Spy photos of Syrian desert reveal ancient Roman forts

Structures likely protected traders rather than being actively used in warfare

25 OCT 2023 7:01 PM ET BY ANDREW CURRY



Satellite view of a suspected Roman-era fort in the Syrian desert
A previously undocumented suspected Roman outpost in the Syrian desert near the border with TurkeyJESSE CASANA

In the 1920s, Jesuit priest Antoine Poidebard spotted the angular outlines of what he suspected were ancient Roman forts while flying over the Syrian desert in a biplane. In what was one of the earliest aerial archaeological surveys, the French aviator went on to map and photograph more than 100 outposts strung along a 1000-kilometer arc between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

For decades, historians assumed these were the remains of a defensive frontier built around 300 C.E. to fend off the Sasanian Empire, Rome’s rival to the east. Now, archaeologists are suggesting a more mercantile explanation, thanks to the discovery of hundreds of additional Roman-style structures seen in declassified U.S. spy satellite photos. Rather than a linear defensive screen like Hadrian’s Wall in northern England and others the Romans erected, the Syrian forts were probably there to protect and tax caravans and traders, not to constantly fight the Sasanians, the researchers report today in Antiquity.

“If confirmed, this adds a lot to the discussion,” says Rocco Palermo, an archaeologist at Bryn Mawr College who was not involved in the work. “By adding more forts, the scenario really changes.”

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