Between the mid-first century and early second century CE, Roman legionaries engaged in a heated battle with Germanic fighters near the Danube River. Nearly two millennia later, evidence of this bloody event has emerged.
In October of the previous year, while renovating a sports field in Vienna, construction workers unearthed a mass grave. Experts from the Vienna City Archaeology Department and the archaeological service provider Novetus GmbH indicated that the human remains likely belonged to soldiers who perished during a battle involving ancient Roman legionaries. A statement from the Wien Museum, published Wednesday, detailed the discovery and analysis.
Veronica Kaup-Hasler, Vienna’s Executive City Councillor for Culture and Science, noted in the statement that finding Roman remnants is not uncommon when excavating the city, given that Vindobona laid the foundation for what would become Vienna. The discovery of a Roman mass grave in Simmering, a district in Vienna, offers a new perspective on the city’s early history.
The mass grave contained around 150 human remains, mostly men aged between 20 and 30. Initial investigations showed little evidence of infectious diseases among them, although their dental health was notably good. Despite this, they sustained lethal injuries from daggers, spears, swords, projectiles, and other weapons.
Michaela Binder, senior anthropologist at Novetus GmbH, stated that the male skeletons’ arrangement and combat-related bone injuries suggest the site was not connected to a hospital or caused by an epidemic.
Among the items found at the site were armor scales, lance tips, a helmet cheek piece, shoe nails, and a fragmented iron dagger. The dagger’s sheath, identified through X-rays, featured typical ancient Roman silver wire inlays, dating it to between the mid-first century and early second century CE, explained Christoph Öllerer, deputy head of the Vienna City Archaeology Department. The rarity of this discovery is underscored by these dates.
Kristina Adler-Wölfl, head of the Vienna City Archaeology Department, pointed out that inhumations are particularly exceptional due to the prevalence of cremations in the European regions of the Roman Empire around 100 CE. Thus, Roman skeleton finds from this period are extraordinarily rare.
Locally, the discovery provides the first direct archaeological evidence of a battle along the Danube Limes, part of the Roman Empire’s eastern frontier. During Emperor Domitian’s reign from 81-96 CE, skirmishes occurred between Roman legionaries and Germanic tribes along the empire’s border, likely influencing Emperor Trajan’s later decision to expand the Danube Limes. Until this discovery, historical sources only provided evidence of these conflicts.
Martin Mosser, an archaeologist from the City Archaeology Department, suggested that the ancient battle might have been a catalyst for expanding the formerly small military base into the legionary camp Vindobona, located less than seven kilometers from the site. This finding potentially unveils the beginnings of Vienna’s urban history.
