During the battle of Teutoburger Forest in AD 9, three Roman legions were defeated by Germanic forces: legions 17, 18, and 19.
The commander Publius Quinctilius Varus killed himself when he realized that the battle was lost. What happened to the soldiers under his command?
** Most of them were killed during the battle.
** Some survivors were captured and held as prisoners for many years. We do not know how many.
** Some survivors managed to escape. Again we do not know how many.
In AD 1620, a Roman tombstone was discovered near the German town Xanten. It is actually a cenotaph, i. e. it was erected to remember a person who died in an other place and could not be buried where the stone was erected.
The stone is erected to remember a Roman soldier who was killed during the so-called Varus battle in AD 9: Marcus Caelius, a centurion of legion XIIX.
The number 18 is written this way on the tombstone.
A portrait of Marcus is flanked by portraits of two freedmen who had been freed by Marcus.
An inscription offers basic information about the centurion.
He was born ca 45 BC. This means he was 53 when he died. Quite old to be a soldier in the army. The stone was erected by his brother.
This cenotaph is remarkable because it is the only epigraphic evidence for the battle in Teutoburger Forest.
OFFICIAL REFERENCE
CIL vol. 13 # 8648.
Google the name of the centurion and the official reference to find more information.