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00:00It is one of the greatest battles of antiquity, a clash of rare violence between two civilizations.
00:10On a dit que Teutobourg n'était pas une bataille, mais plutôt un massacre.
00:14In the first century CE, the Roman legions of Augustus dominated Europe.
00:20Ce sont des soldats professionnels, surentrainés.
00:23Their thirst for conquest took them across the Rhine into Germania.
00:30But deep in the heart of this hostile territory, a fearsome people would make their lives hellish.
00:46One conflict above all others symbolized this unprecedented disaster, the Battle of Teutobourg.
00:54Recorded in ancient accounts and shrouded in mystery, it pitched the German commander Arminius...
01:01...somebody very impressive, charming, intelligent.
01:06...against the Roman general Varus, sent by Emperor Augustus to conquer Germania.
01:13...but it led to one of Rome's most bitter defeats.
01:18This is the true story of the Battle of Teutobourg.
01:25The Battle of Teutobourg
01:35The Battle of Teutobourg
01:50For some 30 years now, this area of the Lower Saxony region in Germany, near the village
01:57of Calcriza, has been the focus of archaeological research.
02:02The bloody confrontation between the Germanic peoples and the Roman legions in the first
02:06century CE is ready to yield its secrets.
02:11Secrets dating back 2,000 years to a period when conquering Germania became Rome's prime
02:16objective.
02:17After subjugating the peoples of the Mediterranean basin, the Roman armies turned north towards
02:25the vast unknown territory known as Germania.
02:29It was a prospect that aroused a mixture of fear and fantasy.
02:33According to ancient texts, these fears turned into a rout after a dantesque battle.
02:41Yet for a long time, skepticism reigned about the battle, given that the accounts were so
02:46vague and its location impossible to pinpoint.
02:49For centuries, historians assumed that it took place hundreds of miles away, in the east,
02:55in Teutoburg forest.
02:59But today, all doubts have been dispelled.
03:02And hundreds of square meters are being examined with a fine tooth comb.
03:06This coin dates from the 19th century, but the field is full of much older objects and clearly identifies
03:30calcresa as the scene of the battle of Teutoburg.
03:37So, the most finds that we are making here are actually mints from the Roman Republic and
03:45from the Augustaean period, and of course, parts of the military equipment of the Romans.
03:54These excavations confirm what was until now only a hypothesis.
04:03The legions of the Emperor Augustus passed through this area 2000 years ago.
04:09Their microscopic analysis provides another important piece of information.
04:28These legions fought under the Roman general Varus.
04:32We can continue to go through the against-stempels, which are very important.
04:36We have Varus as against-stempels, as fieldherrn and commandant of the Rhein-Armée.
04:46It is from 20 BC that the Emperor Augustus has created the possibility of acquiring this part of the right river of the Rhin.
04:55The Romans have carried out a succession of campaigns until the IX avant J.-C.
05:06They have started to build cities, which were the chiefs of the city, to the different cities of the province.
05:14They had also the desire to affirm their emprise.
05:18It was also a province that we could exploit.
05:22We found in the Mediterranean, in the Mediterranean,
05:25the lingots of the plombs that came from mines,
05:28from this province of Germany.
05:31And then the Germanic, it was the protection of the Rive-Gauches of the Rhin,
05:35so this Gaule prosperous,
05:37which we felt constantly threatened by the Razia of the Germans.
05:41It was necessary then to protect this border and ensure the legion's progression into enemy territory.
05:56The Romans began by setting up a line of temporary marching camps along the Rhine and its tributaries,
06:03some of which grew into small towns.
06:06The Aliso camp on the banks of the Lipper River in North Rhine, Westphalia was one of the most important.
06:13One of the most important.
06:17It is circa 20 hectare gross.
06:21If you want to imagine this, there are 25 football fields.
06:25It was an enormous area that was covered by this camp.
06:30In the camp there were 5,000 to 6,000 legionaires.
06:35There were no women.
06:38They were not allowed in the camp.
06:40Less one
06:53and then one.
