this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2024
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Archaeology

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Archaeology or archeology[a] is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes.

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1,700-year-old Roman fort discovered in Germany was built to keep out barbarians (www.livescience.com)
submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[โ€“] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

For reference: the baths in the city were destroyed exactly a hundred years later, in 375 CE. So odds are that the fort was mildly effective to keep the barbarians out.

And by "barbarians" I mean likely Franks. In the long term... well.

This is a map of the Franconian dialects. I edited it to show Aquae Granni / Aachen, right in the middle. "Franconian", "Frankish", you should get the picture.

[โ€“] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago

If something works for more than a lifetime, I wouldn't call it mildly effective.

[โ€“] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

In addition to the wall, archaeologists found shards of pottery and animal bones at the site

Clearly, the only conclusion accounting for all the evidence is that the wall was built to keep the animals from getting into the pottery.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (4 children)

Did it work?

[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

Odds are that the fort worked rather well in the short term, and that Aquae Granni / Aachen fell for logistic reasons.

Context: the Roman Empire was a mess back then, being split twice (by Diocletan then Constantine), between the fort being built and the city falling for tribals. Couple that with Aquae Granni being mostly a vacation town in the middle of nowhere, and why it fell becomes clear - "too low priority, we aren't sending supplies there, let the citizens fend off themselves against the bar-bar-bar".

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

From the article:

But what we know is that it works. We have no indication of any big destruction after the castrum was built.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

Do they speak German in Germany?

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

Well yeah.

[โ€“] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago