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Limes means “road” or “border road”; later also “border”. Limes was a system of Roman border fortifications erected on the outskirts of the Empire, especially exposed to invasions. These fortifications marked the boundaries of the Roman empire. The plural of limes is limites, and the term comes from the name of the road that separates the parcels of land.
The word limes was used by Roman writers to denote geographically shaped or fortified borders. In modern times, this term has been extended by historians who began to use limes to describe all the boundaries of the Roman Empire. For example, Hadrian’s wall in the north of England is sometimes referred to as limes Britannicus; in turn, the border in the province of Arabia Petraea – separates the desert – limes Arabicus. Thus, the Romans themselves did not use the term only to define the boundaries of their possessions.
Roman limites, at the time of the greatest extent of Roman power (2nd century CE), were 5,000 kilometres, from the northern coast of Britain on the Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea, Red Sea and through North Africa again to the Atlantic Ocean.
The system of fortifications on limites fulfilled its role mainly in the 1st to 4th centuries CE, in places also in the 5th century CE. it was defended by fortified castra stationed nearby legions in the strength of several to several tens of thousands of people. Some elements of the fortifications were destroyed, others rebuilt, and some have survived to our times. The two limes sections in Germany run 550 km from the northwest of the country to the Danube in the southeast. In Britain, a 118 km long Hadrian’s Wall was built (built in the years 121-129 CE), which secured Roman gains in Britain. This wall perfectly depicts the organization of the Roman military zone and illustrates the defensive techniques and geopolitical strategies of ancient Rome. In 142 CE Emperor Antoninus Pius began the construction of 60 kilometres of fortifications which were to secure the Romans’ further conquests in the north.
Large castra camps were supplemented by fortresses (castella) and towers (burgs) erected at regular distances. In areas devoid of natural obstacles, stone walls, earth embankments, moats and palisades were erected, connecting the guard posts into a series of fortifications.
Specific forms of military installations on the frontiers of the Roman Empire include the so-called fossatum in North Africa. In the province of Mauritania Tingitana, a deep ditch (fossa) was the basic element of the border fortifications. Cases of building systems for defence and early warning far beyond the actual borders of the Roman Empire can also be considered exceptional. This is the situation in the southwestern part of Crimea (ancient Tauris). Roman troops from the province of Moesia Inferior (Moesia Inferior) erected forts and watchtowers surrounded by a wall and a moat. Such a system, consisting of several towers and most likely one fort, was built by the Roman army on the borders of Chersonesos Taurida. It was then an independent city-state (polis) allied with Rome.
