Roman moat

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Excavation cut with the pointed trench of the Roman marshal from Wilkenburg
Excavation cut with the pointed ditch of the Roman camp Bielefeld-Sennestadt

The Roman-shaped ditch ( Latin fossa fastigata "tapering trench") is one of the Roman army landscaped moat , the defense and the security of Roman military camps served. The size, arrangement and number of the pointed trenches vary depending on the location; they were often created in connection with a wall .

Written tradition

The sources of Roman defense trenches are not very comprehensive, but there are some written records. This is how the late antique author Vegetius calls the exact dimensions of a ditch for a marching camp . Other authors also mention pointed trenches with their dimensions in some places. However, these are mostly situation-dependent, for example Caesar in the description of the fight against Afranius .

construction

The construction of trenches as a protective and defensive measure has been proven to have existed since the development of permanent settlements. The Roman army standardized this for their purposes. This is shown by the information provided by the ancient author Vegetius, who gives precise dimensions for both marching and standing camps. Marching camps were fortifications built by the Roman troops on campaigns in enemy territory for a very short period, often only for one night. For this reason, despite their presumably high number, proving it is very difficult, because everything was dismantled before leaving. Vegetius gives dimensions of 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide and 3 feet (0.9 meters) deep. The excavated earth was used to build the wall. In the case of marshals, it was mostly a turf wall with pila muralia planted on it . Stand storage, on the other hand, was created for longer occupancy; the exact use could be very different for these. As a result, the various defenses were also different. A winter camp in enemy territory was usually surrounded by several trenches and other devices, whereas a construction camp for construction soldiers near a large city only met the minimum requirements. As a guide, Vegetius gives a width of 9 to 13 feet (2.7 to 3.9 meters) and a depth of 7 feet (2.1 meters). The excavations throughout the empire show that these are only guidelines, because the dimensions can vary greatly. It seems clear, however, that the “V” shape was the most widespread form in the military field, because it is called “De munitionibus castrorum” by Pseudo-Hygin in the standard work on the Roman barracks system . Furthermore, there are hardly any findings that suggest another form of trench that was used just as often. The trenches could only develop their full effect in connection with the other elements of defense; the distances were mostly adapted to the weapons used.

execution

The structure of a Roman pointed trench is always the same, even if the size and number of the trenches can vary. Only in some cases there is a deviation with a cleaning ditch at the bottom of the ditch. The lower tip is not pointed, but slightly deepened. This should presumably facilitate the drainage of the water and wash away the dirt. It is not known whether there was an exact specification for cleaning ditches and when this was created. The trenches could be made in a symmetrical “V” shape or one of the sides could be widened to allow better shelling. In addition, other obstacles such as sharpened branches were often embedded in the trenches to make it more difficult to overcome. Such an extensive expansion was carried out less often on Marschlagern, which were only laid out for one night. In this case, hand-spread jibs may have been used, but these are hardly detectable today.

Findings

In contrast to buildings, archaeological evidence of Roman pointed trenches is more difficult, because apart from the discoloration of the earth, there are usually no other remains. Nevertheless, trench structures appear as findings in geomagnetic prospecting . However, it is hardly possible to carry out comprehensive surveys, especially if the findings are located within a modern city. Once these trenches are located, they can usually be identified with the help of archaeological digs. This can be clearly seen in the example of the marching camp in Ermelo-Leuvenum in the Netherlands. The structures can be analyzed well, especially in the case of long-term fortifications such as the legionary camps.

Examples

Excavated ditch near the Roman marching camp of Wilkenburg
Preserved ditch of the Osterburken fort
Preserved ditch of the Roman camp Oberbruch
  • Wilkenburg marching camp with space for up to 20,000 soldiers. During excavations in 2019, the still visible remains of a pointed trench were discovered. The trench was preserved in the sand at a depth of 0.9 to 1.3 meters and a width of up to 1.2 meters. The trench has a so-called cleaning trench on the bottom .
  • Bielefeld-Sennestadt Roman camp , which offered space for up to 25,000 soldiers. During excavations in 2015, the still visible remains of an earth wall with a pointed ditch in front were discovered. It was about 80 cm deep and about 1.5 meters wide.
  • Inchtuthil legionary camp in Scotland, which had a complex of buildings with trenches of various sizes. In the west of the facility, the trenches were 1.5 meters wide and around 0.8 meters deep, while the other areas were 3 meters wide and 2 meters deep. The larger trenches were provided with a cleaning trench, the smaller ones not.
  • Battle for Alesia . where, in various archaeological campaigns, the defenses built by Caesar were excavated and clearly processed. This complex is a good example of bringing together source texts and findings unearthed today. The various defensive measures could also be researched there, because in the two trenches there were other obstacles such as holes with sharpened cases or toe-tails in many places.

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literature

  • Thomas Fischer : The army of the Caesars. Archeology and history. Pustet, Regensburg 2012.
  • Norbert Hanel : Military Camps, Canabae, and Vici. The Archaeological Evidence. In: Paul Erdkamp: A Companion to the Roman Army. Wiley-Blackwell, Malden et al 2007.
  • Henning Haßmann , Salvatore Ortisi : Romans before Hanover. The Augustan marching camp of Wilkenburg. In: Reports on the preservation of monuments in Lower Saxony. Issue 4, 2016, pp. 190–193.
  • Henning Haßmann, Friedrich-Wilhelm Wulf : Large Roman army camp discovered in the Hanover region. In: Homeland of the Heimatbund Lower Saxony. Issue 4, 2015, pp. 140-143.
  • Rudi S. Hulst: Het Romeins marskamp bij Ermelo. Utrecht 2007.
  • Lynn F. Pitts, JK St. Joseph: Inchtuthil: The Roman Legionary Fortress Excavations 1952-65. Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, London 1985 ( PDF ).
  • Michel Reddé: Alésia: L'archéologie face à l'imaginaire. Second edition. Editions Errance, Paris 2012.

Web links

Commons : Römischer Spitzgraben  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Veg. 1.24.
  2. ↑ Caes. civ. 1.41.
  3. ↑ Hanel 2007, 407.
  4. ↑ Hulst 2007, p. 25.
  5. ↑ Hanel 2007, 410.
  6. ↑ Hyginius 49th
  7. ↑ Reddé 2012, p. 185.
  8. ↑ Heimatland 2015, p. 141.
  9. ↑ Reddé 2012, p. 155.
  10. ↑ Hulst 2007, p. 22.
  11. ^ Reports of the preservation of monuments in Lower Saxony 2016, p. 191.
  12. ↑ Pitts 1985, pp. 60f.
  13. ↑ Reddé 2012, pp. 176ff.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Another type of trench was the so-called fossa punica in which one of the two trench walls sloped almost vertically.