Fragments of chain mail from Harzhorn found at Kalefeld near Göttingen. Credit: Detlef Bach, Winterbach. Contributing Source : Freie Universitaet Berlin
Posted on 09/15/2013 5:03:39 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Archaeologists from Freie Universität Berlin made a spectacular discovery in their excavations of a Roman-Germanic battlefield at the Harzhorn in Lower Saxony.
While exploring the area near Kalefeld in the Northeim district north of Göttingen, the researchers, headed by Prof. Dr. Michael Meyer, found the chain mail of a Roman soldier from the Third Century AD. It was the first time that such a well-preserved piece of body armor was excavated on a Roman-Germanic battlefield. This piece of equipment, worn on the body, made it possible to reconstruct an individual story in the battle, a close-up image of the war, said Michael Meyer, a professor of prehistoric archaeology at Freie Universität Berlin.
The chain mail, which was found in several fragments, consists of thousands of small chain links with a diameter of about six millimeters. The iron in the rings, however, is largely decomposed. Chain mail was worn in battle by Roman soldiers of various ranks. Germanic warriors usually waived this protection; however, in Germanic burial grounds, remains of those laboriously produced armor can often be found. In this case, not only the object itself was an unusual find, but also the position in which it was found. It was located directly on the edge of the battlefield with probably the most intense combat action that could be detected on the Harzhorn hill.
(Excerpt) Read more at heritagedaily.com ...
Fragments of chain mail from Harzhorn found at Kalefeld near Göttingen. Credit: Detlef Bach, Winterbach. Contributing Source : Freie Universitaet Berlin
/johnny
Great find!
Thanks...love the Roman related stories.
Not to be confused with chain letters.
I disagree with their interpretation of why the armor was left on the field.
Ancient armies were notable scavengers of arms and armor. Something as valuable as a suit of chain mail would be a prize. Since it was found at an edge of the battlefield, I’m guessing the body wearing the armor was simply overlooked for some reason.
Maybe buried under other bodies or in a place where a body was hidden by brush, creekbed, etc.
Over the years an unprotected body would disintegrate, leaving the armor.
Wow, this battle was fought pretty doggone deep in Germany. It makes me wonder how frequent Roman incursions were after Teutoburg.
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