Lower Germanic Limes

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Map of the Lower Germanic Limes
Northern section of the Lower Germanic Limes
(between LVGDVNVM BATAVORVM and VLPIA NOVIOMAGVS BATAVORVM) on the Tabula Peutingeriana
Southern section of the Lower Germanic Limes
(between VLPIA NOVIOMAGVS BATAVORVM and RIGOMAGVS) on the Tabula Peutingeriana

The former border between the Roman provinces Germania inferior and Germania magna is known as the Lower Germanic Limes . The Lower Germanic Limes separated the part of the Rhineland on the left bank of the Rhine and the Netherlands , which was part of the Roman Empire , from the areas on the right bank of the Rhine, which were only partially controlled. The Lower Germanic Limes is an archaeological monument and since 2021 a World Heritage Site of UNESCO .

The construction of this Limes section goes back in part to Augustus and his stepson and general Drusus , who defined the natural border of the Rhine from the year 15 BC. Began to strengthen. The renunciation of conquests on the right bank of the Rhine in AD 16 made the Rhine the permanent border of the Roman Empire. A large number of country estates ( Villae Rusticae ) and settlements ( Vici ) were built under their protection . The names and locations of some places have been passed down through the Tabula Peutingeriana and the Itinerarium Antonini in particular .

Topography of the Lower Germanic Limes

Rhine-Maas-Delta with the Lower Rhine in the background

The Lower Germanic Limes was not a limes fortified with a rampart, ditch, palisade or wall and watchtowers , but a river border (Latin: ripa ), similar to the limites on the Danube and Euphrates . The Rhine line was secured with a chain of forts for auxiliary troops.

The course of the Limes began at the mouth of the Oude Rijns near Katwijk in the North Sea . It followed the course of the Rhine and ended at the Vinxtbach in today's Niederbreisig , a district of Bad Breisig , the border with the province of Germania superior . On the opposite right bank of the Rhine, the Upper German Limes began with the small fort Rheinbrohl .

In its course along the Rhine, the Lower Germanic Limes passed four landscapes with different topography and natural characteristics. The southernmost and smallest section, between the Vinxtbach and the area around Bonn, still belongs to the Rhenish Slate Mountains , in which the river forms a relatively narrow valley between the heights of the Westerwald and the Eifel . From Bonn, for example, the Rhine Valley opens up to the Cologne Bay , which on the right bank of the Rhine is bordered relatively close to the river by the Bergisches Land and in the southeast and east by the Eifel and the High Fens . The Cologne Bay has fertile loess soils and is characterized by a very mild climate. It is therefore not surprising that in Roman times most of the rural vici and villae rusticae (manors) of Lower Germany were located in this area . In the area of ​​the legionary camp Novaesium , the Cologne Bay widens to the Lower Rhine lowlands , a river terrace landscape . Only a little west of today's German-Dutch border, for example in the area of ​​the Noviomagus legionary camp , the Lower Rhine lowlands merge into the water-rich marshland formed by the Rhine and Maas and finally ending with the Rhine-Maas delta on the North Sea.

Historical background

Beginnings and times of the offensive orientation (50 BC – 16 AD)

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Campaigns of Drusus (marked locations do not necessarily correspond to the state of science.)
Bust of Germanicus, 15 BC. Chr. – 19 AD

As the military and political border of the Roman Empire, the Rhine was first reached by Gaius Iulius Caesar during the Gallic War . Are considered secured. The population-political vacuum that had developed in the Lower Germanic hinterland of the river due to the fact that the tribe of the Eburones originally settling there had been exterminated by Caesar, could be compensated by the settlement of the Tungrians and the Ubier . In particular, under Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa , the two-time (39/38 and 20/19 BC) governor of Gaul, a successful resettlement policy was practiced. Also under Agrippa, the development of the infrastructure was driven forward intensively, in particular through the expansion of a road network. Whether a policy of apron security that extended further eastwards was already being considered at this point in time must remain speculation, but against the background of ongoing border violations through Germanic Rhine crossings, this may well be possible.

At the latest with the defeat of Marcus Lollius (17/16 BC) against the allied Sugambrer , Usipeter and Tenker , who had crossed the Rhine and penetrated deep into the Gallic hinterland, the situation changed fundamentally. As a result of the Clades Lolliana , Augustus came in 16 BC. Chr. Personally to Gaul to finally settle the "Germanic question". He stayed for three years and, after defeating the Raeter and pacifying the area between the Alps and the Danube, judged from 15 BC. Chr. The deployment of the Gallic army from new. The Rhine line lost its formerly rather defensive character and became an offensive deployment base against the Germanic areas east of the river. The troops released after the Alpine campaign were relocated to the Rhine, and the legion camps were set up at Nijmegen ( Noviomagus ) and Xanten ( Vetera ). Whether the more offensive orientation of the Germania policy at this point in time actually aimed at the occupation of Germania on the right bank of the Rhine as far as the Elbe, as had long been suspected, is doubted in the more recent literature.

When Augustus in 13 BC When he returned to Rome, he handed the supreme command over to his stepson Drusus , whose name was given for the large-scale offensive against the Teutons in the years 12–9 BC. Chr. Stands. Drusus led a total of four campaigns, with the main activities shifting to the area of chatting in the course of the conflict . After his early death, the campaigns of Tiberius (9–6 BC), Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (around the year 3 BC), Marcus Vinicius (around the turn of the ages) and from the year 4 AD again continued by Tiberius.

