Featured Title:
Free book with orders of £10 or over in our shop |
 |
| The Henge Monuments of the British Isles: Myth and Archaeology |
 |
| Login |
|
Don't have an account yet? You can create one. As a registered user you have some advantages like your own home page, fewer ads, and your contributions link to your page. |
| Who's Online |
There are currently, 117 guests and 3 members online.
You are a guest. To join in, please register for free by clicking here |
| |
Moderated by : Andy B , TimPrevett , Klingon , sem , MickM , TheCaptain , bat400 , coldrum , davidmorgan , Runemage , SolarMegalith
The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map : Index >>
General Forum >> Sensational discovery of Roman battleground in Germany (3rd century CE)
|
 |
| Author |
Sensational discovery of Roman battleground in Germany (3rd century CE) |
Andy B
Joined:
13-02-2001
Messages: 7006
from Surrey, UK
 OFF-Line
|  Posted 23-12-2008 at 13:19
FXF writes:
In June 2008 amateur archeologists presented to local authorities artefacts discovered west of the Harz mountains in northern Germany: iron arrow points, points of catapult missiles, a shovel and a "hippo sandal", a protective device for the hooves of horses and mules used only by the Roman army.
Systematic surveys with metal detectors and digs led to the discovery of hundreds of artefacts. The finds showed that the site was not a Roman camp, as originally assumed, but an extensive battleground between Romans and Germans. In some parts of the area, finds were so well preserved that it became possible to retrace details of the engagement like archery volleys and infantry attacks. No other ancient battleground has ever revealed such undisturbed and impressive insight into a military engagement. It remains a mystery why the grounds were not plundered by local inhabitants in the year after the battle as hundreds of missiles and equipment lost must have remained visible for years.
Originally it was assumed that the battle could have occurred during the reign of emperor Augustus when the Romans tried to conquer the area east of the Rhine river. They had been decisively beaten in Varus' battle at the Teutoburg Forest in the year 9 CE. However, a coin of emperor Commodus who reigned from 180 till 192 CE and a knife sheath prove a date for the engagement near the Harz mountains about 200 years later than that. So far it had been assumed that there were no significant Roman activities deep in German territory after Augustus, but the presence of catapults clearly indicates a substantial military expedition.
There are reports by Herodian in the 'Historia Augusta' about Maximinus Thrax leading an army (which consisted partly of oriental units) into Germany. It had been assumed that he did not venture far from the Roman boundaries, but in the light of these discoveries this may have to be reinterpreted.
(From publications of local German authorities of 15 Dec 2008.)
For pictures and more information (in German) see:
http://www.landkreis-northeim.de/gra/archiv08/707_12770_DEU_HTML.php
 Profile
 Email
 Reply
|
vlad
Joined:
13-05-2006
Messages: 1292
from Stockholm
OFF-Line
| Posted 27-12-2008 at 16:30
The battlefield was not plundered by the locals probably because of the
belief that those were spoils belonging to the gods. And also maybe of the fear to run against ghosts of the fallen, when wandering around.
Profile
Reply
| |
|
|
|
|
|
IMPORTANT NOTES: This site uses COOKIES. Please do not use this web site if you do not agree to our Terms and Conditions of use.
If you plan to visit ancient sites in person, please make sure you follow our Charter.
Articles, photographs and comments are the property of their respective authors or contributors, please contact them for permission to reproduce. Site design ©1997-2012 Andy Burnham.
|
Main News