HUNDREDS OF ROMAN EMPIRE FORTS IN MIDDLE EAST REVEALED IN DECLASSIFIED SPY SATELLITE IMAGES

Declassified Corona spy satellite images showing Roman forts at three sites in the eastern Mediterranean: (a) Sura, a Roman fortress city nearby the Parthian territories (now in modern-day Iraq); (b) Resafa, a site near the Roman-Persian border (now in modern-day Syria) and (c) Ain Sinu, a zone alternately claimed by the Romans, the Parthians and the Sasanians (now in modern-day Iraq) . (Image credit: Figure by Antiquity/Jesse Casana, David D. Goodman & Carolin Ferwerda. Imagery courtesy U.S. Geological Survey)

Sat 28 October 2023:

Hundreds of Roman Empire forts reappeared in the declassification of historical spy satellite imagery, which encompassed parts of Iraq, Syria, and surrounding “fertile crescent” territories of the eastern Mediterranean.

The satellites were used for reconnaissance in the 1960s and 1970s, but their data is now declassified. Some of the archived photos captured by those satellites are now opening the way for new archaeology discoveries in areas of the Earth that are typically difficult for academics to access.

The 396 Roman forts in the photos were discovered from space during an aerial study of the region in 1934. This study identified 116 forts on the Roman Empire’s eastern boundary.

The clear and precise images taken specifically by these satellites are most important for the new study.

“Because these images preserve a high-resolution, stereo perspective on a landscape that has been severely impacted by modern-day land-use changes, including urban expansion, agricultural intensification and reservoir construction, they constitute a unique resource for archaeological research,” stated the authors in the work published in Antiquity on Thursday (Oct 25).

It was the declassification of images which offered rich data for archaeologists, said Casana.

“All the satellite images we used in this study are publicly available through the US Geological Survey, which serve them on their EarthExplorer data distribution portal. Images that are already scanned can be downloaded there for free, while unscanned images can be purchased for $30 USD,” he added.

After the images were downloaded, they were processed for hours to spatially correct and georeference the images.

Archaeologists still agree with the conclusions drawn in the nearly century-old study, that Rome was trying to fortify its frontier.

“These forts are similar in form to many Roman forts from elsewhere in Europe and North Africa. There are many more forts in our study than elsewhere, but this may be because they are better preserved and easier to recognise,” stated lead author Jesse Casana, who is a professor of anthropology focusing on the Middle East at New Hampshire’s Dartmouth College, while speaking to Space.com.

“However, it could also have been a real product of intensive fort construction, especially during the second and third centuries AD,” he added.

A map comparing the distribution of forts in modern-day Syria and Iraq. At top is an aerial survey from 1934. At bottom is a new survey in Antiquity in 2023, based on images from two declassified spy satellite programs.

The study images came via two satellite programs originally used for surveillance during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union (and their respective allies). The nations pursued military technologies (including early space missions) on “political, economic, and propaganda fronts” with minimal use of weapons, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

During this time, the “Space Race” was also in full-force, seeing both space powers rapidly accrue milestones with human and robotic space missions, such as launching the first people and sending spacecraft around the solar system. (The rivalry sometimes coalesced into moments of collaboration, however, such as the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project space mission that launched astronauts and cosmonauts together in 1975.)

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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