The Disappearance of the 9th Legion 'Hispana'

[beansi]

What ever happened to 5,000 of Rome's finest soldiers who were lost in the swirling mists of Caledonia as they marched North to put down a rebellion.
Historians claim there was a swap & were wiped out in a war with the Persians but NO evidence supports this!

A masterful piece of evidence for the Ninth Legion in Britain at all comes from York where an inscription dating to AD108 credits the ninth with re-building the fortress in stone.....

In 165AD Emperor Marcus Aurelius commissioned a pair of columns listing every Roman Legion & site throughout the empire. The ninth 'Hispana' & the 'twenty-second 'Deiotariana'were nowhere to be seen. If disgraced or destroyed units, the Legion would be subject to the 'damnatio memoriae' but there is NO evidence for this.
So Where did they go ?

[Niebla0007]

Lots of the ancient ships just simply went down the rough seas because of typhoons/tornados/whirlwinds/tidal waves/rogue waves, even getting hit by gas outburst from the depths or incidents like the titanic's mishap with an iceberg and the pirates were also still pretty active then. So, take your pick because I simply think it just went down the deep sea.
Another key factor could be - it's cargo which if that ship has been carrying some treasure, it will serve enough motive for a crew or some of it's crew to make the ship disappear.

Sorry to ruin the mystery, but getting lost in the swirling mists of Caledonia of the story doesn't add up
because if the ship and it's crew has been lost and with nobody to tell the story, then how did that come up?
Could there be an accomplice left onland of it's port of origin?

[beansi]

Thanks for your input, but two questions remain....How did they get from trekking (or marching...) through the Northern countryside to a boat in the sea? Have you ever been to the North near Scotland?......

[Niebla0007]

Oops, looks like I mingled what I was writing about at another site,
talking about treasure hunting, missing ships like the ninth century Arab shipwreck and The Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes sunk by British warships in the Atlantic in 1804 while sailing back from South America. Never mind,
I only meant to question the mystery of this legion getting lost in the swirling mists of Caledonia of the story here
which doesn't add up if nobody was left to tell the story.

[beansi]

Hi, so you may have mis-read again.....and thought you read 5 only & not 5,000 soldiers missing because if you take the FACT (etched in stone) of the 9th legion's work in York 108AD & add that to the FACT (historically documentated) of the Emperor's columns which dosen't have their name on it in 165AD...so therefore during the 57 years NOT one of the 5,000 soldiers left any evidence of their lives. Come on.....wouldn't you say the odds on none of them especially the Centurions with their skills taking work on elsewhere like fort sentries,gate guards,body guards,mercenaries,training masters,etc....
Also no Northern or Scottish clans had caused their demise as they would have been only to happy to lay claim to it......

P.S I think you should stick with boat/ship cases cos they sink........but thanks for the reply

[Niebla0007]

You are right there in talking about interest,
as I take more interest with Hispanic ships rather than Hispanic etched stones out of place. A natural interest for having some Spanish ancestors.
There are speculations that it is actually just made for a hoax.
But one of the things I can think of, about how unusual stones/landmarks are put in place is for buried treasure.
Other than that, I have nothing more to say about the mysterious Legion of a forgotten rock.

[beansi]

If you are so interested in Hispanic ships & Spanish ancestors then what was you doing posting replies that totally missed the points on the subject like 'the disappearance of the 9th legion'? Did you think 'legion' meant the name of a ship - in only your head?

[beansi]

Sorry for my previous reply.

Pog mo thoin!

[Dreamer_love]

Maybe they where ambushed?

What happend with the rebellion, this could hold some clues.

[beansi]

Hi Dreamer Love.......curious isn't it? you mention ambush but no one has laid claim to it. At the mo i'm somewhere else so can't get my notes, only i think the rebellion got its way & subsequently was one of the reasons the Romans eventually tire of trying to obtain the Northern borders, despite Hadrian's Wall & its vast, remote areas too & of course, the Northerners & Scottish were known for being v.strong & fierce warriors (barbarians as called).
For a more thorough background to your questions, i'll get back to you.
Have you a unexplained story/fact based that you always wondered about?
bye for now

[Dreamer_love]

Hi Beansi,

that would be cool. This is interesting.

I've got a similiar unsolved mystery... though this one is quite eary.

It's called the Dyatlov pass incident.

Nine scientists where found dead. They found radiation contamination throughout the area and the cause of death is still a mystery

http://www.ermaktravel.com/Europe/Russia/Cholat-%20Syachil/Kholat%20Syakhl.htm

''The Dyatlov Pass incident resulted in the deaths of nine ski hikers in the northern Ural mountains on the night of February 2, 1959. It happened on the east shoulder of the mountain Kholat Syakhl (Холат-Сяхыл) (a Mansi name, meaning Mountain of the Dead). The mountain pass where the incident occurred has since been named Dyatlov Pass (Перевал Дятлова) after the group's leader, Igor Dyatlov (Игорь Дятлов).
The lack of eyewitnesses has inspired much speculation. Soviet investigators determined only that "a compelling natural force" had caused the deaths.[1] Access to the area was barred for skiers and other adventurers for three years after the incident.[2][better source needed] The chronology of the incident remains unclear because of the lack of survivors.[1][3]
Investigators at the time determined that the hikers tore open their tent from within, departing barefoot into heavy snow and a temperature of −30 °C (−22 °F). Although the corpses showed no signs of struggle, two victims had fractured skulls, two had broken ribs, and one was missing her tongue.[2]''

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyatlov_Pass_incident

[knightofalbion]

Yes, one of history's great mysteries. I suspect they were ambushed in an area which prevented them from deploying their formidable battle formation.

The Romans were almost always heavily outnumbered. They got round this by observing the great military law - don't get flanked.
They'd select the battleground and position themselves, using the natural features of the land to prevent their enemy from outflanking them. This meant the enemy's numerical supremacy was neutralized. It was one against one on the battle front. The Romans were protected behind their shield wall and their short stabbing swords were perfect for close quarter fighting and they were marvellous soldiers. For their enemies it was like being fed through a mincing machine.

Three Roman legions were wiped out at the battle of the Teutoburg Forest. When, by an act of treachery, they were led into terrain they were wholly unsuited for.

I suspect the Scots attacked the Romans in a forest, or glen, or pass, and the fighting was fragmented which would have meant the legionaires would have been overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers.

An interesting article...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12752497

[beansi]

Hi all :smile:
Thanks Dreamer Love for your excellent mystery, one that will def warrant my attention.
And Knightofalbion, wasn't it already mentioned that no Scottish clan laid claim to their demise, in fact they were puzzled (Check out Scottish writer William Esposso).Besides if you knew a Scotsman then you wouldn't have had to say this!....:smile: .

[knightofalbion]

And Knightofalbion, wasn't it already mentioned that no Scottish clan laid claim to their demise, in fact they were puzzled (Check out Scottish writer William Esposso).Besides if you knew a Scotsman then you wouldn't have had to say this!....:smile: .

Yes, but there was no clan system to lay claim to anything. The clan system did not come into being till many, many years later.

And the Caledonians kept no written records.

Though Roman records record the Roman force in Britain sustaining heavy losses and needing to be urgently reinforced.

[Bellia Morgana]

The Picts more than likely skinned them alive, although it's hard to know what the Romans first made of the Scottish Natives, with their insistence on running into battle completely stark bollock naked .. they certainly felt them troublesome enough to build a 135 km wall to keep them out anyway.