The front gate faces south, which is away from the Limes Germanicus, presumably because if there is a breach of the line it is better to have the main entrance facing away from the line of approach. Roughly 200m north of the Porta Decumana (back gate) is the actual frontier. Who is the fine looking chap greeting me you may ask? I don't know if it was typical to have a statue of the emperor at the front, but here we have Antoninus Pius and this was created in 1901. The inscription on the base of the statue reads, 'To Emperor of the Romans, Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius, [from] Wilhelm II, Emperor of the Germans'. The plaque states 'Wilhelm II, son of Friedrich III, grandson of Wilhelm the Great, in the 15th year of his reign, in memory and honour of his parents, rebuilt the Saalburg Fort on the Roman Limes'.

The reconstructed fort is entirely enclosed and brings to life what a Roman fort would have looked like. What isn't recreated is the hustle and bustle surrounding the fort as soldier and the accompanying civilians in the settlement of which the ruins can be seen next to the fort, go about their business. However, some mistakes exist such as the incorrect alignment of the barrack blocks and the crenellation distance. In the first reconstruction of 1885 the distance was more realistic but this later changed to an incorrect, narrower distance, perhaps influenced by the medieval era defences still in existence.

From the south wall looking down, we can see the double ditch surrounding the entire fort.

Almost immediately on your right as you enter through the Porta Praetoria (main gate) you will see the reconstructed grain houses. Today these are the museum.

Looking back through the main gate with the grain stores / museum on the left.

Two barrack blocks have been reconstructed, one of them now serving as a toilet for visitors. These are located in the south-east corner of the fort, running east-west, and from here we can see the eastern wall at the end. Recent research in fact reveals that they should have been built along a north-south axis.

From this angle we are looking west into the fort, to the rear of the grain stores / modern museum. However, these barracks should be running north-south rather than east-west. In reality the blocks were bigger than have been reconstructed.

The barrack block also reconstructed rooms. Each barrack housed a Centuria, and was divided into ten rooms known as Contubernia, each occupied by 8 men which is the size of the most basic military unit today. This comes to 80 men and not the 100 you may think a Century would equate to.

Outside Saalburg fort on the Limes Germanicus and looking in through the Porta Principalis Sinistra. This is located on the east side of the fort and is a single doorway. The gate takes its name from the road, the 'Via Principalis', and runs east-west. If you follow my blog on Hadrian's Wall you will see all of the same features replicated in the forts there, the Limes Britanicus.

Looking out through the east gate, the Porta Principalis Sinistra, we can see the the reconstructed Fabrica (workshop). Military units always need a steady supply of arms and material, and skilled workers would be on hand to fabricate much of what a unit would need.

Like all Roman forts, the Saalburg Fort at the Limes Germanicus has a centrally located Principia. This can be though of as the HQ, the administrative part of the camp . Originally there wasn't a courtyard here but instead another covered hall.

One thing to note about this UNESCO site is that the exhibits and signs are in German - no English translation! The place would be even more fascinating for a non-German speaking visitor.