Kalkriese

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Kalkriese is a 157-meter high hill in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is hard to pass along Kalkriese's northern slope because one has to cross many deep brooks and rivulets. To the north of the Kalkriese is a large wetland, which stretches north for a large distance. It is a presumed archaeological site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. It is assumed that saltus Teutoburgiensis (Latin for Teutoburg Forest) could refer to a strip of cultivated land with a width of 220 m between Kalkriese and a great bog.[1]

Since the beginning of the official explorations in 1988 over 5,500 Roman objects, mainly military equipment were found in an area of 17 km²:[2]Roman swords and daggers, parts of javelins and spears, arrowheads, sling stones, fragments of helmets, nails of soldiers' sandals, belts, hooks of chain mail and fragments of armor.[1] Among most significant items is the earliest known Imperial face-mask.[2] Other items include locks, keys, razors, a scale, weights, chisels, hammers, pickaxes, buckets, finger rings, surgical instruments, seal boxes, a stylus, cauldrons, casseroles, spoons and amphorae. Jewelry, hairpins, and a disk brooch suggest but do not prove the presence of women.[1] One of the inscribed objects is a plumb bob with "CHOI", or "C(o)HO(rtis) I", i.e. "belonging to the first cohort". The other one is on the fastener of a chain mail: "M AIUS (cohortis) I (centuriae) FABRICI(i) M AII (cohortis) I (centuriae) FAB(ricii)" ("Marcus Aius of cohort I, centuria of fabricii; belongs to Marcus Aius of cohort I, centuria of fabricii").[3] The coin struck to commemorate that Augustus had adopted his grandsons Lucius and Gaius in 2 BC was also found at Kalkriese.[3]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c Kalkriese. Retrieved on 2007-07-20.
  2. ^ a b Christian Ziehe. Clades Variana. Retrieved on 2007-07-20.
  3. ^ a b The battle in the Teutoburg Forest. Retrieved on 2007-07-20.

[edit] External links