How a Horseshoe led Archaeologists to Rome's Most Remote Battlefield

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In 2000, two metal detectorists discovered an intact Roman battlefield at the Harzhorn hill in north-central Germany, hundreds of miles beyond the imperial frontier. This video explores the mysterious campaign that brought the Romans so far from Rome. For a reconstruction of the battle itself, see the second part: • Rome's forgotten battl...
I would like to thank ‪@HistoriaMilitum‬ for their collaboration on this project, and Christian Heinz (who lives near the Limes of the Taunus Mountains) for suggesting the topic and contributing generously to my research.
Please consider supporting this channel on Patreon:
/ toldinstone
If you liked this video, you might also enjoy my book “Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants: Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Greeks and Romans.”
www.amazon.com/Naked-Statues-...
If you're so inclined, you can follow me elsewhere on the web:
/ toldinstone
/ toldinstone
/ 20993845.garrett_ryan
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:47 The Harzhorn Battlefield
1:38 Max Thrax and his German Campaign
2:58 Maximinius' army
3:28 The German Campaign begins
4:32 The logistics of marching in enemy territory
6:04 Bringing supplies to the army
6:56 The march through Germany
7:27 The Battle in the Swamp
8:19 The Harzhorn Battle begins...
Thanks for watching

Опубликовано:

13 июн 2024

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Комментарии : 266

@mukkaar 2 года назад

It's pretty amazing how close ancient Rome seems to us. Familiar letters, architecture/infrastructure, way government functions. And all the preserved information and relics we have. In many ways Rome is much more similar to us than kingdoms of middle ages.

@dutchgijoe Год назад

Correct. Through Western Europe and USA the Western Roman Empire still lives. Other parts of Europe and the big neigbor to the East and the Eastern mediterranean are influenced by the Eastern Roman Empire.

@kerimaltuncu8152 Год назад

Rome was never the same after becoming christian but apart from it's christian ties true Roman culture, republic and the empire lives on.

@BlueBirdsProductions Год назад

@@dutchgijoe incorrect. That's like saying the British empire was the western Roman empire. That's just wrong.

@cerberus6654 2 года назад

Dr. G this was - as ever... brilliant. And look at how many subscribers you now have. I remember 'back in the day' when it was just a few. Very happy for you.

@thessop9439 2 года назад

Oh yeah I came here around 10k. Now he has 100k. Best roman channel

@isaacfullerton 2 года назад

@@thessop9439 200k now one month later

@thessop9439 2 года назад

@@isaacfullerton jesus i love this guy. I want to grow like this

@BlueBirdsProductions 2 года назад

Damn this channel has grown so quickly, I didn't even realise

@BlueBirdsProductions 2 года назад

@@thessop9439 you would need to upload something for that to happen

@aka99 2 года назад

This campaign amazes me a lot in various aspects. But most amazes me, troops from different provinces of the empire were transfered to roman part of Germania to march through non-conquered germania and even won a battle in the heart of Germania.

@ingurlund9657 2 года назад

They always transferred troops around the empire. Hadrian's Wall in Britain had troops on it from every part of the empire and they got letters delivered from everywhere.

@aka99 2 года назад

@@ingurlund9657 from every part? i tought primarly from netherlands at vindolanda fort and local tribes. but you maybe right. the roman streets was primarly for troops, but everybody else benefit from the streets. from taders to roman owners of villas who wanted to travel to a city. the saying all streets lead to rome is rigt.

@rimskirimski 2 года назад

Thanks to all the metal detectorists, spending so many hours searching for antique relics, bringing history back to life

@generalflix 2 года назад

So cool to see a picture of Saalburg, I live an hour hike away from it. It is seriously cool and a must see for everyone interested in Rome when visiting Frankfurt!

@PAPITO_49 2 года назад

What's really amazing is the sculpturing the art.

@connordemareo6757 2 года назад

Just bought your book after searching several local Barnes and Nobles over the past month or two! Keep up the good videos!

@HistoriaMilitum 2 года назад

Amazing video! It was a pleasure to collaborate this series with you; the research and planning was very fun to do! Keep up the great videos! 💯

@toldinstone 2 года назад

It was my pleasure as well Thanks for the kind words, and for all your help with my video!

@Byesteiners 2 года назад

Two funfacts about the two guys who found the hipposandal: they were looking and detecting in the forest for the remains of an old castle, because a old regional tale/ legend told them so and they wanted to proof if its true. When they found the hipposandal, they didnt know what it is and asked in a online Forum for "treasure hunters" for it, where a user gave them the final clue. Greetings from Germany 👍

@aka99 2 года назад

yeah, they made themself legend with that. that is priceless!