06:54They were allowed in the frigates,
06:55for a second.
06:56We did!
06:57This section of the camp fortifications has been reconstructed to scale,
07:03using the same materials as the original constructing.
07:052000 Jahren haben genau an dieser Stelle die Römer ihre Gräben angelegt, um die Umwehrung
07:16noch mit weiteren zwei Spitzgräben zu umgeben.
07:19Sie waren ungefähr etwas über zwei Meter tief und ungefähr fünf Meter breit und man
07:29muss sich die nicht als nasse Gräben vorstellen, also es lag kein Wasser in ihnen, sondern sie
07:35waren trocken und man kann sich das so vorstellen, dass dann ein, falls ein Germane auf das Lager
07:42zustürmte und in den Graben rein stürmte, brauchte er erstmal eine gewisse Zeit, um hier wieder
07:48rauszukommen und in der Zeit war er schon längst erfasst worden von einem Wachsoldaten,
07:53der sich dort oben auf dem Turm oder auf dem Wehrgang befunden hat und der konnte dann sehr
07:59schnell auf den Germanen schießen und dann war es um ihn geschehen.
08:03Aliso hosted the 18th Legion, one of the three taking part in the battle.
08:11Given the difficulties in conquering Germania, the camp was designed to be an impregnable
08:16fortress.
08:19The Roman Empire's strategy for subduing the province and its recalcitrant peoples rested
08:25on the shoulders of one man.
08:32In 7 C.E., Augustus appointed one of his trusted generals to Germania, a close associate with
08:38a brilliant military career and one of Rome's most influential figures, Imperial Legatus Publius
08:46Quintilius Varus.
08:48Varus is one of the members of the most high aristocracy Roman, of this senatorial order
08:58which directs the Roman world, that is the world.
09:01The Publius Quintilius Varus belongs to the extended circle of the family of the Emperor.
09:07He was the legatus and governor of the province of Syria, which is in the Orient one of the
09:12most important provinces.
09:13He is an experienced man and that is the reason why he is sent to Germany.
09:18The challenge was for him to take the last step on the hierarchical level and then to become
09:24a governor of this future province.
09:28Among the officers on his staff, Varus was reliant on one in particular, a man named Arminius.
09:39Roman authors like Tacitus describe him as somebody very impressive, charming, intelligent.
09:47So he must have had quite a charisma and of course quite a competence of leadership.
09:56Arminius was a member of the Cheruscan nobility, one of the tribes on the right bank of the
10:01Rhine.
10:02Like other Germanic peoples, they collaborated with the occupiers.
10:07It was an approach that offered them the protection of an empire constantly in search of allies,
10:12in its quest to Romanize and conquer.
10:16The status of his clan had a major influence on Arminius' destiny.
10:21Like many other boys, he was taken from his family at an early age and sent to Rome to
10:25be educated.
10:26C'est un prince, il a passé manifestement une grande partie de sa jeunesse à Rome où il
10:32a servi un peu de garant, de caution de l'alliance entre Rome et les Cherusques.
10:39Il a acquis la citoyenneté romaine, il s'est battu au service de Rome.
10:43He becomes the leader of an auxiliary troop, he joins several very important military campaigns.
10:50Arminius a obtenu aussi la dignité de chevalier romain et donc à ce titre il est préfet de la
10:58corte des Cherusques qui accompagne l'armée romaine.
11:02Arminius was at the head of the auxiliary troops made up of warriors from the conquered peoples.
11:09They served as intermediaries with the local population and swelled the ranks of the Roman
11:14army, making it even more dominant.
11:23In Crise, these legions left behind several military accessories, one of which is of inestimable
11:30historical value.
11:32It is the oldest find of this type.
11:37There are no other masks from the first century, which shows that this is a very specific place
11:45of Roman history.
11:47There have been several thoughts about the question who might have been the owner.
11:52There is some evidence to think of that it belongs to somebody from the cavalry.
11:57It is probably not achievable for a normal soldier but for an officer of a slightly higher
12:07rank.