In the spring of the year 6, however, the operations had to be broken off because an uprising in the province of Pannonia made the presence of the general and part of the legions necessary there. His successor as governor, Publius Quinctilius Varus (7-9) showed a less fortunate hand, which in 9 led to the Clades Variana (Varus Battle), the so-called "Battle in the Teutoburg Forest", which resulted in the complete annihilation of three legions, three ales and six cohorts ended up. In the period that followed, the Romans evacuated all garrisons on the right bank of the Rhine and significantly reduced their ambitions towards Germania. Under Tiberius, who had rushed back to the Rhine, the expansion and consolidation of the river border were now in the foreground. The number of legions on the Rhine was increased from six to eight.

After Tiberius returned to Rome in 12, Germanicus took command of the Rhineland the following year. He prepared further offensives in Germania on the right bank of the Rhine, but first had to put down a mutiny of the Rhenish legions in 14, which had risen against his successor Tiberius after the death of Augustus. At this mutiny the legions I and XX were from the military camp Apud Aram Ubiorum involved / Cologne and the legions V and XXI of Vetera / Xanten, which at that time at a summer camp in finibus Ubiorum ( "in the field of Ubii", probably in so called "Camp C" in Novaesium / Neuss) had been brought together. Then the large-scale and complex forays into Germania Magna began. Here Germanicus led the southern wing of the Roman army operating from Mogontiacum / Mainz, while Aulus Caecina Severus was in command of the northern army group operating from Vetera .

  • Campaigns of Germanicus and A. Caecina Severus in the years 14-16

  • Military actions of the year 14

  • Campaigns of the year 15

  • Operations of the year 16

After the expensive campaigns had not produced the desired success up to the year 16, Tiberius broke off the offensive and ordered Germanicus back to Rome.

From the end of the offensives to the death of Nero (16–68)

Bust of Nero
Roman helmet of the 1st century from Valkenburg (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden)

In the period that followed, the Lower Rhine developed into a defensive border. It remained relatively peaceful on this border for over half a century. Exceptions were a revolt by the Haedu and Treveri , who revolted over high taxes, in AD 21 and the outrage of the Frisians for similar reasons in AD 28, which ended with the loss of the Frisian territory to Rome. The brief reign of Caligula was hardly reflected in the Rhineland, except for the founding of the Valkenburg fort ( Praetorium Agrippinae ), which probably took place in the years 39/40. The time of Claudius , under whose reign the focus of Roman military policy shifted from Germania to Britain, was primarily characterized in Lower Germany by the expansion of the road network that connected the various military camps of the Rhineland with one another, as well as by the completion of the Lower Germanic Limes through the Construction of further forts, especially in the area of ​​what is now the Netherlands. However, there were also clashes with the Germanic tribes, including an incursion by the Chauken in 47, which was repulsed by Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo . Nero's reign in the Rhineland is hardly tangible from an archaeological point of view, and historically - apart from an attempt to settle by the Frisians and Ampsivarians in 57/58, which was rejected by the governor Lucius Duvius Avitus - there were hardly any significant events.

Year of the Four Emperors and Batavian Revolt (69/70)

This generally relatively quiet situation only changed with the events of 69/70, which were to shake the entire empire, the Four Emperor Year and the Batavian Uprising . During these troubled times, the Rhineland was the region of the empire that was most heavily involved in the events alongside the Italian motherland.

  • Otho

  • Vitellius

  • Vespasian

At the beginning of 68, Gaius Iulius Vindex, the governor of the province of Gallia Lugdunensis, rose against Nero. Although he was defeated by Lucius Verginius Rufus , the legate in Upper Germany, Vindex had in the meantime allied himself with Galba , the governor of the province of Hispania Tarraconensis . Galba was proclaimed emperor in April 68 and initially received the approval of all governors and legions as well as that of the Roman senate. Due to some unpopular personnel decisions, however, he soon turned the Lower Germanic Army against him, which in turn proclaimed Vitellius emperor on January 2, 69 . In order to assert his claim to the throne in Rome, Vitellius marched with large parts of the army in two pillars to Italy. Among them were eight auxiliary cohorts of the Batavians . A total of around 70,000 men were withdrawn from the western provinces and army districts, severely exposing the border security. After the initial successes of Vitellius, who had prevailed against Otho in the Battle of Bedriacum on April 14, 69 , the former governor of the province of Lusitania , who had overthrown Galba on January 15, 69 and became his successor, the eight Bataverkohorts (approx 4000 men) ordered back to the Germanic border. They moved into quarters at Mogontiacum in the summer of 69 . At about the same time (on July 1, 69) Titus Flavius ​​Vespasianus was proclaimed as emperor against Vitellius in the east of the empire, in the provinces of Aegyptus , Syria and Iudaea as well as in the Danube regions ; his troops marched towards Rome.

When Vitellius then carried out levies in the tribal areas of the Batavians and the Cananefates, which they perceived as arbitrary, in order to strengthen his associations for the impending conflict with Vespasian, the Batavians and Cananefates rose up together with the Frisians under the leadership of the Batavian nobleman and commanding officer Batavian cohort Iulius Civilis . At first, Civilis cleverly gave the appearance of intervening on the side of Vespasian against Vitellius in the civil war. A punitive expedition by the (Vitellian) Romans under Munius Lupercus , the commander of the Legio XV Primigenia, ended in a disaster, because during the battle the Batavian auxiliary riders changed sides and the ubian and Treverian auxiliary associations fled. The remnants of the corps were only able to save themselves to Vetera with great difficulty .

