In October 2024, routine renovations on a soccer field in Vienna’s Simmering district led to a major archaeological discovery: a mass grave containing the skeletal remains of over 150 individuals. Archaeologists from the Vienna Museum, together with specialists from the archaeological firm Novetus, immediately launched an investigation into the site, which sheds new light on the Roman Empire’s presence in the region.
Excavations revealed that the remains were predominantly male, aged between 20 and 30, with clear evidence of violent death. Injuries consistent with swords, spears, daggers, and iron bolts indicate that these individuals perished in combat. The bodies were hastily buried in a disorderly manner, often lying on their stomachs or sides with limbs intertwined, reflecting the urgency and lack of proper funerary rituals following a catastrophic event. Radiocarbon dating places their deaths between 80 and 130 AD.
Artifacts found alongside the remains—including a Roman iron dagger with silver inlay, fragments of armor, a metal cheekpiece from a helmet, spearheads, and hobnails from caligae (Roman military boots)—confirm that the deceased were Roman soldiers. The style and dating of the dagger further help pinpoint the burial to the late 1st century AD. The chaotic nature of the burial contrasts sharply with typical Roman funerary practices, which usually involved cremation, making this one of the largest and rarest Roman military graves discovered in Central Europe.
Historical sources indicate that the Danube frontier, known as the Limes, experienced repeated and costly conflicts with Germanic tribes during the late 1st century AD, particularly under Emperors Domitian and Trajan. The findings suggest that the soldiers likely died in such a battle, and the hurried mass burial reflects the scarcity of time and resources in the aftermath of the fighting. Some historians propose that this defeat may have prompted the expansion of the Roman military camp Vindobona, which later became the foundation of modern Vienna.
Future studies, including DNA and isotopic analysis of the remains, are expected to provide further insights into the soldiers’ origins, health, and daily lives. This discovery offers an unprecedented glimpse into Roman military history and the often-dangerous realities of life on the empire’s frontier, revealing a previously unknown and tragic chapter in Vienna’s early history.