Reading the neswpaper this morning I came upon this article which postulates a possible different interpretation and sequence of events of how the battle during which Varus lost his three legions to Arminius actually took place. The new theory is based upon the recent discovery of a hoard of 220 late republican denarii as well as 7 aureii, all dated around the time of the battle. The location of the find is interesting because it points to a possible different reconstruction of events, different to the classic one which describes the battle as taking place over a 3-day span during which the Legions tried desperately to get out of the ambush which Arminius had set for them. They never made it, as we all know. I apologise the article is in german - I have only scanned it rapidly myself, but hopefully some of you can find it interesting, anyway. I will see if news in english have also been published. https://www.welt.de/geschichte/arti...s-Schlacht-bei-Kalkriese-wird-umgedeutet.html
This article is from July, 2016 but talks about the aureii: https://www.forbes.com/sites/drsara...battle-of-teutoburg-forest-site/#3a2cd8d3a958
The denarii were found subsequently, in 2017, at a location which may have been a fortification used by the romans during the fight against the germanic tribes - This according to the archeologists, may indicate that the battle was not a single battle or event as the legions retreated and where decimated, but a more protracted struggle.
Always a fascinating topic @Eduard ! What devastating news this defeat must have been to the people of Rome. There are many examples of modern and well trained armies being annihilated by people who are generally considered to be undisciplined savages. Overconfidence and a lack of appreciation for the fighting abilities of their opponents have many times led to such defeats. Being an American—the Battle of the Little Big Horn and the massacre of the 7th Cavalry comes to mind (of course this is of a smaller scale as far as numbers of combatants) but when the news was released it was received with horror and disbelief by the general public.
I would expect a final stand to be either at Kalkriese or within a few days march or it, so this article does not surprise me. This photo is from their display case, certainly many Roman's were lost there.
PUBLIUS QUINCTILIUS VARUS RARE AE OF ANTIOCHEIA, SYRIA RPC 4252, SNG Cop. 92, About Very Fine / Very Fine, 20.4mm, 8.03 grams, Dated year 27 = 5/4 B.C.E. Obverse: Laureate head of Zeus to right Reverse: Tyche of Antioch seated to right, holding palm branch; below, river-god Orontes swimming right, in right field, date ZK (year 27 = 5/4 B.C.E.) This rare coin was struck during Varus' assignment as governor of Syria from 7 - 4 B.C.E. Varus guarded the borders from Parthia and violently quelled unrest in Judaea and Samaria. Josephus records an incident wherein after the death of Herod., Varus occupied Jerusalem and crucified 2,000 Jews. Later Varus was transfered to the Northern front, where he met disaster fighting the Germanic tribes in the Teutoburg forest. Three legions under his command, legions XVII, XVIII and XIX were completely annihilated. This caused emperor Augustus great grief and he was said to have cried out on occasion "Quintili Vare, legiones redde!" or "Quinctilius Varus, give me back my legions!"
Thanks for sharing. Ill be passing osnabruck during this summer holiday. Hopefully i can persuade my wife to visit the museum park in kalkriese.
