That survey was among the first to photograph archaeological sites from the air, and in 1934 Poidebard reported finding 116 Roman forts. But nearly a century later, mapping Poidebard’s forts to satellite photos was challenging. Those forts were aligned north to south along what was once the easternmost boundary of the Roman Empire, according to Poidebard. But Poidebard’s survey provided only a partial view of Rome’s ancient infrastructure, the researchers found. While Poidebard’s row of forts along the Roman Empire’s eastern front looked like a military fortification, this new evidence suggested that the forts collectively served a different purpose.

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Persons: Rather, Jesse Casana, ” Casana, Casana, Father Antoine Poidebard, Poidebard, Father Antoine Poidebard's, —, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, United, Corona, Dartmouth College, Tell, Antiquity, Scientific Locations: United States, Iraq, Syria, New Hampshire, “, Iran, French, Qreiye, Roman, Birke, Mosul, Ninawa, ”, Rome