136-652: Deva Victrix , or simply Deva , was a legionary fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia on the site of the modern city of Chester . The fortress was built by the Legio II Adiutrix in the 70s AD as the Roman army advanced north against the Brigantes , and rebuilt completely over the next few decades by the Legio XX Valeria Victrix . In the early 3rd century the fortress
272-402: A buccinator . Ordinary camp life began with a buccina call at daybreak, the first watch of the day. The soldiers arose at this time and shortly after gathered in the company area for breakfast and assembly. The centurions were up before them and off to the principia where they and the equites were required to assemble. The regimental commanders, the tribunes, were already converging on
408-480: A thin section using a method like the Gazzi-Dickinson Method . This yields the relative percentages of quartz, feldspar, and lithic grains and the amount of clay matrix. The composition of a sandstone can provide important information on the genesis of the sediments when used with a triangular Q uartz, F eldspar, L ithic fragment ( QFL diagrams ). However, geologist have not been able to agree on
544-520: A Roman camp, for example Marsala in Sicily, the ancient Lilybaeum, where the name of the main street, the Cassaro, perpetuates the name "castrum". The castrum's special structure also defended from attacks. The base ( munimentum , "fortification") was placed entirely within the vallum ("wall"), which could be constructed under the protection of the legion in battle formation if necessary. The vallum
680-415: A camp had both public and private latrines . A public latrine consisted of a bank of seats situated over a channel of running water. One of the major considerations for selecting the site of a camp was the presence of running water, which the engineers diverted into the sanitary channels. Drinking water came from wells; however, the larger and more permanent bases featured the aqueduct , a structure running
816-640: A change in imperial policy from expansionism to consolidation. Castra In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire , the Latin word castrum ( pl. : castra ) was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form castrum meant ' fort ', while the plural form castra meant 'camp'. The singular and plural forms could refer in Latin to either a building or plot of land, used as
952-525: A coin of Emperor Elagabalus under one of the pavement slabs. It is thought that the second building may have survived until the end of Roman rule and influence in Britain. The elliptical building is one of several differences between the fortress at Chester and other Roman fortresses in the province. Deva was 20% larger, 5 hectares (12 acres), than the fortresses of Eboracum ( York )—later capital of Britannia Inferior —and Isca Augusta ( Caerleon ). Also,
1088-594: A day, supplied by fresh water piped in from natural springs in the suburb of Boughton 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) to the east. Lead ingots discovered in Chester indicate that construction was probably under way by 74 AD. There may already have been military buildings on the site, but if so they were demolished to allow the construction of the fortress. The first buildings were constructed from wood, probably for convenience. They were gradually replaced by more permanent structures built from locally quarried sandstone . Defence
1224-405: A few hours. Judging from the names, they probably used a repertory of camp plans, selecting the one appropriate to the length of time a legion would spend in it: tertia castra , quarta castra , etc. ( a camp of three days , four days , etc.). More permanent camps were castra stativa ( standing camps ). The least permanent of these were castra aestiva or aestivalia , "summer camps", in which
1360-480: A fortified military base . In English usage, castrum commonly translates to "Roman fort", "Roman camp" and "Roman fortress". However, scholastic convention tends to translate castrum as "fort", "camp", "marching camp" or "fortress". Romans used the term castrum for different sizes of camps – including large legionary fortresses, smaller forts for cohorts or for auxiliary forces, temporary encampments , and "marching" forts. The diminutive form castellum
1496-531: A general staff officer, who might manage training at several camps. According to Vegetius, the men might take a 32 kilometres (20 mi) hike or a 68 kilometres (42 mi) jog under full pack, or swim a river. Marching drill was always in order. Each soldier was taught the use of every weapon and also was taught to ride. Seamanship was taught at naval bases. Soldiers were generalists in the military and construction arts. They practiced archery, spear-throwing and above all swordsmanship against posts ( pali ) fixed in
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#17327733748121632-599: A lesser scale once the legions had left. Buildings would have fallen into disrepair, although some of the larger structures are known to have survived for some time. The town nevertheless probably remained the military and administrative centre of the region. After the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons , the settlement became known as Legacaestir , meaning "City of the Legions" in Old English . Medieval chroniclers believed
1768-464: A modern study shows that the intervallum "was 1/16th of the square root of the area it enclosed in the fort." Legionaries were quartered in a peripheral zone inside the intervallum , which they could rapidly cross to take up position on the vallum . Inside of the legionary quarters was a peripheral road, the Via Sagularis , probably a type of "service road", as the sagum , a kind of cloak,
1904-521: A possible future capital of Roman Britain because it was practically placed at the centre of the British isles, being located geographically at nearly the same distance from the westernmost shores of Ireland, the easternmost lands of Britannia and the Channel. Regardless of the empire's plans for Deva, Londinium , the province's economic and trading centre, emerged as the capital of Britannia, reflecting
2040-478: A range of store rooms around the outside. The presence of a second bath building is unusual because legionary fortresses generally had just one set of internal baths. Construction on the site began around 77 AD and this was confirmed by a length of lead piping, which served a central water feature or fountain, which was stamped with the name of Emperor Vespasian . The first building was a prestigious edifice made with concrete foundations and finely dressed stonework, and
2176-628: A room, who slept on bunkbeds. The soldiers in each room were also required to cook their own meals and eat with their "roommates". From the time of Augustus more permanent castra with wooden or stone buildings and walls were introduced as the distant and hard-won boundaries of the expanding empire required permanent garrisons to control local and external threats from warlike tribes. Previously, legions were raised for specific military campaigns and subsequently disbanded, requiring only temporary castra. From then on many castra of various sizes were established, many of which became permanent settlements. From
2312-478: A sandstone goes through as the degree of kinetic processing of the sediments increases. Dott's (1964) sandstone classification scheme is one of many such schemes used by geologists for classifying sandstones. Dott's scheme is a modification of Gilbert's classification of silicate sandstones, and it incorporates R.L. Folk's dual textural and compositional maturity concepts into one classification system. The philosophy behind combining Gilbert's and R. L. Folk's schemes
2448-462: A set of boundaries separating regions of the QFL triangle. Visual aids are diagrams that allow geologists to interpret different characteristics of a sandstone. For example, a QFL chart can be marked with a provenance model that shows the likely tectonic origin of sandstones with various compositions of framework grains. Likewise, the stage of textural maturity chart illustrates the different stages that
2584-404: A slate frieze depicting a retiarius , or net-fighter, was discovered in 1738, most likely dating to the 2nd century; it was probably used to decorate the tomb of a gladiator. Other finds included a small bronze statuette of a gladiator, parts of a Roman bowl depicting scenes from a gladiatorial contest, and part of a gladius sword handle. Much of the masonry from the amphitheatre was reused in
2720-400: A stockade, for which the soldiers carried stakes, and a ditch. The castra could be prepared under attack within a hollow square or behind a battle line. Considering that the earliest military shelters were tents made of hide or cloth, and all but the most permanent bases housed the men in tents placed in quadrangles and separated by numbered streets, one castrum may well have acquired
2856-524: A stream captured from high ground (sometimes miles away) into the camp. The praetorium had its own latrine and probably the quarters of the high-ranking officers. In or near the intervallum , where they could easily be accessed, were the latrines of the soldiers. A public bathhouse for the soldiers, also containing a latrine, was located near or on the Via Principalis . The influence of a base extended far beyond its walls. The total land required for
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#17327733748122992-415: A sub-Roman society that was able to survive the attacks from the Anglo-Saxons and even use a vernacular Latin (called British Latin ) for an active culture. There is even the possibility that this vernacular Latin lasted to the late seventh century in the area of Chester, where amphorae and archaeological remnants of a local Romano-British culture at Deva Victrix have been found. The Roman fortress of Deva
3128-445: A twofold classification: Cement is what binds the siliciclastic framework grains together. Cement is a secondary mineral that forms after deposition and during burial of the sandstone. These cementing materials may be either silicate minerals or non-silicate minerals, such as calcite. Sandstone that becomes depleted of its cement binder through weathering gradually becomes friable and unstable. This process can be somewhat reversed by
3264-433: A variety of purposes. As it was close to the fortress, it would have been used as a venue for weapons training as well as hosting spectacular entertainments involving acrobats, wrestlers, and professional gladiators . The walls of the amphitheatre were 0.9 metres (3 ft) thick and may have stood as high as 12 metres (39 ft). The buttresses were too insubstantial to be structural, so must have been decorative. Part of
3400-487: A warm room ( tepidarium ), and a hot room with a hot plunge bath ( caldarium ). An unsheltered exercise yard ( palaestra ) also formed part of the complex. The baths had mosaic floors and were heated by a hypocaust under-floor system connected to three furnaces. Such furnaces required several metric tons of wood each day. The baths would have been in operation 24 hours a day, using an estimated 850,000 litres (190,000 imp gal) of water each day. The water
3536-512: Is De Munitionibus Castrorum , a manuscript of 11 pages that dates most probably from the late 1st to early 2nd century AD. Regulations required a major unit in the field to retire to a properly constructed camp every day. "… as soon as they have marched into an enemy's land, they do not begin to fight until they have walled their camp about; nor is the fence they raise rashly made, or uneven; nor do they all abide ill it, nor do those that are in it take their places at random; but if it happens that
3672-462: Is Latin for victorious. The name for the city of Chester derives from the Latin word castrum (plural: castra ), meaning "fort" or "army camp"; "-chester" and "-caster" are common suffixes in the names of other English cities that began as Roman camps. According to the 1st- and 2nd-century geographer Ptolemy , Deva was in the lands of the Cornovii . Their land bordered that of the Brigantes in
3808-462: Is a change of meaning from the reflexes in other languages, which still mean some sort of knife, axe, or spear. Pokorny explains it as 'Lager' als 'abgeschnittenes Stück Land' , "a lager, as a cut-off piece of land"> If this is the civilian interpretation, the military version must be "military reservation", a piece of land cut off from the common land around it and modified for military use. All castra must be defended by works, often no more than
3944-837: Is a distinction that can be recognized in the field . In turn, the distinction between an orthoquartzite and a metaquartzite is the onset of recrystallization of existing grains. The dividing line may be placed at the point where strained quartz grains begin to be replaced by new, unstrained, small quartz grains, producing a mortar texture that can be identified in thin sections under a polarizing microscope. With increasing grade of metamorphism, further recrystallization produces foam texture , characterized by polygonal grains meeting at triple junctions, and then porphyroblastic texture , characterized by coarse, irregular grains, including some larger grains ( porphyroblasts .) Sandstone has been used since prehistoric times for construction, decorative art works and tools. It has been widely employed around
4080-492: Is also a carving of an altar where offerings were left. The only rock-cut Roman shrine still in situ in Britain, the Minerva shrine is a Grade I listed building . Deva Victrix had a large legionary bath complex ( thermae ) for the soldiers to maintain good hygiene and to use for leisure time. The baths were sited near the south gate and measured 82.6 metres (271 ft) by 85.5 metres (281 ft). They were completed towards
4216-409: Is archaeological evidence in one case of an indoor equestrian ring. Apart from the training, each soldier had a regular job on the base, of which there was a large variety from the various kinds of clerk to the craftsmen. Soldiers changed jobs frequently. The commander's policy was to have all the soldiers skilled in all the arts and crafts so that they could be as interchangeable as possible. Even then
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4352-550: Is composed of quartz or feldspar , because they are the most resistant minerals to the weathering processes at the Earth's surface. Like uncemented sand , sandstone may be imparted any color by impurities within the minerals, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow, red, grey, pink, white, and black. Because sandstone beds can form highly visible cliffs and other topographic features, certain colors of sandstone have become strongly identified with certain regions, such as
4488-523: Is likely formed during eogenesis. Deeper burial is accompanied by mesogenesis , during which most of the compaction and lithification takes place. Compaction takes place as the sand comes under increasing pressure from overlying sediments. Sediment grains move into more compact arrangements, ductile grains (such as mica grains) are deformed, and pore space is reduced. In addition to this physical compaction, chemical compaction may take place via pressure solution . Points of contact between grains are under
4624-431: Is redeposited in the unstrained pore spaces. Mechanical compaction takes place primarily at depths less than 1,000 meters (3,300 ft). Chemical compaction continues to depths of 2,000 meters (6,600 ft), and most cementation takes place at depths of 2,000–5,000 meters (6,600–16,400 ft). Unroofing of buried sandstone is accompanied by telogenesis , the third and final stage of diagenesis. As erosion reduces
4760-443: Is that it is better able to "portray the continuous nature of textural variation from mudstone to arenite and from stable to unstable grain composition". Dott's classification scheme is based on the mineralogy of framework grains, and on the type of matrix present in between the framework grains. In this specific classification scheme, Dott has set the boundary between arenite and wackes at 15% matrix. In addition, Dott also breaks up
4896-399: The buccina or bucina , the cornu and the tuba . As they did not possess valves for regulating the pitch, the range of these instruments was somewhat limited. Nevertheless, the musicians ( aenatores , "brassmen") managed to define enough signals for issuing commands. The instrument used to mark the passage of a watch was the buccina , from which the trumpet derives. It was sounded by
5032-643: The Balkans , either by itself or in various compounds such as the World Heritage Site of Gjirokastër (earlier Argurokastro ). The terms stratopedon ( army camp ) and phrourion ( fortification ) were used by Greek language authors to translate castrum and castellum , respectively. A castrum was designed to house and protect the soldiers, their equipment and supplies when they were not fighting or marching. The most detailed description that survives about Roman military camps
5168-569: The Principia contained the Quaestorium . By the late empire it had developed also into a safekeep for plunder and a prison for hostages and high-ranking enemy captives. Near the Quaestorium were the quarters of the headquarters guard ( Statores ), who amounted to two centuries (companies). If the Imperator was present they served as his bodyguard. Further from the Quaestorium were
5304-536: The Via Praetoria offered another division of the camp into four quarters. Across the central plaza ( principia ) to the east or west was the main gate, the Porta Praetoria . Marching through it and down "headquarters street" a unit ended up in formation in front of the headquarters. The standards of the legion were located on display there, very much like the flag of modern camps. On the other side of
5440-447: The Via Principalis were the homes or tents of the several tribunes in front of the barracks of the units they commanded. The central region of the Via Principalis with the buildings for the command staff was called the Principia (plural of principium ). It was actually a square, as across this at right angles to the Via Principalis was the Via Praetoria , so called because the praetorium interrupted it. The Via Principalis and
5576-554: The Welsh place name prefix caer- (e.g. Caerleon and Caerwent ) and English suffixes -caster and -chester (e.g. Winchester and Lancaster ). Castrorum Filius , "son of the camps", was one of the names used by the emperor Caligula and then also by other emperors. Castro , also derived from Castrum , is a common Spanish family name as well as toponym in Spain and other Hispanophone countries, Italy , and
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5712-431: The canabae legionis , effectively making it a veteran colony. Cemeteries were located alongside the roads leading to the settlement, beyond built-up areas. The Grosvenor Museum has over 150 tombstones, the largest collection of Roman tombstones from a single site in Britain. Most of them were used to repair the north wall in the 4th century. Settlement extended around the fortress to the east, south, and west; shops fronted
5848-612: The latera ("sides") were the Arae (sacrificial altars), the Auguratorium (for auspices ), the Tribunal , where courts martial and arbitrations were conducted (it had a raised platform), the guardhouse, the quarters of various kinds of staff and the storehouses for grain ( horrea ) or meat ( carnarea ). Sometimes the horrea were located near the barracks and the meat was stored on the hoof. Analysis of sewage from latrines indicates
5984-503: The medici ordinarii , had to be qualified physicians. They were allowed medical students, practitioners and whatever orderlies they needed; i.e., the military hospitals were medical schools and places of residency as well. Officers were allowed to marry and to reside with their families on base. The army did not extend the same privileges to the men, who were not allowed to marry. However, they often kept common law families off base in communities nearby. The communities might be native, as
6120-454: The praetorium . There the general staff planned the day. At a staff meeting the tribunes received the password and the orders of the day. They brought those back to the centuriones , who returned to their company areas to instruct the men. For soldiers, the main agendum was a vigorous training session lasting about a watch long. Recruits received two, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Planning and supervision of training were under
6256-403: The 2nd and 3rd centuries as the population increased. Once the legion had left, the civilian settlement continued, eventually becoming part of the town of Chester. Indeed, scholars such as Christopher Snyder believe that during the 5th and 6th centuries—approximately from 410 AD when Roman legions withdrew, to 597 AD when St. Augustine of Canterbury arrived—southern Britain preserved
6392-517: The 4 hectares (10 acres) by which Deva was larger than other fortresses—has been taken as evidence that their construction was specifically ordered by the provincial governor. The governor ( Legatus Augusti pro praetore ) when construction first started was Gnaeus Julius Agricola . Lead piping found in the elliptical building bears his name, the only evidence in Britain of a building under his direct control. These differences suggest that Deva may have been Agricola's administrative headquarters—in effect
