Rome’s frontier zone in the Low Countries was well guarded with a complex of forts, towers, a fleet and bridges. Granted, this was no Hadrian’s Wall, but the endless dike along the wide, meandering river must have been an impressive sight. Germania Inferior, as this part of the Roman Empire was called, and its hinterland, Gallia Belgica, were safe behind the limes.
However, at some point in the third century AD, the forts seem to have been abandoned. We don’t know when. We only know that the emperor Constantius I Chlorus (r. 293-306) restored order and that his son Constantine the Great rebuilt a couple of forts, using blocks of natural stone. The question of whether, when, and why the limes along the Lower Rhine fell is an old one.
A gap in our evidence
It is unsolvable. Many military installations have been identified, but archaeologists can only investigate the oldest, deepest levels, documenting forts made of wood or brick. More recent levels have been washed away by
