Rome and the Teutoburg disaster – AncientBlogger

It was around this date in AD 9 when a Roman force left its summer camp and headed back west to cross the Rhine and to its winter camp. On the way the general in command, Varus, was convinced into making a detour to stabilise the region by an individual called Arminius. The new route took him through the Teutoburg Forest. The Roman army consisted of up to three legions and included non-combatants which formed a column of several miles strung out in a loose formation.

After a while reports came in that sections of the column were under attack. Arminius was nowhere to be seen and the horrific realisation set in. Betrayal. Over the course of 3 or 4 days the column was picked apart. Modern excavations have placed the Kalkriese Hill as a place where heavy fighting took place and it’s reasoned that this was the location of the Teutoburg Disaster (though definitive evidence has yet to be found). The exact battlefield is thought to be around  25 km² in size given the size of the Roman column and that the battle was fought over several days.

The Teutoburg disaster has been viewed as a series of very bad decisions made by a single individual. But was this entirely the case or a way for an empire, and Emperor, to avoid scrutiny? What went on and how accurate were the sources? If you were wondering about any of this I have something you might want to listen to.

The Teutoburg episodes on my podcast.

Last year I was fortunate enough to discuss the Teutoburg disaster with Dr Jo Ball who is an expert on the subject. Over the course of two episodes we covered the lead up, the characters involved and what most likely happened. It was fascinating to hear from Dr Ball and her insights (and her tales about what it was like to excavate the area). 

You can find the episodes on whichever platform you listen to my podcast on – but in case you wanted a couple of quick links:

Teutoburg – Episode One

Teutoburg – Episode Two

Roman armour from Teutoburg?

A couple of years ago I went to the the Legion exhibition at the British Museum and saw up close some armour which was excavated where the battle was thought to have occured. I write that beause, as Dr Ball pointed out, we are still waiting for definitive proof of the site.

Seeing the armour up close, and reading that chemical analysis suggests that it was worn when the soldier died, was quite a weighty moment. I discuss the Roman military a fair bit (and even do reinactment) and it’s important to remember how brutal things got and I am keen to point the finger at Rome in equal regard. As Horace wrote “bella detesta matribus” (war is hateful to mothers).

The Lorica Segmentata.

The armour type found is known as lorica segmentata (we don’t know what the Romans called it). You may have seen yours truly wearing a modern day set on here and on my social media. I did a video about it which gives some more information.