CONSTRUCTING THE LIMES (C-LIMES)
Employing citizen science to understand borders and border systems from the Roman period until today

Constructing the Limes (C-LIMES) investigates how borders function, how they impact landscape and society, and how they can become appropriated and made visible as cultural and political constructs. The focus is on the borderscape of the Lower Rhine limes, the frontier zone of the Roman Empire situated today in the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium. All known limes infrastructure (forts, temporary camps, roads, watch towers) will be studied, analysed and mapped providing an integral image of the border’s materiality. With the participation of volunteers and citizen scientists, new archaeological finds as well as finds stored in municipal depots will be sorted, analysed, and cataloged in an open access database (PAN). As a result, we can get an integral picture of the movement of goods and ideas within the limes borderscape. The application of new archaeological techniques, such as strontium (Sr) isotope analysis and environmental DNA, will enable us to reconstruct the regional and inter-regional mobility of people, and provide insight into their diet and general health. The project furthermore studies the reception of the limes: how was the border (re)constructed in later periods and revived for the benefit of nation building and the creation of a national, regional, and European identity. This twofold approach will help us to better understand current attitudes towards borders and will enable us to contribute to – and perhaps adjust – contemporary public debates regarding borders and cultural interactions by historic knowledge. Together with our societal partners we will support the limes as UNESCO World Heritage site, disseminate the scientific results to a wide audience, and create a dialogue between science and society around our shared past.