A limes was a border defense system of ancient Rome, which has the similar function as the Great Wall in China. The Roman Empire built many of them to mark its boundaries, including the one in the north of England and the other one in Africa facing the desert. The one on the German soil was built between 83-260 AD after Romans suffered a devastating military defeat at Kalkriese in 9 AD.
The 550 km Roman Limes was stretched from the Nord See outlet of the Rhein river in the north-west to Regensburg on the Donau river in the south-east, passing through four current federal states of Rheinland-Pfalz, Hessen, Baden-Württemberg, and Bayern. The two major rivers provided natural protection from intrusion into the imperial territory.
During the fall break, I visited Saalburg, which is a Roman fort located on the Taunus ridge northwest of Bad Homburg in Hessen. The fort in Saalburg is also the most completely re-constructed part of German limes and has been evaluated and chosen as part of UNESCO World Heritage site.
The Saalburg is not only the most consistently re-constructed limes fort, it is also the only one to have an adjacent civilian settlement that is partially excavated and preserved. The village begins outside the main gate where the ruins of a hostel and a bath for the soldiers were found.
The bath was relative large and quite elaborately designed.
The Saalburg is also a museum to exhibits a collection of military and domestic equipment from the surrounding areas.
Although the Saalburg is an eminent historical site. Its location is isolated, and visitors have hard time reach the site through public transportation. I had to wait for a bus, which comes once every house to reach the museum, and had to wait for another bus to go back to Bad Homburg, the nearest town, that runs only once every two hours in the afternoon.
The Limes reminded me of the Great Wall in China, where I took another group of students to visit this summer. After seeing the Saalburg I cannot help myself from comparing the two walls. The Great Wall was built two hundred years earlier between 220-206 BC. However, the purpose was the same: to protect the northern border of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups.
It is interesting to observe the fact that while there was absolutely no communication between the two empires in that historical period, nonetheless, the two folks utilized the same method to protect themselves.
Today, both walls are selected as UNESCO heritage sites. It is imperative that mankind should recognize and protect these ancient sites to preserve the outstanding demonstrations of human co-existence, human interactions, and creative architecture.
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