6528-523: The Emperor Domitian ordered the Legio II Adiutrix to the lower Danube . The Legio XX Valeria Victrix was deployed to garrison Deva Victrix, abandoning the fort they had been building in Scotland, at Inchtuthil . On their arrival they began to rebuild Deva, first in timber and from the end of the 1st century in stone. The new stone fortress walls were 1.36 metres (4.5 ft) thick at
6664-527: The Roman arches of the east gate; they were demolished in 1768. Over the next century, accidental discoveries continued, such as parts of the Roman bath complex outside the fortress which were destroyed by a late-18th-century housing development. The Chester Archaeological Society , founded in 1849, acquired artefacts discovered in Chester and undertook excavations where possible; the Grosvenor Museum
6800-574: The Roman fortress was named after the goddess of the River Dee; the Latin for "goddess" is dea or diva . There is an alternative source for the naming of the settlement which suggests that the Roman name for the fortress was adopted directly from the British name of the river. It is thought that the title "victrix" in the name of the fortress was taken from the title of the Legio XX Valeria Victrix who were based at Deva; victrix
6936-495: The Roman remains, including the sewers and tombstones. Antiquarians began to take interest in the remains in the 17th century and interest continued to grow in the 18th century, fed by accounts of Roman Chester and discoveries such as an altar to Jupiter Tanarus. Jupiter Tanarus—also Taranis—was the Romanised version of the god Taranis who was the equivalent of Jupiter the god of thunder. In 1725, William Stukeley recorded
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#17327733748127072-466: The administrative class of inscription, generally written out in full ... which were set up as a public record of official decisions taken at the highest level of government. Examples of important inscriptions of this nature include treaties with local tribes and declarations of rights. The text of this inscription cannot be reconstructed from this small fragment, but it appears to talk about the "fortress", an "amicable conclusion", and someone being "against
7208-468: The aisle), ten men per tent. Ideally a company took 10 tents, arranged in a line of 10 companies, with the 10th near the Porta Decumana . Of the c. 9.2 square metres of bunk space each man received 0.9, or about 0.6 by 1.5 m, which was only practical if they slept with heads to the aisle. The single tent with its men was called contubernium , also used for "squad". A squad during some periods
7344-419: The amphitheatre on behalf of Chester City Council and in association with English Heritage . A civilian settlement ( canabae legionis ) was gradually established outside the walls of the fortress; it probably began as a collection of traders who became prosperous from dealing with the fortress. The settlement was administered by an elected council rather than by the legion. As legionaries retired many settled in
7480-491: The application of tetraethyl orthosilicate (Si(OC 2 H 5 ) 4 ) which will deposit amorphous silicon dioxide between the sand grains. The reaction is as follows. Pore space includes the open spaces within a rock or a soil. The pore space in a rock has a direct relationship to the porosity and permeability of the rock. The porosity and permeability are directly influenced by the way the sand grains are packed together. Sandstones are typically classified by point-counting
7616-403: The arms at one end and the common area at the other. The company area was used for cooking and recreation such as gaming. The army provisioned the men and had their bread ( panis militaris ) baked in outdoor ovens, but the men were responsible for cooking and serving themselves. They could buy meals or supplementary foods at the canteen. The officers were allowed servants. For sanitary facilities,
7752-434: The aspect ratio of the castra one could determine the order of battle, and the size of the legion it housed determined the area of the camp. Steinhoff theorizes that Richardson has identified a commonality and builds on the latter's detailed studies to suggest that North African encampments in the time of Hadrian were based on the same geometrical skill. The street plans of various present-day cities still retain traces of
7888-405: The base and 1.06 metres (3.5 ft) thick at the top. Located at regular intervals, approximately 60 metres (200 ft) apart, along the walls were 22 towers about 6.5 metres (21 ft) square. The defensive ditch was re-dug and was 7.5 metres (25 ft) wide and 2.45 metres (8 ft) deep. An estimated 55,452 metric tons (54,576 long tons; 61,125 short tons) of stone were used to build
8024-499: The basic plan is the same. The hypothesis of an Etruscan origin is a viable alternative. The ideal enforced a linear plan for a camp or fort: a square for camps to contain one legion or smaller unit, a rectangle for two legions, each legion being placed back-to-back with headquarters next to each other. The religious devotion of the Romans to geometry caused them to build into their camps whole-numbered right triangles. Laying it out
8160-558: The baths, measuring 0.75 metres (2.5 ft) in diameter, are present in the "Roman Gardens" off Pepper Street; the columns would originally have stood 5.9 metres (19 ft) high. A section of hypocaust remains in situ and is on display in the cellar of 39 Bridge Street. This is a fragment of a much larger inscription, finely carved onto Welsh slate, which was discovered close to the fort's principia . Archaeologist David J.P. Mason has said that: ... Inscriptions of this type are comparatively scarce ... it therefore seems likely to belong to
8296-400: The camp was placed to best advantage on a hill or slope near the river, the naval base was usually outside its walls. The classici and the optiones of the naval installation relied on the camp for its permanent defense. Naval personnel generally enjoyed better quarters and facilities. Many were civilians working for the military. The ideal plan was typically modified to suit the terrain and
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#17327733748128432-576: The capital of Britannia . This was speculated on in a Timewatch investigation. Another factor pointing to Deva Victrix as a provincial capital is the presence of a port. From Deva, Ireland ( Hibernia ) was also accessible, a land which Agricola had plans to conquer. Also, the Flavian dynasty was expansionist, and Deva was closer to what would then have been the front, making administration quicker and easier. Furthermore, historian Vittorio Di Martino believes that Agricola could have chosen Deva Victrix as
8568-417: The church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul—later the site of Chester Cathedral —to be of Roman origin, although no evidence has been discovered to support this. When Chester became an Anglo-Saxon burh in 907, the walls of the fortress were repaired and incorporated into the defences. Much of the Roman masonry was reused in later periods. In the 14th century, Ranulf Higden , a monk in Chester, described some of
8704-411: The circumstances. Each camp discovered by archaeology has its own specific layout and architectural features, which makes sense from a military point of view. If, for example, the camp was built on an outcrop, it followed the lines of the outcrop. The terrain for which it was best suited and for which it was probably designed in distant prehistoric times was the rolling plain. The camp was best placed on
