However, more recent research has shown that (a subunit of) the Ninth Legion was for a brief period after 121 at Nijmegen in Germania Inferior. (At the same time, VI Victrix moved from Germania Inferior to Britain. Did they trade places?) The fact that we know the names of several high officers of the Ninth who cannot have served earlier than 122 (e.g., Lucius Aemilius Karus, governor of Arabia in 142/143), is another indication that the legion was not destroyed in Scotland but transferred. This proves that it was still in existence during the reign of Hadrian (138 AD).
Returning to the military sphere, Carus was granted the rank of Legatus legionis, commanding the Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix. Anthony Birley notes that this was an unusual assignment, for Legio XXX and Legio IX were both stationed in the same province, Germania Inferior, and men were rarely assigned command of a legion in the same army as they had held a tribunate; Birley could only list 14 men with that distinction.[6]He returned to civilian life, serving as curator of the Via Flaminia. His next assignment was as Legatus Augusti pro praetore(or governor) of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea from AD 142 to 143.[7]In 144, he was appointed suffect consul, and this was followed up with an appointment as imperial censitor of Gallia Lugdunensis. Finally, Carus was made Legatus Augusti pro praetore, or governor, of Cappadocia.[7]
Carus' son, also named Lucius Aemilius Carus, was Legatus Augusti pro praetore of the province of Tres Daciae in AD 174/175, and suffect consul at some point between 170 and 175.[8]
The Roman Empire was renowned for its military prowess, but one of its most enigmatic and haunting mysteries involves the fate of the Ninth Legion.
The Ninth Legion, also known as Legio IX Hispana, was a renowned unit of the Roman army that was stationed in Britain during the reign of Emperor Hadrian in the second century AD.
However, by the third century AD, the Ninth Legion had disappeared without a trace, leading to countless theories and speculations about their fate.
What was the Ninth Legion?
The Ninth Legion, also known as Legio IX Hispana in Latin, was a unit of the Roman army that was established sometime in the first century BC. It may have fought in the Social War in 90 BC but was certainly well-established by the time Julius Caesar took command of them at the start of his Gallic Wars.
The Ninth Legion became famous since they fought with distinction for both Julius Caesar and the emperor Augustus and was known for its discipline, bravery, and loyalty to the Roman Empire.
The Ninth Legion was deployed to Britain was part of a larger effort to quell the resistance of the Celtic tribes in the region.
They were stationed at Eboracum, modern-day York, and played a crucial role in the construction of Hadrian's Wall, which was designed to protect Roman Britain from barbarian invasions from the north.
What do we know about their last movements?
According to inscriptions discovered in York, it is known that the Ninth Legion returned to and remained stationed at the Roman Fort, known as Eboracum until at least AD 108.
However, all traces of the Ninth Legion in Britain vanish after this point. By AD 122, the Sixth Victrix had replaced the Ninth Legion at Eboracum.
Additionally, when two lists of existing legions was compiled in Rome in AD 197, the Ninth Hispania was not included.
The absence of any record of the Ninth Legion after the late second century AD, combined with the lack of archaeological evidence of their continued presence, has led many historians to conclude that the legion disappeared.
The exact circumstances of their disappearance, however, remain a subject of debate and speculation.
Theory 1: Death in battle
One of the most popular theories suggests that the Ninth Legion was destroyed in a battle against the Picts, who were a confederation of tribes that inhabited what is now Scotland.
According to this theory, the Ninth Legion was ambushed by the Britons and suffered a devastating defeat, with most of the soldiers killed or captured.
However, this theory has been challenged by historians and archaeologists who argue that there is no clear evidence of a major battle between the Ninth Legion and the Britons.
Some experts point out that the Ninth Legion was a highly experienced and well-trained unit, and it is unlikely that they would have been easily defeated by local tribes
Moreover, there is no clear archaeological evidence of a mass grave or battlefield associated with the Ninth Legion in northern England.
Theory 2: Sent to Judaea
The second option proposes that the Ninth Legion was redeployed from Britain to help suppress the Second Jewish Revolt in AD 132.
This time frame would fit with the current evidence, and they could have been destroyed during this conflict. However, there is no evidence that the legion was present in the Middle East at this time.
Theory 3: Perished in Armenia
A third theory is that they were destroyed during the Parthian War in the AD 160s.
Interestingly, Roman historian Cassius Dio says that an unnamed legion was destroyed during this conflict. It might have been the Ninth, but again, there is no record of them being in this part of the empire.
Theory 4: Military redistribution
A final theory suggests that the Ninth Legion was simply redeployed to another part of the Roman Empire.
However, this theory has also been challenged by some experts who argue that it is unlikely that a highly decorated and respected unit like the Ninth Legion would be simply disbanded or reassigned without any clear record of their fate.
Despite the many theories and speculations, the mystery of the Ninth Legion's disappearance remains unsolved.