@noobie64 2 года назад

By the sounds of it the lessons of Teutoburg forest more than 2 centuries previous had been forgotten or disregarded in the desperation for a win in the chaos of the 3rd century. Excellent video, very interesting I had never heard of this campaign before. I can't wait to watch the reconstruction of the battle on the channel you partnered with Garrett.

@090giver090 2 года назад

Actually it seems Harzhorn is Teutoburg gone right: so lessons had been definately learnt.

@rickb3078 2 года назад

@@090giver090 seems like it was a lucky victory. How did scouts miss three armies hidden within a few minutes running distance from the main road? They should be part of the entertainment in the colosseum during the next saturnalia! Tigers need feeding.

@090giver090 2 года назад

@@rickb3078 "How did scouts miss three armies hidden within a few minutes running distance from the main road?" This question is unanswerable by archaeology alone. What archaeology shows us though is that Roman army was much more alert and prepared for enemy ambush than it was in Teutoburg and dealt with crisis more swift and decisive. "Lucky victory" may also be attributed to Teutoburg as much as here. Idistaviso and Angrivarian Wall showed that Arminius was a one trick pony.

@ousarlxsfjsbvbg8588 2 года назад

@@090giver090 don’t mind him. Probably an angry German desperately trying to prove that some loose collection of Germanic tribes somehow could ever actually compete with what was one of Europe’s greatest civilisations and one of the most powerful empires in history.

@histguy101 2 года назад

@@ousarlxsfjsbvbg8588 Riiight... The guy saying "feed the Barbarians to the lions" must be a Germanic sympathizer.

@dariusghodsi2570 2 года назад

Great topic. Very underestimated campaign

@lukeglackin8962 2 года назад

Bought your book because I couldn’t get enough of your videos!

@brendawilliams8062 2 года назад

Certainly a nice presentation. Thankyou

@ebnixix30 2 года назад

I just ordered your book for Christmas! I can’t wait to read it :) Thank you for these awesome videos!!!

@speggeri90 2 года назад

This one was really interesting and gave a new inside! The collaboration was a great idea. Whoop whoop!

@Khan-1738 2 года назад

Only channel I have alerts on for. Great content, keep up the great work!

@sophiaperkins7617 2 года назад

Gosh. Your voice is so southing. I hope you release an audio book version of you just reading your book because like, ugh, it's so good. You're a hidden gem of the history RU-vidrs and I'm so happy to see your recent growth.

@toldinstone 2 года назад

That's very kind of you! As it happens, there is an audio version of my book, but unfortunately I was not asked to narrate.

@badartgallery9322 2 года назад

Toldinstone is so great that I love it and never knew it.

@edalthjohnson 2 года назад

I really love your videos. I’ve been watching since the beginning of this year. It’s been amazing to see your subscriber count grow. I know you don’t know me, but I’m really proud of you. I share your videos all the time.

@brandonhamilton833 2 года назад

Your videos are always amazing, I love seeing you team up with other historian youtubers.

@TheSkandihoovian 2 года назад

So absolutely fascinating! Thank you for your excellent work.

@josephbloggs6455 2 года назад

I was confused when I saw two videos on this topic at the same time. Really cool that you worked with Filaxim!

@rickb3078 2 года назад

Same here 😂😂

@JustMeJH 2 года назад

You had me on the edge of my seat again! Great storytelling!

@pittbullking87 2 года назад

How interesting! I knew nothing about this campaign. Thanks for posting!

@trshxgod8040 2 года назад

Ayy I love your vids brutha!

@leemosher5513 2 года назад

Reading your book now! Love it.

@johnspizziri1919 2 года назад

This is a great show! never heard of this before. Thank you very much- even went to watch and sub the other guy. BUY THE BOOK!

@Mr.E-Bachs 2 года назад

Oooooo… I like the way this is headed. Good ol’ anecdotal wartime histories.

@solinvictus39 2 года назад

What's fascinating about this episode of Roman military history is that for all the answers we now have about the battle, there are many, many, more questions left unanswered. Were there other battlefields from this campaign left to be discovered? What other traces of the legions are left to be discovered from this expedition?

@YaMumsSpecialFriend 2 года назад

Maximinus reminds me very much of my mother in law, Mars love her and her calloused back hand🖖🏼

@aka99 2 года назад

🤣

@mspocahontas46 2 года назад

Fascinating video!!

@brianmccarthy5557 2 года назад

Very, very interesting. Thanks.

@Jesse_Dawg 2 года назад

I love these episodes. Please make more

@marcusaetius9309 2 года назад

Excellent post! This is the first I’ve ever heard of that campaign.