12:08It must not be the highest rank.
12:09The premise that this mask belonged to Arminius himself is actually quite plausible.
12:15This mask is made fit to measure.
12:19It is not a mask product and then you just picked a mask but it was really adapted to the
12:25facial traits of its future owner.
12:32That was used in the battle.
12:35At least it is made in a way that it could have been possible to use it in a fighting situation.
12:46Augustus made sweeping changes to the Roman army, turning it into a professional unit.
12:52Made up of several hundred thousand men, it was notable for its discipline and military techniques.
12:58The army that Varus led in Germania was an elite force.
13:02The Roman army is the most powerful in the world at the time of Auguste.
13:09Because it is the fruit of a long evolution. Rome is not done in one day and the Roman army
13:15no longer.
13:16trial gun results and proof of story.
13:22attack
13:25The legion is its discipline.
13:27It is about the official terus told soldiers,
13:33those built into specific follow leaders.
13:35Use попробeurés.
13:36We can imagine the navy, who is red they're in the Legions,
13:39the target leader.
13:41Thus, the front line never wavers when engaging in hand-to-hand combat.
14:11The front line is right, he protects himself against the enemy, the second has his horizontal line,
14:17that means he can hit the enemy who would come too close to his colleague.
14:21In fact, the enemy has two soldiers in front of him.
14:25Before battle, the Legion first had to be deployed.
14:33The approach to the battlefield was made in several columns, but the army always adapted to the terrain.
14:39Even in the wet and hilly German countryside.
14:42There is a very popular formation that is known and popular,
14:47when we talk about the Legion, it's the turtle.
14:49The turtle can serve before the frontal shock.
14:57There is a whole lot of projectiles that will fall on the Legionnaires,
15:01the flicks, the balls of front.
15:02So, there it is important to be able to protect themselves all together and then to be able to advance.
15:08Another feature of the Roman army is that it recruited men of the people.
15:23It's a people who is essentially from the camp.
15:28They are quite rustic and they have a lot of knowledge.
15:30So, they can take part of their environment, take part of the wood, of the stone, of the stone.
15:36And with that, they will be able to build war machines that they don't necessarily have to transport with them.
15:42So, they can produce war machines, but as well as the towers or the towers.
15:46So, this is also one of the secrets of the Roman army.
15:49A major discovery by the archaeologists at Calcriza completes this unusual arsenal.
16:02The remains of a Legionnaire's armour embedded in rock for more than 2,000 years.
16:08Using photogrammetry, researchers have been able to produce a 3D reconstruction of the armour
16:14exactly as it was found during its excavation.
16:19Many hours of work were required to separate the various folded pieces.
16:28The plates of the Roman armour that we found are made of iron and the iron is strongly corroded.
16:40This machine is a fine air abrasion machine.
16:44It produces an air jet which we can use to take off the iron corrosion with abrasion.
16:53Which is good because that means that we don't leave residue of chemicals in the object that might harm the object later.
17:00The mechanical cleaning is refined under the microscope.
17:03The clean plates provide researchers with valuable clues about Roman military engineering and its tremendous capacity for adaptation.
17:12This armour is a very early type.
17:15This sort of plate armour was only established in the Roman military around the reign of Augustus.
17:23So this is the earliest example of this kind of plate armour that we can actually have a complete reconstruction after the conservation of the armour.
17:35From which we can actually learn how this thing was built, how it was constructed and how it was worn.
17:41You can actually see there are some weaknesses, some gaps in the shoulder parts that seem to have been corrected in the later versions.
17:52This attention to detail however was not without its disadvantages which played a decisive role in the battle.
17:59If you look at the Roman League they did have a lot of heavy equipment.
18:02Not only the armour but also helmets and shields and several weapons as well as their packs with supplies.
18:13So they would have been packed very heavily.
18:16Faced with this uncompromising colossus, most opponents yielded.
18:25But in this unfriendly terrain, Varus found himself tackling Germanic warriors that were as terrifying as they were mysterious.
18:35What we know about is the words that their opponents, the Romans hold on.
