Based on declassified satellite pictures from the Cold War, an American archaeological investigation discovered a vast and unexpected presence of Roman fortifications throughout the Middle East. These are 400 Roman Empire fortresses discovered in Syria, Iraq, and nearby regions of the "fertile crescent" of the Eastern Mediterranean. Some of the archival photographs enable new archeological studies in places of the Earth that are frequently difficult for academics to reach, both for military and terrain reasons. The 396 forts discovered from space confirm and extend an aerial survey of the region conducted in 1934, which spotted 116 forts on the Roman Empire's eastern frontier, but without the precision that satellites have since provided. This could be another proof that Rome was defending its eastern frontier, as some archaeologists believe. In his study published in Antiquity, Jesse Casana, a professor of Middle Eastern anthropology at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, also leaves an additional hypothesis unresolved: "The configuration of these forts bears resemblance to Roman forts discovered in various regions of Europe and North Africa. There are many stronger ones in our study than anywhere else, but this may be because they are better preserved and easier to recognize. However, it could also be the product of extensive fortification, as some prior studies suggest, particularly between the second and third centuries AD". Encampments in modern-day Syria and Iraq could have been used to defend caravans transporting important products to and from Rome's provinces. The photographs in the study are from two satellite projects that were originally utilized for spying between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
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