Rewriting Roman history

Skybird · 12-16-08, 08:39 AM

It was thought that after their defeat in the battle in the Teutoburger forest, the Romans retreated behind the Limes wall and never operated deep inside Germania anymore. But a new discovered, vewry huge ancient battlefield far north of the Limes, suggests that Roman armies continued to operate in strength far north of the Limes for another two hundred years.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...596720,00.html

German TV documentary news said it is maybe the greatest ancient battlefield ever discovered. Due to hundreds and hundreds of pieces found, it already rates as one of the most important finds in Roman archeology. The battlefield is at least 0.5 by 1.5 km, and probably around a thousand Romans participated. Archeologists cautiously assume that they probably have won. Since they were attacking from the North, it is concluded that Roman operations at that time still reached even farther to the North.

Thomen · 12-16-08, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skybird

It was thought that after their defeat in the battle in the Teutoburger forest, the Romans retreated behind the Limes wall and never operated deep inside Germania anymore. But a new discovered, vewry huge ancient battlefield far north of the Limes, suggests that Roman armies continued to operate in strength far north of the Limes for another two hundred years.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...596584,00.html

German TV documentary news said it is maybe the greatest ancient battlefield ever discovered. Due to hundreds and hundreds of pieces found, it already rates as one of the most important finds in Roman archeology. The battlefield is at least 0.5 by 1.5 km, and probably around a thousand Romans participated. Archeologists cautiously assume that they probably have won. Since they were attacking from the North, it is concluded that Roman operations at that time still reached even farther to the North.

Wrong link?

This one goes to some reports about the BND.

Skybird · 12-16-08, 11:41 AM

My apologies. The link is corrected now.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...596720,00.html

AntEater · 12-16-08, 11:50 AM

This sounds like the beginning of "Gladiator"

Hmmm, if you look at the Wikipedia, Maximus Thrax, the first of the soldier emperors (alledgedly 2,60 meters tall and able to drink a barrel of wine a day!) fought the "alemanni", which is generally interpreted to mean he fought somewhere in southern germany.
But perhaps the romans weren't too accurate which german tribe they were fighting or perhaps the alemanni in the third century were farther north than where they later settled and became a tribe of petty burgouis that invented the automobile (

).
Apparently Maximus Thrax gaving himself the "germanicus" title, and him being a soldier I suppose that this means he actually won a few battles there.

Problem is sources:
We don't have the abundance of written sources for the 3rd century like we do have for the 1st centuries BC and AD.
In the first century BC we often what happened every day in urban rome thanks to Cicero's letters and other classical writers.
For later times, written sources are a lot less prolific, especially about politics.
There's a lot of scientific work (grammar, philosophy, law) from that period, but hardly anything political or historical.

12-16-08, 08:39 AM	#1
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,602 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Rewriting Roman history It was thought that after their defeat in the battle in the Teutoburger forest, the Romans retreated behind the Limes wall and never operated deep inside Germania anymore. But a new discovered, vewry huge ancient battlefield far north of the Limes, suggests that Roman armies continued to operate in strength far north of the Limes for another two hundred years. http://www.spiegel.de/international/...596720,00.html German TV documentary news said it is maybe the greatest ancient battlefield ever discovered. Due to hundreds and hundreds of pieces found, it already rates as one of the most important finds in Roman archeology. The battlefield is at least 0.5 by 1.5 km, and probably around a thousand Romans participated. Archeologists cautiously assume that they probably have won. Since they were attacking from the North, it is concluded that Roman operations at that time still reached even farther to the North. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert. Last edited by Skybird; 12-16-08 at 11:42 AM.

12-16-08, 11:41 AM	#3
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,602 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	My apologies. The link is corrected now. http://www.spiegel.de/international/...596720,00.html __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.

12-16-08, 11:50 AM	#4
AntEater Grey Wolf Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Germany Posts: 936 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	This sounds like the beginning of "Gladiator" Hmmm, if you look at the Wikipedia, Maximus Thrax, the first of the soldier emperors (alledgedly 2,60 meters tall and able to drink a barrel of wine a day!) fought the "alemanni", which is generally interpreted to mean he fought somewhere in southern germany. But perhaps the romans weren't too accurate which german tribe they were fighting or perhaps the alemanni in the third century were farther north than where they later settled and became a tribe of petty burgouis that invented the automobile (). Apparently Maximus Thrax gaving himself the "germanicus" title, and him being a soldier I suppose that this means he actually won a few battles there. Problem is sources: We don't have the abundance of written sources for the 3rd century like we do have for the 1st centuries BC and AD. In the first century BC we often what happened every day in urban rome thanks to Cicero's letters and other classical writers. For later times, written sources are a lot less prolific, especially about politics. There's a lot of scientific work (grammar, philosophy, law) from that period, but hardly anything political or historical. __________________ Last edited by AntEater; 12-16-08 at 11:59 AM.