Roman Military Presence Research Articles

The Roman army in Central Portugal: Reassessing the archaeological evidence of two possible military sites

Following a complementary non-invasive analysis including satellite and aerial imagery, as well as UAV-based photogrammetric and LiDAR surveys, this paper presents and discusses the Roman military evidence identified at Alto do Golado (São Pedro do Sul) and Modedufe (Lamego). Though the archaeological remains of these sites have been partly noticed before, undetected relevant aspects resulted in misinterpretations, which are now reassessed in this study. Constituting the first known evidence of the Roman army in the region located between the Vouga and Douro rivers, further analysis of computed GIS models resulted in some hypotheses regarding mobility, visibility and territorial control. Ultimately, this paper also stresses the importance and the need for additional, invasive archaeological research to validate these hypotheses and, consequently, contribute to a better understanding not only of the sites here discussed but also of the Roman military presence in Western Iberia.

Reading the History of the Roman Fort in Apsaros (Autonomous Republic of Adjara, Georgia) from a Numismatic Perspective / Odczytując historię rzymskiego fortu w Apsaros (Adżarska Republika Autonomiczna, Gruzja) z perspektywy numizmatycznej

An analysis of coin finds recovered in recent years from the area of the former Roman fort in Apsaros (Gonio, Georgia), allows us to look at the periodization of the history of the Roman military presence in this place from a new perspective. The chronological structure of silver and bronze coins, including those found individually, in hoards and in small foundation deposits, clearly indicates the existence of only a few stages of increased coin inflow in the almost two-hundred-year history of the presence of Roman army units in Apsaros. All of them coincide with important military events in the East and seem to be a testimony to the periodic concentration of Roman troops in the fort. Between the waves of monetary inflow, one can easily observe periods in which coins only reached Apsaros to a limited extent. The aim of the paper is an attempt to interpret the main waves of coins entering the fort in Apsaros in a historical context.

The Roman Military Presence On The Berezan Island

In the article, some categories of items found at Berezan island and testifying the Roman military presence are discussed. The proposal for accommodation of Roman troops units on the island are confirmed in the form of: architectural remains, some types of amphorae, a bronze eagle, medical instruments, numismatic material and Roman military ammunition.

O Penedo dos Lobos: Roman military activity in the uplands of the Galician Massif (Northwest Iberia)

ABSTRACT A new Roman military site was recently detected in Galicia, Spain, an area where the army presence had been challenging to trace until date. O Penedo dos Lobos is a playing-card shaped camp with very distinctive, fortified entrances. The archaeological survey conducted on this site in the summer of 2018 allowed us to recover some elements of Roman militaria, as well as numismatic evidence dating back to late 1st c. BC, thus suggesting a connection with the Cantabrian-Asturian Wars of Augustan times. However, there is still some uncertainty regarding the specific task undertaken by the military contingent that occupied this site. Besides its historical implications, a focus will be given to the methodology applied for the archaeological survey of this site. This has shed new light on the Roman military presence in Galicia, allowing its integration into wider European debates on Roman conquest and expansion.

Following the Roman Army between the Southern Foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains and the Northern Plains of Castile and León (North of Spain): Archaeological Applications of Remote Sensing and Geospatial Tools

Sixty-six new archaeological sites have been discovered thanks to the combined use of different remote sensing techniques and open access geospatial datasets (mainly aerial photography, satellite imagery, and airborne LiDAR). These sites enhance the footprint of the Roman military presence in the northern fringe of the River Duero basin (León, Palencia, Burgos and Cantabria provinces, Spain). This paper provides a detailed morphological description of 66 Roman military camps in northwestern Iberia that date to the late Republic or early Imperial eras. We discuss the different spatial datasets and GIS tools used for different geographic contexts of varied terrain and vegetation. Finally, it stresses out the relevance of these novel data to delve into the rationale behind the Roman army movements between the northern Duero valley and the southern foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains. We conclude that methodological approaches stimulated by open-access geospatial datasets and enriched by geoscientific techniques are fundamental to understand the expansion of the Roman state in northwestern Iberia during the 1st c. BC properly. This renewed context set up a challenging scenario to overcome traditional archaeological perspectives still influenced by the cultural-historical paradigm and the pre-eminence of classical written sources.

