Brewer, Richard J. (ed.). Roman Fortresses and their Legions. Papers in honour of George C. Boon, FSA, FRHistS. London - Cardiff, 2000 (Occasional Papers of the Society of Antiquaries of London, No. 20). ISBN 0 85431 274 9. ISSN 0953-7155. XVII+187 p., 55 ills., 11 tabs. (original) (raw)
Related papers
Handbook to Roman Legionary Fortresses
This is a reference guide to Roman legionary fortresses throughout the former Roman Empire, of which approximately eighty-five have been located and identified. With the expansion of the Empire and the garrisoning of its army in frontier regions during the 1st century AD, Rome began to concentrate its legions in large permanent bases. Some have been explored in great detail, others are barely known, but this book brings together for the first time the legionary fortresses of the whole empire. An introductory section outlines the history of legionary bases and their key components. At the heart of the book is a referenced and illustrated catalogue of the known bases, each with a specially prepared plan. A detailed bibliography provides up-to-date publication information. The book is accompanied by a website providing online links to sites relevant to particular fortresses and aerial views of all of the known fortress locations.
The aim of this dissertation was two-fold; first, to examine the architecture of Roman legionary fortresses for symbolic and ideological meaning; and secondly, to understand its connection to Roman ‘military’ identity in the legions of the 1st and early 2nd centuries AD. It begins with a discussion of Roman Imperial ideology and military identity, in order to contextualise the study and help bridge the gap between data and interpretation. Within this section it is also argued that one cannot talk about concepts like ‘ideology’ in a past society without first understanding it in our own time. Therefore, through sociology the concepts are discussed and along with the rest of the chapter connections are built between ideology, symbolism, and identity. It is argued that previous studies of Roman fortress architecture have been too functionalist, in contrast to non-military architecture and urbanism, resulting in the isolation and similarly repetitive interpretations of fortress architecture. The hope of this study was to demonstrate that symbolism and ideology did play a role in the architecture of these sites, and on a deeper level than has been fully realised. In conclusion, the role of symbolism and ideology does seem apparent, along with, through the incorporation of some material culture, the physical ritualisation of fortresses, leading to the divine justification of many aspects of Roman military life, such as position, control, the power of the Emperor, and the hierarchical order; all of which play a part in the creation of identities and ideologies.
Fortifying a Roman Camp: The Liber de munitionibus castrorum of Hyginus
2018
Now available in paperback! The Liber de munitionibus castrorum ("Book about the fortifications of a camp", as it is usually known) describes how to lay out a temporary camp for a Roman army on campaign, comprising three legions and associated troops of various types. It is our main source for many aspects of Roman military studies, as it includes descriptions of not only the major military unit types, but also the different methods of fortification. Only a single copy of the work survives, preserved in a sixth-century manuscript, and the Latin text is in poor condition requiring major emendation. Although German, French, and Italian editions have appeared at various times, this is the first English-language edition, in which a new Latin text is presented alongside a facing-page translation. An apparatus criticus indicates the source of all emendations utilized in the new text, and the volume is rounded off with a full bilingual index. Click on Amazon link to purchase a copy.
H. Van Enckevort, M. Driessen, E. Graafstal, T. Hazenberg, T. Ivleva & C. Van Driel-Murray (eds), Strategy and Structures along the Roman Frontier. Pro-ceedings of the 25th International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies 2, Leiden, Sidestone Press., 2024
To the south of the city of Valence, the triangular-shaped plateau of Lautagne dominates the Rhone valley, located a few hundred metres to the west. Located opposite the first foothills of the Massif Central, its flat land, impressive breadth and steep slopes to the north and west make it an easily defensible vantage point. The site has been the subject of numerous surveys and explorations since the early 1990’s. To date, more than 37 of the plateau’s 80 ha have been surveyed, and the presence of Roman camps was revealed from the very start. The successive archaeological operations have led to the identification of no less than half a dozen defensive systems of different sizes and positions (fig. 1), dated to the end of the 1st and 2nd centuries BC (Kielb Zaaraoui et al. 2018a).