Thursday, December 18, 2008

Third-Century Roman Battlefield Unearthed in Germany

Wow.

A third-century battlefield unearthed in northern Germany seems to point to Roman legions fighting in the region far longer than most historians have ever thought.

Roman soldiers were famously defeated by Germanic tribesmen at the Battle of Teutoberg Forest in 9 A.D. However, a newly discovered battlefield near Kalefeld-Oldenrode is even farther north than the Teutoberg Forest and appears to date from between 180 and 260 A.D., according to a report by the Associated Press news agency.

[...]

According to a theory put forward by Guenther Moosbauer, an expert at the University of Osnabrueck who studies Roman-German history, a Roman legion could have been seeking revenge after tribesman in 235 A.D. pushed Roman troops south of the Limes Germanicus, a ring of forts that separated the empire from unconquered land to the north and east.

(1) Comments
Posted by Owen at 2222 hrs
Culture + Foreign Affairs

  1. I blame George Bush.

    Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 19, 2008 at 0134 hrs


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