World Heritage Identification Number: 430
World Heritage since: 1987
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: Yes
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: Germany, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Continent: NA
UNESCO World Region: Europe and North America
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Frontiers of the Roman Empire: A Testament to Ancient Military Architecture and Strategy
The Frontiers of the Roman Empire, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, offers a unique glimpse into the strategic prowess and architectural ingenuity of the Roman Empire at its zenith during the second century AD. Spanning over 5,000 kilometers, this extensive network of fortifications, military roads, and civilian settlements served as the imperial boundary that demarcated the Roman world from the lands beyond.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
The ‘Roman Limes’ represents the border line of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent in the 2nd century AD. It stretched over 5,000 km from the Atlantic coast of northern Britain, through Europe to the Black Sea, and from there to the Red Sea and across North Africa to the Atlantic coast. The remains of the Limes today consist of vestiges of built walls, ditches, forts, fortresses, watchtowers and civilian settlements. Certain elements of the line have been excavated, some reconstructed and a few destroyed. The two sections of the Limes in Germany cover a length of 550 km from the north-west of the country to the Danube in the south-east. The 118-km-long Hadrian’s Wall (UK) was built on the orders of the Emperor Hadrian c. AD 122 at the northernmost limits of the Roman province of Britannia. It is a striking example of the organization of a military zone and illustrates the defensive techniques and geopolitical strategies of ancient Rome. The Antonine Wall, a 60-km long fortification in Scotland was started by Emperor Antonius Pius in 142 AD as a defense against the “barbarians” of the north. It constitutes the northwestern-most portion of the Roman Limes.
Encyclopedia Record: Borders of the Roman Empire
The borders of the Roman Empire, which fluctuated throughout the empire's history, were realised as a combination of military roads and linked forts, natural frontiers and man-made fortifications which separated the lands of the empire from the countries beyond.Additional Site Details
Area: 526.9 hectares
(iii) — Unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape
Coordinates: 54.9926111111 , -2.601
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