The uprising gained momentum when, during the summer of 69, the eight Batavian cohorts stationed in Mogontiacum marched north and joined forces with the Civilis. Civilis swore them in on Vespasian and now called on the troops in Vetera to join the Flaviers cause . The Vetera garrison , however, remained loyal to Vitellius. Walls and ramparts of the camp were reinforced, but sufficient provisions were not provided to withstand a prolonged siege. After a first, rejected attack attempt, the civilis' troops, who meanwhile ruled the entire area on the left and right of the Rhine, as well as the Rhine river itself by means of their fleet captured by the Romans , consequently decided to starve the camp. A relief army made up of soldiers of the Legio XXII Primigenia under the command of Gaius Dillius Vocula was set on the march from the south, united in Novaesium with the Legio XVI Gallica , but did not dare to penetrate further into the area around Vetera , but struck at Gelduba / Krefeld-Gellep set up camp. Meanwhile, the Army of the Civilis increased incessantly with influx from almost all regions of Germania and began to devastate the areas of the Morin , Menapier , Ubier and Treverer, i.e. the entire Rhineland down to the Moselle and across to the North Sea coast. The siege ring around Vetera was further strengthened.

Around this time in northern Italy at the Battle of Bedriacum on October 24, 69, the decision was made between Vitellius and Vespasian in favor of the Flavian. The news of this, as well as Vespasian's request to Civilis to end the fighting activities, should have reached the Lower Rhine at the beginning of November of that year. However, it was ignored by the Batavian, who instead sent part of his troops against Vocula and continued the siege of Veteras . Vocula defeated the troops sent against him and marched to relief on Vetera , whom he temporarily freed from the enclosure. However, the supply situation remained precarious, the rebels still dominated the surrounding area and Vocula failed to pursue the defeated civilis troops. At a time when Vocula had bared the Vetera garrison by 1,000 men who were to be used to secure supplies, Civilis closed the camp again at the end of December 69. Vocula withdrew to Novaesium and was pursued by Civilis, who captured Gelduba and whose cavalry advanced to Novaesium . In the following months, the main events of the war shifted deeper into the south of the Rhineland, where some Gallic tribes, including the Treveri, rose against Vespasian's rule together with the Vitellian legions. The remaining troops in the legionary camp Vetera surrendered after the supplies were exhausted in March 70.

Vespasian had meanwhile set up an expeditionary force of nine legions to Germania. The plans to recapture the Rhenish territories had been worked out by Gaius Licinius Mucianus and were successfully executed by Appius Annius Gallus on the Upper Rhine and Quintus Petillius Cerialis on the Lower Rhine. In July 70 the decisive, two-day "Battle of Vetera" was fought and after a final battle in autumn 70 the fighting finally ended with a negotiated peace.

From the Flavians to the soldier emperors (71–284)

Late Roman crested helmet with a high comb disc and Christ monogram from Kessel, Limburg, Netherlands

Due to the behavior of most of the Rhenish units during the previous clashes, the Rhenish army districts were completely reorganized. After that, the Flavian period in the Rhineland remained relatively quiet except for two events: Around 77/78 Gaius Rutilius Gallicus led a campaign against the Brukterer with the participation of the Legio VI , during which the seer Veleda was captured. During the Saturnine uprising against Domitian in 89, the Rhenish legions remained on the side of the emperor and were partly involved in the suppression of the uprising by the Lower Germanic legate Aulus Bucius Lappius Maximus .

Even during the era of the adoptive emperors , the Rhine border remained peaceful and the Germania inferior province began to flourish economically. If Trajan initially took over the deployment to the Lower Germanic army as it had existed since the Flavians, he soon reduced the number of legions on the Lower Rhine from four to initially three (Bonna, Vetera and Noviomagus) and at the latest from around 104 to only two more (Bonna and Vetera) . Germania inferior was completely spared from the Marcomann Wars , which badly affected Upper Germany and Raetia , and the later Emperor Clodius Albinus easily coped with a minor German invasion . The benevolent policy of the Severians towards their troops ensured increasing prosperity for the legionaries and auxiliaries in the border provinces. In contrast to Upper Germany, Germania inferior was not directly affected by the first appearance of the Alemanni , but had troop contingents to provide for Caracalla's counter-offensive in 213. With the Numbers , a new type of service was used for the first time. Germanic attacks on the Lower Rhine area may already have taken place under Caracalla's immediate successors Elagabal and Severus Alexander , but the Rhineland was by far not as affected as the Germania superior by the first great Alemannic invasion in 233.

When Valerian withdrew troops from the Rhine and Danube for his campaigns against the Sassanids and thus exposed the defense of the local limits, this did not, of course, remain hidden from the Teutons for long. In 254 the Alamanni crossed the borders again in Raetia , 259 in Upper Germany and from 256/257 onwards the Franks crossed the imperial borders in the north for the first time . The son and co-regent of Valerianus and later Emperor Gallienus hurried to the Rhine and brought reinforcements from Britain. Gallienus reformed the army and paved the way for the later differentiation into border troops ( Limitanei ) and mobile armies ( Comitatenses ), as the lesson had been drawn from the Germanic invasions that the Germanic peoples who had broken in were hardly resisted once the Limes line itself was broken. From a revolt of the year 259 that originated Gallic Empire of Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus , temporarily Iberian, Gallic and Britannic provinces were detached from the empire by the. The Imperium Galliarum lasted 14 years and was involved in heavy defensive battles on the Germanic border from the very beginning. However, it was possible to keep the limits. In the year 273 the Sonderreich was merged peacefully into the Roman Empire. Only a short time later there were renewed Germanic attacks on the empire and in 276 a Frankish breakthrough of catastrophic severity.

structure

The deployment of the individual units shows how well the Roman leadership understood how to adapt to the respective military-geographic and operational requirements. The southernmost section of the Lower Germanic Limes was no longer militarily secured between the fort of Remagen and the legionary camps of Bonn . The apron on the right bank of the Rhine was relatively free of settlements and the natural obstacle that the Rhine valley represents in this section seemed to be a sufficient safeguard against a possible enemy approach.

