In search for a lost Roman legion fort

Polish archaeologists from University of Warsaw search for the lost fort of a Roman legion in the vicinity of Mount Ararat. The research is a part of a project financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education aimed at documenting remains of Roman presence in the region south of Armenia’s capital Yerevan. The project is conducted in co-operation with the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of Armenian Academy of Sciences.

Ararat
View at Mount Ararat from the archaeological base of Polish archaeologists (by S. Zdziebłowski)

It is presumed that the camp of the legion might be located about 2 km near the known ancient capital of Armenia – Artashat (or Artaxata). So far analysis of satellite imagery did not bring expected results. Next stage consists of GPS measurements and non-invasive geophysical survey.  So far the research resulted in locating pieces of terra sigillata pottery, a typical luxurious Roman tableware and establishing the precise location of the place where in 1967 a monumental Latin inscription referring to Emperor Trajan and Legio IV Scythica was found. The inscription is currently on display in the National Museum in Yerevan.

(after Nauka w Polsce & S. Zdziebłowski)

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