What Happened to the Roman 9th Legion?

  A Theory of Amalgamation 

One of the eternal mysteries in history is what happened to the Roman 9th Legion?

One of the most common theories is they got massacred in Scotland; a theory I don't believe for a minute, why?

Logistically, Scotland was too far north to be supplied. The lands of Scotland are hills, and valleys, unlike the vast plains the Romans were used to fighting on with their legions of soldiers protected by armour on all sides. Also, they had been savaged by the Germanic tribes in recent memory, so they would be unlikely to wish to re-enact a battle they had lost.

The premise that they were in Scotland is based on the finding of a Roman Eagle in one of the valleys; the problem here is the eagle is so small you would not have been able to see it from more than about five feet away, not exactly something the men could rally round to fight.

There have been very few Roman finds in Scotland considering the time they were in Britain.

So, what did happen?

I agree with the theory that being the elite legion, and spearheading most of the battles, they took such heavy casualties, they could not get enough replacements to keep the unit together. they were probably amalgamated into other units over time, to defend cities they could hold.

Besides which, would you wish to join a unit which despite the honour, you knew you would probably never be released from, other than a muddy grave in some far-off land?