In the middle section, roughly between the legionary camps of Bonn and Nijmegen , all legionary camps and - with one exception - all of the Alenkastelle of the Lower Germanic Limes were located. This area offered itself as a deployment base in the so-called “free” Germania, but on the other hand it also required rapid reaction troops. These had to be able to reach the potentially hostile regions of incidence, primarily the estuaries of the Lippe , Ruhr , Wupper and Sieg , in the shortest possible time. In addition, the right bank here were settled Tencteri as a gifted rider who appeared to face an adequate troop sense.

Finally, the western section, between Nijmegen and the North Sea, was not very suitable for mounted units due to the nature of the marshland. At the same time, the numerous small watercourses offered the Teutons time and again the opportunity for smaller raids. This section naturally has the densest graduation of the fort with an average distance of only around 10 km between the individual garrisons. With the exception of the camp in Valkenburg , cohorts, i.e. infantry units, were stationed in all of these forts .

Strength of the Lower Germanic border troops from the 1st to the 3rd century

government Time (approximately) total Legionaries Auxiliaries Remarks
Tiberius 14-37 42,000 22,000 20,000 4  legions , 8  ales , 30  cohorts
Claudius to Nero 41-68 42,000 22,000 20,000
Vespasian to Domitian 70-83 37,500 22,000 15,500
Domitian 83-92 36,500 22,000 14,500
Domitian to Trajan 92-100 35,000 22,000 13,000
Trajan 100-106 27,500 16,500 11,000
Trajan to Hadrian 106-120 21,000 11,000 10,000
Hadrian 121-138 26,500 16,500 10,000
Antonine 138-192 20,500 11,000 9,500
Severer  and  soldier emperor 3rd century 21,500 11,000 10,500

Infrastructure

A well-developed Roman trunk road ( via militaris ) running on the left bank of the Rhine opened up the Lower Germanic region , coming from the Rhine delta via Noviomagus , the Colonia Ulpia Traiana or the two Vetera , Asciburgium , Gelduba , Novaesium , the CCAA , Bonna and Rigomagus ( Remagen ) Area and connected it with Upper Germany (→  Roman Rhine Valley Road ). There - in the later province of Germania superior  - it went directly into the route which the Upper Germanic cities and military bases via Mogontiacum , Argentorate ( Strasbourg ) and Vindonissa ultimately with Italy and - strategically far more important - via the so-called Danube South Road through Raetia with the Linked provinces of the Balkans. At the latest during the Dacian wars of Domitian and Trajan , when large units of troops had to be relocated from the Germanic provinces to the Balkans, the value of this carefully planned trunk road connection proved itself. The Upper German Army Road can still be traced in sections of the current roads, for example the dead straight section that is described by today's Bundesstraße 57 between Xanten and Krefeld. The Rhine road was connected to the hinterland, with the centers of the provinces Germania superior and Belgica, via connecting roads leading away from it to the south and west .

Just as important as the mastery of the land routes was - especially in the north-western part of Upper Germany, which is dominated by water - the mastery of the waterways. The Rhine offered itself as a natural route of transport and almost every garrison had a corresponding Rhine port or at least a loading and storage area. The area of ​​the Rhine-Meuse delta , criss-crossed by numerous watercourses, was opened up for land transport by fords and bridges. On the other hand, the network of already existing natural waterways was perfected by creating canals. Already in the early phase of the Roman occupation, probably around 12 BC. BC, the Fossa Drusiana was created , a canal that connected the Rhine with the upper reaches of the IJssel . Finally, under the command of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo , the Fossa Corbulonis was built from AD 47 , an artificial waterway that connected the Rhine at Matilo with the Meuse. This canal was 23 Roman miles (34.5 km) long. Its width varied between 12 and 14 meters, the water depth was two meters. The Fossa Corbulonis is considered a hydraulic engineering masterpiece of its time and can still be seen in sections today in the terrain.

