A camp used by 10,000 Roman soldiers sent to conquer northwestern Iberia has been discovered in the Portuguese city of Melgaço.
This discovery is by far the largest and oldest Roman military
fortification excavated in Galicia and northern Portugal.
To date, the oldest Roman camp in Galicia and northern
Portugal-excavated by the same team-is Penedo dos Lobos (Manzaneda, Orense), where
coins can be found, and the paddock is called Canta The Breen War (29-19 years)
was linked to BC), and Emperor Octavius used it to end the process of conquering Spain. Lomba do
Mouro was built 100 years earlier than Penedo dos Lobos.
Experts analyzed a fragment of the sediment from the wall foundations
using the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating technique. This made
it possible to determine the date when the quartz crystals were last exposed to
sunlight and when they were buried under the walls. The foundations of the
enclosure wall date from around the second century BC.
Around 10,000 Roman troops crossing the Laboreiro Mountain between the
Lima and Minho rivers built the camp at Lomba do Mouro. It was built rapidly
and was intended to be a temporary fortification, used for a day or weeks at
most the warmer months.
For protection, the army was crossing high ground. According to written
accounts, they fought during their journey, but they also established some
tentative agreements with the local populace. Temporary camps are difficult to
locate since little archaeological evidence is left behind — owing to their
transient nature and the fact that they were frequently demolished on purpose
when the Roman Army left.
Dr João Fonte, from the University of Exeter, a member of the research
team, said: “Written sources mention the army crossing different valleys, but
until now we didn’t know exactly where. Because of the temporary nature of the
site, it’s almost impossible to find without using remote sensing techniques,
and radiocarbon dating wouldn’t have been accurate because plant roots creep
into the structure.”
“We have found numerous military camps in the Northwest of the Iberian
Peninsula in recent years, but their dating is very complex. As they are
temporary enclosures, there is very little material or organic evidence in them
that would allow a scientifically valid dating to be obtained, until now.”
In 137 BC, the Roman consul Decimus Junius Brutus entered Galicia with
two legions, crossing the Douro and Lima rivers and reaching Minho. The dating
of the walls along with the large dimensions of the fenced fence supports the
hypothesis that the camp could have been erected by the contingent associated
with those times, although due to the degree of uncertainty of dates it is
difficult to establish a direct association with the episode of the Decimus
Junius Brutus campaign.
The research is funded by the European Commission through a Marie
Skłodowska-Curie grant (grant contract 794048).
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