Human
Early Romans Built a Fort to Defend Against Pirates
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Mar 23, 2015 05:51 PM EDT
Researchers have uncovered the oldest known Roman military camp, complete with fortifications, that may have protected soldiers from pirates more than 2,000 years ago.
The Roman fort was uncovered with the help of airborne laser scanners, according to Fox News. It was found near the modern Italian city of Trieste, and may just reveal more information about how the Romans developed their army, which was among the most successful militaries in history.
Until these latest findings, the oldest known military camps were known to be in Numantia and Pedrosillo in Spain, which date back to about 154 and 155 BC. However, the recent findings show a Roman camp that was probably built in 178 BC, making in the oldest yet discovered.
"The San Rocco camp includes an area wider than 13 hectares-larger than 13 football fields-which was defended by wide ramparts and strategically located very close to the most protected natural harbor of the northern Adriatic," said Federico Bernandini, one of the investigators, in a news release. "The archaeological materials discovered inside and analyzed in our lab date its building to the first half of the second century BC, which is when the Romans conquered Istria. This makes the camps among the earliest examples of Roman military architecture in the Roman world."
The site was located at a natural protected harbor. In fact, the researchers suspect that camps were built to fend off attacks from people known as the Histri, who controlled the nearby Istrian peninsula, according to Ancient Origins.
The findings reveal a bit more about this military encampment, and show that it may have been part of defending the coast from pirates and other attackers.
The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
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First Posted: Mar 23, 2015 05:51 PM EDT
Researchers have uncovered the oldest known Roman military camp, complete with fortifications, that may have protected soldiers from pirates more than 2,000 years ago.
The Roman fort was uncovered with the help of airborne laser scanners, according to Fox News. It was found near the modern Italian city of Trieste, and may just reveal more information about how the Romans developed their army, which was among the most successful militaries in history.
Until these latest findings, the oldest known military camps were known to be in Numantia and Pedrosillo in Spain, which date back to about 154 and 155 BC. However, the recent findings show a Roman camp that was probably built in 178 BC, making in the oldest yet discovered.
"The San Rocco camp includes an area wider than 13 hectares-larger than 13 football fields-which was defended by wide ramparts and strategically located very close to the most protected natural harbor of the northern Adriatic," said Federico Bernandini, one of the investigators, in a news release. "The archaeological materials discovered inside and analyzed in our lab date its building to the first half of the second century BC, which is when the Romans conquered Istria. This makes the camps among the earliest examples of Roman military architecture in the Roman world."
The site was located at a natural protected harbor. In fact, the researchers suspect that camps were built to fend off attacks from people known as the Histri, who controlled the nearby Istrian peninsula, according to Ancient Origins.
The findings reveal a bit more about this military encampment, and show that it may have been part of defending the coast from pirates and other attackers.
The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone