Limes (Roman Empire) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Frontiers of the Roman Empire
UNESCO World Heritage Site
The limes Germanicus, 2nd century
Location	The valleys of the Rhine and the Danube; Britain.
Includes	Hadrian's Wall, Roman defenses along the Cumbrian coast, and the Limes Germanicus; the Antonine Wall is a later addition to this site
Criteria	Cultural ii, iii, iv
Inscription	1987 (11th Session)
Extensions	2005, 2008
Area	526.9 ha
Buffer zone	5,225.7 ha

The Limes (pronounced LEE-mes) was a huge system of borders and defenses built by the Roman Empire. It helped protect the Roman lands from outside attacks. Even though the Romans didn't use the word Limes for their borders, it's a modern term that helps us understand these ancient defenses.

Today, the term Limes also includes other Roman border defenses, like the famous Hadrian's Wall and the Antonine Wall in Britain. These walls and other parts of the Limes are now recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, showing their importance in history.

The Roman Limes: Protecting an Empire
Images for kids
See also

The Roman Limes: Protecting an Empire

The Limes was more than just a wall. It was a complex system of forts, watchtowers, ditches, and sometimes even palisades (wooden fences). It marked the edge of the Roman Empire, where Roman control was strongest. However, it also included areas nearby where the Romans kept a close watch with their soldiers.

What Was the Limes For?

The main purpose of the Limes was to control who and what came into the Roman Empire. It wasn't always about stopping huge armies. Often, it was used to:

Control trade and collect taxes on goods.
Prevent small raids from tribes living outside the empire.
Keep an eye on movements of people and groups.
Show the power and reach of the Roman Empire.

Different Parts of the Limes

The Limes stretched across many different regions. Each part was built to suit the local land and threats.

The Germanic Limes

One of the most well-known parts was the Limes Germanicus in what is now Germany. This section was a long line of defenses that included:

Wooden or stone watchtowers.
A ditch and an earth bank.
Sometimes a wooden palisade or a stone wall.
Many forts where Roman soldiers lived and trained.

These defenses helped protect the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superior from Germanic tribes.

The British Walls

In Britain, two major walls were part of the Limes system:

Hadrian's Wall: Built by Emperor Hadrian, this stone wall stretched across northern England. It had forts, milecastles (small forts every Roman mile), and turrets (watchtowers). It was a strong barrier against tribes from the north.
Antonine Wall: Built later by Emperor Antoninus Pius, this wall was further north in Scotland. It was mostly made of turf (earth and grass) with a deep ditch. It was held for a shorter time than Hadrian's Wall.

The African Limes

The Romans also built defenses in North Africa, known as the Limes Africanus. These were different from the European walls because they often used natural barriers like deserts. They included:

Forts and watchtowers in strategic locations.
Long ditches, like the Fossatum Africae, which helped control movement and water.
These defenses protected Roman settlements and trade routes from nomadic tribes in the desert.

Life Along the Limes

Life for Roman soldiers and civilians along the Limes was unique. Soldiers spent their days patrolling, training, and building. They often came from different parts of the empire, bringing their cultures with them. Towns and villages grew up around the forts, where traders, craftsmen, and families lived. This created a mix of Roman and local cultures.

The Limes was not just a military line; it was also a place of cultural exchange. People from both sides of the border interacted, traded, and sometimes even settled.

Images for kids

Map of fortifications and castles in North Britain around 155 AD (most forts on and south of Hadrian's Wall have been omitted).
Map of British and Gallic forts on the Saxon Shore
Map of the legion camps and forts in Germania Inferior
Map of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes
Location of the Roman camps on the Rhine-Lake Constance line and in the hinterland provinces of Maxima Sequanorum and Raetia I, 3rd century AD
Map of the Norican Limes
Map of the Pannonian Limes with its perimeter defences
Limes Africanus under Septimius Severus (The frontier of Roman Africa (dark tan) in the late 2nd century AD: Septimius Severus expanded the Limes Tripolitanus dramatically (medium tan), even briefly holding a military presence (light tan) in the Garamantian capital Garama in 203)
Black lines indicating the approximate path of the 4 sections of the Fossatum Africae
Reconstructed east gate of the fort at Welzheim, Germany
Reconstructed wooden tower nearby Rainau, Germany