Interesting facts about roman forts?

Question:anybody know anything about ancient roman forts????

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: anybody know anything about ancient roman forts????

Roman engineers were very resourceful in using surrounding materials to defend themselves. Depending on were the legend was fighting, could determine what the fort was to be made of an example is Gaul were there were trees and Egypt were there was but stone. Also, depending on the what the legend was doing, protecting an area or simply on the march would also determine the type of fort created.

I have focused on Roman Forts of Britain.

There are traditionally three main types of Roman fortification; the Marching Camp, the Auxiliary Fort and the Legionary fortress. To these three basic types there has been recently added a fourth classification, that of Vexillation Fortress.
There are also smaller fortifications such as Fortlets, Signal Stations, Light Houses and Watch Towers. Of these types, the Fortlets may be viewed simply as small forts posessed of an unorthodox interior layout, but the latter classes which are localised in their distribution and unique in construction, are therefore, not included in this general discussion.
1. Marching Camps These are characterized by a single narrow ditch and interior rampart, are generally rectangular in outline, but can vary widely in size. These camps generally represent the entrenchments made by a single Roman army unit for an overnight stop in field conditions, when the enemy is close at hand and there is chance of an attack. The size of the army unit on the march would obviously dictate the actual dimensions of the camp.
2. Auxiliary Forts These were generally rectangular or square in outline, posessed of a substantial rampart and may have several ditch systems. They were constructed at first mainly of timber but later in stone, and housed troops from allied and Romanized nations, who would become full Roman citizens on discharge, the Auxilia. These troops were not as highly trained (or as well paid) as were the citizen troops of the Roman Legions, and although they made their own Marching Camps, their Garrison Forts were actually built by the legionaries.
3. Legionary Fortresses These were, as the name implies, the permanent strategic military encampments of the Roman legions, which were occupied for any period between tens of years like Viroconium (Wroxeter) or even centuries like Eburacum (York). As they were built to house an entire legion, where the number of soldiers did not vary (i.e. around 5,200 legionaries), their size is fairly uniform at fifty acres. Their defences are massive, generally of stone, although the Fortress at Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) was occupied for only a short period and its defences were merely of timber construction.
4. Vexillation Fortresses These were large encampments of a fairly uniform size, which were built to house task forces comprised of perhaps half a legion and several Auxiliary cohorts. They could be used for either a single summer campaign like the Rhyn Park fortress in Shropshire, or used successively over a number of seasons like the fortress at Lake Farm in Dorset. Their purpose was therefore mainly tactical rather than strategic.
In a temporary overnight camp not intended for re-use after the force had moved on the following morning, the agger may be formed merely from the piled-up outcast from the fosse, surmounted with a rough palisade of stakes thrust into the earth along the top of this bank. The overall width and size would vary depending on the number of men available for the task.
The Roman marching camp was constructed in the following manner:
i. The area would be scouted and the best site chosen.
ii. The centre of the site would be marked by a flag; this would preferably be placed at a point slightly higher than the surrounding topography.
iii. The camp engineer would take sightings using a single groma - a simple instrument which allowed the efficient sighting of right-angles - placed at the designated centre, and the positions of the intended gateways would be marked by other pairs of marker flags at measured distances paced out from this central point.
iv. Upon the arrival at the camp site of the bulk of the force, each unit would move to its assigned position within the marked-out area and would dump its gear. The strongest and most experienced centuries would be first, and they would march through almost the entire length of the marked out area before turning aside and making camp; in this way the most experienced troops were set to work on the defences nearest to the enemy.
v. Every eight-man contubernium in each century would assign each of its members to different tasks;
o If the camp was made in hostile territory, a proportion of the force would be used to form a defensive cordon around the remainder, who would prepare the encampment.
o The bulk of the force would be used to construct the camp defenses, usually comprising of a single ditch and an inner bank formed from the ditch outcast, with a row of staves implanted in the top of the bank. If there were sufficient men, the defenses may be more elaborate, perhaps built of stacked turves.
o Whilst the heavy construction fell to the rank and file, under the watchful eye of their centurions, some legionaries were excused the dirty work and as a consequence were termed immunes (Latin immunis, free or exempt from...). These would be required to perform the less arduous tasks; clearing the camp interior, unloading baggage, erecting tents, cooking dinner, tending horses, etc.
vi. The first half of the force would already be employed building the forward part of the camp by the time the commander arrived and took up position at the centre. He would probably begin with a meeting of all centurions and officers to discuss any immediate defensive problems.
vii. During the time that it took the rearward half of the force to reach the encampment, most of the defensive circuit would already have been delineated by a bank and ditch.
A tactical auxiliary fort, built to last at least one campaign season guarding an important site, were built with more intrinsic strength and solidity. The usual method was to build a turf rampart:
i. The site was surveyed using the same basic methods used for a marching camp, described above, though probably with less haste, on a more carefully chosen site.
ii. After accurately marking out the positions of the ditches, ramparts and gates, work would begin by removing the turf from the areas delineating the ditches and ramparts.
iii. The gathered turves would be stacked together forming two turf walls, each about a yard (0.9 metre) thick and separated by a gap of around ten feet (3 metres).
iv. While the turf walls were being stacked, post-holes would be dug at the corners and gaps in the ramparts, and choice timbers would be erected to form the frameworks of corner-towers and gateways.
v. The outcast from the ditches surrounding the fort would provide the infill material for the interior space between the turf walls. The processes of infilling and building-up the enclosing turf walls would be going on simultaneously.
vi. The rampart may be strengthened or modified in a number of ways:
o If sufficient local timber was available - as was often the case in Britain - the walls of the fort may be strengthened by the inclusion of a timber lattice-work within the intermural space.
o If timber resources were plentiful the entire front of the rampart may be faced with timber, perhaps part-replacing the outer turf wall.
o If the area was particulaly damp or prone to flooding, the entire rampart may be built upon a raft of logs or stones, again, if locally avaialable.
o In some particularly damp areas, the rampart would perhaps be built of alternate laminated layers of sand and clay. Clay was also used to line ditches in sandy soil, to prevent slippage.
vii. A turf rampart would be built almost vertically upwards for about ten feet, and would be between twelve to sixteen feet wide at its base. The top of the rampart could be anything between ten to four feet in width, depending on the angle of slope imparted to the turf walls at the front and rear.
viii. The top surface of the rampart was boarded over by a catwalk, and a timber palisade erected at the front.
ix. Turves for the defences were also removed from the areas delineating the major roads in the interior of the fort, which were then surfaced with gravel.
x. The interior buildings would be the last things constructed, mainly of timber, though sometimes in stone, particularly the sacellum in the centre of the fort, which housed the regimental standards and the treasury; in many Roman forts, the sacellum was the only building made of stone.

Some forts were large enough to hold an entire legion of six thousand men.
Specialized buildings were constructed inside of the forts. Barracks were built with eleven rooms to hold a century (group of eight men). One room was for the centurion, the other ten were for the ten contubeniums, groups of eight soldiers, which made up the century. The barracks for the best troop was near the main gate. In the middle of the fort were two large buildings the principia and the praetorium. The praetorium was the house for a unit's commander and his family. Generals and high commanders were allowed to marry in the Roman army. The principia was the building for the administrative offices of the fort and where the pay for the soldiers was stored. A fort would also have buildings blacksmiths, carpenters, butcher, shoemakers, storage for grains, and a stable for the horses. Outside of each fort, a Roman style bath was built. It was usually outside a forts walls because of the risk for fires.

The Romans built up walls, barriers and forts in areas where they were most at risk.