The fate of these brave soldiers and their legacy continue to fascinate historians and archaeologists, and new discoveries may shed light on what really happened to them.
The mystery of the Ninth Legion is a testament to the enduring power and allure of the Roman Empire, and a reminder of the sacrifices and heroism of its soldiers.
There is not enough archaeological evidence to confirm that a large-scale battle took place between the Ninth legion and the Picts in Theory 1. The evidence is that there was only a brief skirmish.
Theory 2 and Theory 3 is questionable. The name of the legions involved has not been either disclosed or found.
Theory 3 negates Theory 2. If the Ninth legion participated in the Parthian War as mentioned in Theory 3, then they were not the legion that participated in the previous war.
However, Theory 4 is possible, but we need more evidence such as an inscription suggesting they were redeployed elsewhere.
A Scientist Says He Has Evidence That Ice-Age Humans Lived in Maryland 22,000 Years Ago
The quest to trace our first steps in America led one researcher to a groundbreaking discovery on a small island.
BY TIM NEWCOMBPUBLISHED: MAY 21, 2024 11:30 AM EDT
Denis-Art//Getty Images
A researcher claims to have found evidence of humans in Chesapeake Bay over 22,000 years ago.
The assertion is yet another recent announcement claiming to push the arrival of humans in North America further back in time than previously understood.
Not everyone agrees with the dating technique used to determine human inhabitants.
Call it a discussion. Or a debate. Maybe we can even label the conversation around the arrival of humans to North America a downright disagreement. Either way, we’ve got a new batch of research to digest—largely independent geologist Darrin Lowery recently published a manuscript claiming stone tool artifacts embedded with charcoal from an island in Chesapeake Bay date to more than 22,000 years ago, during the Ice Age.
Already, we’ve seen the human-arrival-in-North America date pushed deeper into history. According to multiple researchers, archaeological finds in New Mexico’s White Sands National Park date human activity in the area to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago. Lowery now believes humans were present in Maryland around the same time.
Following a non-peer-reviewed publication of his findings—Lowery told the Washington Post that “life’s too short” to debate with other experts over the peer-review process—he claims that the oldest of 286 artifacts found on Parsons Island significantly pushes back the date of human arrival in the area.
Andean Archaeology Revealed On An Unprecedented Scale
Astounding GeoPACHA software is advancing Andean archaeology. The new and innovative web application is allowing researchers to map archaeological features in the Andes mountains of South America with heightened precision and on a larger scale than ever before.
The Geospatial Platform for Andean Culture, History and Archaeology, or GeoPACHA, collects and coordinates high-resolution satellite imagery covering broad swaths of mountainous territory in central, southern and coastal Peru. The GeoPACHA site can be accessed from anywhere by researchers who have the necessary training to spot archaeologically significant ruins and formations.
Within Andean archaeology there may be thousands of previously undiscovered features just waiting to be found. While the discovery of a single new archaeological site can be exciting, it is the opportunity to find many such sites in identifiable distribution patterns that is creating so much buzz around the new GeoPACHA application.
“One of the most substantial challenges in archaeology is aligning the scales of our datasets with those of the social worlds that we seek to study,” explained the developers of the GeoPACHA software, Dr. Steven Wernke from Vanderbilt University and Dr. Parker VanValkenburgh from Brown University in the United States.
“Archaeologists are often asked to solve large-scale problems -- for example, to estimate the populations of ancient empires or to evaluate the effects of past climate change on settlement patterns across a continent –– but it's very hard, if not impossible, to use conventional archaeological methods to collect the kinds of systematic data needed to answer these questions.”
So far GeoPACHA has proven to be the ideal solution to this ongoing conundrum. Dr. Wernke and Dr. Van Valkenburgh have been joined by other researchers who study past Andean civilizations in their examinations of the initial GeoPACHA data sets, and already much has been learned about pre-Hispanic settlement and building patterns in Peru’s most mountainous terrain.
The Future of Satellite-Based Andean Archaeology Has Arrived
In a special collection of articles appearing in the journal Antiquity, researchers who’ve been analyzing GeoPACHA imagery report the results of their newly completed surveys of the Peruvian Andes. What has already been learned is rapidly transforming the practice of Andean archaeology and anthropology, as scientists are finally able to look at its rocky, hidden landscapes in detail and across hundreds of miles. From the vantage point provided by satellites they are tracing connections between freshly discovered sites that wouldn’t have been so obvious in the past.
“Imagery-based survey is capable of producing archaeological datasets that complement those collected through field-based survey methods, widening the scope of analysis beyond regions,” the authors of the new studies explained. “Using GeoPACHA, teams pursue problem-specific research questions through a common data schema and interface that allows for inter-project comparisons, analyses and syntheses.”
One of the most significant innovations associated with this new platform is its incorporation of artificial intelligence tools to assist in analysis. “Conducting manual surveys of satellite imagery is labor- and time-intensive, and low target prevalence substantially increases the likelihood of miss-errors (false negatives),” a team of experts led by Vanderbilt University archaeologist James Zimmer-Dauphinee wrote in one of the Antiquity articles.
They noted that their initial results using AI “suggest that future surveys may benefit from a hybrid approach—combining manual and automated methods—to conduct an AI-assisted survey and improve data completeness and robustness.”
Aerial photographs of archaeological features in the Andes. (Figure by authors; image copyright held by Maxar, reproduced under the NextView End User Licence Agreement. James Zimmer-Dauphinee / Antiquity Publications Ltd)
The First GeoPACHA Survey Results Are In, and the Implications Are Profound
The GeoPACHA system has already proven extraordinarily useful for examining and cross-referencing diverse and spatially separated surface features within Andean archaeology. In two of the newly published Antiquity studies, teams of archaeological researchers led by Dr. Giles Spence Morrow from Vanderbilt University in the first instance and Dr. Elizabeth Arkush from the University of Pittsburgh in the second describe the distribution of hilltop forts in the northern coastal and south-central highlands areas of Peru respectively.
These solid defensive structures were built by Andes people living in Peru during the Middle Horizon Period (500-1000 AD) and the Late Intermediate Period (1000-1450 AD), or in the last few centuries preceding the Spanish Conquest (the Spanish invasions of Peru began in 1526 AD).
Two hilltop forts or pukaras identified by Arkush in the survey. (Ryan Smith and ChristopheDelaere / ALTI-plano / Antiquity Publications Ltd).
In the second of these two related studies, the researchers analyzed hilltop fortresses distributed over a 58,000 square mile (151,103 square kilometer) area. This demonstrates the immense range of both satellite surveying technology and the new GeoPACHA coordinating system that is harvesting and processing its imagery.
In another intriguing GeoPACHA study freshly published inAntiquity, researchers led by anthropologist Dr. Giancarlo Marcone from Peru’s University of Engineering and Technology in Lima reveal a wealth of new details about the settlement patterns of ancient peoples who lived in scattered Andes oases known as ‘lomas’.
Until now very little has been known about how many people actually lived in these lush, green areas in pre-Spanish times. But GeoPACHA imagery has shown signs of human activity and settlement in quite a few of these patches of vegetation along the Andes coastline near Lima, revealing how the indigenous people survived in what was mostly an arid and desolate region.
“Lomas settlements are under-represented in archaeological datasets due to their tendency to be located in remote inter-valley areas,” Dr. Marcone and his associates explained. By employing satellite imaging to map the locations of human-built structures, they were able to identify “two categories of archaeological features, large corrals and clustered structures, and document a concentration of settlement features within lomas landscapes that suggests a pre-Hispanic preference for both short- and long-term occupation of these verdant oases.”
In yet another fascinating GeoPACHA study discussed in Antiquity, Drs. Van Valkenburgh and Wernke and their colleague Dr. Bethany Whitlock from Brown University disclosed extensive new information about the distribution of pre-Spanish pastoralist settlements in the Huancavelica region of Peru’s central interior.
“Recent archaeological research in the Andes suggests that Indigenous herders carefully managed their environments through the modification of local hydrology and vegetation,” the study authors wrote. “However, the limited geographical scale of previous research makes it challenging to assess the range and prevalence of pastoralist land management in the Andes.”
Through their examination of GeoPACHA imagery, the researchers discovered that indigenous corrals and pastoralist settlements “cluster around colonial and present-day settlements and that a statistically significant relationship exists between pastoral infrastructure and perennial vegetation.” This shows that the ancient inhabitants of the Peruvian Andes successfully identified the most fertile areas in the region for cattle grazing and for human settlements, and that later occupants simply followed their lead.
A Revolutionary Technology Unleashed
One of the early surprises of the GeoPACHA surveys is the discovery that ancient communities in the Peruvian Andes were not scattered evenly across the landscape. Approximately 95 percent of the area surveyed so far has revealed no signs of human occupation or activity.
“Because many of these areas are also not currently inhabited and are difficult to reach, they are also places where pedestrian surveys are less likely to be conducted,” Drs. VanValkenburgh and Wernke said. “The result is that our current models of settlement distribution are biased in favor of densely inhabited areas.”
It therefore seems that GeoPACHA is already upending some previous assumptions about the activities of ancient Andean peoples within Andes archaeology, which highlights the technology’s revolutionary implications.
The newly obtained GeoPACHA data is just the tip of the iceberg of what this type of archaeologically oriented application is capable of accomplishing. Satellites are now photographing every area of the arth, and as news of the success of GeoPACHA spreads archaeologists elsewhere will inevitably begin working on their own versions of this highly efficient and impressively effective technology.
Top image: Hillforts (pukaras) in the south-central highlands of Peru. Source: Elizabeth Arkush, Lauren Kohut, Romuald Housse, Ryan Smith, & Steven A. Wernke / Antiquity Publications Ltd