List of troop camps and civil cities on the Lower Germanic Limes

Castles and settlements directly on the Rhine

Surname location Beginning The End Remarks category
Lugdunum Batavorum Katwijk -Breitburg trajanic or hadrianic foundation 270/275 washed away by the North Sea Cohort fort (unsecured)
Praetorium Aggripinae Valkenburg around 40 AD at 275 Alenkastell
Matilo Leiden -Roomburg 47 AD at 260/276 Cohort fort
Albaniana Alphen aan den Rijn 40/41 AD third quarter of the 3rd century Vexillation or cohort fort
Nigrum Pullum Alphen - Zwammerdam 47 AD at 275 Cohort fort
Bodegraven fort Bodegraven at 40/50 (?) third quarter of the 3rd century Cohort or vexillation fort
Laurum or Laurium Woerden around 50 AD 3rd century Cohort fort and Rhine port
Fort Op de Hoge Woerd ,
maybe (Fletio (ne)?) 		Vleuten-De Meern 47 AD at 275 Cohort fort
Traiectum Utrecht 47 AD at 275 Cohort fort
Fectio Bunnik -Vechten Augustan ; oldest fort in the Netherlands at 270 Double cohort and Alenkastell
Levefanum Buren -Maurik / Rijswijk from 70 AD (unsecured) 4th century (unsecured) below today's Rhine bed Cohort fort (unsecured)
Mannaricium Boers -Maurik from 70 AD at 275 Cohort fort
Carvo Neder-Betuwe -Kesteren after 70 AD at 225 (?) surely suspected unknown
? Overbetuwe-Randwijk Castle Overbetuwe- Randwijk just guessed unknown
? Overbetuwe-Driel Castle Overbetuwe -Driel just guessed unknown
Castra Herculis Arnhem -Meinerswijk between 10 and 20 AD second half of the 4th century Vexillation fort
? Duiven-Loowaard fort

Duiven- Loowaard

around 40 AD possibly up to the 4th century washed away by the Rhine unknown
Carvium Rijnwaarden -Herwen and -Aerdt second quarter of the 1st century at 275 Cohort fort
Harenatium Kleve cattle 1st century AD 3rd century Alenkastell
Quadriburgium Bedburg-Hau -Qualburg 1st century AD 5th century Small fort, numerus fort, Burgus
Steincheshof fort Till-Moyland Flavian (?) 3rd century Alen or cohort fort
Burginatium Kalkar -Altkalkar around 40 AD Early 5th century geomagnetically localized Alenkastell
Burgus Asperden Asperden valentine Early 5th century late antique fortress
Colonia Ulpia Traiana Xanten 8 v. Chr./71 A.D./110 A.D. A.D. 275/76 Civil city
Vetera I Xanten 13 BC Chr. 70 AD Legion camp
Vetera II Xanten 71 AD A.D. 275/76 Legion camp
Tricensimae Xanten 306/311 first half of the 5th century late antique fortress
Wesel-Büderich fort Wesel - Büderich Claudian / Neronian End of 2nd century Auxiliary fort
Roman bridgehead Xanten Wesel and Hamminkeln (on the right bank of the Rhine) unknown, possible

around 44 AD

unknown little known, assumptions for a long time, recent finds little known

Colonia Ulpia Traiana bridgehead or training camp

Alpen-Drüpt fort at Alps New discovery 2017 Auxiliary fort and marching camp
Calo at Halen ? washed away by the Rhine Alenkastell
? Duisburg - Baerl Middle of the 2nd century Middle of the 3rd century Fritz Tischler 1952/53 Sentry
Asciburgium Moers- Asberg 12/11 BC Chr. 83/85 AD Tilmann Bechert 1971 Alenkastell
Asciburgium Moers- Asberg valentine late Roman Burgus
? Small fort in Werthausen Duisburg-Rheinhausen - Werthausen around 85 AD Middle of the 3rd century discovered in 1891 Small fort
Gelduba Krefeld - Gellep stratum End of the 1st century BC Chr. 5th century Cohort fort
Novaesium Neuss - Gnadental 16 BC Chr. End of the 4th century Constantin Koenen 1888 Legion and auxiliary camps
? Small fort on the Reckberg Neuss - Grimlinghausen End of the 1st century AD 3rd century Numerus fort, watchtower
Burungum , possibly Haus Bürgel Monheim on the Rhine Constantinian first half of the 5th century late antique fortress
Durnomagus Dormagen around 80/90 AD at 390 Alenkastell
Ara Ubiorum , CCAA Cologne 9 v. Chr. 5th century Legion camp, civil oppidum , Colonia
? Naval fort Alteburg Cologne-Marienburg Middle of the 1st century 276 Flottenkastell, headquarters of the Classis Germanica
? Wesseling Roman Camp Wesseling ? ? Auxiliary fort (?)
Divitia Cologne-Deutz Early 4th century Early 5th century late antique bridgehead fort
Bonna, Bonnensia Bonn around 30 AD 4th or 5th century Legion camp
Rigomagus Remagen 1st century 4th century Auxiliary camp (cohort)

Fortresses or camps in front of the Rhine

Surname location Beginning The End Remarks category
March Camp Ermelo Ermelo 170/180 170/180 March camp on the Ermeloschen Heide
Flevum Velsen AD 14/16 50 AD fortified port facility; Troops unknown

Fortresses and settlements on the Meuse and Waal

Surname location Beginning The End Remarks category
Forum Hadriani Voorburg vespasian 270/275
Flenio unknown (province of Zuid-Holland ) unknown unknown Only recorded on the Tabula Peutingeriana, no archaeological evidence.
Tablis unknown (province of Zuid-Holland ) unknown unknown Only recorded on the Tabula Peutingeriana, no archaeological evidence.
Caspingium unknown (province of Zuid-Holland ) unknown unknown Only recorded on the Tabula Peutingeriana, no archaeological evidence.
Grinnes Maasdriel - Rossum unknown unknown Recorded on the Tabula Peutingeriana, no clear archaeological evidence.
Ad Duodecimum unknown ( province of Gelderland ) unknown unknown Only recorded on the Tabula Peutingeriana, no archaeological evidence.
Burgus Asperden Asperden valentine foundation 4th century Small late Roman fortress
Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum Nijmegen 19 BC Chr. Early 5th century Legion camp, auxiliary fort, vexillation fort
Burgus Heumensoord Malden 4th century
Ceuclum Cuijk Claudian foundation 1st half of the 5th century Fort (Claudian up to around 100), vicus, beneficiary station and late Roman fort
Blariacum Venlo - Blerick
Catualium Maasgouw - Heel 1st century 4th century
Feresne Lanklaar - Mulheim unknown unknown Only recorded on the Tabula Peutingeriana, no archaeological evidence.
Traiectum ad Mosam Maastricht

