Mass Roman grave discovered outside Vienna

Archaeologists from the Vienna Museum in Austria said Wednesday that the remains of around 150 soldiers had been discovered in a mass Roman grave.

Construction work to renovate a football pitch in the residential and industrial area of Simmering, uncovered the skeletal remains in October.

Now, following expert analysis, it has been confirmed that the remains date back to the 1st century Roman Empire.

Expert says discovery 'extremely rare'

The remains of 129 people were confirmed to have been found at the site and further excavation resulted in the discovery of more bones, leading experts to believe the number of bodies tops 150.

The Vienna Museum said the discovery of skeletal finds from this particular period is extremely rare due to the practice of cremation until the 3rd century AD.

"As cremation burials were common in the European parts of the Roman Empire around 100 AD, body burials were an absolute exception. Finds of Roman skeletons from this period are therefore extremely rare," explained Kristina Adler-Wölfl, Head of City Archaeology.

Dead had been killed in battle

The museum said those buried had been aged between 20 and 30 years old and were exclusively males who appeared to have been killed in battle.

Injuries caused by swords, spears, daggers and projectile bolts were identified as the causes of death, leading the team of experts to determine that those killed had been part of a military operation that ended in catastrophe.

"Within the context of Roman acts of war, there are no comparable finds of fighters," said Michaela Binder, who led the archaeological dig. "There are huge battlefields in Germany where weapons were found. But finding the dead, that is unique for the entire Roman history."

The Vienna Museum said that further in-depth investigations would continue and that research was still at a very early phase.