Limes Germanicus

The Limes Germanicus, or 'Germanic Limes', is the name given in modern times to a line of frontier fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, separating the Roman Empire and the unsubdued Germanic tribes from about 83 AD to 260 AD [1]. The frontier used either a natural boundary such as a river or typically an earth bank and ditch with a wooden palisade and watchtowers at intervals [1]. The path of the limes changed over time following advances and retreats in response to external threats [1]. At its height, the Limes Germanicus stretched from the North Sea outlet of the Rhine to near Regensburg (Castra Regina) on the Danube [1]. These two major rivers afforded natural protection from mass incursions into imperial territory, with the exception of a gap stretching roughly from Mogontiacum (now Mainz) on the Rhine to Castra Regina [1]. The limes itself is a relatively simple construction [1]. The limes had a deeper ditch and a higher mound than a camp fortification [1].