This is a column familiar to the members of "the" Ottawa (Canada) club and of course readers of its newsletter, which has often been a source of articles for this journal. The title is a Greek rendering of military intelligence and aims at providing information on European sites as visited by this writer.

For those of you who have read Volume VI Number 2, Jamie Fish indicated that this writer is stationed in Germany (pause... Alan I have that Swedish letter of yours and need your address) and for those who have read "Rostrum" by the Ottawa group, several articles have covered some adventures in history to date.

Unfortunately the reduction in Rostrum production has prompted a change in venue to insure increased exposure. The home station here is very close to a number of sites that cover the period of this journal. Some of these have been visited and any suggestions for other sites are gladly welcomed for future trips.

The current stomping ground is in the heart of Germania Superior about 50 kilometres southeast of Strassburg/Strasbourg. In the past three months, there has been the opportunity to visit Rome, Paris, Normandy and a variety of sites in France and Germany within driving distance. The focus has been on three areas of historical interest; the Roman and post-Roman, medieval and Thirty Years War. As the latter is outside the timeframe, it will receive only limited coverage.

On four separate trips, the first period was studied in some depth. This included a trip to Rome to see the remains of the ancient (pre-500 AD) city and Pompeii. The other trips were to more local sites to gather material on the Roman experience in Germany. This was inspired in part by the reading of an article (provided by a like minded associate at work) from the American military paper "Stars and Stripes". Here is an excerpt from it (April 26, 1990):

"What is Europe's largest archaeological monument, a structure that originally was nearly five times as long as Hadrian's Wall on the English-Scottish border?

Stumped? You're not alone, because it is also one of Europe's least frequented major sights.

The answer is the Limes, the former eastern border of the Roman Empire. Stretching about 350 miles, this monumental chain of fortifications was designed to link the Rhine near Koblenz with the Danube near Regensburg, and it ranks as one of the greatest feats of military engineering of all times."

The Limes is now a shadow of its former self, although it is still possible to trace the entire length as long as one has the right maps and is prepared to walk for miles over a period of days. Some of the better preserved sites provide maps (1:50,000 scales so that the wall can be followed. Be warned, it is advisabe to start at a preserved site so that you can identify the Limes. For most of its length, the wall is nothing more than a low mound with sections worn away by nature or eliminated by man. Fortunately, there are several good locations throughout Germany which are maintained. Two of these are Saalburg located northwest of Frankfurt (the main airport) and Aalen located about 50 kilometres east of Stuttgart.

Saalburg is noteworthy because it is one of the forts fully rebuilt to preserve its historical importance. The work was begun in the last century and continues as the museum is expanded. The original fort was built to house the Cohors II Raetorum civicur Romanorum in the reign of Hadrian (AD 117), and was occupied until about AD 260. The unit was an auxiliary infantry unit and augmented the Limes which was lies to the north of the fort. The reconstructed fort provides an excellent example of the Roman military architecture and the men of the army. Visitors can walk around most of the stone walls (except for a section of the north wall) and the principia (headquarters) and horreum (granary) provide space for museum exhibits.

The exhibits cover the results of excavations of several locations including the fort and reconstructions of some of the finds. These include both military and civilian subjects featuring the various trades conducted in Roman settlements like weaving, pottery, metalworking and engineering. All provide a very good view of Roman society. The reconstructions are a bonus as they are displayed next to the excavated originals so as to give the visitor a better impression of the object. This is useful as much of the original material is either badly damaged or parts; have deteriorated so that it is not easy to appreciate their true form.

For the student of history, it is easier to develop a mental picture but there are lots of school tours and other visitors who may not have researched the period as thoroughly. Besides the reproductions are like artists' pictures often displayed in the books that we read (Osprey comes to mind). The reconstructed weapons and artillery are well done and give some insight into their role in battle.

