Archaeologists Found an Ancient Roman Military Camp Hiding 7,000 Feet High in the Sky

Popular Mechanics ^ | September 6, 2024 | Tim Newcomb

[SunkenCiv]

Since 2021, a team from the University of Basel has researched the landscape in the Crap Ses area between Cunter and Tiefencastel in collaboration with the Graubünden Archaeological Service... Using a high-resolution digital terrain model and LiDAR data, the team investigated the hilltop site. LiDAR features laser scanning of the ground to show even slight height differences in the terrain as a grayscale image, and in the Colm la Runga corridor, it revealed the profile of the artificial fortification of the hilltop.

Resting undisturbed for two millenia 7,000 feet high in the Swiss Alps, the previously unknown Roman military camp was fortified by three ditches and a wall with ramparts. The site of the camp offers a view of four key valleys—Landwassertal, Albulatal, Domleschg, and Surses—and Lenzerheide, a heavily traveled mountain passageway. The perch gave Roman soldiers stationed at the camp a perfect vantage point to spot any incoming enemies.

A team of students from the University of Basel joined volunteers in August to research the structures inside the wall-ditch system. So far, the find has yielded weapons and equipment belonging to Roman soldiers, including lead sling bullets and boot nails. The slingshot lead bears the stamp of the 3rd Legion, which was involved in the battle at Crap Ses, giving experts an obvious tie between the ancient battlefield and the newly discovered military camp. The dating of the artifacts also links the camp to the same period as the battlefield, roughly 2,000 years ago.

The discovery helps experts track the advancement of Roman forces 2,000 years ago with precision, showing their movement from Bergell over the Septimer Pass to the Tiefencastel area and from there toward Chur and the Alpine Rhine Valley.

[allendale]

The Romans understood what Americans have seemed to forgotten. Controlling barbarians however difficult and expensive is mandatory if civilization is to exist and prosper. Ever wonder what the Romans would have thought of “defund the police” Democrats, “deincarceration”, and how the Democrats govern the big cities they control?

[Rockingham]

The sling bullets with Third Legion stamps are an interesting find in that slingers were prized military specialists for the Romans and could harass and injure adversaries at a distance. Sling bullets projected from a fortified position on high ground would have been a secure, highly effective, and economical way to disrupt and prevent the passage of undesirable people, even if they were on horseback. It would be interesting to see where and in what numbers expended sling bullets from the Third Legion might be found in that area.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Thanks, SC.

Info from Wiki about slings…

Whereas stones and clay objects thought by many archaeologists to be sling-bullets are common finds in the archaeological record, slings themselves are rare. This is both because a sling's materials are biodegradable and because slings were lower-status weapons, rarely preserved in a wealthy person's grave.

The oldest-known surviving slings—radiocarbon dated to c. 2500 BC—were recovered from South American archaeological sites on the coast of Peru. The oldest-known surviving North American sling—radiocarbon dated to c. 1200 BC—was recovered from Lovelock Cave, Nevada.

The oldest known extant slings from the Old World were found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, who died c. 1325 BC. A pair of finely plaited slings were found with other weapons. The sling was probably intended for the departed pharaoh to use for hunting game.

Another Egyptian sling was excavated in El-Lahun in Al Fayyum Egypt in 1914 by William Matthew Flinders Petrie, and is now in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology—Petrie dated it to c. 800 BC. It was found alongside an iron spearhead. The remains are broken into three sections. Although fragile, the construction is clear: it is made of bast fibre (almost certainly flax) twine; the cords are braided in a 10-strand elliptical sennit and the cradle seems to have been woven from the same lengths of twine used to form the cords.

Ancient Greek lead sling bullets with a winged thunderbolt moulded on one side and the inscription "ΔΕΞΑΙ" (Dexai) meaning 'take that' or 'catch' on the other side, 4th century BC, from Athens, British Museum.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks! Jogs the memory a little, I think we had a topic about a slingstone found at an ancient battle site. Hmm...

https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4210242/posts
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4116991/posts

[faucetman]

“Archaeologists Found an Ancient Roman Military Camp Hiding 7,000 Feet High in the Sky”

Did they find Comma-La’s cloud?

Wait, don’t Archaeologists dig in the ground? NOT the sky.

A lot of “skyhooks”?

How many Romans were still alive in camp?

They called it “Camp Skyhook”.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“ Did they find Comma-La’s cloud?”

Lol…my first thought, too!

[Paal Gulli]

"University of Basel ... Crap Ses ... Cunter and Tiefencastel ... the Graubünden Archaeological Service"

What I wouldn't give for just a couple of 'teenths' of whatever the dudes were smoking when they made up these names.

[SuperLuminal]

Maybe it is just an ancient hadron collider built by the Romans...

[SunkenCiv]

It happened because the air is thin. :^)

[HartleyMBaldwin]

I played with slings quite a lot when I was younger, mostly throwing for distance rather than accuracy. Still have one around somewhere, parachute cord with a pouch made from an old boot tongue, but I haven’t used it in years.

[gleeaikin]

There were many fewer millions of people sitting in major
cities at sea level in those days. Many fewer trillions of dollars invested in major infrastructure there, much shorter life spans for the majority. A lot easier to move upward a few feet in a lifetime.

[MikelTackNailer]

Ancient Greek lead sling bullets with a winged thunderbolt moulded on one side and the inscription "ΔΕΞΑΙ" (Dexai) meaning 'take that' or 'catch' on the other side, 4th century BC, from Athens, British Museum.

So this brutal humor concept goes back ages:

"All your bases are belong to us."

[SunkenCiv]

:^)

[Sequoyah101]

So?

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Thanks for the pics, Mikel. I thought the exact same thing, but didn’t have time today to look them up.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I also wanted that Bio-Dome house! So flippin’ cool! :)

Obviously as a KID, I was reading Dad’s PM and PS magazines.

[MikelTackNailer]

It’s an HTML hobby that breaks up the endless texts while hopefully entertaining our fellow FReepers. When I started here over 20 years ago posting pictures was yelled at for taking up too much bandwidth and slowing down access.

While technology has improved the quality of posters has diminished as the wiser “founders” of that generation age and pass on. The mis-education system and mass media have really done a number on the general population. Seeing legions of misguided youth cheering for Islamic savages does not compute...even as I watch this “60 Minutes” special about the 9-11-2001 Towers attack with NO mention of the cause.

Stay good everybody.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

LOL! These days I’d settle for having a ‘Rosie’ to clean my house!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Oh, it’s not for everyone ELSE - it’s just for ME! :)

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“ It’s an HTML hobby that breaks up the endless texts while hopefully entertaining our fellow FReepers.”

Me, too. I usually look for relevant and offbeat images to post.