ET CETERA ANTIQUA

📝 Classical Civilisation essay, Year 11. Mark: 7/8. Teacher feedback: “A very strong answer showing excellent knowledge of Roman forts, but you need to use the source more consistently and explicitly, for example to describe the location of these different buildings.”

One of the most important buildings in the fortress was the principia, the main administrative centre, which was situated in the middle of the fortress. It consisted of a courtyard, the basilica and the offices, including the sacellum. The courtyard, which was surrounded by porticos, was an open space where the soldiers could train and practise. The basilica was a roofed hall with a speakers’ platform. The legatus worked here with his officers, dealing with the soldiers’ pay and military justice. The soldiers could assemble to hear the legatus speak. In the offices, the admin staff and clerks worked in the back, dealing with the money. The sacellum (little shrine) housed the legion’s most important possessions, like the aquila (a golden eagle) and other standards, surrounding a statue of the emperor. The pay was kept in a strongbox.

Another building in the fortress was the praetorium, the legatus’ private quarters. It was built to the side of the principia, and housed the legatus (or the commanding officer). It was built in the style of a high-status Roman villa, and had a central heating system (the hypocaust system), a courtyard, private gardens and its own set of private baths. This all offered the legatus lots of comfort while he was away from home. He would also receive guests here. Compared to the regular soldiers’ barracks, the praetorium was idyllic.

The legionaries lived in barracks. Each contubernium shared two rooms: one for sleeping and another as a shared living space. There are two reconstructions for how the bedrooms were set up: in a bunk-bed style, or as two big beds. The living space had a hearth, a kitchen and a general living area. Overall, this space was very cramped and offered very little privacy. On the other hand, the centurion had his own suite of rooms. Although not as luxurious as the legatus’ by any means, he had some degree of privacy — instead of sharing his rooms with seven other men, he had them to himself.

The amphitheatre was used for many different purposes. The main uses were for training, assemblies and parades, as there was no other open space large enough to do so. The amphitheatre could accommodate the entire legion (in the fortress at Chester, this was 8,000 men). There were also long stretches of time when the soldiers were not at war, so they needed entertainment. This mainly consisted of gladiator shows. Sometimes the gladiators would be prisoners (who were kept in the fortress prison). This entertainment provided a distraction for the soldiers in the fortress.