First Roman marching camps discovered in Saxony-Anhalt

The remains of four Roman marching camps have been discovered in Saxony-Anhalt, the first archaeological evidence of Roman legions reaching the Elbe River in the 3rd century. They are the northeasternmost camps ever found in Germania.

After the Emperor Augustus (r. 27 B.C. – 14 A.D.) tried and failed to conquer the Germanic tribes east of the Rhine, meeting Rome’s Waterloo at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 A.D., Roman military campaigns in Germania were largely kept within the boundary lines (Limes) of the Empire. They were defensive in response to incursions and punitive to deter future incursions.

Ancient sources do document campaigns in Germania libera (“free Germany”), but they’re sparse and of questionable reliability. Archaeological evidence is of paramount importance, therefore, to determine the accuracy of the historical accounts and get a fuller picture of Roman campaigns in Germany beyond the Limes.

Working with volunteer archaeologists, the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt (LDA) used satellite imagery followed by aerial surveys to identify marching camps by marks left on the landscape.

Roman camps were highly standardized facilities. The typical rectangular camp enclosure had rounded corners. From the gates, the main camp roads, laid out at right angles, led into the interior. At the intersection of these roads stood the headquarters building, the principia. A characteristic feature of marching camps is the so-called titulum – a segment of ditch with a rampart located in front of the gate passages. The standardized ground plans can be clearly distinguished from other prehistoric or historic structures recorded in aerial photographs.

By examining aerial and satellite images, archaeologists identified two potential marching camps near Aken, one near Trabitz and one near Deersheim. They followed up with geophysical surveys and metal detector exploration of the sites.

During the metal prospecting, over 1,500 individual finds were detected and recorded. The majority of the finds are iron objects. The proportion of clearly identifiable modern material can be described as relatively small. The high number of nails and bolts is striking. Several fibula fragments and coins, which aid in dating the sites, were also recovered.

The geophysical measurements not only confirmed the information obtained from the aerial photographs but also substantially expanded it. While the entire structure was captured in the survey image in Deersheim, the presence of a titulum and a rounded corner of the ditch was confirmed in Trabitz.

Targeted excavations confirmed the findings, uncovering Roman V-shaped defensive ditches at all four locations. Radiocarbon dating results revealed the camps were created at the beginning of the 3rd century. Coins found there date to the same period.

The State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt is continuing its intensive research on the newly discovered Roman marching camps, promising entirely new insights into the presence of Roman troops in the Middle Elbe-Saale region. Should it be confirmed that the campaigns date back to the time of Emperor Caracalla, then the views of historians—who place Caracalla’s Germanic wars only in the immediate vicinity of the Limes—would need to be revised.

* This article was originally published here