18:42Germanic, that doesn't refer to one people.
18:47It is a kind of overhead, just getting together diverse groups of people.
18:54These are authentic Celtics, that is to say, who have not yet been touched by the Mediterranean civilization.
19:01They are still in a state of freedom.
19:04In a word, barbarians, feared in Rome since Caesar's earliest incursions several decades earlier.
19:17Especially because among Germanic peoples, war was a principle of social cohesion.
19:23They are guerrillas, which means that war is an integral part of their society.
19:30The German, when he is 15 years old, he becomes an adult.
19:33It's a sort of rite of passage.
19:35During this passage, we put a bolt and a frame.
19:42What we call a frame, which is a small lance.
19:44This is the typical German army, the base army.
19:49We have other weapons.
19:51This is the famous glaives.
19:53This is a short sword.
19:55And then we have the hache.
19:58We don't wear armor.
20:01We don't have a belt, we don't have a belt, we don't have a belt, we don't have a belt.
20:04This is not our combat techniques.
20:07Light and mobile, the Germanic fighters develop their own mastery of the art of warfare.
20:13We are going to talk about an embuscade, we are going to talk about an action very fast,
20:18a bit like the modern commandos.
20:21We prepare our attack, we sème the froid.
20:24We don't try to kill it.
20:27That's not the goal.
20:29The goal is to neutralize our adversaries,
20:33and then disappear, and to eventually start another place.
20:36And in an individual combat, with a Roman soldier who is much heavier,
20:42we have the advantage.
20:45To make weapons, the Germans adapted everyday tools to the task at hand.
20:52In this case, small forges.
20:55The iron was extracted from the peat bogs, and placed in the fire.
21:06Ah, so here's the forges, which will work thanks to a sprayer.
21:09So here, there are two small sprays.
21:11The hot part of the inside is maybe 800 degrees.
21:16If I ventile well enough, I'll be able to exceed the fusion point.
21:20So I'll be able to burn the fer in my fire, because my fer won't fall, it'll burn.
21:24So I can climb up to about 350 degrees.
21:30We heat the piece, we can only pull it to the ground,
21:32and take it to an enclave, which is almost a row of ground.
21:36The anvil was placed on a wooden block to cushion the impact of the hammer on the iron.
21:42So here, this is the glue to deform the original piece.
21:45After three hours of work, the Germanic warrior had a spear to brandish.
22:02Here then were two different worlds, two civilizations facing off against each other in Germania.
22:07And before long, the supposed superiority of the Romans reinforced German anger.
22:13Varus n'a pas suffisamment suivi les coutumes germaniques et a voulu, de manière abrupte, autoritaire,
22:22appliquer une manière de rendre la justice romaine qui a suscité la colère des Germains.
22:29On lui a reproché à la fois une certaine brutalité, une certaine naïveté,
22:35c'est-à-dire on lui a reproché d'avoir surestimé la soumission des Germains.
22:40Varus, sans doute, pour employer une expression familière, n'a pas pris de pincettes.
22:44Why could Varus, a man with experience in hostile territories, make these mistakes ?
22:51What was the role of Arminius, who was meant to act as an intermediary
22:55between his superior officer and his blood brothers ?
23:00Arminius, en tant qu'officier, entouré Varus comme un officier,
23:05participe à un état-major autour d'un gouverneur romain.
23:09Leur relation était faite à la fois d'autorité, il y avait une hiérarchie,
23:14mais aussi de rapports, disons, d'hospitalité et peut-être d'amicitia,
23:20la valeur romaine essentielle de l'amitié forte qui unit deux individus.
23:28On peut assume qu'ils connaissaient l'autre déjà de Rome.
23:31Ils étaient tous là, ils étaient tous en partie de ce apparatus militaire.
23:39Mais l'homme de droite n'était pas si loyal qu'il semblait.
23:48En dehors de cette façade de complicité,
23:50Arminius a été conspiring pendant des semaines,
23:53patientement laveurant son web.
