Illustrations of typical Roman camp fortifications?

[G-Manicus]

Does anyone have a link to artistic representations of what the fortifications of a typical Roman camp looked like? I see the thread below talking about dimensions and the like, but I'm interested in how they appeared. The engineering that would have gone into their fortification sounds amazing to me.

Edited January 25, 2008 by G-Manicus

[Melvadius]

Does anyone have a link to artistic representations of what the fortifications of a typical Roman camp looked like? I see the thread below talking about dimensions and the like, but I'm interested in how they appeared. The engineering that would have gone into their fortification sounds amazing to me.

 

There is quite a lot of information on the web about various Roman forts but it isn't always clear where precisely or even what period artistic impressiopns belong to - as an example I have included a link to a simple Google search I did for "Roman fort reconstruction":

 

http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&am...sa=N&tab=wi

 

This pulled up a number of artists impressions as well as some photographs of partial reconstructions notably at Arbeia (South Tyneside) as well as the Lunt (Coventry), but also check for Vindolanda and Segedunum where there are other reconstuctions. These two sites in particular point out some of the differences that arose with the 'standard' pattern depending on date and purpose. The Lunt is believed to have been intended as a centre for breaking horses - it has an additional feature of a walled enclosure a gyrus which was possibly a cavalry training enclosure. The Lunt is also not as regular in its wall design as most Roman forts of the same period, while Arbeia was used in the third century as a major supply centre so had extra granaries built over earlier barrack blocks.

 

You may find the following English Heritage site (it also came up in the general search) of most interest as it includes artists impressions of parts of forts. You will however probably have to browse through several pages as there doesn't appear to be any real index and civilian images are mixed in with the military.

 

http://www.englishheritageprints.com/pictu...rt-J000115.html

Edited January 25, 2008 by Melvadius

[Gaius Octavius]

This might be a little help:

 

http://www.vroma.org/cgi-bin/webglimpse/va...0&cache=yes

[M. Demetrius]

This might be a little help:

 

http://www.vroma.org/cgi-bin/webglimpse/va...0&cache=yes

There is a partially completed reconstruction of a Roman marching camp at www.ad43.org. It's located in NE Arkansas, and each March they have a reenactor camp there. Lots of Romans and Celts marching around, battling, etc. One of the best Roman reenactments in the US.

 

The leadership would be glad to share their sources with you, I'm sure.

 

Check it out.

[G-Manicus]

Thanks, all. Here is a picture of one I found in one of the google links:

 

 

So when I read that so and so's army would stop and make a camp and they throw up an earthen wall with breast works atop it, this is what I was envisioning. I'm curious how long it would take them to put something like this up, barracks aside.

[Gaius Octavius]

I don't think that the above is a marching camp. The barracks would have been tents. I think that the towers would have been sentry's. There doesn't seem to be any place for the animals.

[G-Manicus]

I'm really interested in the exterior. The earth and breastworks that they would put up when they camped.

[G-Manicus]

I'm really interested in the exterior. The earth and breastworks that they would put up when they camped.

 

I just find it amazing that they could do something like that in a relatively short period of time. Like Alesia, it's inconceivable to me how they could construct a walled perimiter like that which was ... what? ... 10 miles long? In only 3 weeks?

 

[Melvadius]

I misunderstood what you wanted the links are to permanent forts not marching camps. The attached link is to a wargaming site but does show how the portable spikes were used to create a defensive structure. Alesia used similar techniques but on a more massive scale.

 

Try looking out a copy of the BBC programme "Roman Soldiers to Be" to see how Roman recruits may have been trained to build defenses.

[M. Demetrius]

They put up the marching camp in the same day they arrived. One night sleeping out in the open is all it would take to be wiped out by an attacking enemy army. We computed that a two cohort (approx 1000 men at full strength) army would be responsible for around 6 to 8 linear feet of ditch/berm per man. It's an incredible feat for us to consider, but it was their way of life, and they were incredibly organized about it. They slept in tents, of course. 8 men to a 9' x 9' "contubernium tent", nicknamed "papilio" (butterfly) because of the shape a wall tent makes on the ground when laid out flat, doors opened.

 

These tents were made of goat leather panels, best we know, and had sidewalls about 18" high. They were around six feet tall at the ridge.

 

They might stay a day or two, but when they left they burned the 4 gates (I believe they recovered the hardware of hinges and such) and moved on, leaving the ditches in place.