From the fort is possibly to walk along the Limes which is about one kilometre from the north wall. There are also several. earlier military ruins as well as those of a settlement around the fort. The Limes has not been rebuilt and is only a few feet high; however, it is easy enough to trace the wall for many miles in either direction. There are also several other smaller sites in the area which are marked as limeskastell on the map available at the fort entrance. One of these was a small stone fort used by the exploratores of the legion stationed at Mainz, which is located to the southwest. By touring the area, it is possible to gain a better appreciation for the siting of the Limes which traverses a dominating ridge in this region. 

Further to the southeast in what was Raetia lies Aalen. The fort has not been rebuilt, but a museum has been established on the same site and there is also a section of the Limes nearby which has been reconstructed. This was the largest of the Limes forts covering about 5.6 hectares (by comparison the exploratores fort is 0.7 hectares) and was home to the Ala II Flavia Milliaria. The unit was not only twice the size of the Saalburg garrison but also mounted thus it is not surprising that it needed the additional space.

As with Saalburg, the museum is, well laid out and provides a wealth of information about the garrison. The building has two floors with a mixture of excavated displays and reconstructions. The walls are covered with illustrations of the entire Limes with all forts marked, information on the army and the purpose of the Limes. In addition, there is a theatre for lectures and audiovisual presentations. The museum caters to school groups and has a selection of costumes for the younger visitors as well as space for the making of various projects including reconstructions of the unit vexillum (all this is evident from the photographs along the walls). Of note to gamers, there are several displays which make use of German flats to create dioramas of battles and a very long one depicting the various activities in and about the Limes (a raid, hunting, parade drill, engineering and trading).

After- a visit to both forts, it is easy to understand the aim of siting the major garrisons and even some of the minor ones back: from the wall. The Limes acted as a primary barrier to any attacker and while the wooden or stone wall was assaulted the local garrisons would sally forth in an effort to envelope the attacking force and pin it against the wall so that it could be easily defeated. Another possible advantage for separating the forts from the wall was to ensure that any attacking force could not quickly overrun a garrison before it could react to the threat.

While in the vicinity of Saalburg, a visit was made to the Roman-German Central Museum (Romisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum) in Mainz. This is located on the Rhine River in the centre of the city and is easy to find as it lies north of the bridge connecting Mainz to Wiesbaden. It has three main sections: pre-Roman, Roman and post-Roman. Unfortunately, it did not have any lliterature in English as did the two forts but it is a very good museum with exhibits limited to the period before 1100 AD. It is home to some of the most widely photographed and copied material in contemporary history books and includes paintings by Peter Connolly of the Roman soldiers of the late Republic and early Empire.

The collection of weapons, armour and other militaria is well worth the visit. These include helmets, body armour, standards and stone carvings. The exhibits cover Roman, Merovingian, Sassanian, Viking, Carolingian, Frankish, Alemannic, Thuringian as well as other tribal groups. It was a surprise to see so many well known artifacts in one place. This was made obvious by a quick review of every book on the Roman army available (Connolly, John Warry, Osprey, WRG, etc.). Every picture was studied to determine its origin. Many of these were credited to other museums which indicates that Mainz has been embellished over the years thus it is the "central museum".

Another museum which has strong links to the past is the archaeological museum in Strassburg. Both Mainz and Strassburg were legion towns and have been the source of numerous finds from the period. Strassburg is a smaller museum although it does cover the same period and houses a good model of the fortress upon which the museum is built. Of note in this museum is a good collection of Frankish weapons and a spangenheim of a chieftain. Unfortunately, there is no material covering the battle of 357 AD between Julian the Apostate and the Alemanni (whose descendants live across the border). The location is so vague in the records that it has not been identified. Nonetheless much of the terrain in the region as covered above remains the same so it is still easy to gain some insight into the siting of fortifications and use of natural boundaries to establish the frontier.

Hopefully this has whetted some appetites for things Roman and provided guidance to the potential traveller. For those preferring other periods well how about the castle at Falaise in Normandy or Bayeux or along thr Rhine, Moselle, Neckar... (until next time).