Top 10 Historical Roman Mysteries That Were Finally SOLVED

Officially known as “Legio IX Hispana,” the Ninth Spanish Legion was a military unit of the Roman army that consisted of over 5,000 soldiers. However, it has since been nicknamed The Lost Legion, as it disappeared from all written records around the year 120. So what the heck happened? Well, no one really knows, but we have a good idea. German historian Theodor Mommsen theorized that the legion was eradicated in northern Britain, but evidence found in the Netherlands has since disproved it in the eyes of many scholars. It’s more likely that the legion was destroyed during the Bar Kokhba revolt of 132, in which the Jewish population of Judea rebelled against the controlling Roman Empire.

The Battle of Teutoburg Forest is one of the most consequential in Roman history - and not in a good way. Also known as the Varian Disaster, various Roman legions were handily defeated by an alliance of Germanic tribes, thereby stopping the Empire’s expansion into Germania. Despite being one of the most important battles in European history, the site of the ambush remained unknown for almost 2,000 years. That is until an amateur archaeologist found Roman coins in the German village of Kalkriese. Specifically, the ambush seems to have occurred on Kalkrieser Berg, a huge hill measuring just over 500 feet. Ancient battle debris and human remains have been found in the area, which seems to confirm Kalkrieser as the legendary Teutoburg Forest.

When it comes to Ancient Rome, it may seem like all the power lay with the Emperor. Nah, more like the Vestal Virgins. Serving as priestesses of the goddess Vesta, these women guarded her sacred flame in the Temple of Vesta and enjoyed substantial public privileges as a result. A Vestal’s hair was extremely elaborate, consisting of many intertwined braids, and most Roman scholars assumed that they were wigs. But hairstyle archaeologist (yes, that is a thing) Janet Stephens proved otherwise in 2013. She defied academic assumption and recreated the Vestal hairstyle for the first time in modern history. It finally put the wig theory to bed and verified that it was done using the Vestal’s real hair.

Found smack in the middle of Syria is the ancient site of Palmyra, which was a very prosperous trade city in the Roman Empire. There was just one large mystery hanging over the city - how did it prosper in the middle of the Syrian Desert, especially without modern amenities? Norwegian and Syrian researchers finally answered that question in 2012. They found that Palmyra is not situated on a desert but an arid steppe and grass roots lying underneath the soil prevented rainwater from soaking into the ground. This surface rainwater was then collected using dams and cisterns, providing the city with water and allowing crops to grow. In the words of Dr. Ian Malcolm, “Life, uh, finds a way.”

In the year 218 BC, the Carthaginian general Hannibal conducted one of the most startling feats in military history. Carthage and Rome were at war, and Hannibal’s forces were prevented from moving east owing to substantial Roman garrisons. So he and his army went around them. Through the Alps. Hannibal headed north through Spain and Gaul before crossing the Alps into Italy. His exact route was a mystery for over 2,000 years, but a likely answer was finally provided in 2016. By studying, of all things, ancient deposits of animal poop, it was theorized that Hannibal moved through the bridle pass of Col de la Traversette. While this is not definitive, it’s widely regarded as the most likely explanation.

A coastal town in southern Italy, Otranto was besieged by Ottomans in 1480. The male citizens were given a choice - convert to Islam or die. Refusing to abandon Christianity, they were summarily executed. They are now known as the Martyrs of Otranto, and one of their skulls is adorned with sixteen holes. These mystery perforations went unexplained for centuries until a team from the University of Pisa cracked the case in 2015. They deduced that the holes were made by a trepan, as someone had cut into the skull to remove the bone powder. You see, back then it was believed that drinking a mixture of water and human bone would create a tonic that could heal various afflictions.

The Black Death is well documented, occurring between 1346 and 1353 and killing up to 60% of the European population. But that was hardly the first plague to decimate Rome. Back in the late 2nd century, the Roman Empire was besieged with the Antonine Plague, named after Emperor Antoninus Pius. The plague claimed up to ten million lives or about 10% of the Roman population. Nothing was known about the disease in its time, but a Greek physician named Galen transcribed the symptoms in his writings. It’s through these writings that scholars have been able to identify the disease as smallpox. Some disagree, arguing that it could also be measles, but most scholars agree on the smallpox thesis.

Serving as one of the most famous events in Roman history, dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44 BC. Caesar was stabbed to death inside the Curia of Pompey, a part of the larger Theatre of Pompey that was used for political meetings. Shortly after his death, the Curia was walled up and set on fire, and the exact location of Caesar’s murder became lost to history. It wasn’t rediscovered until the early 20th century when workers uncovered what is now known as Largo di Torre Argentina, or Argentina Tower Square. This Square houses the remains of Pompey’s Theatre, and with its discovery, we finally unearthed, quite literally, the location of the infamous stabbing.

The Romans were amazing architects. Not only did they create some of the most iconic buildings in human history, but these buildings were made with a remarkably durable form of concrete. For centuries, the strength, durability, and pristine condition of this concrete baffled scientists. But in 2023, academics from MIT and Harvard discovered that the hardiness of Roman concrete stems from lime clasts placed in the mixture. These visible white flecks were once regarded as mere imperfections in the concrete. But they were actually part of the engineering. When a crack appears in the material, these lime clasts break and release calcium. This calcium then travels through the crack and reacts with seeping water to seal the fracture. Yep, the Romans made self-healing concrete.

Arguably the most famous Ancient Roman city outside of Rome itself, Pompeii was famously destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The location of Pompeii was soon forgotten, a mythical lost city in the vein of Atlantis (only, you know, real). It remained lost for over 1,500 years until an architect named Domenico Fontana rediscovered it while building an aqueduct. But for whatever reason, Fontana kept this finding to himself. Some of the city’s walls were excavated in 1693, bringing public attention to the area for the first time. It wasn’t until 1763 that workers found a sign reading “Rei Publicae Pompeianorum,” officially identifying the buried city as the long-lost Pompeii.


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