Discovery was just a click away. Archaeological researchers from the University of Oxford have put the mouse on remains of the Roman Empire. Dr. Michael Fradley discovered three fortified camps on satellite images using Google Earth.
These facilities could help learn more about the Roman campaign that led to the annexation of the Nabataean kingdom in AD 106. They are located in eastern Jordan, including one on the border with Saudi Arabia.
According to this expert on the Roman army, the fortresses of this civilization showed how Rome held a province, but “the temporary camps reveal how they acquired it in the first place,” he says.
on-site investigation
While the ownership of these structures is beyond doubt, their dating is not set in stone. In the works published this Saturday in the newspaper AntiquityProfessor Andrew Wilson believes that if these are buildings dating to the early 2nd century, the ease with which the Romans conquered the area could be called into question.
The three discovered camps are defense facilities and form a straight line to Dumat Al-Djandal, a city in Saudi Arabia. This arrangement suggests that “Rome’s annexation of the Nabataean kingdom was not an easy task”, Andrew Wilson believes.
Now it is necessary to carry out investigations in situ to define with certainty the date of construction of these fortified camps, whose level of conservation is impressive. It’s “really remarkable,” according to Michael Fradley. Who concludes: “It is amazing that we can observe this historical phenomenon taking place at the scale of a landscape.”
Source: BFM TV
