Coin Clues to Lost Legions

Damien Gregory finds new clues to the missing Roman legions

A British army officer believes he has chanced upon the mystery location behind one of the most famous dates in German history. The site in question is that of the 9AD battle of Tuetoburger Forest in which a rebel German force inflicted a surprise defeat on the Roman warrior Varus, effectively curtailing further advancement into German territory.

Captain Clunn, whose fascination with the Romans started six years ago when he was looking for a new hobby, began surveying a site near Osnabruck in 1987 with a sophisticated industrial metal detector. He had been directed there by Dr Schluter of the local museum. Part of his research incorporated a thesis and series of maps by the nineteenth century archaeologist Momsen who believed this area was the probable site of the Teutoburger battlefield.

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