Sometime between the mid-1st century and the early 2nd century AD, the Roman legion clashed with Germanic warriors near the Danube during an angry battle. Nearly two thousand years later, terrible evidence of this bloody incident was revealed.
Last October, construction workers discovered a large-scale grave while renovating the stadium in Vienna. Experts from the Vienna Municipal Archaeology Department and archaeological service provider Novetus GmbH revealed that human remains are likely to belong to soldiers who died in battles involving the Roman legion. The discovery and analysis were detailed in the Vienna Museum statement issued on Wednesday.
Veronica Kaup-Hasler, Executive Municipal Cultural and Scientific Commissioner for the City of Vienna, said in a statement: “In Vienna, people always encounter Roman traces once they open the sidewalk or open the earth. Vindobona is an ancient Roman military camp and settlement that will one day become Vienna. “In this regard, the real feeling is the discovery of a Roman mass grave.” [a district in Vienna]. This unique testimony allows us to see the beginning of urban history from a different perspective. ”
Large-scale graves include human remains belonging to approximately 150 people. According to the initial investigation, they were both men between the ages of 20 and 30, with little evidence of infectious diseases. Experts also point out that dental health is very good. Although dentists would be proud of it, the strong teeth did not protect them from daggers, spears, swords, projectiles and other weapons, which proved to be the cause of their death.
“Based on the arrangement of bones and the fact that they are all male remains, it can be ruled out that the site is related to a hospital or similar facility, or that the epidemic is the cause of death. The damage to the bones can obviously be attributed to combat.”
It seems that the injury is not enough evidence, and they also unearthed armor scales, spear tips, helmet cheek fragments, shoe nails and gravel daggers. Daggers have proven to be especially useful when dating bodies. Christopher Öllerer, deputy head of the Vienna Urban Archaeology Department, explained that X-ray images of the sheath reveal typical ancient Roman decoration: clearly linking the silver thread of the dagger to the relationship between the mid-AD and the early second century. These dates highlight the rareness of this finding.
“Because cremation was common in Europe of the Roman Empire, it was around 100 AD [CE]unpopularity is the absolute exception. Therefore, the discovery of Roman skeletons during this period was extremely rare.
This discovery is also important at the local level, as it represents the first direct archaeological evidence of the battle along the Danube, which is part of the eastern border of the Roman Empire. From 81-96 AD, the Domitian Emperor’s rule was a battle between the Roman legion and the Germanic tribes along the border of the empire, which likely prompted Emperor Trajan to decide after a short period of time to expand the limes of the Danube. According to the statement, so far, these conflicts have been witnessed only by historical sources.
The battle that took place thousands of years ago “so it may be the reason for the expansion of the former small military base to the Legionnaires camps- not more than seven kilometers yet [4.35 miles] From the site,” explained Martin Mosser, an archaeologist at the Department of Urban Archaeology, “so this may reveal the beginning of Vienna’s urban history. ”