@derekm1791 2 года назад

Corvus warband?

@marcusaetius9309 2 года назад

@@derekm1791 I don’t understand your question.

@logansuch7601 2 года назад

Please make longer videos.

@RagbagMcShag 2 года назад

greetings from germany, love hearing about what happened in my area in the past :D

@dawg7230 2 года назад

new told instone upload im crying im so happy

@bertplank8011 2 года назад

Grow up!....

@perceivedvelocity9914 2 года назад

Another great video. I'll check out your friend's video on their channel.

@michaeldunne338 2 года назад

Coincidentally, just finished a biography of Maximinus. Great video that has come up at the right time.

@chavax7724 2 года назад

Do you have the name of the book and do you have any recommendations as far as ancient history book?

@michaeldunne338 2 года назад

@@chavax7724 the book is entitled: "Maximinus Thrax: From Common Soldier to Emperor of Rome" by Paul N. Pearson There are lots of good books on ancient history. I like what Adrian Goldsworthy writes. But there is also others - a couple of examples: - Warfare in the Classical World - The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic - 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed -

@alessandrogini5283 Год назад

@@michaeldunne338 how he speak about the campaign of Alexander severus?

@AAairsoft1 2 года назад

I love watching this channel grow in content and subscriber count. It is well deserved. We are taking the cobble road to 1 million fat gladiators

@bepinkfloyd814 2 года назад

Is sad to see a channel so good growing slowly while shitty channels like Jake paul etc have massive numbers while making kids dumb...

@mfanto1 2 года назад

Lol I live in gouda and I when I was a child we dug a hole for a basement and at 2.5 meters we started finding Roman stuff. We ended up digging deeper and dumping it all back.

@aka99 2 года назад

great stuff!

@tulsatrash 2 года назад

Yay. Learning new things!

@ok-kk3ic 2 года назад

More videos like this please.

@donaldauguston9740 2 года назад

I absolutely love these history lessons. Thank you for writing your book. I'm not done with it, but I'm enjoying it.

@Boombox69in 2 года назад

Love this content

@johngibbs7379 2 года назад

Thrax- what a cool name!! Never heard this story before.

@aka99 2 года назад

yes, thrax means the dracian guy, if i am right.

@iiTzoreo1 2 года назад

I plan on getting your book for Christmas

@FireSkyFX 2 года назад

i liked the old title better! great vid tho :)

@juliane__ 2 года назад

I live in Göttingen between Harzhorn and Hannmünden, another important Roman site. 3 pioneer axes in excellent condition were found there 15 years ago. I witnessed them when first presented to the public and wrote an article for the local newspaper about the new findings. Harzhorn is a major turning point for roman historiography even validating roman excursions to the Baltic Sea.

@robbabcock_ 2 года назад

Wonderful!⚔️🏹

@aka99 2 года назад

That must have been a great show seeing thousands of legionaries marching through germania.

@aka99 2 года назад

one of my favorite videos, but i like all of them. every video toldinstone effort put into a video. from researching, reading sources, photos to creating the final video. he shares his interest and knowledge with us.

@malkomalkavian 2 года назад

Very exciting :)

@dazednotconfused1503 2 года назад

Could you make a video about the Roman’s views on the afterlife and what would’ve been expected. E.g. pearly white gates and streets of gold for Christianity. And how did they view the different beliefs of other people in the empire

@blazko1908 2 года назад

+1 !!!

@toldinstone 2 года назад

That would be a very interesting topic. Stay tuned...

@blazko1908 2 года назад

@@toldinstone let’s go!!! Been studying how Christianity affected us today, now I want to know what life was like before that happened….

@histguy101 2 года назад

You just have to become emperor and get the Senate to make you a god when you die, then you can go to heaven. It's also very advantageous if your successor builds temples in your name where people can come sacrifice to you.

@buckodonnghaile4309 2 года назад

Interesting horseshoe, are there any Roman stables still standing and/or in use? Great channel,

@histguy101 2 года назад

Hi, what is the sculpture in thumbnail?

@toldinstone 2 года назад

It's a detail from the Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus in Rome

@histguy101 2 года назад

Thank you!

@DanCooper404 Месяц назад

Holy heck, I bought a denarius on Saturday with his face on the obverse, and now it seems I can't get away from the guy.

@rickb3078 2 года назад

Next time I go to Berlin I’ll make this a detour! I’d like to see the military camp and the battle field.