8840-473: The common minerals most resistant to weathering processes at the Earth's surface, as seen in the Goldich dissolution series . Framework grains can be classified into several different categories based on their mineral composition: Matrix is very fine material, which is present within interstitial pore space between the framework grains. The nature of the matrix within the interstitial pore space results in
8976-442: The communities near a base. They became permanent members of the community and would stay on after the troops were withdrawn, as in the notable case of Saint Patrick 's family. Sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains, cemented together by another mineral. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks . Most sandstone
9112-456: The concrete foundation for the water feature and its lead pipe work have been excavated. The 12 rooms surrounding the courtyard had large arched entrances, 4 metres (13 ft) wide and at least 5.5 metres (18 ft) high. It is not certain if the first building was ever completed, but it had certainly been destroyed by the 90s AD and the site was subsequently used as the fortress rubbish dump for many decades. The second elliptical building
9248-401: The connotation of tent. The commonest Latin syntagmata (here phrases) for the term castra are: In Latin the term castrum is much more frequently used as a proper name for geographical locations: e.g., Castrum Album , Castrum Inui , Castrum Novum , Castrum Truentinum , Castrum Vergium . The plural was also used as a place name, as Castra Cornelia , and from this comes
9384-493: The construction of the St John's Church and the monastery of St Mary. In 1939, some paving and the walls of two unusual elliptical buildings were discovered, one atop the other. These "elliptical" buildings were partially uncovered behind Chester's market hall, and no similar buildings have been found in other legionary fortresses. The buildings were located near the centre of the fortress and they had their own bath buildings and
9520-456: The depositional environment, older sand is buried by younger sediments, and it undergoes diagenesis . This mostly consists of compaction and lithification of the sand. Early stages of diagenesis, described as eogenesis , take place at shallow depths (a few tens of meters) and are characterized by bioturbation and mineralogical changes in the sands, with only slight compaction. The red hematite that gives red bed sandstones their color
9656-407: The depth of burial, renewed exposure to meteoric water produces additional changes to the sandstone, such as dissolution of some of the cement to produce secondary porosity . Framework grains are sand-sized (0.0625-to-2-millimeter (0.00246 to 0.07874 in) diameter) detrital fragments that make up the bulk of a sandstone. Most framework grains are composed of quartz or feldspar , which are
9792-446: The different types of framework grains that can be present in a sandstone into three major categories: quartz, feldspar, and lithic grains. When sandstone is subjected to the great heat and pressure associated with regional metamorphism , the individual quartz grains recrystallize, along with the former cementing material, to form the metamorphic rock called quartzite . Most or all of the original texture and sedimentary structures of
9928-439: The ditch served also as a moat . A legion-sized camp placed towers at intervals along the wall with positions between for the division artillery. Around the inside periphery of the vallum was a clear space, the intervallum , which served to catch enemy missiles, as an access route to the vallum and as a storage space for cattle ( capita ) and plunder ( praeda ). The Romans were masters of geometry and showed it in their camps:
10064-403: The early 3rd century under Septimius Severus , the fortress at Deva was again rebuilt, this time using an estimated 309,181 metric tons (304,298 long tons; 340,814 short tons) of stone. During the 4th century the size of the legion, and therefore of the garrison, may have diminished in line with the rest of the empire's forces. Most of the fortress's major buildings were still being maintained in
10200-400: The end of Vespasian 's reign. The complex was constructed from concrete and faced with stone. The walls were 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) thick and the barrel-vaulted buildings rose as high as 16.1 metres (53 ft). The bath complex featured an entrance room ( vestibulum ), an exercise hall ( basilica thermarum ), a sweating room ( sudatorium ), a cold room with a cold pool ( frigidarium ),
10336-461: The field. Neither the Celtic nor Germanic armies had this capability: they found it necessary to disperse after only a few days. Camps were the responsibility of engineering units to which specialists of many types belonged, officered by architecti , "chief engineers", who requisitioned manual labor from the soldiers at large as required. A unit could throw up a camp under enemy attack in as little as
10472-658: The fifth). If the camp needed more gates, one or two of the Porta Quintana were built, presumably named dextra and sinistra . If the gates were not built, the Porta Decumana also became the Porta Quintana . At Via Quintana a public market was allowed. The Via Quintana and the Via Principalis divided the camp into three districts: the Latera Praetorii , the Praetentura and the Retentura . In
10608-406: The fortress and measured 75 by 67 metres (246 by 220 ft). There is no evidence of repairs to the timber structure, and its foundations were only 0.6 metres (2 ft) deep, so it may have been a temporary structure. In the Flavian period the amphitheatre was rebuilt in stone. This second phase was larger than the first and measured 95.7 by 87.2 metres (314 by 286 ft). Only the seating that
10744-420: The front the quarters of special forces. These included Classici ("marines", as most European camps were on rivers and contained a river naval command), Equites ("cavalry"), Exploratores ("scouts"), and Vexillarii (carriers of vexilla , the official pennants of the legion and its units). Troops who did not fit elsewhere also were there. The part of the Retentura ("stretching to the rear") closest to
10880-410: The goal was not entirely achievable. The gap was bridged by the specialists, the optiones or "chosen men", of which there were many different kinds. For example, a skilled artisan might be chosen to superintend a workshop. Soldiers were also expected to build the camp upon arrival before engaging in any sort of warfare after a day's march. The supply administration was run as a business using money as
11016-481: The gods, with the temple being dedicated to the twelve primary gods of the Roman pantheon. Or, alternatively, the oval shape may have represented the shape of the known Roman world, but there is no supporting evidence for this. The completed building measured 52.4 metres (172 ft) by 31.45 metres (103.2 ft), and had an oval courtyard with a water feature at its centre, 14 metres (46 ft) by 9 metres (30 ft), surrounded by 12 "wedge-shaped" rooms. Traces of
