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Frontiers of the Roman Empire – Ripa Pannonica in Hungary (RPH) Nomination statement Roman buildings still stood 1-2 stories high, it can be inferred that in the Age of the Árpád Dynasty (1000-1301 AD) and throughout the Middle Ages identifiable Roman towns, cities and forts remained in many places. Large scale destruction resulted from the gradual spread of stone construction, and the fact that the Roman limes fortifications stood for the most part in areas poor in stone, where the Romans had to transport the building materials from distant quarries, contributed to this as well. The destruction quickly accelerated starting from the 18 th century. It was at this time that stone construction began to spread amongst the serfs as well, and the Swabian settlers coming to the Danube Valley during this same period brought with them traditions of building in stone that provided an even greater impetus to demolish the Roman structures to re-use their stone material. In the 19 th century, and in particular its second half, trade in antiquities began, and hundreds and thousands of shrewd people plundered Roman graves and building ruins for the sought after treasures, which they then sold for little money on to Hungarian and international antiquities traders. At the same time the situation began to undergo a change, in part directly as a result of the looters. Numerous museums were founded and hundreds of enthusiastic amateurs throughout the country acted in the interests of the archaeological sites, for the rescue of the archaeological finds. At the turn of the 20 th century major archaeological research into the Roman limes sites in Hungary began, and have continued without stop since then. The excavation of the civilian town of Aquincum and its development into an archaeological park formed the modern Hungarian attitude towards archaeological monuments. Large scale excavations were started at the same time in Dunapentele, today Dunaújváros, too. Founded upon the legal basis of the historic monuments law of 1881 and later laws and decrees, today there is a wellconsidered framework, which although it can and should be further perfected ensures the preservation of historic monuments. The walls of Roman military structures only rarely survived rising above the surface, but in very many cases excavations have made these remains visible. Despite this, the remains have also been supplemented to differing degrees in part due to weathering and the danger of frost damage and in part for educational or aesthetic reasons. To this day, numerous positive results have come about from efforts and work in scholarship and heritage preservation, which can for the most part be divided into three regional units. In the northern section major excavations have been performed on relatively few archaeological sites. There are only a few remains that can be visited or that have undergone a historic rehabilitation. These are beginning to appear in the area around Esztergom, and when they have they are quite striking, such as conserving the entire protective wall of the late Roman fort in Tokod. The central section is comprised of the group of remains at the Danube Bend that have been excavated and exhibited or conserved to a greater extent. The area of Budapest also stands out here, where the surviving and conserved architectural remains of the civilian town, legionary fortress and military town of Aquincum as well as other military structures can be seen in the greatest numbers. Dunaújváros and Dunakömlőd can also be included in this central section, where the remains of forts and a few other military structures have been successfully exhibited for visitors. The third section stretches south from Paks to the international border, where unfortunately even excavations have been rare. The remains of the Ripa Pannonica, including the limes road, have been identified in great numbers through aerial archaeology and field walks, so they can be identified without excavation. Surface traces suggest their existence. These include earthwork ditches that present changes in ground level of several meters, but for the most part are only fragmentary remains appearing on the surface, with the archaeological finds that can be collected there indicating the former Roman military structures. 30
Frontiers of the Roman Empire – Ripa Pannonica in Hungary (RPH) Nomination statement 2.b History and Development 2.b.1 Historical Summary The Roman Empire was an empire that extended over the area around the Mediterranean Sea. It comprised of the strip of land along the Mediterranean coast, only penetrating deeper inland in the form of permanent conquest where the Atlantic Ocean or the Black Sea made this possible, or where large rivers, primarily flowing across Europe, provided the opportunity to develop routes for communication, trade, the military and other uses. It encompassed essentially the entire central European area, and on a relief map it might be easily seen how the mountain ranges and rivers surrounding the Mediterranean Sea influenced the manner in which it spread. Besides the sea, the Rhine and Danube in Europe and the Euphrates in the east were rivers that formed long borders in distant provinces. The Roman Empire took form and expanded throughout many centuries, and the reforms in the organization of the state and the establishment of the Principate by Augustus, as well as the extensive conquests of quite significant areas, proved to be of key importance in this process. The territory of the Empire in the imperial period did not change significantly in size in the centuries after Augustus, only a small portion of the conquests that were newly established from time to time proved to be lasting. These included Britannia, conquered in the time of Claudius, Dacia and Arabia, incorporated by Trajan, as well as the transformation of the eastern client states into provinces. Rome wisely allowed local traditions and certain elements of local rule to continue in the conquered territories for the most part, and were only adamant in keeping control over the most important, essential points. These points were the unconditional acceptance of political subjugation and tax obligations. With the incorporation of new areas, more and more peoples and nations were placed under Roman authority, so it is not the incorporation of territory, but instead the conquering of nations that should be discussed. The Roman efforts towards pacification did not in general target the conquered peoples and tribes, but their leaders, who were utilized towards the goal of Romanization by providing them with various advantages and allowing them to keep their leadership roles in the community. What do we call the borders from antiquity and Roman times? The terms terminus, finis, limes, ora and ripa apply here. The first two represent the end, edge or boundary of something, the limes is a land border, although it originally meant the military road leading to the border. An ora served as an ocean border, while a ripa as a river border. However, in the usage of the 4 th century, limes already in reality related to any border held through military strength. The few artificial border constructions and walls were built only in militarily and strategically endangered sectors, where natural barriers seemed to be insufficient. The border only rarely represented a well defined line that was obvious to all, though, and instead was more like a strip of land with the actual borderline only defined by natural or man-made objects. Clear examples of this are the African and Middle Eastern borders, where the desert provided the actual protection. These strips of land also developed along land and river borders as well, since there is quite a bit of evidence that militarily Rome considered a strip of land of varying widths past these borders to be their own. On the eastern front, a state of equilibrium developed with the strong, well-organized Parthian Empire of Persia, while in the European area relatively poorly organized but populous tribes of mostly Iranian and Germanic origin lived for centuries moving constantly from north to south or east to west. These tribes only occasionally formed alliances stretching over larger areas, but their push towards the Mediterranean 31
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