@TheBigHambi 2 года назад

That is literally hundreds of kilometers, you must be American! This is of course no offense, but distances are different to you than for us in Europa

@rickb3078 2 года назад

@@TheBigHambi I’m European but of the opinion that if you like something you should just do it. Time and effort are then irrelevant because it’s something you like doing.

@Mr.Byrnes 2 года назад

@@TheBigHambi You made yourself look like a snob

@aka99 2 года назад

@@rickb3078 look where tha harz mountains are located in germany and then you got the region where this battlefield is.

@rickb3078 2 года назад

@@aka99 thank you! It’ll go in spring, when it’s nice and green again

@larrymccue8097 Год назад

How unbelievably interesting

@artrocious 2 года назад

The Mark Felton of ancient history

@BichaelStevens 2 года назад

Mark plagiarizes regularly

@leidemaria1463 2 года назад

I was watching one of your vídeos and turned out you just released a new one

@ancientfalmer4341 2 года назад

I like this channel

@aka99 2 года назад

me too

@3rdlorddiy903 2 года назад

I’ve heard that there was a Germanic tribe, more specifically , the Vandals who colonized North Africa for a century, from 435 to 534 AD and pushed the Roman out. Do you mind covering that subject? Thanks..

@toldinstone 2 года назад

The Vandal saga would make for a very interesting video. I'll add it to my list of topics.

@KraNisOG 2 года назад

Yes, the Vandals held North Africa for some time, but the Roman Empire eventually reconquered the land as well as Italia, Illyria, and part of Hispania under the emperor Justinian.

@donnariley2831 2 года назад

My dad was a "metal detectorist", though I'm sure he didn't realize it!😉😁 Great video. I'll be looking at more.😊👍

@aka99 2 года назад

huh? what are you talking about your dad did not realize what?

@deg6788 2 года назад

I actually have a maximinius trax coin from that era ..history was rewritten in harzhorn

@tessierashpoolmg7776 Год назад

I think Thrax (the Thracian) was one of Rome's most fascinating Emperors. What a character.

@o.wildfarmer8023 2 года назад

I just love ❤ to be told in stoned !

@Misses-Hippy 2 года назад

In the small village of Niederbrechen in Hessen, there is a late Roman fort, until recently, thought to belong to the 30 Years War. How does it fit in - could it be a food-shelter stop between Mainz and another camp - maybe Kessel. Also, I have found no evidence of the Romans along the Lahn River - which would have given them a natural artery inland from the Mosel. I do not get it.

@aka99 2 года назад

You mixed something up a bit. The fort ist located near the village of Oberbrechen. Niederbrechen is a neighboring village. I do know for sre, bcause i living there. The fort is from time of Augustus. But you do not see more than the earth walls. So it has nothing to do with Maximinus Thrax campagin discussed in this video. We do not know why the romans builted that camp at Oberbrechen. There are 2 roman camps from the time of Caesar found near the Lahn River, close to the citiy of Limburg an der Lahn. We know that because of shoenails found there. The shoenails found there were only used in the time of Caesar. Not before and not after. Caesar crossed the River Rhine, close to the city of Koblenz. Moselle is close by, but all ancient sources says Caesar crossed the Rhine and Maximiuns Thrax crossed the Main River near the city of Mainz. Far away from the Moselle river. I hope that helps for a better understanding.

@ddc2957 2 года назад

“If we can believe our sources…” Proceeds to describe the Hulk 😂

@teutonalex 2 года назад

The Romans still made fast raids into Germania after Teutoberg, however they never dallied long or tried to establish permanent bases anymore. The reasons were probably retaliation raids for German raids west of the Limes. Go fast, go deep, find the responsible tribe, burn a village or three and return.

@Tommykey07 2 года назад

Yes, a lot of military campaigns in ancient times were more a show of force than an attempt at conquest. Like saying "Look what we can do. Keep messing with us and we will do this again!"

@teutonalex 2 года назад

@@Tommykey07 and also be able to report to the governor and emperor that the raiding barbarians have been punished and there's nothing to see at the Limes.

@aka99 2 года назад

@@teutonalex yes, like this csmpaign

@Jim-Tuner 2 года назад

Its also about "showing the flag". You march a force through their territory giving everyone a chance to see it and for them to see that their local leaders are too scared of it to do anything about it. Its also a threat that they COULD march into these areas anytime they wanted to, burn the villages and kill the locals.

@paoloviti6156 2 года назад

I'm really sorry that I saw only now your excellent video regarding an unknown battle perhaps showing the furthest advance of the Roman Legionnaires in Germany at least evidenced by this horseshoe and other related artifacts left by the troops during the battle. It is important to point out the great difficulties to feed a big army marching so deep in enemy territory and the limits of pillaging on the way. Something that the French army, under Napoleon, kept doing in Russia, but almost dieing of hunger and in Italy on the march against the Austrians but especially on the road to Naples which much looting and pillaging was ensured on the way. Going back to this unknown battle we actually know very little what really happened as much history has gone in smoke between looting, fire like in Costantinopole after being sacked by the Turkish army. Good job as always.....

