This project is about borders, in particular the border of the Roman Empire, the so-called Lower German Limes. In this project, we not only investigate the impact of this border on migration and the import of goods and crops in antiquity, but also focus on how the limes becomes visible as cultural heritage today, and how it has influenced our contemporary views on borders.
On the one hand, the project will map the limes as a cultural contact zone by studying archaeological data, using various techniques, and with the aid of citizen scientists. This approach will allow us to reconstruct the borderscape in the Roman period in more detail than was possible so far.
On the other hand, the project focuses on the reception of the limes: how is this border (re)constructed for the benefit of the formation of nation-states and the creation of regional, national, and European border policies, migration policies and the making of Others.
This project brings together a consortium of experts in the fields of ancient history, archaeology, geology, cultural heritage, cultural history and art history, human geography and border studies, and environmental genetics. In this project, we collaborate with a large number of public partners to disseminate the scientific results to a wide audience.