World's only intact Roman shield and body armour unearthed on a battlefield where Germanic tribesmen wiped out three legions in AD9 to go on display at the British Museum

Daily Mail UK ^ | December 6, 2023 | Harry Howard

[SunkenCiv]

The world's only intact Roman shield and body armour that was found in a German field after being buried for more than 2,000 years are set to go on display in a new exhibition at the British Museum.

The shield, which is on its maiden transatlantic loan from Yale University in the US, was found in Syria in the 1930s.

Although discovered in pieces, it was restored to its former glory by experts and will be seen by the British public for the first time in the Legion: life in the Roman army exhibition, which opens on February 1 next year.

The segmental body armour was discovered in 2018 in Kalkriese, north-west Germany, at the site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where three legions were wiped out by Germanic tribesmen in AD9...

The new exhibition will also reveal the real stories of legionaries through their surviving letters...

'Legion: Life in the Roman army is a chance to show different perspectives and showcase the lives of the men, women, and children who formed one of the most famous armed forces in the world.'

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

“VARUS! GIVE ME BACK MY LEGIONS!”

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Just remembered these little diddys from I Claudius...

Lord Augustus kept knocking his
head against the wall:

Lord Augustus each time bawling
As he fetched his head a crack,
“Varus, Varus, General Varus,
Give me my three Eagles back!”

Lord Augustus tore his bedclothes,
Blankets, sheet and counterpane.
“Varus, Varus, General Varus,
Give my Regiments back again!”

[SunkenCiv]

One of the times the Roman army was reorganized was after the war between Octavian and Antony. The century was reduced from 100 to 80, for operational reasons, and to increase the number of centurions (but the name was kept). As a consequence, legion size was reduced, cohort size was reduced. Duplicate legion numbers were eliminated. Overall number of legions was reduced to 28 (from 56), with the Praetorian Guard organized to serve as Rome’s police force and the imperial bodyguard. Auxiliaries were made permanent, drawn from conquered populations, and those numbered 28 legions. Enlistment lengths and terms were changed.

My guess is, the entire reorganization was the work of Octavian’s best friend and unfailing ally, Marcus Agrippa. Perhaps the only real changes from the so-called republic period into the formal Empire was the addition of the full-time chief executive and introduction of the the standing army with career soldiers, and the permanent existence of the Roman navy, with at least five major bases to sweep the seas of piracy.

Part of the reason for the endurance of the Empire was the peace through commerce model. Too bad about those plagues intercoursing up everything. Also too bad that no one tried to build an orderly system of succession until Diocletian, after the plagues and the rest of the Crisis of the 3rd Century.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I thought it was Stephen Boyd, Alec Guinness, Christopher Plummer and Gladiator Anthony Quayle, whose Gladiators fled the battle and were “decimated”.

The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) - IMDb

Yes, I remember back that far...I like to compare those two movies.

[SunkenCiv]

What ScaniaBoy & ProtectOurFreedom et al said, and it probably should have been worded differently because it is confusing, but if we ask why the editors put half the story into the headline, their response will probably be, "made ya look!" :^)

[SunkenCiv]

My pleasure!

[SunkenCiv]

I wholeheartedly agree.

[SunkenCiv]

Count on it. :^)

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“...half the story into the headline, their response will probably be, “made ya look!” :^)”

LOL...that sums it up! Nice comment.

[SunkenCiv]

Don't forget Maximinus Thrax, who should have been portrayed on screen by Andre the Giant. :^)

• Oldest Roman body armour found in Germany [10/24/2020]
• Archaeologists Find Roman Iron Age Board Game in Norway [06/13/2020]
• Bone trove in Denmark tells story of 'Barbarian' battle [06/02/2018]
• Archaeologist: We have evidence of the presence of Roman legionaries in Poland [05/28/2018]
• Archaeologists discover 'Roman Village' in Gernsheim [09/17/2015]
• Ancient Roman Military Camp Unearthed in Eastern Germany [05/18/2014]
• German battlefield yields Roman surprises [05/13/2013]
• Lost Roman camp that protected against Germanic hordes found [10/28/2011]
• New finds suggest Romans won big North Germany battle [ Maximinus Thrax ] [09/15/2010]
• Ancient Roman battlefield excavated in Lower Saxony[Germany] [12/12/2008]
• Report: Ancient Roman graveyard found in suburban Copenhagen [10/11/2007]
• Crystal Amulet Poses Question On Early Christianity (Denmark - 100AD) [03/09/2007]
• Graves Hint At Contact With Romans (Sweden) [11/09/2006]
• An Army Sacrificed in a Bog [ Alken, Denmark, 2K ago ] [07/11/2012]
• Near Army construction site in Germany, a trove of ancient Roman artifacts [09/24/2009]

[SunkenCiv]

:^)

[Red Badger]

Andre the Giant.....................He’s dead, Jim..............

[Chode]

yes 2, but the writing is the usual DM gibberish

[Chode]

thx, typical DM writting

[Chode]

*

[Chode]

yup, and it IS the DM... 8^)

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“the writing is the usual DM gibberish”

Yes, but look on the bright side. The DM didn’t declare the discovery to be “SHOCKING.”

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

semper in mundis interulus - my mom

[SunkenCiv]

Perfect, so’s Maximinus Thrax! :^)

[Billthedrill]

It's all well and good until you add a gladius and a helmet to the mix and the thing reanimates in the museum at midnight and goes around hacking and slashing the museum staffers, a sepulchral voice intoning "Varus! Where are my leggings?"

I get all my history from horror movies.