1900-Year-Old Massacre Unearthed by ‘Google Maps’ Reveals Hidden Roman Camps in the Arabian Desert

Using Google Maps, archaeologists have identified three fortified Roman camp sites in northern Arabia.

A team from the University of Oxford has found locations on satellite imagery that show the outlines of camps in the Arabian Desert.

Oxford University researchers date the camps to 106 AD, believing they were used during a hostile Nabatean occupation. This is because the camps run in a straight line to Dumat al-Jandal in Saudi Arabia, which was formerly a settlement in the east of the kingdom.

The camps also have the typical deck shape of the Roman fortified camps that armies used as temporary defensive bases during campaigns.

Prior to this discovery, the Nabatean conquest was thought to have been relatively peaceful, but the camps indicate a sudden, deadly attack.

And the emperor Trajan adopted a civilization, the center of which was the city of Petra in Jordan. He wanted to exploit trade routes and resources such as spices, incense and copper.

Dr. Michael Fradley, who led the study, notes that there is no doubt that these camps were used during an invasion 1,900 years ago.

He added: “We are almost certain that they were built by the Roman army, given the typical playing card shape of camps with opposite entrances on each side. The level of preservation of the camps is really remarkable, especially since they were probably only used for a few days or weeks. The only noticeable difference between them is that the westernmost camp is much larger than the two camps to the east.”

Archaeologists believe that the camps were most likely built as temporary defensive points during expeditions.

The team is still unsure of the reason for this difference in size and has speculated that the armed forces may have split in two and one of them was killed in action.

The half that left the campaign could stay at the largest camp to help replenish water supplies for the other camps, while the other half moved forward.

Dr Mike Bishop of Oxford University, an expert on the Roman military, explains: “These camps are a startling new discovery and an important new perspective on Roman campaigns in Arabia. The Roman forts and castles show how Rome controlled the province, but the bivouacs show how they gained him first. first.”

Since the camps were 37 and 44 km (23 and 27 mi) apart, the infantry could not reach the next camp in a day on foot. Therefore, scholars believe that it was built by a cavalry unit capable of crossing such a wasteland in a single day, perhaps on camels.

Based on the distance between the camps, there is also speculation that a fourth camp may have been located to the west at the site of the citadel and well station of the later Umayyad Caliphate at Bayer.

It appears that “Rome moved quickly to secure the kingdom by force.” Dr. Fradley pointed out that the Roman army took the lesser known route to the Nabataeans, indicating that they were trying to strike covertly, as they “took a side caravan route linking Bayer and Dumat al-Jandal.”

This indicates a strategy to bypass the most commonly used route down Wadi Sirhan, adding an element of surprise to the attack.

After the annexation, the Romans incorporated the Nabataean kingdom into the new province of Arabia. This integration allowed the Romans to better control the valuable trade routes that passed through the region and expand their influence in the Middle East.

Further analysis of sites with unresolved issues is needed.

The full results of the study are published in the journal Antiquity.

Source: Daily Mail