A Roman inscribed dolabra from the surroundings of the battlefield at Harzhorn (Lkr. Northeim) in Lower Saxony

Abstract

A Roman inscribed dolabra from the surroundings of the battlefield at Harzhorn (Lkr. Northeim) in Lower Saxony A Roman-Germanic battlefield was located at the site Harzhorn in the district Northeim. Thanks to AMS radiocarbon dating, a few small finds and the coin sequence the battlefield was dated to the third decade of the 3rd century. In the course of the current investigations a dolabra with incised inscriptions was discovered. They suggest that a legio IIII, most probably the legio IIII Flavia, took part in the battles. Different hands are author of the inscriptions which also show signs of corrections. Among other possibilities, the characters can be read as S(everiana) A(lexandriana), in accordance to the certain mention of the leg(io) IIII on the blade of the dolabra; on the other side of the blade, the legio IIII with its surname F(l)av(ia) seems to be named. M.S.