Archaeologists view the battlefield as a discovery of extraordinary scientific importance. Along with the Kalkriese battlefield and the Roman camps of Bentumersiel[de] and Hedemünden[de], this is one of the very few Roman archaeological sites in northern Germany.
Historical context
Coinage of the Roman emperors Caracalla (211 to 217) and Severus Alexander dates the battle to the 2nd quarter of the 3rd century AD. This places the battle at the junction between the reign of the Severan emperors and the beginning of the Crisis of the 3rd century.
The Severan emperors
The Roman Empire was governed by the Severan dynasty of emperors from 193 to 235. The reign of the Severan emperors is seen as a last phase of relative stability before the tumultuous era of the barracks emperors and the Crisis of the 3rd century.
Crisis of the 3rd century
The murder of the last Severan emperor Severus Alexander and the ascension of Maximinus Thrax, a praefectus legionis of Thracian origin, to the purple, mark the epoch event of the Crisis of the 3rd century. Over the next 40 years, the Roman Empire would be ruled by some 20 to 25 claimants to the imperial throne, invaded by many foreign enemies (among them the Alamanni, the Goths, and the Vandals), and even split into three competing empires.
The battle
The archaeologists responsible for the excavation believe that the about 1500 artifacts found at the battle site are associated with Roman legionaries. Only one spearhead and a few arrowheads can be certainly identified as Germanic.[1] Since Germanic tribes of the time were also sometimes equipped with Roman weaponry, one early assumption was that this could have been an inter-Germanic battle. Other Germanic excavations of the time reveal that many such conflicts were fought during the 3rd century. The finding of many bolts associated with the scorpio or cheiroballistra, which were exclusively used by Roman legions, prove, according to the scientists involved, that this battle involved a larger number of Roman troops.
The working hypothesis of the scientists is that the Roman troops were on their way back from the North German Plain. They found the Harzhorn pass blocked by a large number of Germans, and had to fight their way through, using their superior Roman artillery. The finds indicate a Roman success, due to their superior military technology.
The battlefield today
Discovery
In 2000, two amateur archeologist using metal detectors discovered several artifacts at the Harzhorn while searching for a medieval fortress. When one of the artifacts they unearthed turned out to be a Roman hippo sandal, they notified the Northeim county archaeologist, who is responsible for this area.[2]
Location
Location of the battlefield
The battlefield lies on the eastern edge of a hill range running east-to-west from the Harz mountains. In the north–south direction, it can only be crossed on a narrow pass, which is part of an ancient trade route, and today occupied by the Bundesautobahn 7.
Dating
There is no explicit date for the battle. A coin minted under and showing the portrait of EmperorCommodus and some specific pieces of military equipment originally dated the battle to after 180 AD. A hypothesis suggested the early 3rd century, such as the supposed Germanic campaigns of Emperors Caracalla and Maximinus Thrax. Both of these are attested in historical sources, but no archaeological proof had been found so far.
Later coinage finds depicting Emperors Elagabalus (218–222) and Severus Alexander (222–235) further suggests Maximinus Thrax's campaigns. The generally unreliable Historia Augusta, a late Roman collection of biographies of the Roman Emperors, mentions that Maximinus Thrax marched north from Moguntiacum (today's Mainz) about 300 (trecenta) to 400 (quadringenta) Roman miles. Since this was thought to be impossible, this passage was often changed to triginta and quadraginta (30 to 40 miles).[3]
Numismatist Frank Berger dates the battle to between 230 and 235.[4]
Germanic tribes had crossed the Rhine and devastated the Roman countryside in 233; in 235, Maximinus Thrax led a campaign of revenge into Germania, which had been prepared by his predecessor, Severus Alexander.[5]
The artifacts are not from the pass itself, but from the Harzhorn hill, which lies directly west of it. The cliffs immediately north of here are very steep and almost impassible, making it an ideal ambush point.
Conclusions
Excavations at the HarzhornHead archaeologists Michael Geschwinde and Petra Lönne leading a group of interested people through the battlefield
Sources
Roman sources tell of larger campaigns east of the Rhine and north of the Danube during the 3rd century, especially for the reigns of emperors Caracalla (in the year 213) and Maximinus Thrax (in the year 235). While this has been known to historians for a long time, there was never any archaeological proof of any campaign during this time within the Magna Germania.
The sources are unclear on the extent of such military operations. It was assumed that they took place near the limes. The few sources that suggested otherwise were assumed to be unreliable.
The Battle at the Harzhorn, as interpreted by the artifacts found to date, now proves that the Romans went far deeper into Germania during the 3rd century than was thought possible earlier.
Historical consequences
The events on the Harzhorn took place some 200 years after the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest and the campaigns of Germanicus (until 16 AD). These campaigns mark the end of Rome trying to conquer the lands between Rhine and Elbe and make them part of the Roman empire. In the following years, the Romans expanded their border fortifications to include parts of Germania, and shorten their lines of defense. This integrated the Agri decumates into the empire. However, campaigns deep into northern Germania were not known after this. The Battle at the Harzhorn is archaeological proof that they did nonetheless exist.
