Thursday, October 7, 2010

Roman Fortified Camps-Protection for the Legion

Be it wood and dirt or stone and concrete, the Roman fortified camp was both a place of rest and refuge for the soldiers of the legion.
At the end of each day's march, the legionnaires would sleep in a fortified camp. If no permanent base was on hand the legionnaires would build a temporary one for the night.
A temporary Roman fortified camp used the dirt from excavated by the soldiers from a protective trench to form a base for a wooden stockade (each legionnaire carried two wooden stakes for the stockade wall). A double trench design was used in areas of greater danger. A single trench was more common.
For long term garrisons the camp would be made of stone, cement and fireproof tiles.



Regardless of the building materials, all Roman camps were set out in the exact same pattern. This allowed rapid construction and more importantly instant knowledge of one's surroundings in any legion camp in the Empire.


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