Military sites in the hinterland

Surname location Beginning The End Remarks category
? Oudenburg
? Maldegem
Castellum Radanum Aardenburg 170
? Walcheren- De Roompot supposed
? Goedereede -Oude Wereld supposed
Helinio (?) Westvoorne -Oostvoorne supposed

World Heritage

In January 2020, the federal states introduced North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate , led by the Netherlands an application, the Lower Germanic Limes from Roman times as a World Heritage of UNESCO take. On July 27, 2021, the Limes was designated a World Heritage Site at the UNESCO committee meeting in Fuzhou, China .

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b c d Created under Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo in connection with the construction of the Corbulus Canal named after him.
  2. ↑ The Cohors I Lucensium Hispanorum (an infantry unit of Spanish origin), the Cohors XV Voluntariorum civium Romanorum pia fidelis (infantry unit of volunteers of Roman citizenship with the surname “the pious, the faithful”), and finally the Numerus Exploratorum Batavorum (a native one , Batavian reconnaissance unit).
  3. ↑ The Cohors VI Breucorum (“6th cohort of Breucers”) is proven in Flavian times .
  4. ↑ There is also a beneficiary station on Limesstrasse.
  5. ↑ The Cohors XV Voluntarium ("15th Volunteer Cohort") has been documented from the Flavian period .