Trauma and Its Ancient Literary Representation: Mark 5,1–20

AbstractThis article revisits Mark 5,1–20 from the perspective of trauma theory, in light of historical contexts of Gerasa’s collective trauma and the cultural contexts of ancient perceptions of demons and their exorcism. The interplay between individual and collective levels of the story sheds light on symbolic overtones of an unresolved trauma about Roman military presence in the country of the Gerasenes. The story represents this trauma through literary indirection, including not only the enigmatic relation between “Legion” and the drowning swine, but also the paradoxical contrasts between individual and collective requests to Jesus. Mark 5,1–20 evokes meanings not only as pre-Markan tradition, but also as Markan redaction which intersect in crucial ways with the prelude to Jerusalem’s destruction (68–70 C.E.).

The Roman Military Presence at Dalswinton, Dumfriesshire: a Reassessment of the Evidence from Aerial, Geophysical and LiDAR Survey

ABSTRACTThe Roman military presence at Dalswinton is reassessed using a range of remote sensing techniques (geophysical survey, LiDAR and aerial photography). At Bankfoot the absence of internal buildings suggests the postulated vexillation fortress was a more temporary structure; while numerous pits/ovens were identified across the interior of the large Stracathro-type camp. The primary fort at Bankhead was provided with in-turned entrances and two small annexes attached to the north-west and south-east quadrants of the fort. A third much larger annexe extended southwards down to the river. Only pits and furnaces were recorded within the annexes, two of which were expanded in Phase 2. Various buildings, including legionary and auxiliary barracks, were identified in the expanded fort of Phase 2, whose orientation remained unchanged. A mixed garrison of legionaries and auxiliary cavalry is indicated for both periods of occupation. Finally, the fort was deliberately demolished. The Roman attribution of the three nearby enclosures at Butterhole Brae can no longer be supported.

Roman military presence in Chersonesus Tauric (Cherson): international status of the city, warfare and the status of the garrison (100 bc – 500 ad)

Roman military presence in Chersonesus Tauric (Cherson): international status of the city, warfare and the status of the garrison (100 bc – 500 ad)

Regarding one Rare Roman Amphorae Type from Tyras

The paper deals with the publication of amphorae finds from Tyras classified as the early variant of type VIII according to A. Opaiţ. These vessels are attributed as one of the rarest varieties of the late Roman pottery ware. In Tyras these vessels are represented by several fragments of profile parts. Their center of production has not been localized yet. However judging by the visually distinct features of the clay composition, one can assume that they were made in the Eastern Mediterranean. The morphological features indicate that these amphorae were intended for transportation and storage of wine. The spread area of such vessels is the territory of provinces Moesia Superior and Moesia Inferior. They are very rare in the North Pontic region. The only known sample was found at the “Sovkhoz 10” cemetery located in the vicinity of Chersonesus. Almost all amphorae of this type were found during the excavations of Roman military camps or cities, where Roman soldiers were stationed during the 2nd — 3rd centuries CE. Such a distribution of findings is hardly accidental and may be related to the provision of Roman military contingents. That observation may also apply to Tyras, where the vexillatio was shifted from the Moesia Inferior since the beginning of the 2nd century CE. The Roman military presence in the city is evidenced by the epigraphic and archaeological data. Perhaps, the variety of transport amphorae under study occurred in Tyras together with Roman soldiers from Moesia Inferior when shifting the vexillatio or during further rotations of troops during the 2nd — first half of the 3rd century CE. It is also likely that the wine contained in these vessels was imported from the Lower Danube River region as a result of mediatorial commercial trade.

