F ORTRESSES
During the republic military campaigns were con-ducted in the summer, at the end of which the legions were disbanded and the men returned home.
There was therefore no need for more than overnight camps (marching camps), which were temporary fortifications to give protection against 2.12 Legionary aquilifer, first half of 1st century, with
the eagle standard. In his left hand is an oval shield (scutum). He wears a tunic and mail shirt, a set of phalerae, two torques and two armlets. An apron is suspended from his belt. (Photo: Ralph Jackson)
2.13 A sculptured frieze from the Arch of Titus, erected in AD81–82 to commemorate victory in Jerusalem. The sculptures show the triumphal procession into Rome, with Titus riding in his chariot with four horses and the lictors in front.
2.14 One of two triumphal arches erected by Septimius Severus in 203–204 after his wars against the Parthians and Arabs. The arch is in the Forum, Rome.
Height 20.6 m (67 ft 6 in).
surprise attack. As Rome’s territory expanded and the campaign season lengthened, there was an increasing need for legions to stay away from home for more than just the summer. Winter camps (hiberna) were therefore used as well as the tempo-rary summer camps (castra aestiva). Winter camps were built in allied territory or in newly conquered regions, and had more substantial accommodation and stronger defenses. As Roman territory contin-ued to expand in the late republic, some camps were used as semipermanent bases, but it was not until the early 1st century that frontiers were established and permanent camps (castra stativa) were built.
Camps
The term camp usually refers to an overnight or tem-porary base, where each soldier knew his place. It was sited near water, on open ground (preferably raised ground) that did not offer cover to the enemy. The best viewpoint was selected for the general’s tent (prae-torium—from praetor, originally the chief magistrate), and the camp was then laid out by a military surveyor using a groma. The three distinctive types of camp entrance known in Britain are clavicular, Agricolan (or Stracathro) and titular (often erroneously called tutu-lar). Tents, not buildings, were used for accommoda-tion. Legionary tents (papiliones, literally “butterflies”) covered an area 3 m (10 ft) square including guy ropes.
Tents were made of leather and accommodated eight men and their equipment. Officers’ tents were of var-ious designs, some of which are shown on Trajan’s Column. Tent pegs were of iron and wood.
POLYBIAN CAMPS
The earliest surviving description of a marching camp is by Polybius in the mid-2nd century BC. He describes a camp designed to hold two legions and an equivalent number of allied troops, totaling around 16,800 infantry and 1,800 cavalry. The camp was square, with each side about 2,000 Roman feet (600 m; 1,950 ft) long defended by a ditch (fossa) outside a rampart (agger) that was surmounted by a palisade of wooden stakes (cervoli or valli). There were four entrances.
The site of the consul’s tent (praetorium) was the point from which the rest of the fort was marked out by the surveyors. The praetorium faced the via princi-palis (main street) through a gap between the tents of the tribunes and was flanked on its left by the forum (an open market place). On its right, the praetorium was flanked by the quaestorium—the tent of the quaestor (a junior magistrate in charge of finance).
The forum and quaestorium were in turn flanked by the tents of the cavalry (extraordinarii equites). Along the via principalis were tents of the tribunes.
Behind the area occupied by the praetorium, quaestorium and forum were the tents of the selected allied cavalry and infantry (extraordinarii equites, extraordinarii pedites) and local auxiliary troops. The tents of legionaries, flanked by tents of the allied 2.15 Entrances of camps. a. external ditch; b. inner rampart. A. external clavicula. B. internal clavicula C. titulum.
troops, filled up the remaining space beyond the via principalis. The tents were divided into blocks by right-angle streets and by the via quintana (fifth street), which ran parallel to the via principalis at the fifth cohort.
Between the tents and the rampart was an open space 200 Roman feet (61 m; 198 ft) wide called the intervallum, so that the tents were out of range of burning missiles, there was room to accommodate cattle and booty and there was good access between the tents and the rampart.
HYGINIAN CAMPS
The other full account of a marching camp comes from Hyginus (or Pseudo-Hyginus) in the 3rd cen-tury writing in the empire (see chapter 6). The camp
that he describes was designed to accommodate three legions and assorted auxiliary troops, with an approx-imate total of 40,000 men. The camp was rectangular with rounded corners. Its sides were about 490 by 705 m (1,620 by 2,320 ft), and so allowed much less space per man than the one described by Polybius. It was surrounded by a ditch outside a rampart of earth, turf or stone, with extra ditches protecting the gate-ways. The ditch was at least 1.5 m (5 ft) wide and 1 m (3 ft 3 in) deep while the rampart was about 2.4 m (8 ft) wide by 1.8 m (6 ft) high.
The area within the camp was again divided into three portions by the via principalis and the via quin-tana, but the praetorium was situated in the middle of the central portion, which was called the latera prae-torii. In this area was also the auguratorium (place for religious sacrifices), the tribunal (from which the
2.16 A. Polybian camp; B. Hyginian camp: a. porta principalis sinistra, b. porta praetoria, c. porta principalis dextra, d. porta decumana, e. via principalis, f. intervallum, g. via quintana, h. rampart and ditch, i. auxilia, j. extraordinarii equites and pedites, k. extraordinarii, l. praetorium, m. forum, n. quastorium, o. tribunes, p. prefects, q. equites r. pedites, s. hastati, t. principes, u. triarii.
commander addressed the troops), the tents of the commander’s personal staff and the tents of the praetorian troops. These were flanked by the tents of troops of the first cohort and vexillations of troops from one of the legions.
The front portion of the camp, from the via prin-cipalis to the porta praetoria (front gate), was called the praetentura. Within this area were the tents of the legionary legates and tribunes, valetudinarium (hospital), veterinarium (where sick horses were treated), fabrica (workshop) and the quarters of spe-cialist troops such as engineers and scouts. Also in this area were the alae of auxiliary cavalry and the scholae (meeting places) of the first cohorts.
The rear portion of the camp, the retentura, con-tained the quaestorium of the camp prefect where prisoners and booty were kept and the rest of the auxiliary troops. Around the perimeter of each part of the camp, nearest to the rampart, were the tents of the legionary cohorts, since these troops were thought more trustworthy than the auxiliaries. The intervallum was only about 18 m (60 ft) wide and there was also a perimeter road (via sagularis).
These two types of marching camp, although being 250 years apart in date, are recognizably simi-lar, showing gradual development rather than radical change. This was probably due to the importance of having a standard plan for a marching camp so that a large group of men and animals could be accommo-dated rapidly. Marching camps with palisades were still used by comitatenses in the 4th century.