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.welt.de/geschichte/article232770619/Unesco-Der-niedergermanische-Limes-am-Rhein-wird-Weltkulturerbe.html Berthold Seewald: Limits of the Empire: The “Lower Germanic Limes” on the Rhine is now a World Heritage Site . Welt.de, July 27, 2021; accessed on July 27, 2021.
  2. ^ Tilmann Bechert , Willem JH Willems : The Roman imperial border from the Moselle to the North Sea coast. Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-8062-1189-2 ; Margot Klee: Limits of the Empire. Life on the Roman Limes. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-8053-3429-X , pp. 33-40.
  3. ↑ Ariw J. Kalis, Sabine Karg, Jutta Meurers-Balke , H. Teunissen-van Oorschot: humans and vegetation at the Lower Niederrhein while the iron and Roman times. In: Martin Müller , Hans-Joachim Schalles , Norbert Zieling (eds.): Colonia Ulpia Traiana. Xanten and its surroundings in Roman times . Zabern, Mainz 2008, ISBN 978-3-8053-3953-7 , pp. 31-48; Renate Gerlach, Thomas Becker, Jutta Meurers-Balke, Irmela Herzog: The Rhine-Limes Project. Where was the Rhine in Roman times? In: Andreas Thiel (Ed.): New research on the Limes. 4th specialist colloquium of the German Limes Commission 27./28. February 2007 in Osterburken . Theiss, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8062-2251-7 , (= contributions to the Limes World Heritage Site, 3), pp. 9-17; Tilmann Bechert, Willem JH Willems: The Roman imperial border from the Moselle to the North Sea coast. Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-8062-1189-2 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Jürgen Kunow: The military history of Lower Germany. In: Heinz Günter Horn (Ed.): The Romans in North Rhine-Westphalia . Licensed edition of the 1987 edition. Nikol, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-933203-59-7 , pp. 27-109.
  5. ↑ Dieter Timpe : Roman-Germanic encounter in the late republic and early imperial times. Requirements - confrontations - effects. Collected Studies. Saur, Munich / Leipzig 2006, ISBN 3-598-77845-7 , p. 163 ff .; Johann-Sebastian Kühlborn : On the march into the Germania Magna. Rome's war against the Teutons. In: Martin Müller, Hans-Joachim Schalles, Norbert Zieling (eds.): Colonia Ulpia Traiana. Xanten and its surroundings in Roman times . Zabern, Mainz 2008, ISBN 978-3-8053-3953-7 , pp. 67-91.
  6. ^ The defeat of Lollius and the Augustan campaigns on the private website of the archaeologist Jürgen Franssen.
  7. ^ Johann-Sebastian Kühlborn: On the march in the Germania Magna. Rome's war against the Teutons. In: Martin Müller, Hans-Joachim Schalles, Norbert Zieling (eds.): Colonia Ulpia Traiana. Xanten and its surroundings in Roman times . Zabern, Mainz 2008, ISBN 978-3-8053-3953-7 ; Jürgen Franssen: The defeat of Lollius and the Augustan campaigns .
  8. ↑ In this context, a letter from Antonius Primus to Civilis is often cited, which should have reached its addressee in the late summer of 69 and in which the Batavians were asked to intervene in the war on Vespasian's side. (Tacitus, Histories 4, 13); to Barbara Levick : Vespasian . Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-16618-7 , p. 108.
  9. ↑ Dirk Schmitz: The Batavian Uprising in the Context of the Roman Civil War 68-70 AD. In: Martin Müller, Hans-Joachim Schalles, Norbert Zieling (ed.): Colonia Ulpia Traiana. Xanten and its surroundings in Roman times . Zabern, Mainz 2008, ISBN 978-3-8053-3953-7 , pp. 117-140.
  10. ↑ After Margot Klee: Borders of the Empire. Life on the Roman Limes. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-8053-3429-X , p. 35 f.
  11. ↑ After Margot Klee: Borders of the Empire. Life on the Limes. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-8053-3429-X , p. 36. All other information according to Jürgen Kunow: The military history of Lower Germany. In: Heinz-Günter Horn (Ed.): The Romans in North Rhine-Westphalia. Licensed edition of the 1987 edition. Nikol, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-933203-59-7 . P. 55.
  12. ↑ Named after Vipsania Agrippina , daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and mother of Caligula .
  13. ^ Matilo on a website of the Dutch Institute for Cultural Heritage (Instituut Collectie Nederland, ICN).
  14. ↑ Albaniana ( Memento of the original from October 2, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on a website of the Dutch Institute for Cultural Heritage (Instituut Collectie Nederland, ICN). M. Polak: Het Romeinse castellum Albaniana in het centrum van Alphen aan den Rijn . ( Memento of the original from March 10, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ( MS Word , 33 kB, accessed October 2011). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cultuurwijzer.nl @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.alphenaandenrijn.info
  15. ^ Nigrum Pullum / Alphen-Zwammerdam on a website of the Dutch Institute for Cultural Heritage (Instituut Collectie Nederland, ICN).
  16. ↑ About the ship finds from Woerden ( Memento of the original dated August 6, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website of the Roman-Germanic Central Museum . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / rgzm.de
  17. ↑ It is not entirely undisputed in Dutch research whether Fletio is an independent place (today's Vleuten), or whether it is possibly a spelling mistake in the place name Fectio (Vechten). The prevailing view, however, is that these are two different places.
  18. ↑ Extensive material (Dutch) about Traiectum ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website of Erfgoedhuis Utrecht , a web cooperation of several institutions for the preservation of the cultural heritage of the city and the province of Utrecht. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.collectieutrecht.nl
  19. ↑ The cohors II Hispanorum peditata pia fidelis (2nd Spanish infantry cohort with the honorary name "the pious, the loyalty") was proven .
  20. ↑ Extensive material (Dutch) about Fectio ( Memento of the original from July 31, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website of Erfgoedhuis Utrecht , a web cooperation of several institutions for the preservation of the cultural heritage of the city and the province of Utrecht. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.collectieutrecht.nl
  21. ↑ The cohors II Britannorum Miliaria Equitata ("2nd mounted Britannier cohort of double strength"), the cohors I Flavia Hispanorum equitata pia fidelis (1st partially mounted, Flavian Spaniard cohort with the honorary name "the pious, the loyalty") and the ala I. Thracum ("1st  Thracian Cavalry Unit").
  22. ↑ Levefanum ( Memento of the original from October 2, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on a website of the Dutch Institute for Cultural Heritage (Instituut Collectie Nederland, ICN). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cultuurwijzer.nl
  23. ↑ a b c d Created after the Batavian uprising in 69/70.
  24. ↑ All information about the fort is to be viewed with a certain reservation in that it is based on individual finds from the Rhine riverbed and not on a closed finding.
  25. ↑ Possibly a cohors civium Romanorum (cohort of Roman citizens) and the cohors I Thracum equitata ("1st partially mounted Thracian cohort").
