‘Spectacular’ new find: Roman military camps in desert found by Oxford archaeologists using Google Earth

The camps were identified using satellite images. According to the research team, they may have been part of a previously undiscovered Roman military campaign linked to the Roman takeover of the Nabataean Kingdom in AD 106 CE, a civilisation centred on the world-famous city of Petra, located in Jordan. These camps are a spectacular new find and an important new insight into Roman campaigning in Arabia Dr Mike BishopDr Michael Fradley, who led the research and first identified the camps on Google Earth, suggests there is little doubt about the date of the camps. Roman forts and fortresses show how Rome held a province, but temporary camps reveal how they acquired it in the first place.’Map showing the location of the Roman camps (Credit: EAMENA). Archaeologists still need to confirm the date of the camps through investigation on the ground, but there are other questions that need to be answered.