23:55Il a continué en apparence à faire partie de ses officiers guerriers germaniques entrés au service de Rome,
24:02mais il a peu à peu réalisé qu'il pouvait mener les germains mécontents de cette autorité de Rome
24:10et se rebeller face aux Romains.
24:12Manifestement, son idée, c'était plutôt d'essayer de se tailler un royaume en Germanie,
24:18plutôt que d'être simplement un relais du pouvoir impérial romain.
24:24Et si il veut venir avec quelque chose de très grande,
24:28il a besoin de soutien de toutes ces personnes qui vivent ici.
24:33Ça signifie qu'il avait soutien de d'autres germaniques.
24:38En l'ombre de 9 C.E.,
24:45quand Varus et ses trois legions
24:47étaient retournés à leur quartier,
24:49Arminius sete ses trapes,
24:51urging les Legatus
24:53à faire une diversion
24:55à une petite uprising un peu plus d'aujourd'hui.
24:58Arminius nous suggérons que
25:01« c'est seulement une petite chose,
25:03leave tout à moi,
25:04je m'ai arrangé,
25:05follow-moi ».
25:07Suspecting nothing,
25:09Varus took an unfamiliar trail,
25:11leading his 20,000 men
25:13into a trap
25:15in the heart of the dense
25:16and humid Calcriza forest.
25:31We are sitting here
25:32where you can see this yellow point
25:34and looking into this direction
25:36and looking into this direction
25:37we directly look into
25:38this slopey, hilly area.
25:45And behind me
25:46would start now
25:48this swamp and the bog area.
25:522,000 years ago
25:53it was difficult to march through,
25:55let's say,
25:56from September to March, April.
25:59So the soil was already covered
26:03with all these leaves
26:05and it was boggy
26:06and it was difficult to see
26:07where you march along
26:09and you really had to pay attention
26:10for every step you make.
26:12Yes, I would call it a perfect place
26:13for an ambush.
26:14Yes, I would call it a perfect place
26:16for an ambush.
26:17Of course the landscape
26:19in this battle
26:20was a partner
26:21for the Germanic people
26:23while it was an enemy
26:24for the Roman soldiers.
26:26At the foot of the Calcriza hill,
26:30the trail narrows.
26:32So much so,
26:33the column of Varus's three legions,
26:35some 15,000 men,
26:37stretched for nearly 12 kilometers.
26:42They couldn't march
26:43as they were probably used side by side
26:47in large formations through the forest.
26:50This was the moment.
26:59Armenians riding alongside the officers
27:02split from the column
27:04ostensibly on a scouting mission.
27:07He actually went to join his allies
27:10camouflaged in the forest.
27:12This was the signal.
27:14The German commandos
27:16attacked the enemy column.
27:18The German commandos
27:20The German commandos
27:21Written sources describe the extreme brutality
27:38of the Germanic warriors.
27:40Historians have found skulls at Calcriza
27:43attesting to the violence of the fighting.
27:46They show clear injuries.
27:49So this one has been cut off here.
27:52You see a very flat surface here.
27:54And here you have a cutting mark
27:56going into the skull
27:57and the rest has broken off.
27:59These weapons were Germanic swords
28:03that left these cutting marks.
28:05The Germans used mainly spares
28:08but also swords.
28:09But these cutting marks are too big
28:11to be caused by a spare.
28:13There are hints that they were Romans.
28:18The age of the people lying there
28:21and the strength of their bones
28:25hints on them being Roman legendaries.
28:28So these are clear victims of a battle.
28:32What he knew was that they are very strong
28:33in fighting in formation in a very organized way.
28:47What he wanted to avoid,
28:49is that there is an engagement
28:51to the ground ground.
28:53Drawing on all his experience,
28:55Arminius opted for a strategy
28:57of guerrilla warfare.
28:59His warriors launched lightning raids,
29:01confusing the Roman column,
29:03splitting it into several groups,
29:05then returned to the forest to hide
29:08when reinforcements arrived.
29:10There was perhaps a surprise effect,
29:13even though we were there
29:15in an unknown field.
