Researchers from the University of Oxford have discovered three Roman military camps, dating back nearly 2,000 years, in the Saudi Arabian desert.
The researchers traced the locations of these camps using Google Earth. The detailed study of the discovery has been peer-reviewed and published in the journal Antiquity, as reported by Sky News on April 27.
Temporary Roman military camp in the Saudi Arabian desert. (Photo: Ora.ox.ac.uk).
The research team noted that this discovery provides evidence that the Romans conducted campaigns through southeastern Jordan to advance into Saudi Arabia in the second century. They believe these military camps were established during the period when the Romans took control of the Nabataean kingdom of Jordan in 106 AD.
Dr. Michael Fradley, a member of the research team that discovered the military camps, stated: “We are almost certain they were built by the Roman army, as the enclosure forms a typical card shape with opposing entrances along each side.”
He added that these camps were set up as defensive barracks as the Romans began their conquest of Arabia.
Mike Bishop from the University of Oxford, an expert on the Roman army, told The National: “These camps are a spectacular new discovery and provide important new insights into Roman operations in Arabia.”
“The Roman fortresses show how the Romans controlled a province, but the temporary camps reveal how they took it over,” the expert added.
Dr. Fradley mentioned that the current condition of the three military camps is “remarkable,” as these structures were only temporary and used “for a few days or weeks.”
