The River Lippe in Germany. Photo: Alamy
Posted on 10/28/2011 8:48:42 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
German archaeologists have unearthed "sensational" evidence of a lost Roman camp that formed a vital part of the frontier protecting Rome's empire against the Germanic hordes.
Historians believe the camp, once home to an estimated 1,000 legionaries and located on the River Lippe near the town of Olfen, may well have been served as a key base for the Roman General Drusus, who waged a long and bloody war against the tribes that once inhabited what is now western Germany.
The find comes 100 years after the discovery of a bronze Roman helmet near Olfen indicated the presence of ancient remains but it took a century of searching to finally discover the exact location of the camp.
"It's a sensational discovery for Roman research in Westphalia," Wolfgang Kirsch, one of the archaeologists involved in the discovery, said in a statement, adding that the camp was the "last missing link" in the chain of Roman defences in western Germany.
Researchers dug up Roman coins, fragments of pottery and the remains of old defences, while aerial photography revealed the course of mote that once protected the camp from German tribes eager to drive the invaders out of their land.
Occupied between 11 and 7BC and the size of seven football pitches, the military installation was probably used to control crossings points on the Lippe and act a supply depot for outlying posts.
"The monument has up to this point been allowed to lie in the ground widely undisturbed for over 2,000 years -- an absolute rarity, and, from an archaeological point of view, absolutely ideal," said Doctor Michael Rind, the chief archaeologist working on the camp.
Dr. Rind explained that the main goal now is to protect and preserve the camp. The exploration of the installation, he added, could take decades.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
The River Lippe in Germany. Photo: Alamy
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/johnny
I’ll take a wild guess that this was not the most popular posting for a legionnaire.
So many possible smart assed comments; so little time.
At east the lost has been found, even if it is much too late to return it to its rightful owner. Serves’em right for oppressing my ancestors, when all they wanted to do was peacefully take part in the Occupy Rome Protests.
Too bad Drusus’ work in Germany (and that of his brother Tiberius) was undone by Varus.
I don’t buy that the Romans could not have reconquered Germany, as they recrossed the Rhine many times after the Teutoburg, and Drusus’ son Germanicus had some success in his campaigns, but it was probably not worth the cost in resources and lives.
Note the pro-Roman Empire bias in the article: “protecting Rome’s empire against the Germanic hordes.” The “Germanic hordes” doubtless saw themselves as defending their homeland against foreign invaders.
Indeed. I dare say that my Celtic and Germanic ancestors would have a different perspective on this.
Facing the Germans couldn't have been any worse than facing the Celts.
Hey! You gotta problem wit dat?
Cool need to break out my copy of Gladiator and cheer for Maximus. I thought the The Centurion was pretty good with the Romans fighting Picts. For me both were really good flicks.
9 AD The Battle of the Teutoberger Forrest. Off to the east of this site, maybe 70 KM. A battle in which so many Romans were killed (48-50,000) that Rome gave up attempts to civilize and dominate what later became modern day Germany. Their leader Varus had his head delivered back to Rome. And Caesar cried, ‘Varus, where are my legions!?’
Well, let me put it to you as gently as possible...if the Romans had conquered your ancestors all the way to the Baltic and the Danube the Germanic tribes would have become civilized a lot sooner and maybe avoided a whole lot of unpleasantness over the ensuing centuries...just saying !!
Europe is still divided between the Germans and the Romans.
Here is the German Press release from the Professors:
http://www.lwl.org/LWL/Kultur/WMfA_AfB/film_olfen/
Here is a film with the artifacts found on display:
http://www.lwl.org/023-download/Internetversionen/Olfen2011/Olfen_NEU_540x303.mp4
at 3:37 you can actually see the moat in the excavation pit.
German “tribes”? Do they have a BGA (Bureau of German Affairs) in Italy?
If civilisation by conquest is such a dandy idea, then where is the Roman Empire today?
It’s gone. Just like the British and the Spanish Empires. But the fact remains that civilization - by that I mean transportation infrastructure, learning, technology, improved life expectancy, etc. - advanced wherever the Romans conquered. It’s a fact of history, friend. The region in northern and eastern Europe that was not conquered by the Romans stayed barbaric for a very long time. And some historians I have read hold that that is one reason Europe has never been able to unite.
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