The Limes

This chapter examines some important themes associated with research on the limes in Roman Germany, with particular emphasis on the ‘Upper German-Raetian Limes’ and how the form and function of the outer frontiers of the Roman world were influenced by dynamic evolutionary processes. Before discussing how the limes took on a role as an ‘imperial/barbarian boundary’, the chapter considers the function of boundaries in general and the limes in particular. It then traces historic developments of the limites and their use in erecting frontier installations, watchtowers, and fortlets. It also looks at the crossing points through the limes that have survived in relatively high numbers in Germania Superior and Raetia; the legions as the backbone of frontier defence; and auxiliary troops (auxilia) that occupied the frontier along the Rhine in Germania Inferior and the Upper German-Raetian Limes during the second and third centuries AD.