The Lower Germanic Limes ( la, limes ad Germaniam inferiorem, nl, Neder-Germaanse Limes, german: Niedergermanischer Limes) is the former frontier between the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Germania Inferior Germania Inferior ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed Germania Secunda in the fourth century, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Agripp ...

and

Germania Magna Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north- ...

. The Lower Germanic Limes separated that part of the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

left of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

as well as the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, which was part of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

, from the less tightly controlled regions east of the Rhine. The route of the ''

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a ...

'' started near the estuary of the Oude Rijn on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

. It then followed the course of the Rhine and ended at the

Vinxtbach The Vinxtbach is a stream of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is around long, rises south-southwest of Schalkenbach-Obervinxt and east of the ''Adert'' and discharges into the River Rhine near Rheineck Castle between Bad Breisig and Brohl-L ...

in present-day Niederbreisig, a quarter in the town of

Bad Breisig Bad Breisig () is a town in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the Rhine, approx. 15 km south-east of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. Bad Breisig is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective ...

, the border with the province of

Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesontio ...

. The

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 th ...

then started on the opposite, right-hand, side of the Rhine with the

Roman camp In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

of Rheinbrohl. The Lower Germanic Limes was not a fortified ''limes'' with ramparts,

ditches A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ...

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade ...

s or

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the s ...

s and

watchtowers A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

, but a river border (Lat.: ''ripa''), similarly to the ''limites'' on the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

and

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

. The Rhine Line was guarded by a chain of ''

castra In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular a ...

'' for

auxiliary troops The (, lit. "auxiliaries") were introduced as non-citizen troops attached to the citizen legions by Augustus after his reorganisation of the Imperial Roman army from 30 BC. By the 2nd century, the Auxilia contained the same number of inf ...

. It was laid out partly by

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

and his stepson and military commander

Drusus Drusus may refer to: * Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Drusus) (10 BC–AD 54), Roman emperor from 41 to 54 * Drusus Caesar (AD 8–33), adoptive grandson of Roman emperor Tiberius * Drusus Julius Caesar (14 BC–AD 23), son of Roman emperor Tiberius ...

, who began to strengthen the natural boundary of the Rhine from the year 15 AD The decision not to conquer the regions east of the Rhine in 16 AD made the Rhine into a fixed frontier of the Roman Empire. For its protection, many estates ('' villae rusticae'') and settlements ('' vici'') were established. The names and locations of several sites have been handed down, mainly through the ''

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-ce ...

'' and ''

Itinerarium Antonini The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti, "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...

''. Together with the

, the Lower Germanic Limes forms part of the ''

Limes Germanicus The (Latin for ''Germanic frontier'') 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, dividing the Roman Empire and the unsubd ...

''. In 2021, the Lower Germanic Limes were inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

as part of the set of "Frontiers of the Roman Empire" World Heritage Sites.

Topography

As it runs along the Rhine the Lower Germanic Limes passes four landscapes with different topography and natural character. The southernmost and smallest portion, between the Vinxtbach and the area around Bonn still belongs to the

Rhenish Massif The Rhenish Massif, Rhine Massif or Rhenish Uplands (german: Rheinisches Schiefergebirge, : 'Rhenish Slate Uplands') is a geologic massif in western Germany, eastern Belgium, Luxembourg and northeastern France. It is drained centrally, south t ...

, through which the river passes in a relatively narrow valley between the heights of the

Westerwald The Westerwald (; literally 'Western forest') is a low mountain range on the right bank of the river Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhenish Massif ( or Rhenish ...

and the

Eifel Mountains The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community ...

. From roughly the area of Bonn, the Rhine valley opens into the

Cologne Bay The Cologne Lowland,Dickinson 1953, 35, 461–64, 466–73.Elkins 1968, 229. also called the Cologne Bay or, less commonly, the Cologne Bight (german: Kölner Bucht), is a densely populated area of Germany lying between the cities of Bonn, Aachen ...

, which is bounded by the

Bergisches Land The Bergisches Land (, ''Berg Country'') is a low mountain range region within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, east of Rhine river, south of the Ruhr. The landscape is shaped by woods, meadows, rivers and creeks and contains ...

, which hugs the river on the right-hand side, and the Eifel and

High Fens The High Fens (german: Hohes Venn; french: Hautes Fagnes; nl, Hoge Venen), which were declared a nature reserve in 1957, are an upland area, a plateau region in Liège Province, in the east of Belgium and adjoining parts of Germany, between t ...

to the southeast and east. The Cologne Bay has fertile

loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeoli ...

soils and is characterized by a very mild climate. It is therefore little wonder that most of the rural ''vici'' and ''villae rusticae'' (farm estates) in Lower Germania were established in this area in Roman times. In the vicinity of the military camp of Novaesium, the Cologne Bay expands further into the

Lower Rhine Plain The Lower Rhine Plain (German: ''Niederrheinisches Tiefland'') is one of the natural regions of Germany and lies on either side of the Rhine north of the city of Düsseldorf. Geography The Lower Rhine Plain is bordered in the south by the Lo ...

