Roman battlefield unearthed

I think this is very interesting, as the existing military history of the Romans might need to shift a little -

Kalefield, Germany - Archaeologists have unearthed the flotsam of a battle fought in the heart of Germany between Roman legionnaires and Germanic tribes 200 years after Romans were believed to have retreated behind the Rhine.

Until now, the Teutoburg Forest defeat of three Roman legions by Germanic tribes, 2 000 years ago next year, was thought to have ended Rome's expansion into northeastern Europe and set the limits of the empire at the Rhine.

The latest archaeological find was originally made by amateurs using metal-detectors who discovered a number of Roman weapons in a hilly pine-wooded region between Hanover and Kassel.

The precise location of the site is being kept secret to prevent pilfering, with more supervised digging to take place next summer.

Archaeologists, who began exploring the site in 2006, have now ascertained that a bloody battle took place on the approach to a pass, involving archers and cavalry equipped with long-range catapults capable of piercing shields at a distance of 300 metres.

"The findings show that possibly 1 000 Romans were involved" in the battle, according to archaeologist Petra Loenne.

"This is an unrivalled, well-preserved site," she added.

Artefacts

Some 600 artefacts have so far been found, including spears, arrowheads, axes, armour plating, tent pegs, catapult bolts and coins.

One such coin depicts Roman Emperor Commodus, who reigned from 180 to 192 AD, while fragments of swords and carts suggest the battle took place in the first half of the third century AD.

Arrowheads point to the involvement on the Roman side of Persian and North African archers, while the paths followed by the Roman soldiers can be traced thanks to nails left from their sandals.

Archaeologists do not know who won the battle.

They have discovered little by way of artefacts left by the Germanic fighters and believe the tribes may have carried away their dead for burial.

Untouched

But, unlike other battlefields where victims were stripped of their belongings, the Roman dead appear to have been left where they lay, their armour and weapons untouched.

The archaeologists believe the Roman soldiers might have been heading home, some 200km to the southwest, after carrying out a raid deep into enemy territory.

Eighty percent of the arrowheads were found to the south of the battlefield, suggesting the legionnaires were attempting to break through in that direction.

Until now, historians believed that, in the wake of the Teutoburg Forest massacre in which thousands of legionnaires were slaughtered, the Romans limited their military operations east of the Rhine to short punitive raids. - Sapa-AFP

- SAPA

LINK: www.news24.com... ml

reply to post by twodee


Fascinating stuff!

S & F

I'd be interested to find out exactly how a site like this was undisturbed completely though...

It would seem if the bodies were left, that people would have been able to see the remains for decades after the battle...

I'll have to see if there are pictures of any artifacts available... this is a good find!!

Amazing discovery and amazing that this site hasn't been plundered over the centuries. I am waiting for one of the archeologists to discover a Casio G-Shock or calculator watch amongst the artifacts.

The Roman's use to make such raids using auxillaries in the spring and fall. Some were 'hot pursuit' of raiders who had previously crossed the frontier into Gaul.

That area was thinly settled. If the battle had occurred in say fall, winter would have covered the field in snow and the spring - helped by all the 'fertilizer' -provided would have overgrown the site very quickly.

I could see that this may have been a skirmish, the main body would have moved on and was unable to come back for their men, perhaps it was a retreat. The Germans came back for theirs but if the bodies had been left for some time, weapons might have been taken but the armor would have left as decaying bodies are difficult to deal with.

This has been seen before in other battle burials - such as Visby.

Kool

[edit on 18/12/08 by Hanslune]

If the Germans returned for their dead then it raises another question.
Why did they not take the dead Roman legionnaires' weapons?

The OP's link to the story is dead but borrowed from the hallowed journalistic Halls of Yahoo News (fair play to them, they sometimes publish these items). The slide show needs to be seen to be believed

A far more intelligent account of the archaeology is found here and includes more interesting pictures. The evidence implies that up to 1000 Romans were returning from the North. They were drawn into battle with the Germans, who were in command of the high ground. The battle ground is spread across a large part of the forest although the article is unclear on the point (almost a mile? Squared? Long? WTF?).

The layout of the battlefield contains yet another tantalizing clue: The Romans attacked the hill from the north, suggesting that they were on their way home from a mission even further into German territory. Geschwinde said there may have been about a thousand men on the Roman side, perhaps including auxiliary archers and spear-throwers from the empire's provinces in Africa and the Middle East.

A further interesting and illustrated article is here.

My unqualified, speculative thoughts are that several score weary Romans were returning from skirmishes to the North of Kalefeld. Their presence was noted by the local population (sparse as they would be) and ensured a welcoming ambush by organized forces in the forest. The Germans were prepared and maintained the high ground. The bodies were then left as a statement of intent to Rome. It's easy to imagine Roman survivors being allowed to take the message back.