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The question of the location of the attack on Varus

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There were hundreds of hypotheses. Scarcely a place between the Ruhr and Hunt, and between the Ems and the Weser, was not tested for its battle worthiness: Werl and Veldrom, Damme and Dümmer, Habichtswald and Dörenschlucht, etc. Many homeland enthusiasts have devoted their lives to the identification of the place where Varus spent his last hours. As the 2000 year anniversary approaches, there has been little help. There is only a single archaeological bit of evidence, a commemorative stone from the old Legion camp called Xanten. It commemorates Marcus Caelus, a Centurion of the 18th Legion, who was pleased by his commander in that terrible September. And it is inscribed with the words “Bello Variano,” which means: the war of Varus. But on the question of where the battle was fought, it remains silent.

Clearly, it has long been accepted that the battle could not have been concentrated in a small area. Marius would have been able to set up the legions in a clearing, as was the customary fashion of the soldiers of their Germanic opposition. But Varus’s previous combat, just four days before, was a combat in a marsh and it stretched out some 20 kilometers.

 
 

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