ROMAN LEGIONARY FORTRESSES 27 BC-AD 378 PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Duncan B. Campbell,Brian Delf | 64 pages | 25 Apr 2006 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9781841768953 | English | United Kingdom Roman Legionary Fortresses 27 BC–AD - Osprey Publishing On the other side was the forum , a small duplicate of an urban forum, where public business could be conducted. Along the Via Principalis were the homes or tents of the several tribunes in front of the barracks of the units they commanded. Which was on the north and which on the south depends on whether the praetorium faced east or west, which remains unknown. The central region of the Via Principalis with the buildings for the command staff was called the Principia plural of principium. It was actually a square, as across this at right angles to the Via Principalis was the Via Praetoria , so called because the praetorium interrupted it. The Via Principalis and the Via Praetoria offered another division of the camp into four quarters. Across the central plaza principia to the east or west was the main gate, the Porta Praetoria. Marching through it and down "headquarters street" a unit ended up in formation in front of the headquarters. The standards of the legion were located on display there, very much like the flag of modern camps. On the other side of the praetorium the Via Praetoria continued to the wall, where it went through the Porta Decumana. In theory this was the back gate. Supplies were supposed to come in through it and so it was also called, descriptively, the Porta Quaestoria. The term Decumana, "of the 10th", came from the arranging of manipuli or turmae from the first to the 10th, such that the 10th was near the intervallum on that side. In peaceful times the camp set up a marketplace with the natives in the area. They were allowed into the camp as far as the units numbered 5 half-way to the praetorium. There another street crossed the camp at right angles to the Via Decumana , called the Via Quintana , "5th street". If the camp needed more gates, one or two of the Porta Quintana were built, presumably named dextra and sinistra. If the gates were not built, the Porta Decumana also became the Porta Quintana. At "5th street" a public market was allowed. In the latera "sides" were the Arae sacrificial altars , the Auguratorium for auspices , the Tribunal , where courts martial and arbitrations were conducted it had a raised platform , the guardhouse, the quarters of various kinds of staff and the storehouses for grain horrea or meat carnarea. Sometimes the horrea were located near the barracks and the meat was stored on the hoof. Analysis of sewage from latrines indicates the legionary diet was mainly grain. Also located in the Latera was the Armamentarium , a long shed containing any heavy weapons and artillery not on the wall. The Praetentura "stretching to the front" contained the Scamnum Legatorum , the quarters of officers who were below general but higher than company commanders Legati. These included Classici "marines", as most European camps were on rivers and contained a river naval command , Equites "cavalry" , Exploratores "scouts" , and Vexillarii carriers of vexillae, the official pennants of the legion and its units. Troops who did not fit elsewhere also were there. The part of the Retentura "stretching to the rear" closest to the Principia contained the Quaestorium. By the late empire it had developed also into a safekeep for plunder and a prison for hostages and high-ranking enemy captives. Near the Quaestorium were the quarters of the headquarters guard Statores , who amounted to two centuries companies. If the Imperator was present they served as his bodyguard. Further from the Quaestorium were the tents of the Nationes "natives" , who were auxiliaries of foreign troops, and the legionaries themselves in double rows of tents or barracks Strigae. Arms could be stacked before the tents and baggage carts kept there as well. Space on the other side of the tent was for passage. In the northern places like Britain, where it got cold in the winter, they would make wood or stone barracks. The Romans would also put a fireplace in the barracks. They had about three bunk beds in it. They had a small room beside it where they put their armour; it was as big as the tents. They would also make these barracks if the fort they had was going to stay there for good. A tent was 3 by 3. Ideally a company took 10 tents, arranged in a line of 10 companies, with the 10th near the Porta Decumana. Of the c. The single tent with its men was called contubernium , also used for "squad". A squad during some periods was 8 men or fewer. The Centurion , or company commander, had a double-sized tent for his quarters, which served also as official company area. Other than there, the men had to find other places to be. To avoid mutiny, it became extremely important for the officers to keep them busy. A covered portico might protect the walkway along the tents. If barracks had been constructed, one company was housed in one barracks building, with the arms at one end and the common area at the other. The company area was used for cooking and recreation, such as gaming. The army provisioned the men and had their bread panis militaris baked in outdoor ovens, but the men were responsible for cooking and serving themselves. They could buy meals or supplementary foods at the canteen. The officers were allowed servants. For sanitary facilities, a camp had both public and private latrines. A public latrine consisted of a bank of seats situated over a channel of running water. One of the major considerations for selecting the site of a camp was the presence of running water, which the engineers diverted into the sanitary channels. Drinking water came from wells; however, the larger and more permanent bases featured the aqueduct , a structure running a stream captured from high ground sometimes miles away into the camp. The praetorium had its own latrine, and probably the quarters of the high-ranking officers. In or near the intervallum , where they could easily be accessed, were the latrines of the soldiers. A public bathhouse for the soldiers, also containing a latrine, was located near or on the Via Principalis. The influence of a base extended far beyond its walls. The total land required for the maintenance of a permanent base was called its territoria. In it were located all the resources of nature and the terrain required by the base: pastures, woodlots, water sources, stone quarries, mines, exercise fields and attached villages. The central castra might also support various fortified adjuncts to the main base, which were not in themselves self- sustaining as was the base. In this category were speculae , "watchtowers", castella , "small camps", and naval bases. All the major bases near rivers featured some sort of fortified naval installation, one side of which was formed by the river or lake. The other sides were formed by a polygonal wall and ditch constructed in the usual way, with gates and watchtowers. The main internal features were the boat sheds and the docks. When not in use, the boats were drawn up into the sheds for maintenance and protection. Since the camp was placed to best advantage on a hill or slope near the river, the naval base was usually outside its walls. The classici and the optiones of the naval installation relied on the camp for its permanent defense. Naval personnel generally enjoyed better quarters and facilities. Many were civilians working for the military. This ideal was always modified to suit the terrain and the circumstances. Each camp discovered by archaeology has its own specific layout and architectural features, which makes sense from a military point of view. If, for example, the camp was built on an outcrop, it followed the lines of the outcrop. The terrain for which it was best suited and for which it was probably designed in distant prehistoric times was the rolling plain. The camp was best placed on the summit and along the side of a low hill, with spring water running in rivulets through the camp aquatio and pastureland to provide grazing pabulatio for the animals. In case of attack, arrows, javelins and sling missiles could be fired down at an enemy tiring himself to come up. For defence troops could be formed in an acies , or "battle- line", outside the gates, where they could be easily resupplied and replenished, as well as being supported by archery from the palisade. The streets, gates and buildings present depended on the requirements and resources of the camp. The gates might vary from two to six and not be centred on the sides. Not all the streets and buildings might be present. Many settlements in Europe originated as Roman military camps and still show traces of their original pattern e. Castres in France , Barcelona in Spain. Many of the towns of England still retain forms of the word castra in their names, usually as the suffixes "-caster", "-cester" or "-chester" — Lancaster , Tadcaster , Worcester , Gloucester , Mancetter , Uttoxeter , Colchester , Chester , Manchester and Ribchester for example. Castle has the same derivation, from the diminutive castellum or "little fort", but does not usually indicate a former Roman camp. Whitley Castle however is an exception, referring to the Roman fort of Epiacum in Northumberland. Activities conducted in a castra can be divided into ordinary and "the duty" or "the watch". Ordinary activity was performed during regular working hours.