Discovery of mass grave under football pitch changes what we know about the Roman Empire
Construction workers renovating a Vienna football field stumbled upon a grim piece of history: a mass grave containing the skeletal remains of what are believed to be warriors from the 1st-century Roman Empire.
Unearthed last October, the site has yielded evidence of a brutal battle, likely involving Germanic tribes, marking the first known conflict in the region.
Following extensive analysis, experts at the Vienna Museum revealed their findings on Wednesday, describing the discovery as a "catastrophic event in a military context."
Located in the Simmering district of Vienna, the mass grave holds the intertwined remains of at least 129 individuals. The excavation team also uncovered numerous dislocated bones, suggesting the final death toll could exceed 150, a finding unprecedented in Central Europe for this period.
'Within the context of Roman acts of war, there are no comparable finds of fighters," said Michaela Binder, who led the archaeological dig. "There are huge battlefields in Germany where weapons were found. But finding the dead, that is unique for the entire Roman history.'
Soldiers in the Roman Empire were typically cremated until the 3rd century.
The pit where the bodies were deposited suggests a hasty or disorganized dumping of corpses. Every skeleton examined showed signs of injury — to the head, torso and pelvis in particular.
'They have various different battle wounds, which rules out execution. It is truly a battlefield," said Kristina Adler-Wölfl, head of Vienna city archaeological department. 'There are wounds from swords, lances; wounds from blunt trauma.'
The victims were all male. Most were aged 20 to 30 years old and generally showed signs of good dental health.
Carbon-14 analysis helped date the bones to between 80 and 130 A.D. That was cross-checked against known history of relics found in the grave – armor, helmet cheek protectors, the nails used in distinctive Roman military shoes known as caligae.
The most indicative clue came from a rusty dagger of a type in use specifically between the middle of the 1st century and the start of the second.
The research continues: Only one victim has been confirmed as a Roman warrior. Archaeologists hope DNA and strontium isotope analysis will help further identify the fighters, and whose side they were on.
'The most likely theory at the moment is that this is connected to the Danube campaigns of Emperor Domitian — that's 86 to 96 A.D.," Adler-Wölfl said.
City archaeologists said the discovery also reveals the early signs of the founding of a settlement that would become the Austrian capital of today.
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