11152-433: The greatest strain, and the strained mineral is more soluble than the rest of the grain. As a result, the contact points are dissolved away, allowing the grains to come into closer contact. Lithification follows closely on compaction, as increased temperatures at depth hasten deposition of cement that binds the grains together. Pressure solution contributes to cementing, as the mineral dissolved from strained contact points
11288-400: The ground is uneven, it is first levelled: their camp is also four-square by measure, and carpenters are ready, in great numbers, with their tools, to erect their buildings for them." To this end a marching column ported the equipment needed to build and stock the camp in a baggage train of wagons and on the backs of the soldiers. The camp allowed the Romans to keep a rested and supplied army in
11424-521: The ground. Training was taken very seriously and was democratic. Ordinary soldiers would see all the officers training with them including the praetor or the emperor if he was in camp. Swordsmanship lessons and use of the shooting range probably took place on the campus , a "field" outside the castra , from which English "camp" derives. Its surface could be lightly paved. Winter curtailed outdoor training. The general might in that case have sheds constructed, which served as field houses for training. There
11560-442: The hardness of individual grains, uniformity of grain size and friability of their structure, some types of sandstone are excellent materials from which to make grindstones , for sharpening blades and other implements. Non-friable sandstone can be used to make grindstones for grinding grain, e.g., gritstone . A type of pure quartz sandstone, orthoquartzite, with more of 90–95 percent of quartz, has been proposed for nomination to
11696-426: The installation as a military facility. For example, none of the soldiers was required to man the walls all the time, but round-the-clock duty required a portion of the soldiers to be on duty at any time. Duty time was divided into vigilia , the eight watches into which the 24-hour day was divided so they stood guard for three hours that day. The Romans used signals on brass instruments to mark time. These were mainly
11832-617: The largest constructed in Britain during the 70s. An estimated 24,664 metric tons (24,274 long tons; 27,187 short tons) of timber was used in the first phase of the fortress's construction; buildings outside but associated with the fortress, such as the harbour and the amphitheatre, would have required an additional 31,128 metric tons (30,636 long tons; 34,313 short tons). The fortress contained barracks, granaries ( horrea ), headquarters ( principia ) and baths ( thermae ). The barrack blocks each measured 82.5 by 11.8 metres (271 by 39 ft) and were built using wattle and daub . In 88 AD,
11968-729: The legionary diet was mainly grain. Also located in the Latera was the Armamentarium , a long shed containing any heavy weapons and artillery not on the wall. The Praetentura ("stretching to the front") contained the Scamnum Legatorum , the quarters of officers who were below general but higher than company commanders ( Legati ). Near the Principia were the Valetudinarium (hospital), Veterinarium (for horses), Fabrica ("workshop", metals and wood), and further to
12104-476: The maintenance of a permanent base was called its territoria . In it were located all the resources of nature and the terrain required by the base: pastures, woodlots, water sources, stone quarries, mines, exercise fields and attached villages. The central castra might also support various fortified adjuncts to the main base, which were not self-sustaining as was the base. In this category were speculae , "watchtowers", castella , "small camps", and naval bases. All
12240-402: The major bases near rivers featured some sort of fortified naval installation, one side of which was formed by the river or lake. The other sides were formed by a polygonal wall and ditch constructed in the usual way, with gates and watchtowers. The main internal features were the boat sheds and the docks. When not in use, the boats were drawn up into the sheds for maintenance and protection. Since
12376-458: The medium of exchange. The aureus was the preferred coin of the late republic and early empire; in the late empire the solidus came into use. The larger bases, such as Moguntiacum , minted their own coins. As does any business, the base quaestorium required careful record keeping, performed mainly by the optiones. A chance cache of tablets from Vindolanda in Britain gives us a glimpse of some supply transactions. They record, among other things,
12512-553: The military at this stage. If it was still used by the military, this would have ended by 410 when the Romans retreated from Britannia and the Western Roman Emperor Honorius told the cities of Britain to look to their own defences against invaders. The civilians probably continued to use the fortress and its defences as protection from raiders from the Irish Sea . Inhabitation of Chester continued on
12648-582: The most ancient times Roman camps were constructed according to a certain ideal pattern, formally described in two main sources, the De Munitionibus Castrorum and the works of Polybius . Alan Richardson compares both original authors and concludes that "the Hyginian model greatly reduced the area and perimeter length for any given force." P. Fl. Vegetius Renatus has a small section on entrenched camps as well. The terminology varies, but
12784-493: The much lower temperatures and pressures associated with diagenesis of sedimentary rock, but diagenesis has cemented the rock so thoroughly that microscopic examination is necessary to distinguish it from metamorphic quartzite. The term orthoquartzite is used to distinguish such sedimentary rock from metaquartzite produced by metamorphism. By extension, the term orthoquartzite has occasionally been more generally applied to any quartz-cemented quartz arenite . Orthoquartzite (in
12920-539: The name Via Decumana or the entire Via Praetoria be replaced with Decumanus Maximus . In peaceful times the camp set up a marketplace with the natives in the area. They were allowed into the camp as far as the units numbered 5 (half-way to the praetorium). There another street crossed the camp at right angles to the Via Decumana , called the Via Quintana , (English: 5th street , from Latin: quintana ,
13056-464: The narrow sense) is often 99% SiO 2 with only very minor amounts of iron oxide and trace resistant minerals such as zircon , rutile and magnetite . Although few fossils are normally present, the original texture and sedimentary structures are preserved. The typical distinction between a true orthoquartzite and an ordinary quartz sandstone is that an orthoquartzite is so highly cemented that it will fracture across grains, not around them. This
13192-639: The new fortress defences. The timber barracks were replaced with stone buildings of a similar size. During the 2nd century, at least part of the Legio XX Valeria Victrix took part in the construction of Hadrian's Wall , leading to some sections of the fortress being abandoned and others being allowed to fall into disrepair. The Legio XX Valeria Victrix probably went on campaign in 196 under Decimus Clodius Albinus into Gaul , leaving Deva under-garrisoned. They would have suffered heavy losses in Gaul before returning to Britain. Following attacks against barbarians in
