Imperial Limes Commission
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. Introduction 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.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