ROMAN ARMY IN DURA EUROPOS AND THE SEVERAN PARTHIAN CAMPAIGNS

The article deals with the problem of Roman military presence in Dura Europos in the context of the Parthian campaigns of the Severan dynasty and Roman foreign policy in the East. Due to its geographical position, the town of Dura Europos was quite an important military site in the Seleucid, Parthian and Roman periods. Dura was held briefly by the Romans under Trajan and was later captured by Lucius Verus. Dura was relativaly easy to defend, and that value of the city justified the effort to hold it. In the Roman period, after the campaign of Lucius Verus, the city became a garrison on Rome’s eastern frontier. Very little is known about the first decades of Roman presence in Palmyra. The garrison appears to have been not very large. In the Age of the Severan dynasty, the garrison consisted of the vexillations of the legions that were regularly settled in the province of Syria Coelae. That included Legio IV Scythica and Legio XVI Flavia Firma. The presence of the Legio III Gallica and Legio III Cyrenaica in the city during the years 216 – 220 CE can be strongly connected with the Parthian campaigns of Caracalla. The main attachments in the city were cohors XX Palmynerorum and the vexillations of the legions settled in the province of Syria Coelae. The papyri documents left by the soldiers and officers of the Cohors help us to reconstruct not only the daily life and the economy of the Roman Army in the East, but they also provide us with information about the military activity of its soldiers including the wars against Parthia. The author analyzes chronology of the possible appearance of the institute of dux ripae and states, that the only information about the office of the military command of the region before the 240 CE comes from an assumption that was made by M. Rostovtzeff, who believed that the dipinto from the palace of the dux could be used as a source to date the appearance of that office. Nerveless, the papyrological material finds the earliest mentions about this command only in the 240-s CE. The existing evidence can be used to date this office as by the time of military expeditions of Caracalla and Macrin against Parthia or the other possible variant are the late Severan wars with the Sasanian Persia. The author concludes that the military garrison was increased at the beginning of the third century CE – the fact that was recorded with a number of epigraphical and papyrological sources. The archaeological sources help us to verify this information for we can see how the military camp expanded in that period that was also followed with an amount of building activity in the area. The soldiers that served in the garrison took an important part in Rome’s policy in the East.

La conquista de Asturias por Roma: una nueva perspectiva

The ancient evidence does not clarify the Roman military presence in Asturias during the period of the Asturian-Cantabrian wars. Somenthing similar happens to the archaeological remains. Therefore we think the military actions could be developed in the Cantabrian mountain range (into the territory of the Asturian people) and in the littoral strip (the participation of the Roman fleet). The hinterland could have been controlled afterwards through communication routes. The design of these routes was done after the end of the wars and was consolidated in times of Augustus’ successors.

Gonio (Apsaros) in Adjara: excavation of a Roman fort. Interim reporton the first season of the Polish–Georgian archaeological expedition

The Roman fort of Apsaros in Gonio (Adjara, Georgia) still holds answers to many issues connected with the Roman military presence on the Chorokhi river in ancient Colchis. In 2014, a Polish team joined the Georgian expedition to carry out excavation in two sectors diretly east of the centrally located principia. The sites were chosen based on a study of the results of geophysical prospection carried out in 2012. Two phases, dated to the early and late Roman periods respectively, were recorded. The early Roman architecture was interpreted as part of the installations and structures of a large bathhouse (balneae), including a mosaic floor in one of the rooms. The building was destroyed at least twice, most likely in a catastrophic fire. The article discusses the stratigraphy and the dating of the early Roman balneae based on glass artifacts and coins.

Hadrian’s Wall in Context: A Multi-Proxy Palaeoenvironmental Perspective from Lakes

AbstractThe Hadrian’s Wall area has more pollen sequences spanning Late Antiquity than any other part of the British Isles, but most are from peat bogs, posing problems of distinguishing between changes in the local wetland vegetation and events in the wider landscape. Here, an alternative perspective is offered by multi-proxy analyses of sediments from two lakes—Crag Lough and Grindon Lough—adjacent to the central sector of Hadrian’s Wall and the Stanegate, respectively. These demonstrate that at least the central sector of the Hadrianic frontier was constructed in a landscape already shaped by two millennia of woodland clearance, burning, farming and soil erosion. Roman military presence led to changes in agricultural and settlement patterns, but the overall impact, from an environmental perspective, was minor compared to that of prehistoric peoples. Roman withdrawal led to a relaxation in land use intensity, resulting in woodland regeneration on areas least favourable to agriculture, probably encouraged by climatic deterioration. The landscape, overall, remained predominantly open and agricultural, however, resembling that of the Late Iron Age. A multi-proxy multi-site approach offers the greatest prospect of understanding environmental and landscape changes connected with Roman military presence and withdrawal, and the varied spatial and temporal scales on which they occurred.

Una cohorte hispana en el desierto del Néguev, a la luz de un hallazgo reciente

A fragmented statue with a bilingual inscription, found in the Negev desert, throws new light on the Roman military presence in the ancient Nabataean kingdom. The statue's features identify the Greek war goddess with the Nabataean goddess Alat. The Latin inscription mentions a soldier from the very little known Cohors VI Hispanorum.