Astonishing discoveries by a Cold War‑era spy satellite
Recent research based on data gathered by satellites has uncovered several hundred forts thought to be operational during the Roman Empire. However, scientists are sceptical about the presumption that these forts primarily served defensive purposes.
7:20 AM EDT, October 30, 2023
The influence of the Roman Empire is visible across Europe and other regions conquered by Rome. Surviving arenas, roads, aqueducts, as well as a comprehensive administrative and military system, attest to the extensive cultural impact the Empire had around the Mediterranean Sea.
Despite the advanced tools we have to study our planet, we have yet to uncover all of its secrets. In fact, more than 1500 years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, which marked the end of Roman supremacy, we continue to uncover fascinating facets of this period.
Researchers from the US Geological Survey agency analyzed images taken by two US intelligence satellites, HEXAGON and CORONA, during the Cold War era. The study of these images led to the detection and location of nearly 400 new forts in Syria and Iraq. These forts appear to have been constructed during the period when these regions were part of the Roman Empire.
As reported by Business Insider, even in the 1920s, a total of 116 Roman forts were identified in this area, spanned over approximately 621 miles. Antoine Poidebard, a French Jesuit and renowned discoverer, suggested that these forts might have been built to demarcate the Empire’s boundaries and to guard against invasions by Arabs and Persians.
An article recently published in the respected academic journal "Antiquity" questions earlier theories about the primary defensive role of these forts. The exact count of newly discovered forts - 396 - suggests that Syria and Iraq might have been major trading hubs during this era.
Jesse Casana, the study's lead author and a professor of anthropology at Dartmouth College, suggests that what we previously regarded as a boundary and a protective barrier of the empire, likely also served as a trade route.
“The findings indicate that these forts might have been used to support the movement of people, goods, and military resources between the east and the west. The newly discovered forts denote an east-west trending line, which connected the Tigris River with the Mediterranean Sea," Casana explained to Business Insider.
