Scientists discover mysterious Roman forts under Syria and Iraq

Spy photographs that have recently been declassified shows unknown Roman forts in Syria and Iraq.

In a newly published journal entry, scientists addressed the images the appear to show 396 Roman forts in Syrian desert.

Now this may not seem like that big a deal as Ancient Roman artefacts are constantly being dug up - or being found in thrift stores it seems.

But archeologists have said that these photos, taken in the 1960s and 1970s, could shed some light about Roman rule.

And given that the Roman Empire has apparently been on every man's mind for a while, this could be an interesting discovery.

Researchers previously knew of the remains of about 100 forts in the region that were built by the Roman army.

This knowledge was in part due to photographs taken in the 1920s and 1930s by Antoine Poidebard.

Getty Stock Image

The archaeologist and pilot theorized that these forts had formed a defensive line that marked a fix military barrier between the Romans and the regions people that moved through the area - such as the Persians or Arabs.

However, these new photos, which were taken in 1960s and 1970s, indicate that rather than a defensive line, the forts may well have been part of a stretch of road, used for moving people and goods.

The photos were published in a study on Antiquity, which is peer-reviewed by Cambridge University, on Thursday (26 October).

“Utilizing declassified images from the CORONA and HEXAGON spy satellite programmes, the authors report on the identification of a further 396 forts widely distributed across the northern Fertile Crescent,” the journal’s abstract reads.

Antiquity/Jesse Casana, David D. Goodman & Carolin Ferwerda. Imagery courtesy US Geological Survey

“The addition of these forts questions Poidebard's defensive frontier thesis and suggests instead that the structures played a role in facilitating the movement of people and goods across the Syrian steppe.”

Speaking of this revelation, the lead author of the journal and archeologist at Darmouth College, Jesse Casana told The National Geographic: “This conception of these forts as demarcating a border between two places is clearly incorrect.

“They don’t look like wall meant to keep people out. They look like they’re placed to facilitate movement.”

Casana said that while Poidebard’s work was pioneering and invaluable for archaeologists and historians, his discoveries do not accurately depict the landscape.

“If he’d flown his biplane everywhere, he would have found a lot more forts—but he didn’t have the capability or the technology to do that at the time,” he added.