An Ancient, Epic Battle

"Within the context of Roman acts of war, there are no comparable finds of fighters."

"There are huge battlefields in Germany where weapons were found. But finding the dead, that is unique for the entire Roman history."

Michaela Binder, leader of archeological dig 

"They have various different battle wounds, which rules out execution. It is truly a battlefield."

"The most likely theory at the moment is that this is connected to the Danube campaigns of Emperor Domitian -- that's 86 to 96 AD."

"In the Roman Empire, there were strict burial rituals and precise rules had to be observed even for the time after death."

"Since cremations were common in the European parts of the Roman Empire at the time around 100 AD, body burials are an absolute exception. Finds of Roman skeletons from this period are therefore extremely rare."

Kristina Adler-Wolfl, head, Vienna City Archeological Department 

 

"In Vienna, you are always prepared to encounter Roman traces as soon as you open pavement or soil: after all, Vindobona [the ancient Roman-era name for what would later become Vienna] laid the foundation stone of our city."

"Thanks to numerous archaeological excavations in the area of today's Vienna, a great deal of knowledge is already available, and yet finds always lead to new and surprising findings."

Vienna’s Councillor for Culture and Science, Veronica Kaup-Hasler

People work on the excavation of a Roman mass grave from the end of the 1st century AD, in the Simmering district of Vienna, Austria, Nov. 7, 2024. A. Slonek/Novetus / AP

This archaeological find dating back to the 1st Century, will take its place alongside spectacular archaeological findings of ancient Troy, thanks to the 19th Century perseverance of German businessman-turned-archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann who succeeded in uncovering the presence of Troy, Mycenae, and Tiryns in Turkey and Greece, against all odds when he was determined to prove that the poet Homer knew of what he wrote and those minutely-described sites existed. 

In Vienna, Austria, construction crews were busy renovating a soccer field in October of 2024, when they came upon an unexpected and quite unprecedented discovery through their excavations. There, before them, lay a pile of intertwined skeletal remains. They had uncovered a mass grave that dated to the 1st-century Roman Empire.

 

Following archaeological analysis, experts from the Vienna Museum offered a public presentation of the gravesite -- that they linked to "a catastrophic event in a military context", amidst evidence of the first known conflict that occurred in the region. 

Archaeological analysis of the remains determined the men were killed in battle

The site in the Vienna neighbourhood of Simmering, revealed the skeletal remains of 129 people. Excavation teams as well, found many dislocated bones. The total number of victims is over 150 individuals, representing a discovery of a type never before found in central Europe.

 

Typically, soldiers during the Roman Empire would be cremated. It was only during the 3rd century that this practise deviated. Each of the skeletons revealed under examination signs of injury. Leading the researchers to the conclusion that the bodies lying in the pit were deposited there hastily. 

All of the victims of deadly warfare found in the pit were male, mostly men aged between 20 to 30 years of age. Surveys indicated robust health prevailed by virtue of finding that signs of good dental health was prevalent among them.

Finding the buried bodies of early Roman soldiers is soldiers is extremely rare

Analysis by Carbon-14 was used to date the skeletal remains to between AD 80 and 130. Those dates, cross-checked against the known history of relics also discovered in the grave, consisting of armour, helmet cheek protectors, and studded nails that distinguished Roman military boots known as caligae.

The archaeological investigations revealed that injuries sustained by swords, spears, daggers and projectile bolts were identified as the causes of death. The expert team of investigators were led to the conclusion that that those who died had been part of an epic battle, an engaged military operation that ended in catastrophe for many.

Broader view of the site at the soccer field where the Roman burial was discovered. (Reiner Riedler/Wien Museum).