In the year AD 121, Hadrian left Rome and set off on an ambitious tour of the western provinces. His first intended destination was the German frontier (limes) which he probably reached in the autumn or winter of that year. A passage in Dio Cassius describing Hadrian bareheaded in the "German snows" (Dio 69.9.4) plausibly… Continue reading Winter AD 121/2 – Hadrian inspects the northern frontiers: part 1 Germania Superior (#Hadrian1900)
Built in 1974 over the remains of a Roman villa, the Romano-Germanic Museum in Cologne houses an extensive collection of Roman artefacts from the Roman settlement of Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (named after Agrippina the Younger, born in Cologne), the capital of the Imperial Province of Germania Inferior. The museum houses the largest collection of… Continue reading The Nerva-Antonines in Cologne
I recently resumed my travels on the Limes Germanicus and headed north along Rome's frontier in the Roman province of Germania Inferior. The Lower Germanic Limes extended from the North Sea at Katwijk in the Netherlands to Bonna along the Lower Rhine. Numerous museums with impressive collections of Roman artefacts can be found by the… Continue reading The face of mock battles – images of Roman cavalry helmets from Germania Inferior
In February 98 AD, Hadrian travelled from Moguntiacum (Mainz) to Colonia Agrippinensis (Cologne) to inform Trajan, the then governor of Germania Inferior, of the death of his adoptive father Nerva (who had died on 27 January) and to congratulate him on his accession to the imperial throne. Hadrian's first visit to the German provinces as… Continue reading Marble head of Hadrian, Römisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne
Last November, I visited the Römerhalle at Bad Kreuznach, Germany. It is a museum that displays finds from a late 2nd century Roman villa as well as other Roman finds from the district of Bad Kreuznach. Around 58 BC, the Rhineland-Palatinate region became part of the Roman Empire, with a Roman vicus named Cruciniacum, forming a supply station… Continue reading The Gladiator Mosaic at Bad Kreuznach, Germany
From one end of the empire to another! The Roman empire encircled the Mediterranean Sea, and beyond that, lay its frontiers. At its height, the empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea, through the deserts of the Middle East to the Red Sea, and across North Africa. The “Limes” represents the border line… Continue reading Exploring the Limes Germanicus – images from Rome’s Germanic Frontier
I have been crossing the Eiserner Steg (Iron Bridge) over the river Main every day since I moved from London to Frankfurt in August 2012. I live in the Sachsenhausen district, opposite the south bank of the Main River at a walking distance of Germany's best-known museums, also called the Museum Embankment (or Museumsufer). The 170 m… Continue reading A quote from Homer for a “Römer” city!