13328-535: The north and the Ordovices in the west and included parts of what is now Cheshire , Shropshire , and north Wales. When the Romans' treaty with the Brigantes—who occupied most of what is now Northern England —failed the Romans embarked on military conquest of the area. The campaigns were initially led by Sextus Julius Frontinus and later Gnaeus Julius Agricola . Their expansion into the north of Britannia during
13464-420: The northern places like Britain, where it got cold in the winter, they would make wood or stone barracks. The Romans would also put a fireplace in the barracks. They had about three bunk beds in it. They had a small room beside it where they put their armour; it was as big as the tents. They would make these barracks if the fort they had was going to stay there for good. A tent was 3 by 3.5 metres (0.6 m for
13600-529: The other side was the forum , a small duplicate of an urban forum, where public business could be conducted. The Via Principalis went through the vallum in the Porta Principalis Dextra ("right principal gate") and Porta Principalis Sinistra ("left, etc."), which were gates fortified with turres ("towers"). Which was on the north and which on the south depends on whether the praetorium faced east or west, which remains unknown. Along
13736-518: The palisade. The streets, gates and buildings present depended on the requirements and resources of the camp. The gates might vary from two to six and not be centred on the sides. Not all the streets and buildings might be present. Many settlements in Europe originated as Roman military camps and still show traces of their original pattern (e.g. Castres in France , Barcelona in Spain ). The pattern
13872-528: The praetorium the Via Praetoria continued to the wall, where it went through the Porta Decumana . In theory this was the back gate. Supplies were supposed to come in through it and so it was also called, descriptively, the Porta Quaestoria . The term Decumana, "of the 10th", came from the arranging of manipuli or turmae from the first to the 10th, such that the 10th was near the intervallum on that side. The Via Praetoria on that side might take
14008-638: The product of physical and chemical weathering of bedrock. Weathering and erosion are most rapid in areas of high relief, such as volcanic arcs , areas of continental rifting , and orogenic belts . Eroded sand is transported by rivers or by the wind from its source areas to depositional environments where tectonics has created accommodation space for sediments to accumulate. Forearc basins tend to accumulate sand rich in lithic grains and plagioclase . Intracontinental basins and grabens along continental margins are also common environments for deposition of sand. As sediments continue to accumulate in
14144-410: The purchase of consumables and raw supplies, the storage and repair of clothing and other items, and the sale of items, including foodstuffs, to achieve an income. Vindolanda traded vigorously with the surrounding natives. Another feature of the camp was the military hospital ( valetudinarium , later hospitium ). Augustus instituted the first permanent medical corps in the Roman army . Its physicians,
14280-712: The red rock deserts of Arches National Park and other areas of the American Southwest . Rock formations composed of sandstone usually allow the percolation of water and other fluids and are porous enough to store large quantities, making them valuable aquifers and petroleum reservoirs . Quartz-bearing sandstone can be changed into quartzite through metamorphism , usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts . Sandstones are clastic in origin (as opposed to either organic , like chalk and coal , or chemical , like gypsum and jasper ). The silicate sand grains from which they form are
14416-480: The regime". The amphitheatre was discovered in 1929, and the Chester Archaeological Society—with support from then Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald —protected it from the construction of a road over the site. Excavations have revealed traces of late Iron Age cultivation, and they show that Deva's amphitheatre was built in two phases. The first amphitheatre was constructed from timber soon after
14552-576: The reign of Vespasian meant that the Romans needed a new military base. Chester was a strategic site for a fortress, commanding access to the sea via the River Dee and dividing the Brigantes from the Ordovices. Legio II Adiutrix was sent to Chester and began the construction of a legionary fortress in the mid-70s AD. The fortress was built on a sandstone bluff, overlooking the bridge crossing
14688-474: The river and close to the natural harbour which is today occupied by the Chester Racecourse . The bend in the River Dee provided protection from the south and the west. The river was navigable up to the sandstone ridge, so positioning the fortress beyond it would have made access to the harbour difficult. The fortress may have required up to 2.4 million litres (530,000 imp gal) of water
14824-414: The roadside for about 300 metres (980 ft) beyond the fortress walls. To the east was the legion's parade ground, civilian baths were built to the west, and to the south was a mansio , a large coaching house for travelling government officials. The buildings of the canabae legionis were originally timber, but during the early 2nd century began to be rebuilt in stone. The settlement expanded throughout
14960-482: The same derivation, from the diminutive castellum or "little fort", but does not usually indicate a former Roman camp. Whitley Castle however is an exception, referring to the Roman fort of Epiacum in Northumberland . Activities conducted in a castra can be divided into ordinary and "the duty" or "the watch". Ordinary activity was performed during regular working hours. The duty was associated with operating
15096-465: The same meaning, says Pokorny, as Latin fundus , an estate, or tract of land. This is not any land but is a prepared or cultivated tract, such as a farm enclosed by a fence or a wooden or stone wall of some kind. Cornelius Nepos uses Latin castrum in that sense: when Alcibiades deserts to the Persians, Pharnabazus gives him an estate ( castrum ) worth 500 talents in tax revenues. This
15232-417: The sandstone are erased by the metamorphism. The grains are so tightly interlocked that when the rock is broken, it fractures through the grains to form an irregular or conchoidal fracture. Geologists had recognized by 1941 that some rocks show the macroscopic characteristics of quartzite, even though they have not undergone metamorphism at high pressure and temperature. These rocks have been subject only to
15368-405: The second half of the 4th century and the barracks were still inhabited. Before 383 AD, soldiers at Chester were being paid by coins from the imperial mints; after this the soldiers may have been removed by Magnus Maximus when he invaded Gaul in 383. The Notitia Dignitatum , written in around 395, does not record any military units garrisoned at Deva, indicating the fortress was no longer used by
