Move over Indiana Jones, the archaeologists at the University of Oxford's School of Archaeology have made a mind-blowing discovery! Using Google Earth, the team has identified not one, not two, but three Roman military camps hidden deep within the northern Arabian desert.
And it's no ordinary discovery, as the researchers speculate that this may be evidence of an undocumented military campaign by the Romans, extending from southeast Jordan all the way into Saudi Arabia.
Satellite Images Find Long Lost Camps
How did they do it? Well, the team used satellite images to uncover these long-forgotten camps. According to Dr. Michael Fradley, the lead researcher who first spotted the camps on Google Earth, they are almost certain that the camps were built by the Roman army.
The camps are shaped like playing cards, with opposing entrances on each side, and one of the camps is significantly larger than the other two.
Dr. Mike Bishop, an expert on the Roman military, hailed this discovery as a spectacular find and an important new insight into Roman campaigning in Arabia. He notes that while Roman forts and fortresses show how Rome held a province, temporary camps reveal how they obtained it in the first place.
"These camps are a spectacular new find and an important new insight into Roman campaigning in Arabia," said Bishop.
So, what's the story behind these camps? According to the team, they were built as temporary stations by the Roman army as they marched on their campaigns.
They were used for a matter of days or weeks at most, and yet, they have been remarkably well-preserved.
In an ingenious move, the Roman army built their camps along a rarely-used caravan route connecting Bayir and Dûmat al-Jandal, rather than taking the more popular path down the Wadi Sirhan.
This clever strategy allowed the Romans to catch their enemies off guard and seize control of the Nabataean Kingdom in record time following the death of King Rabbel II Soter in AD 106.
The research team suggests that a cavalry unit likely built the camps as the distance between each camp was too far from being crossed by infantry in a single day.
The barren terrain of the Arabian Desert would have required a swift mode of transportation, such as camels, to travel efficiently.
Lingering Mysteries
Although the researchers have made some interesting discoveries, there are still numerous lingering mysteries. The Western camp, in particular, is intriguing due to its notably larger scale, prompting questions about its intended function.
Did the group divide into two, and if so, where did the other segment go? Did they face defeat in a confrontation, or did they stay behind in the western camp to provide the other camps with water and supplies?
These questions, along with the actual date of the camps, are yet to be confirmed through ground investigations.
Despite the mysteries that remain, this discovery is a game-changer for our understanding of Roman history in Arabia.
According to Professor Andrew Wilson, a co-author of the paper, the discovery of these marching camps implies that the Roman acquisition of the Nabataean Kingdom may not have been as smooth as previously believed.
This finding suggests that Rome may have had to use force to take over the kingdom, whereas existing Roman records indicate that the transition of power was peaceful.
So, there you have it - a fascinating discovery that has the potential to rewrite our understanding of Roman history in Arabia. Who knows what other treasures are waiting to be unearthed in the sands of the Arabian desert?