29:17The point is that you realize too late
29:19that you are in a bottleneck situation.
29:24That makes it a perfect trap for such a plan.
29:28The harassment from the Germanic fighters
29:34was relentless and unpredictable.
29:37This was one of the keys to the battle.
29:41But how did the Romans protect themselves?
29:44Archaeologists may have solved
29:46the puzzle of the Roman camp
29:48mentioned by the historian Tacitus
29:50in his account of the battle.
29:52It played a vital role
29:54in the way events unfolded.
29:56Some very ancient foundations
29:59have been uncovered
30:00right in the heart
30:01of the archaeological site.
30:05Here we have a reconstruction
30:06of the first excavation
30:07from 1989 to the 2000s.
30:11The sogenannte Germanenwall.
30:15That should be the attempt
30:17to show the findings here in blue.
30:20That the Germanenwall
30:21as a place for a bridge
30:24where the Germanen
30:26were buried.
30:27And since the Romans
30:28had to walk on this
30:29sand roof
30:30that actually stood
30:31behind the wall
30:33and the Romans
30:34could always attack again
30:35without the Romans
30:36having a lot of space
30:37to form themselves.
30:41But more recent discoveries
30:42have forced historians
30:43to completely revise this scenario.
30:47It seems that the foundations
30:49are in fact those
30:50of a Roman camp.
30:52The hypothesis is supported
30:54by Tacitus
30:55who mentions the existence
30:56of a legionnaires camp.
30:59And there are actually
31:01since 2016
31:02in different stages
31:03we found
31:04that it could
31:06be a römsch
31:08land.
31:09With the old graves
31:10in which
31:11the graves
31:12look different
31:13as the
31:14drainage graves
31:15the so known
31:16the under the Germanenwall
31:17or under the Germanenwall
31:18there are still
31:19in the west
31:21and the north
31:23and when
31:24and when
31:25you connect these
31:26then you get
31:27a place
31:28where you get
31:29an expeditions
31:30king.
31:31These V-gräben
31:32are typical römish.
31:33They are just
31:34a building
31:35that is known
31:36in the römish army
31:37from the Republic
31:39to the late antiquity
31:40that actually
31:41uses the römish
31:42legionnaires
31:43or römish
31:44soldiers
31:45as shanzen.
31:46More recent excavations
31:47support the written accounts.
31:50On the evening
31:51of the first day
31:52it seems that Varus
31:53and his men
31:54managed to get
31:55to safety.
31:59L'une des clés
32:00de la force
32:01des romains
32:02c'est de pouvoir
32:04s'enfermer
32:06la nuit
32:07dans un camp
32:08protégé
32:09par un fossé.
32:10Ils sont rompus
32:11à l'exercice.
32:12Ils le font
32:13en terrain
32:14ennemi
32:15chaque soir.
32:16Ce camp
32:17construit
32:18relativement rapidement
32:19présente
32:20peut-être pas
32:21toutes les garanties
32:22et puis pour tenir
32:23un siège
32:24il faut avoir des provisions
32:25de ravitaillement
32:26et ça, ça manquait.
32:27Les légionnaires
32:28sont épuisés,
32:29ils ne dorment pas,
32:30il faut bien veiller la nuit
32:31même quand on est derrière
32:32la palissade d'un camp.
32:33Ils peuvent tenir un certain temps
32:34jusqu'au moment où ils sont
32:35complètement submergés par le nombre
32:36parce qu'eux ne peuvent pas
32:37recevoir de renfort
32:38parce qu'eux ne peuvent pas recevoir
32:40de renfort
32:41alors que le succès
32:42a plan de succès
32:43évidemment, quand se répand
32:46la nouvelle de l'embuscade
32:47les germains
32:48reçoivent des renforts.
32:49Eh bien, les germains
32:51reçoivent des renforts.
32:52Les éléments s'y mettent,
32:53ils se mettent à pleuvoir,
32:54le vent souffle,
32:55et le vent souffle,
32:56et le vent souffle.
