Overview

• The mass grave, discovered in Vienna's Simmering district during sports field renovations, contains remains of over 150 Roman soldiers killed in battle.
• Radiocarbon dating and artifacts, including a Roman dagger and scale armor, date the site to the late 1st or early 2nd century CE, during conflicts with Germanic tribes.
• The hasty burial of the soldiers, with intertwined limbs and severe combat injuries, suggests a catastrophic military defeat.
• This is the first material evidence of Roman-Germanic conflicts in the Vienna area, previously known only through historical accounts.
• The discovery is part of an ongoing research project, with planned DNA and isotopic analyses to uncover details about the soldiers' origins and living conditions.