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Barbarians and Rome's legions battled along the Danube for 400 years
Fortified by forts and watchtowers, the 1,700-mile river formed the empire's northern border, with Rome on one side and Germanic tribes on the other.
The Great Ludovisi sarcophagus depicts the chaos of a battle between the Romans and barbarians, who can be identified by their clothing and beards. The sculpture, from the mid-third century A.D., was found on a tomb near Rome’s Porta Tiburtina.
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