Where did the famous battle between the Romans and the Germans take place in AD 9? Metallurgical test results now refer again to Kalkriese in the Osnabrück region as the scene of the Varus Battle. Comparisons of the chemical signatures in metal finds show that the 19th Legion was involved in the conflict found there. It is historically recorded that this unit was part of the Roman army that was destroyed by the Germans at the Varus Battle.
"Quinctilius Varus, give back the legions!" This exclamation is attributed to the Roman Emperor Augustus in the face of the devastating defeat in AD 9. It is considered a turning point in the efforts of the ancient great power to subdue Germania. According to historical records, the fighters of the Cheruscan Arminius managed to completely destroy three Roman legions under Publius Quinctilius Varus. Where exactly this happened in northern Germania, however, is not clear from the Roman sources and the location of the events is still not clearly clarified.
The most likely location, however, is Kalkriese in the district of Osnabrück. Because numerous finds show that a Roman army unit fought there. This led to the founding of a Varus Battle Museum in Kalkriese. However, the traces there could not be clearly assigned to the famous Roman defeat. A military action could also be considered, which took place six years later as part of the Roman campaign of revenge under Germanicus. In order to gain further information, the research project "Kalkriese as the site of the Varus battle? – an ongoing controversy”. Within this framework, researchers from the Bochum Mining Museum, Leibniz Research Museum for Georesources, and the Varus Battle Museum used a metallurgical detection method.
Comparison of metallurgical fingerprints
The approach is based on the fact that Roman non-ferrous metals such as bronze and brass have a characteristic composition of trace elements that depend on the place of manufacture. These substances got into the metals through the original ores, various additives during processing or even through adhesions on the tools. These metallurgical fingerprints can be recorded in Roman non-ferrous metal objects by analyzing them using mass spectrometry. It had already been shown before that the signatures can also be assigned to legion locations and thus to the equipment of the respective units. On-site processing led the legions to develop a characteristic pattern in the composition of the trace elements in their metallic equipment.
The scientists have now used the detection method based on these signatures in the case of Kalkriese. They examined the finds of non-ferrous metal objects at seven known legionary sites. The focus was primarily on the 19th Legion, which was known to be involved in the Varus Battle and had been stationed in Dangstetten in southern Germany three years before the Varus Battle. In addition, the non-ferrous metals were examined by legions that only later took part in the Roman vendettas in Germania. "Over a period of two years, we took and analyzed around 550 samples," says Annika Diekmann from the German Mining Museum in Bochum. "In this way, we were able to assign a separate, legion-specific metallurgical fingerprint to the legions, for which we know the storage locations at which they were stationed." Specifically, it became clear that the metallurgical signature of the 19th Legion differed from those of the other legions. The scientists were then able to compare the findings with those from the finds of Roman non-ferrous metals from Kalkriese.
Another indication of Kalkriese as a location
It turned out: "When comparing the finds from Kalkriese with the objects from the other places, we find that the finds from Dangstetten and Kalkriese show significant similarities. The finds that come from legion sites whose legions did not perish in the Varus Battle, on the other hand, differ significantly from those from Kalkriese - they show significant differences. We can thus identify the 19th Legion in Kalkriese,” the researchers summarize the results of the investigation so far.
You now see in the findings a clear indication that military conflicts as part of the Varus Battle actually took place in Kalkriese. "As a research museum of the Leibniz Association, it is an asset for our work to be able to show that material science analyzes can offer a valuable contribution to historical research," says Michael Prange from the German Mining Museum in Bochum. However, as the team emphasizes, there is still a need for research and the evaluation of the data obtained is not yet complete. “But the results are already another strong indication of Kalkriese as the site of the Varus Battle. For archaeology, the analysis via legion-specific metallurgical fingerprints is a huge opportunity and opens up completely new possibilities," says Stefan Burmeister from the Varus Battle Museum.