Roman Soldiers - Demonstration of Imperial Power

The Ermine Street Guard in action, with help from Dutch, Germans, Italians and Belgians. You can see them marching, forming a testudo and a training fight between two legionnaries with javelin-training behind them. The event took place in the archaeological park in Xanten, Germany: The Ermine Street Guard: Xanten is a small German town near Duisburg. It is mostly known for its archaeological park in which one can visit the former Roman town Colonia Ulpia Traiana, a settlement of veterans near the Rhine from 110 A.D. to 275 A.D., when it was destroyed by the Franks. Today the archaeologists try to bring the Roman era back to life with experimental archaeology. Also, Xanten is the mythological birthplace of Siegfried, the hero of the Nibelungen-saga.