page_title: Imperial Limes Commission
section_title: Introduction
hierarchical_section_title: Imperial Limes Commission / Introduction
context_page_description: The Imperial Limes Commission or RLK, was set up to work out the route of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes, the Roman frontier north of the Alps, and the location of its associated forts at the time of the Roman Empire. It was the first institution to engage in a cross-border, historical project after German Unification in 1871.
context_section_description: The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes, constructed around 100 AD, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005, and has been of interest in scholars since the 16th century as the outer border of the Roman Empire. Aventinus (fl.c.1500) was the first to deal with a presumptive part of the limes at Eichstätt, which he ascribed to the Emperor Probus. Until the 19th century, theories were repeatedly proposed about the Limes. Special mention is deserved by Christian Ernst Hanßelmann, who recognized connections between the Rhaetian wall in Bavaria and remains of walls in the Taunus in the 18th century. Increasingly, the archaeological remains were inventoried and protected. In particular by the Association for Ancient History (Verein für Altertumskunde) in Ellwangen, which began major investigations in 1819.
  In 1852, the commission was founded to study the Limes Imperii Romani. Several associations tried to conduct the research systematically and across state borders. However, the still independent states of the German Confederation wanted to maintain their cultural sovereignty even after the unification of their territory into the Reich. Thus, in 1877 and 1888 in the Kingdom of Württemberg, and in 1880 in the Grand Duchy of Hesse and in the Grand Duchy of Baden State Limes Commissions were appointed, which would successfully identify the course of the Limes in several places. However, these individual researches could not answer all questions by far.
  In 1883 a circle of researchers and interested parties led by the ancient historian Theodor Mommsen, which had demanded the organization and financing of centralized Limes research  since the founding of the Reich, proposed a solution. A first attempt in 1873 failed due to the personnel issues, a second attempt in 1878 at least led to an organizational plan. Among those who pushed the project were, in addition to Mommsen, retired Major General Karl Johann von Veith, representative of the Prussian General Staff, Heinrich von Sybel, Georg Waitz, and Richard Schöne. The work was carried out by officers with the support of local experts. The cost was originally estimated at 150,000 Reichsmarks. However, the project finally failed in 1882 in the Reichstag, because the deputy Wilhelm Oechelhäuser had taken offense over the direction by the General Staff and the Berlin dominance of the project.
  Mommsen failed to make further advances  because he had fallen into political opposition to Otto von Bismarck and had lost his backing.
caption: Theodor Mommsen around 1881
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