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Thiudareiks Flavius · 06-06-2001, 08:16 AM

This article appeared in a local paper in Germany on the ongoing excavations of the site of the destruction of Varus' three legions at Kalkriese in 9 AD. 
 
A rough BabbleFish translation (below) gives you an idea of what it has to say. The photo of the Augustan-period auxiliaries and the detail that the 'earthworks' the Germanic warriors built as part of their trap for Varus' column had a chalk core are interesting. The latter detail seems to indicate this trap was prepared well in advance of the uprising, rather than something thrown up as the three day battle was still going on. Clearly these 'barbarians' knew exactly what they were doing. 
 
 
Where Teutons Defeated the Romans 
 
In the pit it beeps. Carefully Axel Thiele sets a narrow 
grey box to a few limestones. " Beep! " The electronic 
drawing equipment measures the outlines of the area 
and transmits the data to a computer. What do the 
remarkable white stones mean? Why are they 
situated here? Thiele and its colleague Ingo Juedes 
measure only once. The whole is analysed later. 
Thiele operates as an excavation technician at the 
museum park Kalkriese, scarcely 20 kilometers 
northeast from Osnabrueck. Since 1989 
archaeologists examine the area - with large success. 
 
More than 3500 finds from the Roman time came 
already to the light, usually were it Kleinstteile (?) such as 
metal fragments. All tracks point out so far that before 
approximately 2000 years Roman legions fought 
here against Germanic forces. As " battle in the 
Teutoburger forest " is the blood pouring admits 
become, 'Varusschlacht' calls it the historians. 
The finds of Kalkriese terminate a discussion, which 
assumed already even historical extents. More than 
700 different theories about the place of the fight were 
in the circulation. Thus became in 19. Century the 
Hermannsdenkmal in the proximity of Detmold 
establishes, because many assumed the place of the 
battle here. Historians, in addition, hobby 
archaeologists and homeland researchers supplied 
themselves heated debates. Still today refuse 
recognizing some from them persistent, Kalkriese as 
place of the Varusschlacht. For Susanne Wilbers rust, 
which leads the excavations of Kalkriese, is certain 
against the fact that the fight course-carry here has. " 
Everything suggests " says the archaeologist. The last 
important find was an almost completely received 
mule skeleton. The animal must have 
been carried of Romans in the unit train, because 
Teutons did not have mules. Again a mosaic stone 
more, which the scientists can cause to the picture. 
 
Gusts of wind sweep leaves over the excavation. It is 
warm and drying. On the day of the battle, in the 
autumn of the yearly nine after Christ, was that 
different. At that time it rained. The water transformed 
the landscape into a morass. A Albtraum (?) for the Roman 
soldiers, who were under guidance of the commander 
Publius Quinctilius Varus in the north Germanics on 
the way. An ambush of the Germanic chieftain 
Arminius, which would enter history as Hermann of 
the Cherusker, became the Legionaeren (?) the calamity. 
 
The fight took three days. About 20,000 humans died. 
Many remnants of the battle are still underground. 
Archaeologists do not access to shovel and spade. " 
But there is to excavation technician or also student ", 
says Wilbers rust, who almost each day here outside 
on the way is. The limestones, which Thiele even with 
the drawing equipment misses, would have used the 
Teutons, in order to strengthen their protective wall, 
described Wilbers rust. The whole looks like a 
coincidentally together-poured heap of white round 
stones, approximately as klobige Ziersteine in a 
Schrebergarten. Wilbers rust laughs. " Do not think, if 
you do not see anything. That can be done to 
archaeologists exactly the same ", troestet the drawer 
woman. Only after years the view for what states 
something over an area, sharpens itself. 
 
" Which we excavate, " says Wilbers rust is a little 
wehmuetig (?). If an excavation is only once dug, the 
earth layers for the later research are lost. Each 
archaeologist must therefore have in the view that 
there could be new, improved research methods 
sometime and exactly considers themselves, where 
he sets the next excavation cut. In the places, which 
examined the archaeologists in former times, today 
visitors of the museum park Kalkriese look 
themselves over. On the grounds they can throw a 
view of the former battle area. In the exhibition, which 
is directly in a half timbered house beside it, a part of 
the finds is to be seen. Fixed one like the Roman 
days on the passed weekend obtain, as humans lived 
before 2000 years. Next year is opened a new, larger 
museum. 
 
The way of the excavation to the exhibition leads by a 
Waeldchen (?). Bird twitter mixes with engine noise. The 
federal highway direction Bram is only few meters 
distant. Before 2000 years there were here only 
Trampelpfade(?). The unit train of the Romans was 
unusually long and therefore an easy target. The 
Waeldchen (?) is exactly because of the place, where 
once the Teutons lauerten (?) 
. 
In the museum also the most precious find is to be 
seen: a metal mask, which was covered with 
silver plating originally. " The mask was not made, 
avowedly for " the war for Wilbers rust. The piece 
served probably representative purposes. Perhaps a 
Roman officer carried it during a triumph course. 
When the mask was found more than ten years ago, 
suspected no, which beauty hid itself within an 
apparent shapeless erzklumpens (?). Only the restorer 
Stephan Pat brought the origin form back to the light. 
" First the nose looked out ", tells the red-lured man. 
Gradually it opened also the remainder of the face. 
For the restorer wait still many finds, which it must 
examine. Also an end of the excavation is not in view. 
The researchers at the beginning of July in a tree 
area set the next cut. Then it beeps again at Kalkriese. 
 Tim O'Neill / Thiudareiks Flavius 

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