First Roman marching camps discovered in Saxony-Anhalt

"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."

"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."

Four Roman marching camps were discovered in Saxony-Anhalt, providing the first archaeological evidence of Roman legions reaching the Elbe River in the 3rd century. They are the northeasternmost camps found in Germania. Roman campaigns after Augustus' failed conquest and the Teutoburg disaster were largely confined to the Limes and were mainly defensive or punitive. Written accounts of operations in free Germania are sparse and unreliable, making archaeological evidence crucial. Satellite imagery and aerial surveys revealed standardized marching-camp layouts, which feature rectangular enclosures with rounded corners, orthogonal interior roads, a principia, and titulum defenses. Geophysical surveys and metal-detecting fieldwork verified sites near Aken, Trabitz, and Deersheim.

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