Notes
↑ Meyer M. et al. The C3rd AD Romano-Germanic battlefield at Harzhorn near Kalefeld, Landkreis Northeim in Roman Frontier Studies 2009: proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies (Limes Congress) held at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in August 2009 edited by N.Hodgson et al. Oxford: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
Ulrike Biehounek: Die Revanche der Römer. In: Bild der Wissenschaft. Heft 6, 2010, pp.84–89.
Michael Geschwinde u.a.: Roms vergessener Feldzug. In: 2000 Jahre Varusschlacht. Konflikt. Published by Museum und Park Kalkriese. Theiss, Stuttgart 2009, pp.228.
Gustav Adolf Lehmann: Imperium und Barbaricum. Neue Befunde und Erkenntnisse zu den römisch-germanischen Auseinandersetzungen im nordwestdeutschen Raum – von der augusteischen Okkupationsphase bis zum Germanien-Zug des Maximinus Thrax (235n.Chr.). Wien 2011, pp.102.
Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander, also known as Alexander Severus, was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself was eventually assassinated, and his death marked the beginning of the events of the Crisis of the Third Century, which included nearly fifty years of civil war, foreign invasion, and the collapse of the monetary economy.
The Severan dynasty was an Ancient Roman imperial dynasty that ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235, during the Roman imperial period. The dynasty was founded by the emperor Septimius Severus, who rose to power after the Year of the Five Emperors as the victor of the civil war of 193–197, and his wife, Julia Domna. After the short reigns and assassinations of their two sons, Caracalla and Geta, who succeeded their father in the government of the empire, Julia Domna's relatives themselves assumed power by raising Elagabalus and then Severus Alexander to the imperial office.
The 3rd century was the period from AD 201 to AD 300 (CCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar.
Year 235 (CCXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Quintianus. The denomination 235 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
The 230s decade ran from January 1, 230, to December 31, 239.
The Crisis of the Third Century, also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis (235–284), was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed. The crisis ended due to the military victories of Aurelian and with the ascension of Diocletian and his implementation of reforms in 284.
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, better known by his nickname Caracalla, was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor Septimius Severus and Empress Julia Domna. Proclaimed co-ruler by his father in 198, he reigned jointly with his brother Geta, co-emperor from 209, after their father's death in 211. His brother was murdered by the Praetorian Guard later that year under orders from Caracalla, who then reigned afterwards as sole ruler of the Roman Empire. Caracalla found administration to be mundane, leaving those responsibilities to his mother. Caracalla's reign featured domestic instability and external invasions by the Germanic peoples.
Gordian III was Roman emperor from 238 to 244. At the age of 13, he became the youngest sole emperor of the united Roman Empire. Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and Junius Balbus, who died before 238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and younger sister of Emperor Gordian II. Very little is known of his early life before his acclamation. Gordian had assumed the name of his maternal grandfather in 238.
Gordian II was Roman emperor with his father Gordian I in 238 AD, the Year of the Six Emperors. Seeking to overthrow Maximinus Thrax, he died in battle outside Carthage. Since he died before his father, Gordian II had the shortest reign of any Roman emperor, at 22 days.
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Legio III Italica was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in 165 AD by the emperor Marcus Aurelius for his campaign against the Marcomanni tribe. The cognomen Italica suggests that the legion's original recruits were drawn for the defence of Italy. The legion was still active in Raetia and other provinces in the early 5th century.
Legio II Parthica was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in AD 197 by the emperor Septimius Severus, for his campaign against the Parthian Empire, hence the cognomenParthica. The legion was still active in the beginning of the 5th century. The legion's symbol was a centaur.
Marcus Clodius Pupienus Maximus was Roman emperor with Balbinus for 99 days in 238, during the Year of the Six Emperors. The sources for this period are scant, and thus knowledge of the emperor is limited. In most contemporary texts he is referred to by his cognomen "Maximus" rather than by his second nomen Pupienus.
Kalefeld is a municipality in the district of Northeim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 10 km north of Northeim. It comprises the villages of Dögerode, Eboldshausen, Echte, Kalefeld, Oldenrode, Oldershausen, Sebexen, Westerhof, Wiershausen, and Willershausen.
Gnaea Seia Herennia Sallustia Barbia Orbiana, usually known as Sallustia Orbiana, was a third century Roman empress, with the title of Augusta as the wife of Severus Alexander from AD 225 to 227. The emperor married her in late 225, following the death of his grandmother. Severus was around sixteen years of age at this time. She was known for her beauty, which was captured in multiple works of art. Possibly a victim of the jealousy of Julia Mamaea, the emperor's mother, Orbiana was divorced and exiled to Libya in 227.
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Severan art is art production by the Roman Empire under the Severan dynasty, usually taken as running from 193 to 235, through the emperors Septimius Severus, Caracalla, Heliogabalus and Alexander Severus. Official Roman art of the military anarchy which followed, ending in 253 with Gallienus, has no character of its own and so can be seen as a continuation of Severan art, and so that art can be seen as running for the whole first half of the 3rd century.
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