The great cities of the Roman world are among the world’s most iconic archaeological sites. They are also among the most visited places on earth, and as such are evocative reminders of one of the greatest civilisations of the past. This civilisation, the Roman Empire, was enclosed by over 5,000km of frontiers. These are as much a reminder of the empire as its cities. And they have their own iconic sites – Housesteads on Hadrian’s Wall, the Saalburg and Eining in Germany, Aquincum in Hungary, Porolissum in Romania, Qasr Bsher in Jordan, or Lambaesis in Algeria. These sites recall the power and splendour of a fallen empire.
Roman frontiers have been studied by antiquarians since the 15th and 16th centuries. The 18th century witnessed a flourishing of literature about Roman frontiers right across Europe. The 19th century saw the development of a new method of investigation in the form of excavation. At first, this was merely clearance work, but the newly-discovered artefacts needed a home, and thus museums sprang up along the former frontiers, such as Budapest in 1802, Leiden in 1818, Bonn in 1820, Cluj in 1859, and Vienna in 1881.
The 1890s witnessed a major change. Across Europe began the era of scientific excavation. Stratigraphy was recorded, pottery and artefact studies developed, and objects were carefully displayed in the new museums. This decade even witnessed the earliest reconstructions, most notably that of the fort at the Saalburg, where work was undertaken on the instructions of the Kaiser Wilhelm II.