32:57Ils peuvent tenir
32:58quand même un certain temps
32:59jusqu'au moment où ils
33:00sont complètement submergés
33:01par le nombre
33:02parce qu'eux ne peuvent pas
33:03recevoir de renforts
33:04alors que le succès a plan de succès
33:05évidemment,
33:06quand se répand
33:07la nouvelle de l'embuscade
33:08eh bien, les germains
33:09eux reçoivent des renforts.
33:10Les éléments s'y mettent,
33:19ils se mettent à pleuvoir,
33:21le vent souffle.
33:23L'armée romaine
33:26patauge dans la boue
33:27et rien ne s'améliore
33:29dans ce scénario.
33:31Après trois jours
33:32et trois noix,
33:33seulement une handful
33:34d'exhaustés
33:35ont resté.
33:36Les publicités
33:38Varus a réalisé
33:40qu'il avait perdu.
33:41Si bien que
33:43quatrième jour
33:44Varus
33:45décide de se suicider.
33:54En ne sachant pas
33:55quel sort
33:56va être réservé
33:57à son cadavre.
34:04Et donc,
34:05en effet,
34:06la tête de Varus
34:07est découpée
34:08sur le cadavre
34:09et Arminius
34:10peut s'en emparer.
34:19Les trois legions
34:20engulfées
34:21dans ce désastre
34:22ont souffert
34:23l'ignommage
34:24quand les germains
34:25ont appris
34:26leurs signes.
34:27Les news
34:28de la défaite
34:29ont fait rome
34:30attirer.
34:31Auguste
34:38serait devenu
34:39presque fou.
34:40Il se réveillait
34:41la nuit
34:42en criant
34:43Varus,
34:44rends-moi
34:45mes légions.
34:46Mais,
34:47il y a
34:48des
34:49des
34:50des
34:52des
34:53des
34:54des
34:55des
34:56des
34:57des
34:58des
34:59des
35:09des
35:10des
35:11des
35:12des
35:13des
35:14des
35:15des
35:16des
35:18des
35:29des
35:30bayers
35:31czt les
35:33des
35:34to leave the region because they were afraid that they couldn't do much against this region.
35:39And so the Roman legionaries, the rest of the camp,
35:44and the last survivors of the true siege, could protect the other side of the Rhine.
35:56While for 30 years archaeologists have pieced clues together
36:00in an attempt to reconstruct the details of this battle,
36:03one vitally important discovery has provided irrefutable proof of its existence,
36:09the funeral stele of a fallen soldier from the battle.
36:14We see here on this stone his name, Callius,
36:18and we see as well that he belonged to the 18th legion of the Roman army,
36:23and we see as well that the battle where he lost his life was the Bello Variano,
36:30and that is really important because it's the only evidence,
36:34the only epigraphic evidence we do have that this battle really happened.
36:41Found in a Roman town in the Rhine valley,
36:44this gravestone was built by Callius his brother,
36:47even though his body had not been found.
36:49For Romans, funeral rites were an essential ritual on both a social and a spiritual level.
36:58On the other side of the Rhine, in Strasbourg,
37:01numerous deli from the same period have been found,
37:04all built on the same model.
37:06We see frequently the same organization with the name of the deceased,
37:15here it's Comnisca, who died here in Strasbourg,
37:18and then the son of Vedilus,
37:21and on the last line we see a mention that appears almost automatically on the funeral stele.
37:28On the other hand, here,
37:30R.S. ex. testamento fechit,
37:34that is to say that all of this monument
37:37has been made according to the testament
37:40which has left the deceased.
37:43For a Roman, this funeral ritual is indispensable.
37:47So these Roman citizens, these soldiers, these soldiers,
37:49these cavalry soldiers who are fallen
37:51must be buried according to the Roman prescriptions.
37:55with the funeral beds that are imposed,
37:58with the place of real funeral spaces
38:03where the rest of the deceased,
38:05and then, finally, a monument, a stelle,
38:08which allows us to mark the tomb
38:10and to preserve, to commemorate the deceased's memory.
