How Did The Romans Handle The Desert?

Breaking The Roman Saharan Frontiers "Limes Tripolitanus" Around Ksar Ghilane And Beyond

Castellum Tisavar, modern-day Ksar Ghilane - Photo credit: Bellyglad

The "Roman limes" represents the frontier line of the Roman Empire at its peak in the 2nd century AD. Extending over 5,000 km from the Atlantic coast north of Great Britain, across Europe to the Black Sea, and from there to the Red Sea and North Africa, before returning to the Atlantic coast. These are remnants of built walls, ditches, forts, fortresses, watchtowers, and civilian dwellings. Some elements of the line have been discovered during excavations, others reconstructed, and some destroyed.

The two sections of the limes in Germany cover a distance of 550 km from northwest Germany to the Danube in the southeast of the country. Hadrian's Wall (United Kingdom), 118 km long, was built under the orders of Emperor Hadrian in 122 AD, at the northern end of the borders of the Roman province of Britannia. It is a remarkable example of organizing a military zone that illustrates the defensive techniques and geopolitical strategies of ancient Rome. Antonine Wall, a 60 km long fortification located in Scotland, was started under Emperor Antoninus Pius in 142 AD as a defense against "barbarians" from the North. It represents the northwestmost section of the "Roman limes".

In Tunisia, the Roman limes resembles more of a territorial surveillance system and control of people's movements than a defensive line against an actual military threat. At the height of Roman domination, the limes area covered no less than 80,000 square kilometers from the mountains of Gafsa in the north to the Grand Erg in the south. The remains of limes-related installations are