Rome · c. AD 28 · Velsen, North Holland, Netherlands
Man stabbed to death at Roman fort in the Netherlands grew up in southern Europe
A new study of a skeleton found in a well at Velsen in 1977 points to a tall soldier, probably killed with a Roman military dagger.
Velsen, Netherlands Archaeologists at Leiden University have re-examined the skeleton of a man found in a well at the Roman fort of Velsen, on the coast of North Holland in the Netherlands. His bones show that he was stabbed many times, probably with a Roman military dagger. A chemical study of his teeth shows that he spent his childhood in southern Europe.
Mark Driessen and Carol van Driel-Murray of Leiden University carried out the new study with colleagues. Archaeology Magazine reported the work, citing a report by La Brújula Verde.
The man was discovered in 1977. Several objects lay in the well with him. They were a military belt, a dagger, a ring, a brooch known as a fibula, and a sandal with a studded sole.
Stab wounds inside the ribcage
The team found multiple stab wounds on the bones. Some were on the inside of the ribcage and on the pelvis. The researchers say this shows the man was brutally murdered.
The team made 3D models of the wounds. These show that the wounds were probably made with a pugio, the Roman military dagger. It may have been the very dagger found in the well beside him. That pugio had a blade about 23 cm (nine inches) long. Its new iron sheath was decorated with silver and with red and yellow enamel.
According to the study, the man stood more than 1.8 metres (six feet) tall and was very muscular. The researchers think he was an ordinary soldier, not an officer. His dagger was worn, and his belt had been put together from mismatched pieces.
He wore an iron ring set with a glass-paste stone. The image on it shows either the god Mars or perhaps Alexander the Great.
Childhood in southern Europe
The first study of the bones, in the 1970s, suggested that the large man may have been a local Frisian. The team has now run an isotope study of his tooth enamel. Enamel forms in childhood and keeps chemical traces of the place where a person grew up. The results show that he spent his childhood in southern Europe.
Earlier research suggested that the man was killed in AD 28. In that year the local Frisians rebelled against Roman taxes. The Roman historian Tacitus recorded the revolt in his Annals.
Driessen and van Driel-Murray conclude that the Frisians may have killed him during an attack on the fort, as Tacitus describes. They also propose two other explanations.
The man could have been a deserter, executed by Roman military officials. Or he might have been murdered by locals in an act of revenge. The report does not say which explanation the team favours.
Sources (1)
- Archaeologists Reexamine Remains Found at Roman Fort in the Netherlands (Archaeology Magazine)
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