  26. ^ Mannaricium on a website of the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage (Instituut Collectie Nederland, ICN).
  27. ↑ The cohors II Hispanorum Equitata ("2nd partially mounted Spanish cohort") and the cohors II Thracum equitata ("2nd partially mounted Thracian cohort") were verified.
  28. ↑ Carvo ( Memento of the original from October 2, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on a website of the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage (Instituut Collectie Nederland, ICN). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cultuurwijzer.nl
  29. ↑ a b On the basis of etymological conclusions (Castrum = Kesteren) and corresponding finds. However, there are no conclusive findings of a military nature; the fort was probably washed away by the Rhine.
  30. ↑ Castra Herculis ( Memento of the original from January 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on a website of the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage (Instituut Collectie Nederland, ICN). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cultuurwijzer.nl
  31. ^ W. J. H. Willems: Castra Herculis, een Romeins castellum bij Arnhem . In: Spiegel Historiael 15, 1980, pp. 665-671 ( digitized version ).
  32. ↑ Possibly founded under Tiberius or in connection with the campaigns of Germanicus .
  33. ↑ Possibly still a military base during the campaigns (356–360) of the later Emperor Julian (361–363).
  34. ↑ The Roman military site of Duiven-Loowaard ( Memento of the original dated November 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on a website of the Dutch Institute for Cultural Heritage (Instituut Collectie Nederland, ICN). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cultuurwijzer.nl
  35. ↑ Carvivum ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on a website of the Dutch Institute for Cultural Heritage (Instituut Collectie Nederland, ICN). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cultuurwijzer.nl
  36. ^ Founded under Caligula (37–41 AD) or during the governorship of Corbulo (47 AD).
  37. ↑ Possibly reactivated in the 4th century.
  38. ↑ The cohors II civium Romanorum equitata pia fidelis (2nd partially mounted cohort of Roman citizens with the honorary name "Die Fromme, Die Treue") was proven .
  39. ↑ Friedrich Gorissen: Cattle (Harentium - Rinharen). Roman Limes fort, Anglo-Scottish Coenobium Willibrords, feudal manorial rule and glory, Deichschau. Volume 1: From the Beginning of Settlement to the End of Glory. Presentation and sources . Verlag für Kultur und Technik, Kleve 1985, ISBN 3-924637-04-0 .
  40. ↑ Also the winter camp of the Legio X Gemina from 70/71 .n. Chr.
  41. ↑ Possibly the location of the numerus Ursariensium , which carried out construction work in Quadriburgium around 250 AD.
  42. ↑ Marion Brüggler, Manuel Buess, Michael Heinzelmann, Matthias Nieberle: A previously unknown camp on the Lower Rhine. In: Karen Schmitt (Red.): The Limes. News bulletin of the German Limes Commission . 4th year 2010, issue 1, German Limes Commission, Bad Homburg 2010, pp. 6–9.
  43. ↑ Cohors milliaria or Ala quingeniaria .
  44. ↑ As evidenced by the Itinerarium Antonini, it is occupied by an ala, but whose name is not known.
  45. ↑ a b c d Official website of the Xanten Archaeological Park
  46. ↑ a b c d Plastic representation on a project page ( Memento of the original from September 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / xanten.afg.hs-anhalt.de
  47. ↑ Norbert Hanel : The military camps of Vetera I and their camp settlements. In: Martin Müller, Hans-Joachim Schalles, Norbert Zieling (eds.): Colonia Ulpia Traiana. Xanten and its surroundings in Roman times. Zabern, Mainz 2008, ISBN 978-3-8053-3953-7 , pp. 93-107.
  48. ↑ Ursula Maier-Weber: A Roman military camp near Wesel-Büderich. Yearbook Kreis Wesel 1993, Kleve 1992.
  49. ↑ Clive Bridger: More details on the dating of the auxiliary camp of Wesel-Büderich, Wesel district, with special consideration of the terra sigillata. In: Peter Henrich (Ed.): Perspektiven der Limesforschung. 5th colloquium of the German Limes Commission . Theiss, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2465-8 , (= contributions to the Limes World Heritage Site, 5), pp. 49–55.
  50. ^ Albert Bömer: A new Roman camp. In: www.clades-variana.com. Retrieved October 9, 2016 .
  51. ↑ Ingo Runde: Xanten in the early and high Middle Ages: tradition of sagas - history of the monastery - becoming a town . Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar, 2003, ISBN 978-3-412-15402-8 ( google.de [accessed on October 9, 2016]).
  52. ↑ Steve Bödecker, Baoquan Song , Sebastian Held: A new auxiliary fort on the Lower Germanic Limes. Alpen-Drüpt. In: Grietje Suhr and Michaela Helmbrecht (Red.): The Limes. News bulletin of the German Limes Commission. Volume 11 (2017), Issue 2, ISSN  1864-9246 , pp. 6-11.
  53. ↑ Recorded in the Itinerarium Antonini with a distance of nine Leugen (approx. 20 km) south of Vetera and nine Leugen (approx. 20 km) north of Gelduba.
  54. ^ Tilmann Bechert: The Roman military station on the Dachsberg. In: Guide to archaeological monuments in Germany , 21. Theiss, Stuttgart 1990.
  55. ^ First confirmed assumptions and localizations as early as 1877 by Franz Stollwerck and in 1898 by Hermann Boschheidgen
  56. ↑ The cohors Sileucensium (“infantry cohort of the Seleukiens”), the ala Tungrorum Frontoniana (“cavalry unit of the Tungrians , called the Frontonian”) and the ala Moesica (“cavalry unit from Moesia ”) could be detected. Furthermore, a beneficiary station was found for the period around 230 .
  57. ↑ Detlev Ellmers: The small Roman fort near Werthausen. In: Guide to Prehistoric and Protohistoric Monuments. Vol. 14: Left Lower Rhine. Zabern, Mainz 1969.
  58. ↑ Partially mounted cohorts; Temporary storage area for larger troop units.
  59. ↑ Extensive information on the website of the archaeologist Jürgen Franssen .
  60. ↑ Several legions and auxiliaries, detailed on the website of the archaeologist Jürgen Franssen .
  61. ^ Neuss-Reckberg on the website of the archaeologist Jürgen Franssen.
  62. ↑ Chris Stoffels: Archaeologists find barracks . In: Neuss-Grevenbroicher newspaper. (NGZ) November 19, 2004 in the reproduction on the website novaesium.de of the archaeologist Jürgen Franssen. Gustav Müller: Durnomagus. The Roman Dormagen. Rheinland Verlag, Cologne 1979.
  63. ↑ Maureen Carroll-Spillecke: The late Roman military camp Divitia in Cologne-Deutz and its crews. In: Clive Bridger (Ed.): Late Roman fortifications in the Rhine and Danube provinces. BAR, Oxford 1998; This: The Roman military camp Divitia in Cologne-Deutz. In: Kölner Jahrbuch. 26. Gebr. Mann, Berlin 1994, pp. 321-444.
  64. ↑ Michael Gechter: Castra Bonnensia. The Roman Bonn. Bayerische Vereinsbank, Donauwörth 1989.
  65. ↑ Marschlager Ermelo at fectio.org ( Dutch ).
  66. ↑ Flevum on the RGZM website.
  67. ↑ Possibly erected in connection with the campaigns of Germanicus in the wake of the Clades Variana .
  68. ^ After retreating to the Rhine border under Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo .
  69. ↑ dpa: Lower Germanic Limes awarded as a new world heritage site. Die Zeit, July 27, 2021, accessed on July 27, 2021 .