a small glimpse of this so far.