38:18Not only was it unthinkable for Rome
38:20to leave its fallen soldiers
38:22in the hell of Germania without a grave,
38:24it was also a matter of honour and revenge.
38:28After a few years of consolidation,
38:30the new emperor, Tiberius, launched his retaliation.
38:34Six years later, the Romans are back,
38:37with even more legions,
38:39and, of course, the task now to fulfil the job
38:42and to get this Germania finally turned into a province
38:46and really military conquered and subdued.
38:50And it is Germanicus who is the head of the expedition.
38:54It was, for Germanicus,
38:55it was, for Germanicus,
38:56in spite of the almost certain goal,
38:57to recover the province,
38:58to repair the disaster
39:00and to be vengeful
39:02from the Germans
39:03to the power of Rome.
39:05Accompanied by a handful of survivors,
39:10Germanicus went to the Calcriza forest
39:12to pay his last respects
39:14to the dead of the battle of Varus.
39:17And it is a unique sequence
39:21in the history of the antiquity.
39:23This return on a camp of battle
39:26to give a sepulture to the mort
39:30to realize what happened.
39:32And they discover
39:34these disasters,
39:36these festivals
39:38where the tribus had been immoled
39:41by the Germans.
39:43And Tacitus describes how they fall into tears
39:58and that they tell him,
40:00oh, it was here when we fought
40:02and it was here where we lost him.
40:04And so they come up with
40:06a very detailed kind of memory.
40:10The bones found on the site
40:12confirm the accounts of Roman historians.
40:16If you look at it,
40:18then you immediately get the impression
40:20it is not a grave.
40:23But you feel that there is
40:25a human being acting
40:27to get this in a kind of arrangement.
40:30And so far, of course,
40:32we haven't found any real proper Roman burials.
40:36It could be possible that this belongs exactly to this scene.
40:41Because imagine,
40:42you are moving in enemy's country,
40:45but you don't have much time
40:46and you have to fear
40:47that you're going to be attacked any other second.
40:49So you take a few skeletal remains
40:51and then you arrange them in a way
40:53and somebody is speaking some words
40:56and then it's done.
40:59Having fulfilled his duty as a Roman,
41:03Germanicus faced the new strongman of Germania,
41:07Arminius, on several battlefields.
41:09He wanted to become something like the king of Germania.
41:15He had seen in Rome what an emperor like Augustus could do,
41:22what reign means, what power means.
41:26Arminius offered heroic resistance to Germanicus
41:31and his eight legions,
41:32even managing to quell Rome's ambitions.
41:35But in the year 21st,
41:37he had seen in Rome
41:39and he had seen in Rome
41:40what an emperor like Augustus could do,
41:42what reign means,
41:44what power means.
41:46Arminius offered heroic resistance
41:48to Germanicus and his eight legions,
41:50even managing to quell Rome's ambitions.
41:53But in the year 21 CE,
41:5712 years after his most brilliant victory,
42:00his quest for power suddenly came to an end.
42:04In the end, Arminius was murdered.
42:08And it's fairly obvious
42:11that he was not murdered by any enemies,
42:13he was murdered by his own people.
42:16Jealousy or revenge?
42:19His death remains a mystery,
42:22but he long remained the embodiment of resistance to the invader,
42:26a resistance that dampened Roman ambitions.
42:30For Rome never escaped the quagmire of Germania.
42:34The defeated Teutoburg cut deep
42:36and German opposition eventually overcame
42:38the Roman thirst for conquest.
42:41That is the time when Romans then really say,
42:44okay, we give up on this poor area there in the north,
42:48we withdraw,
42:49and the chapter of conquering Germania is closed.
42:54Arminius' crazy gamble is etched in legend and in history.
43:00But the site of Calcriza has not yet revealed all its secrets.
43:05The enigma of the Battle of Teutoburg is still shrouded in mystery.
43:10The enigma of the Battle of Teutoburg has not yet died!
43:14No, no, no, no!
43:16No, no, no, no!
43:18The enigma of the Battle of Teutoburg