27 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists identify three new Roman camps in Arabia

Through remote sensing analysis, archaeologists have identified three new Roman fortified camps throughout northern Arabia.

Their study, released today in the journal Antiquity, reports that the discovery might be proof of an unrecorded military expedition that crossed southeast Jordan and entered Saudi Arabia.

The newly discovered camps run in a straight line toward Dûmat al-Jandal, which is now Saudi Arabia but was once a settlement in the Nabataean kingdom’s east.

The research team believes that the camps, which were discovered using satellite images, may have been a component of a previously unrecognized Roman military campaign connected to the Roman conquest of the Nabataean Kingdom in AD 106 CE, a civilization centered on the renowned city of Petra.

Dr Michael Fradley, who led the research and first identified the camps on Google Earth said to BBC:

“We are almost certain they were built by the Roman army, given the typical playing card shape of the enclosures with opposing entrances along each side.

New Roman camps found in desert. İmage: APAAME
New Roman camps found in desert. İmage: APAAME

“The only notable difference between them is that the westernmost camp is significantly larger than the two camps to the east.”

Dr. Mike Bishop, an expert on the Roman military, said to BBC: “These camps are a spectacular new find and an important new insight into Roman campaigning in Arabia.

“Roman forts and fortresses show how Rome held a province, but temporary camps reveal how they acquired it in the first place.”

Dr. Fradley added that the preservation of the camps was “remarkable”, particularly as they may have only been used for a matter of days or weeks.

The team hypothesizes that, given the distance of 37 to 44 km between each camp, it was too far for infantry to travel in a single day and that the forts were instead constructed by a cavalry unit that could traverse such desolate terrain in that time, perhaps on camels.

There is also a suggestion that another camp may have been situated farther west at the later Umayyad fort and well station at Bayir based on the distance between the camps.

Cover Photo: APAAME

Related Articles

How Chariot Racing Saved Constantinople?

17 February 2021

17 February 2021

Chariot racing “ludi cirenses” was one of the indispensable sports for the Roman and Byzantine Empires. The days on which...

Archaeologists may have Found a Viking Age Marketplace in Norway

21 February 2024

21 February 2024

Archaeologists from the University of Stavanger have identified the possible remains of a marketplace from the Viking Age on a...

Archaeologists Discover Clay Figurines from Early Iron Age in Ukraine

17 December 2024

17 December 2024

Archaeologists have discovered clay figurines of young bulls from the Early Iron Age near the Metropolitan Chambers in the village...

Radar Detects Long-lost River in Egypt and Could Explain How The Pyramids Were Built

22 May 2024

22 May 2024

More than 30 pyramids in Egypt are located in an unremarkable strip of barren desert far from the shores of...

Two Durham Archaeology Students, One from Türkiye, Earn Prestigious Awards for Research on Ancient Lycia

26 July 2025

26 July 2025

In a remarkable achievement for Anatolian studies, two Durham University-affiliated archaeology students have received prestigious awards for their research on...

Remarkably Preserved Bronze Age Urns, Thousands of Years Old, Unearthed in Germany

13 May 2025

13 May 2025

What appeared to be an ordinary stretch of County Road 17 between the towns of Moisburg and Immenbeck has turned...

Army Museum Worker Discovers Early Medieval Sword While Swimming in a Polish River

19 December 2024

19 December 2024

The collection of the Army Museum in Białystok, Poland has been enriched after renovation with a unique relic of great...

Advanced imaging techniques reveal secrets of sealed ancient Egyptian animal coffins

21 April 2023

21 April 2023

Researchers from the British Museum have gained valuable insight into the contents of six sealed ancient Egyptian animal coffins using...

Ancient Jordanian town referred to as Heshbon in the Old Testament provides insight into regional agricultural history

20 January 2022

20 January 2022

The American archaeologist stated that Tell Hisban, located on the Madaba plains of Jordan, represents the “granary of the empires”....

Archeologists in Peru find a 1,000-year-old adolescent mummy wrapped in bundle

25 April 2023

25 April 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed a more than 1,000-year-old mummy on the outskirts of Peru’s capital, Lima. The mummified adolescent was wrapped...

Monumental Roman complex discovered in France

19 March 2023

19 March 2023

In the city of Reims in northeastern France, archaeologists have discovered an ancient Roman-era monumental complex dating from the 2nd...

Gladiators were mostly Vegetarians and they were fatter than you may think

6 August 2023

6 August 2023

What better epitomizes the ideal male physique than the Roman gladiator? Gladiators were the movie stars of the first century,...

Medieval Love badge with the written “Love conquers all” discovered in Poland

18 February 2024

18 February 2024

Polish archaeologists have discovered a late medieval badge: a piece of tin shaped into a turtle dover and with the...

Over 70 Archaeological Sites Identified in Canada’s Chilcotin Region, Uncovering Secwépemc Pit Houses Over 4,000 Years Old

29 March 2025

29 March 2025

Recent archaeological findings indicate that the Secwépemc people’s historical presence in the Chilcotin region of British Columbia, Canada, is more...

World’s Oldest Customer Complaint “at 3800 Years Old”

4 February 2021

4 February 2021

When we are not satisfied with the product we receive, what almost all of us do is complain about the...