The Roman Camp was a vital technique used in
the military. One might ask themselves, technique? Yes, technique. The
Roman Camp was actually a detailed strategy used to prevent surprise attack. The
Roman Legions would easily control their surroundings by taking a portable city whever
they went. The Army would march all day, and when they found a spot to settle, the
entire army could build a camp that ran as efficiently as a well planned city. The
only difference between the Roman Camp and the Roman City was that the camp would be in a
different location the next day.The Roman Camp was easily built in about six
hours. The first step in building the city is contructing the walls. The camp
would be surrounded in fossa (ditch) and an agger (wall). This ditch and wall system
made it difficult to attack, and often would slow down the enemy.
The Roman Camp was shaped like a
square, with entrances at the midpoint of each of its sides. The entire camp
perimeter was made of a strong wall, built up by a vallum. This vallum had walkways
that were constantly guarded by centurions, and each portae is guarded by an additional
watchtower. The guarded gates in the vallum were called portae. The camp was
connected by roads which were built as straight as possible. The way the road system
worked was that the Via Principia connected the eastern and western portae, and the Via
Praetoria connected the north and south portae.
All the soldiers were quartered inside
cantebernium, which were tents that could hold eight men at a time. The general's
tent, called the Praetorium, was located in the center of the camp, where the main roads
intersected. Outside the general's tent was a flagpole. When certain flags
were raised, battle could be signaled. Also in the center were the Taburnaculae,
known as the merchant tents. |