@jonkore2024 2 года назад

Interesting

@funkycowsx2 2 года назад

Cool.

@eddieds312 2 года назад

Pretty good story

@aka99 Год назад

It is

@americalatinastory6022 2 года назад

Thumb up !

@solinvictus39 2 года назад

What I'm curious about is how do historians know about the path taken by the legions in the lead-up to the Harzhorn battle? As no one seemed to know about this battlefield prior to the discovery of the Roman horseshoe, how would anyone know that Maximinus's army had been returning from almost reaching the Elbe? Obviously this information is coming from somewhere... is there a book on the subject that goes into more detail???

@toldinstone 2 года назад

The route is basically conjecture, based on the location of known Roman outposts. There's a German book on the battle by Günther Moosbauer that covers all the details.

@solinvictus39 2 года назад

@@toldinstone Thank you very much for that information and for also having a great channel! I appreciate it that you took the time to reply to me. I'll see if I can get that book in English, as I know a lot of Roman military scholarship is often in other languages.

@jimc.goodfellas226 2 года назад

Got a question for you, have you ever seen the "Historia Civilis" channel?

@toldinstone 2 года назад

Yes; they have some very good videos

@kanagaway 2 года назад

Super spannend! 😁 Kataphrakte und armenische Bogenschützen im wilden Germanien.😄 Heute gehen die Söldner aus dem Osten zu Tesla ans Fließband...

@flyingisaac2186 2 года назад

Maximinus Thrax was not without considerable ambition, making one of the first efforts in centuries to subjugate Germany for Rome. His failing was his inability to interact properly with the Senators for whom he had complete contempt. If he had been more political, he might have had the time to achieve his goal, although his extraordinary height suggests a condition which might have limited his life.

@roblangada4516 2 года назад

I mean he wasn't wrong. Later when he became Emperor the Senators and holdovers from Alexander's reign *were* plotting against him rather often. They didn't just hate him for being a commoner, they didn't consider him truly Roman, a barbarian. What limited his life was being beheaded by his own soldiers however, not a health condition.

@privard89 Год назад

I can't believe so many treasure hunters tell the authorities about their findings. I wouldn't tell anyone.

@picklerick8785 2 года назад

Maximinus Thrax sounds like a Roman Andre the Giant...

@sd_naturalist509 2 года назад

Cliffhanger ending!

@liviufilimon9525 2 года назад

The images of sculptures are many taken from Trajan Column erased by Apolodor from Damascus which shows the conquer of Dacia in 101 - 106 AD, still visible in Rome.

@winnifredforbes1114 2 года назад

I would like to know who the poor dudes were that had to carve the battle scenes out of the rock!😱

@aka99 2 года назад

true. i guess professional workers getting lots of money for it.

@IGotBoergs 2 года назад

The fact that my ancestors fought Syrians 2000 years ago Is remarkable to me

@stuckbarry4163 2 года назад

Emperor Max Thrax...

@allenschmitz9644 2 года назад

History is wide open to fiction writers and published guessers.

@kaarlimakela3413 Год назад

Limes ... oh! Like LIMITS!

@frankcommatobe8009 2 года назад

Can you upgrade to 1080p? It would really help your videos

@sethwooten5678 2 года назад

I didn't hear a word after you said the dude bragged about slapping horses.

@bumblebeeeoptimus 2 года назад

What's the name of the relief at 8:29?

@aka99 2 года назад

Great ludovisi sarcophagus

@DefenderOfVirginity 2 года назад

why do you sound EXACTLY like Beige Frequency? I NEED ANSWeRS

@hakon_brennus_wolff106 2 года назад

Interesting stuff but most distant battlefield? They fought battles against Ethiopians in subsaharan Africa. That’s much further.

@-haclong2366 2 года назад

One can say that this battle wasn't... Told in stone.

@bokolle 2 года назад

I’ve got such a hard on for Roman history

@crimson90 2 года назад

The shit part about any ration is that carbs do you zero good. No kidding. They literally just keep you okay until the next ration. As a type one diabetic, I've learned so much about how the human body processes calories from different sources, and carbs are the least impactful and sustainable. Animal protein and animal fats are literally the building blocks of the human body. It's also been found that plant protein/fats are actually not good, so top your salads with meat and you'll be fine.