Teutoburg Forest, the Varus Disaster

The account

Three legions marched into the German woods under Varus and never marched out, Rome's worst defeat, and the eagles of the XVII, XVIII and XIX lost to the tribes. At Kalkriese the dig has pulled six thousand pieces of Roman gear from the ground, among them a cavalryman's silver face, sealed under the rampart that buried the slaughter. 'Quinctilius Varus, give me back my legions.'

Leads, where the trail points now

• The field is at Kalkriese, Lower Saxony, Germany, and arms, shot, and relics still come out of the ground there.
• Detecting or digging needs landowner or park permission, and any significant find should be recorded; many battlefields are protected.
• Work the documented account of Teutoburg Forest, the Varus Disaster to learn where the fighting, the camps, and the rout actually ran before you look.