, a

river terrace Fluvial terraces are elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and fluvial valleys all over the world. They consist of a relatively level strip of land, called a "tread", separated from either an adjacent floodplain, other fluvial te ...

landscape. Only a little west of today's German-Dutch border, roughly in the area of the legion camp of Noviomagus, the Lower Rhine Plain transitions into the watery

marshland A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

formed by the Rhine and Meuse and which finally ends at the North Sea in the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta.Ariw J. Kalis, Sabine Karg, Jutta Meurers-Balke, H. Teunissen-Van Oorschot: ''Mensch und Vegetation am Unteren Niederrhein während der Eisen- Und Römerzeit.'' In: Martin Müller, Hans-Joachim Schalles, Norbert Zieling (eds.): ''Colonia Ulpia Traiana. Xanten und sein Umland in römischer Zeit''. Zabern, Mainz, 2008, , pp. 31–48; Renate Gerlach, Thomas Becker, Jutta Meurers-Balke, Irmela Herzog: ''Das Rhein-Limes-Projekt. Wo lag der Rhein zur Römerzeit?'' In: Andreas Thiel (ed.): ''Neue Forschungen am Limes. 4. Fachkolloquium der Deutschen Limeskommission 27/28 February 2007 in Osterburken''. Theiss, Stuttgart, 2008, , (= entries on the World Heritage Site of the Limes, 3), pp. 9–17; Tilmann Bechert, Willem J. H. Willems: ''Die römische Reichsgrenze von der Mosel bis zur Nordseeküste.'' Stuttgart, 1995, .

References

Literature

* Tilmann Bechert: ''Germania inferior. Eine Provinz an der Nordgrenze des Römischen Reichs''. Zabern, Mainz, 2007, . * Tilmann Bechert, Willem J. H. Willems: ''Die römische Reichsgrenze von der Mosel bis zur Nordseeküste.'' Stuttgart, 1995, . * Tilmann Bechert: ''Römisches Germanien zwischen Rhein und Maas. Die Provinz Germania inferior.'' (Edition Antike Welt, 4). Hirmer, Munich, 1982, . * Julianus Egidius Bogaers, Christoph B. Rüger (eds.): ''Der niedergermanische Limes. Materialien zu seiner Geschichte''. Rheinland Verlag, Cologne, 1974, . * Michael Gechter: ''Die Anfänge des Niedergermanischen Limes.'' In: ''Bonner Jahrbücher.'' 179, 1979, pp. 1–129. * Michael Gechter: ''Early Roman military installations and Ubian settlements in the Lower Rhine.'' In: T. Blagg, M. Millett (eds.): ''The early Roman empire in the West''. 2. Auflage. Oxford Books 2002, , S. 97–102. * Michael Gechter: ''Die Militärgeschichte am Niederrhein von Caesar bis Tiberius. Eine Skizze.'' In: T. Grünewald, S. Seibel (eds.): ''Kontinuität und Diskontinuität. Die Germania inferior am Beginn und am Ende der römischen Herrschaft, Beiträge des deutsch-niederländischen Kolloquiums in der Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen, 27. bis 30.6.2001''. De Gruyter, Berlin, 2003, pp. 147–159 (

Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde ''Germanische Altertumskunde Online'', formerly called ''Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde'', is a German encyclopedia of the study of Germanic history and cultures, as well as the cultures that were in close contact with them. The first ...

, Ergänzungsband 35). * Heinz Günter Horn (ed.): ''Die Römer in Nordrhein-Westfalen.'' Theiss, Stuttgart 1987; Lizenzausgabe. Nikol, Hamburg, 2002, . * Anne Johnson: ''Römische Kastelle des 1. und 2. Jahrhunderts n. Chr. in Britannien und in den germanischen Provinzen des Römerreiches.'' Zabern, Mainz, 1987, ( Kulturgeschichte der antiken Welt, Vol. 37). * Margot Klee: ''Grenzen des Imperiums. Leben am römischen Limes.'' Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart, 2006. . pp. 33–40. * Hans Schönberger: ''Die römischen Truppenlager der frühen und mittleren Kaiserzeit zwischen Nordsee und Inn.'' In: ''Bericht der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission.'' 66, 1985, pp. 321–495.

External links

Lower Germanic Limes
on the website of Dutch historian, Jona Lendering ''(English)''
Vici.org
Lower Germanic Limes, interactive map
»www.niedergermanischer-limes.de«

on the private website of author, Peter Lichtenberger ''(German)''
De Limes - Grens van het Romeinse Rijk
''(Dutch)''

''(Dutch)'' {{World Heritage Sites in the Netherlands Roman fortifications in the Netherlands Roman frontiers History of North Rhine-Westphalia Archaeological sites in Germany Archaeological sites in the Netherlands History of the Rhineland Roman fortifications in Germania Inferior