Archaeologists recently made a colossal discovery: They found an ancient Roman mass grave, dating back to the first-century A.D., underneath a soccer field in Vienna.
The necropolis was found by construction crews working in the Vienna neighborhood of Simmering last October. The discovery was unknown to the world until the Vienna Museum announced it on Apr. 2.
The 129 bodies, which were likely a mix of Roman soldiers and Germanic tribesmen, were found in total. Dislocated bones were also found at the site, meaning that as many as 150 victims’ remains were found, the Associated Press reported.
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The discovery, which dates back to between 80 and 130 A.D., is the largest of its kind in Central Europe.
It is also the first-known mass grave of Roman soldiers and Germanic tribes in Vienna.
What made the discovery particularly unusual was the fact that any Roman soldiers were found at all, the experts said.
Soldiers were typically cremated until the third century, they said.
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“Within the context of Roman acts of war, there are no comparable finds of fighters,” excavation leader said Michaela Binder, as the Vienna Museum shared.
“There are huge battlefields in Germany where weapons were found.”
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“But finding the dead — that is unique for the entire Roman history.”
The victims were all male, and their remains were haphazardly scattered around, implying that they were hastily dumped.
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Experts have also been able to identify head, pelvis and torso injuries from the bones.
“They have various different battle wounds, which rules out execution. It is truly a battlefield,” Vienna archaeologist Kristina Adler-Wölfl said, as the AP reported.
“There are wounds from swords, lances; wounds from blunt trauma.”
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Archaeologists used carbon-14 dating to determine the age of the bones while also consulting the artifacts, which included armor and helmet cheek protectors.
“The most likely theory at the moment is that this is connected to the Danube campaigns of Emperor Domitian — that’s 86 to 96 A.D.,” Adler-Wölfl said.
Though one victim has been confirmed as a Roman warrior so far, the examination of the bones will continue, the scientists said.
The archaeologists hope to paint a fuller picture of the soldiers and which sides each of them fought on.
The experts at the Vienna Museum shared a public presentation of the details last week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
