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The Varus Battle Phenomenon

"2000 Years Varus Battle": What are the reasons for the popularity of an event that is not only known by people interested in history? There is just a fragmentary knowledge about the actual event but apparently enough to present three big and a number of smaller exhibitions two thousand years after it happened. But where did it actually happen?

These questions lead us to the excavations in Kalkriese but also to the roots of the prospect of the "Germans" in the 19th and 20th century.

Read on in the editorial ...

Please note: the articles of this feature are available in German language only. The teasers have been translated just to give foreign readers a better overview of the feature content.

 

The history of impact and the role of the Varus Battle myth in European and German history since the 15th century

Mythos Varusschlacht
Klaus Kösters reflects the history of the impact of the myth Varus Battle and points out the role the rediscovery of this historic event played in the humanism of the 15th and 16th century and in German and European history. That myth is closely bound to the perception of their Germanic ancestors by the people in Germany.
Read more (in German) ......

The Folkish Germanic Myth

Germanenmythos
During the 19th century the German Antiquarian Studies evolved under the impression of romantic ideas. They were mainly driven by the motivation to show the constitutional sources of the Germans and their ‚national' prehistory in relation to cultural and historical developments in the rest of the world.
Read more (in German) ......

Battlefields and their archaeological record - the case study Kalkriese

Fallstudie Kalkriese
During the last twenty years battlefields came more and more to attention of archaeologists and are now being recognised as places that are not only of interest for military historians. Although there are relatively detailed written sources for battles of recent times archaeological methods often disclose additional knowledge. The research at Kalkriese plays a special role in this context.
Read more (in German) ......

Varus Battle Research near Kalkriese

Forschungen zur Varusschlacht in und um Kalkriese
When a hoard of 163 Roman silver coins was found near Kalkriese in fall of 1987 it was assumed that they were lost in the year of the Varus Battle. But then remains of a fortification came to light during excavations in 1990 and archaeologists had to consider the possibility that they were digging on a battlefield. Susanne Wilbers-Rost reports on the current state of the research.
Read more (in German) ......

Marcus Caelius - Death in the Varus Battle

Marcus Caelius
The Roman Centurio Marcus Caelius had experienced a good deal during his long duty in the Roman army. He has been decorated manifold for boldness and braveness. His gravestone, found near the city of Xanten, tells a story of one of the many soldiers involved in the Varus Battle.
Read more (in German) ......

Schlachtenbummel

Schlachtenbummel
The Varus Battle is in the focus of three big exhibitions in Nordrhein-Westphalia. 500 Years after the rediscovery of the battle in the "Germania" of Tacitus many aspects of the historic fight are extensively presented.
Read more (in German) ......

Authors

Authors
Read more about the authors who wrote articles for this feature
Read more (in German) ......

Further Information

We have compiled some media tips on the subject of archaeoastronomy for you.
Read more (in German) ......