So I'm writing an essay about northern Europe during the late Iron Age and came across this quote by gallaecian theologist named Paulus Orosius (375-418 AD). I'm not sure what he means and I was hoping you might help me? In one chapter of his Seven Books of History Against the Pagans he describes how several germanic and gaelic tribes conspire against the romans and eventually conquer them in battle. He goes on describing how the Cimbri tribe execute every surviving roman in the camp, destroy all their posessions and throw them in the river, including gold, silver, armour and horses. "In this way the victor knew no booty nor the vanquished any mercy." This puzzles me. Why would the Cimbri not want to keep the booty for themselves? Any ideas?
Orosius himself explains in the preceding sentence:
hostes binis castris atque ingenti praeda potiti noua quadam atque insolita exsecratione cuncta quae ceperant pessum dederunt
So presumably it happened for religious reasons but even then was a highly unusual thing to do. I guess the main question is whether this action was looking back (the Roman armies and camps had been devoted to the gods in order to ensure a favorable outcome of the battle) or forward (a sacrifice to ensure future success). exsecratio suggests the latter, to me the former would seem more usual (cf. Roman devotion rituals like the devotio hostium which afaik does not include material effects and the ver sacrum which does).