Archaeology of Roman "limes" 3101-DKLIM
The subject of the course is Roman frontier archaeology, especially of the European frontiers, along the Danube and Rhine, as well as the land borders in Britannia and Germania. During the course the students will learn about the idea and notion of the border and the frontier in a Roman and modern sense. The notion of "limes" and terminology related to the Roman military installations will be discussed. Was the so-called "limes" a real defensive border or a sustem of military roads and forts controlling the movement of people and goods? How should we understand the function of the infrastructure and military installations built by the Romans? How the Romans understood the idea of the border? Did they have the borders of the state or the provinces? Why they built the Hadran's Wall? Finally, we will think and analyse whether the Romans had their "grand strategy" of defense or not. Reading the ancient sources we will think about the evolution of the notion of the border and the limes from the times of Augustus to the late Antiquity. We will present the theoretical aspects of the function and planning of the Roman camps, forts and towers. We will try to answer to the question whether the camp was closed for the civilians or not. The students will present the archaeological sites on the Roman borderlands, as well as some civil settlements related to them (canabae, vici).
The course will begin with a lecture on the meaning of the word "limes", and continued in a form of a seminar and classes.
Type of course
Mode
Learning outcomes
The participants will be acknowledged with the basic written sources concerning the outline and planning of Roman camps, as well as the notion of border. They will deal with a difficult task of defining the Roman frontier zone. They will acquire the knowledge of the history and state of research, as well as the idea of the "limes archaeology".
Assessment criteria
The participant is obliged to be present during the course. Two unexused absences are accepted.
The criteria of evaluation will be based on a systematic work in a group and the quality of the presentation about one, chosen archaeological site and a research problem related to the subject of the course.
Bibliography
-Pseudo-Hyginus, O wytyczaniu obozów wojskowych, w przekładzie i z komentarzem Ireneusza Łucia oraz Krzysztofa Królczyka, Fontes Historiae Antiquae XVIII, Poznań 2010.
-Flavius Vegetius Renatus, Epitome of Military Science. Translated With Notes and Introduction by N.P. Milner, Liverpool 2001.
-Polybius, The Histories, With An English Translation by W.R. Paton (Loeb Classical Library), Cambridge-London 1979.
-N. Hanel, Military Camps, Canabae, and Vici. The Archaeological Evidence, w: P. Erdkamp (ed.), A Companion to the Roman Army, Oxford, pp. 395-416.
-B. Isaac, The Meaning of “Limes” and “Limitanei” in Ancient Sources, JRS 78, 1988, 125-147.
-K. Kagan, Redefining Roman Grand Strategy, The Journal of Military History, 70.2 (Apr., 2006), 333-362.
-L.K.D. Kristof, The Nature of Frontiers and Boundaries, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 49.3, [Part 1] Sep. 1959, 269-282.
-E. Luttwak, The grand strategy of the Roman Empire: from the first century A.D. to the third, 1979.
-A. Lintott, What Was the 'Imperium Romanum'?, Greece & Rome, Second Series, 28.1, 1981, 53-67.
-L. Mrozewicz, Ze studiów nad rolą canabae w procesie urbanizowania terenów pogranicza reńsko-dunajskiego w okresie wczesnego cesarstwa, w: Novae i kultura starożytna [= Balcanica Posnaniensia III], W. Pająkowski, L. Mrozewicz [red.], Poznań, pp. 285-297.
-I. Piso, Die Inschriften vom Pfaffenberg und der Bereich der canabae legionis, Tyche 6, pp. 131-169.
-N. Pollard, Soldiers, cities, and civilians in Roman Syria, University of Michigan 2003.
-C.S. Sommer, The military vici of Roman Britain: aspects of their origins, their location and layout, administration, function and end, B.A.R. 129, Oxford 1984.
-A. Tomas, Reading Gender and Social Life in Military Context: The Case of Novae (Lower Moesia), Światowit 2006-2010 (2011).
C.R. Whittaker, Frontiers of the Roman Empire. A Social and Economic Study, Baltimore 1994.
Further literature concerning particular sites will be given during the course.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: