The photos were taken by the earliest spy satellites in the 60s and 70s. They reveal how the Roman Empire's eastern border used to be an area where vibrant trade took place.
Roughly 400 Roman Forts Found in Middle East
Cold War declassified images shot by spy satellites have led to the discovery of hundreds of Roman forts across Syria and Iraq. The existence of these forts show that the ancient empire's eastern border was not as violent as thought.
Before this discovery, researchers were already familiar with several forts that spanned around 300,000 square kilometers from present-day Iraq's Tigris River to Syria's Euphrates River. These were previously thought to be part of a north-south border wall that distinguished the Romans from the Persian empire.
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Peaceful Trade and Travel
However, the east-to-west distribution of the recently found forts and the previously discovered ones show that they may have been constructed to facilitate peaceful travel and trade.
With this, a new study argues against the 1934 hypothesis of Antoine Poidebard, a Jesuit priest and French archaeologist, that these eastern forts were used to repel against invaders.
Anthropology Professor Jesse Casana from Dartmouth College, who led the study, explains that since the 30s, archaeologists and historians have debated the purpose of the fortification systems, arguing whether these structures had a political or strategic purpose. However, there were only a few scholars that questioned the basic observation of Poidebard pertaining to a line of forts by the eastern borders.
Back in the second and third century A.D., Poidebard discovered 116 forts across the deserts of Syria and Iraq after snapping aerial shots in the 20s and 30s. Observing the placement of these forts through his biplane, the archaeologist claimed that the strongholds formed a defensive line in the north and south that pushed out Parthian and Persian raids.
This hypothesis remained widely accepted until now. However, after conducting analysis on shots of the region that were snapped by spy satellites in the 60s and 70s, researchers found 396 forts or fort-like structures across the east up until the west.
The findings suggest that the border may have been more fluid and flexible and that the outposts could have existed through the border and not along it. This may have protected trade caravans traveling between Rome and its neighboring Parthian empire.
Now, this raises a question regarding whether the border served as a road or a wall.
Nevertheless, the study authors think that their efforts stress the importance of declassified shots when it comes to archaeological research. They are expecting more discoveries to surface alongside the declassification of other shots. Casana explains that intricate analysis on this information could enable great discoveries across the Near East and more.
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