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Battles with unknown locations - otto312944 - 02-14-2012
All
Are there any other battles sites, whose locations are unknown or not verified (other than watling st)? I know this is a specifically roman forum, but please consider other belligerents (Greek, Persians, medieval etc.)
Re: Battles with unknown locations - Tormenta - 02-14-2012
A lot of it. Change in terrain(by humans and nature) over the centuries made battle sites difficult to locate.
Re: Battles with unknown locations - Nathan Ross - 02-14-2012
Surprisingly, perhaps, given the frequency of battles in the ancient world, very few actual sites are known, and even those (Kalkriese, or Harzhorn in Germany, or Maiden Castle in Britain, for example) are often controversial in their identification and dating.
The unhelpfully-named 'battle of Watling street' continues to excite speculation due to the unusually detailed campaign narrative that surrounds it - Mons Graupius in Scotland, also narrated by Tacitus, has received similar interest over the years. There are doubtless a great many other battle sites in Britain alone (the Medway crossing and Colchester during the invasion of AD43, plus a host of others in Wales and the north) not to mention the rest of the empire, but without even the vague coordinates supplied by literature they might only be located by accident...
Even those battles whose sites are known with some degree of certainty (first and second Bedriacum, or Cremona, in AD69, for instance) have seldom, I believe, turned up anything that would enable the battle itself to be accurately reconstructed, beyond the details already given in written sources.
Re: Battles with unknown locations - Gaius Julius Caesar - 02-14-2012
Love the title of this...raises the image of 2 armies wandering around trying to find the battle site! :-)
Sorry, but seriously, if you ever go to Bennachie, you will not doubt it is the battle site, as it fits Tacitus description to the T.
Re: Battles with unknown locations - ValentinianVictrix - 02-14-2012
One of the best recorded ancient battles, Adrianopolis 378AD, battle site currently not known.
Re: Battles with unknown locations - Flavivs Aetivs - 02-14-2012
Quote:One of the best recorded ancient battles, ASdrianopolis 378AD, battle site currently not known.
Didn't you go to Erdine to find the Roman Army Camp? Or was that someone else?d
Also, probably one of the most famous unknown battle sites is the LEgendary and somewhat mythical Battle of Badon hill, which has multiple possible locations.
I can't think of many but often the Largest battles are the ones we don't find, e.g. Adrianopolis as mentioned above and The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451 is another large one.
Hydatius and Merobaudes both reference to a battle of "Snake Mountain" or "Mons Colubrarius" in 438 fought in the Area of Arles and Narbonne.
That's all I can think of, did they ever locate the site where Strausbourg was fought?
Re: Battles with unknown locations - Ghostmojo - 02-14-2012
You might be interested in this thread Steven:
http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat.html?func=view&catid=25&id=304132
Re: Battles with unknown locations - ValentinianVictrix - 02-14-2012
Yes, I believe I have found the site of Valen's camp, but finding the actual battlefield is another matter entirely.
Re: Battles with unknown locations - Flavivs Aetivs - 02-14-2012
Ammianus records they had to march... I think it was 8 miles but I cant remember exactly if someone could look that up that would be great i dont have a copy of ammianus on me right now.
Re: Battles with unknown locations - starman2012 - 07-07-2012
IMO they should give priority to locating the site of Abrittus or Forum Terebronii 251 CE. It's around Razgrad Bulgaria but AFAIK hasn't been found. It might prove to be the most revealing site ever. The entire army of Decius, and the emperor himself, are said to have perished and sunk in a bog. Unlike other sites, where the armor and clothing was available to victors and locals hence unavailable to archeologists, Abrittus might preserve the gear of hundreds hence shed much needed light on the third century army.
Re: Battles with unknown locations - Robert Vermaat - 07-09-2012
Noreia in Austria (Romans vs. Cimri/Teutones) is another big one. But I'm sure that more battlefields from that era are unlocated yet?
Re: Battles with unknown locations - starman2012 - 07-12-2012
It would be great to locate the sites of Misiche and the battle involving Alexander's southern column--might shed more light on these obscure engagements.