Here we are again with the Romans

Remnants of the Roman Empire can be found pretty much everywhere all over Europe. They invaded and subdued most regional cultures and imposed their own culture and beliefs on the locals. Those who complied, thrived, while those who resisted, well, they died. The first rule of conquest.

We visited the Limes Museum in Aalen. Above a map of the Roman Empire as it was about in the first century. Germany was completely swallowed by the Romans. On the plus side the people got to enjoy the advantages of civilization (infrastructure, bathrooms, warm water etc.) the conquerers brought along.

The museum is built close to the foundations of the largest Roman Fort north of the Alps, and part of the Limes wall which marked the boundaries of the empire.

In 2005 this area has been declared a Unesco World Heritage site. Below a picture of how the complex must have looked like.

And this is what's left of it. The uncovered foundations are in excellent shape, and one could probably still build another house on it..

Also statues and wall reliefs have been found at the excavation site.

The crane on the left is a reconstruction built from ancient documents and drawings found on the premises. And the right picture actually shows the underfloor heating system. Wiki has explained very nicely how that works => click

Unlike other conquerers of ancient or recent history the Romans actually brought improvement to people's lives. And the amazing technology, architecture and cultural remains are still very much alive.