15504-427: The soldiers were housed sub pellibus or sub tentoriis , "under tents". The largest castra were legionary fortresses built as bases for one or more whole legions. Summer was the campaign season. For the winter the soldiers retired to castra hiberna containing barracks and other buildings of more solid materials, with timber construction gradually being replaced by stone. Castra hibernas held eight soldiers to
15640-518: The source of the garrison's water supply, and Handbridge , the site of a sandstone quarry and Minerva's Shrine . The shrine is the only in situ , rock-cut Roman shrine in Great Britain . The fortress contained barracks, granaries, headquarters, military baths, and an unusual elliptical building which had it been finished may have been intended to act as the governor of Britain's headquarters. The name Deva Victrix derives from "goddess", and
15776-402: The stone curtain wall at Chester was constructed without mortar , using large sandstone blocks; this required greater skill and effort than the methods used to build the walls of Eboracum and Isca Augusta, and was usually reserved for the most important structures such as temples or city walls rather than town walls. The presence of unusual buildings at the heart of the fortress—accounting for
15912-475: The summit and along the side of a low hill, with spring water running in rivulets through the camp ( aquatio ) and pastureland to provide grazing ( pabulatio ) for the animals. In case of attack, arrows, javelins and sling missiles could be fired down at an enemy tiring himself to come up. For defence, troops could be formed in an acies , or "battle-line", outside the gates where they could be easily resupplied and replenished as well as being supported by archery from
16048-473: The tents of the Nationes ("natives"), who were auxiliaries of foreign troops, and the legionaries in double rows of tents or barracks ( Strigae ). One Striga was as long as required and 18 m wide. In it were two Hemistrigia of facing tents centered in its 9 m strip. Arms could be stacked before the tents and baggage carts kept there as well. Space on the other side of the tent was for passage. In
16184-464: The tribesmen tended to build around a permanent base for purposes of trade, but also the base sponsored villages ( vici ) of dependents and businessmen. Dependants were not allowed to follow an army on the march into hostile territory. Military service was for about 25 years. At the end of that time, the veteran was given a certificate of honorable discharge ( honesta missio ). Some of these have survived engraved on stone. Typically they certify that
16320-458: The veteran, his wife (one per veteran) and children or his sweetheart were now Roman citizens, which is a good indication that troops, which were used chiefly on the frontier, were from peoples elsewhere on the frontier who wished to earn Roman citizenship. However, under Antoninus Pius , citizenship was no longer granted to the children of rank-and-file veterans, the privilege becoming restricted only to officers. Veterans often went into business in
16456-626: The world in constructing temples, churches, homes and other buildings, and in civil engineering . Although its resistance to weathering varies, sandstone is easy to work. That makes it a common building and paving material, including in asphalt concrete . However, some types that have been used in the past, such as the Collyhurst sandstone used in North West England , have had poor long-term weather resistance, necessitating repair and replacement in older buildings. Because of
16592-423: Was 8 men or fewer. The centurion , or company commander, had a double-sized tent for his quarters, which served also as official company area. Other than there, the men had to find other places to be. To avoid mutiny, it was important for the officers to keep them busy. A covered portico might protect the walkway along the tents. If barracks had been constructed, one company was housed in one barracks building, with
16728-513: Was a geometric exercise conducted by experienced officers called metatores , who used graduated measuring rods called decempedae ("10-footers") and gromatici who used a groma , a sighting device consisting of a vertical staff with horizontal cross pieces and vertical plumb-lines. Ideally the process started in the centre of the planned camp at the site of the headquarters tent or building ( principia ). Streets and other features were marked with coloured pennants or rods. Richardson writes that from
16864-505: Was again rebuilt. The legion probably remained at the fortress until the late 4th or early 5th century, upon which it fell into disuse. A civilian settlement, or canaba , grew around the fortress. Chester's Roman Amphitheatre , south-east of the fortress, is the largest-known military amphitheatre in Britain. The civilian settlement remained after the Romans departed, eventually becoming the present-day city of Chester. There were peripheral settlements around Roman Deva, including Boughton ,
17000-613: Was also used by Spanish colonizers in America following strict rules by the Spanish monarchy for founding new cities in the New World . Many of the towns of England still retain forms of the word castra in their names, usually as the suffixes "-caster", "-cester" or "-chester" – Lancaster , Tadcaster , Worcester , Gloucester , Mancetter , Uttoxeter , Colchester , Chester , Manchester and Ribchester for example. Castle has
17136-406: Was built on top foundations of the first, and although the architect must have been aware of the exact layout of the previous building, the design of the second was slightly modified. Although the it looks very similar to the first, it used different diameters of arc to achieve a slightly "fatter" design. The second "elliptical" building was not constructed until about 220 AD, and this was confirmed by
17272-484: Was constructed from local sandstone, which was quarried across the river to the south of the fortress. Traces of the quarry are visible in Handbridge . In the 2nd century, a shrine to the Roman goddess Minerva was carved in the quarry for protection, perhaps by the quarry workers. Despite heavy weathering, the figure can be seen holding a spear and a shield with an owl above the left shoulder to symbolise wisdom. There
17408-450: Was extended, not the arena itself. The latest excavations indicate that it was a two-tiered structure, capable of accommodating between 8,000 and 10,000 spectators. Its size has been used as an indicator of Deva's large civilian population, and of the presence of wealthy citizens. The second phase of building is the largest-known military amphitheatre in Britain. It is a protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument . The amphitheatre served
17544-424: Was opened in 1886 to allow the public to view the society's collection. The society continued to work in Chester, recording information on the fortress and its surrounding settlement, often as building works destroyed the sites. Between 1962 and 1999, about 50 excavations were carried out in and around the fortress, revealing new information about Deva Victrix. Between 2007 and 2009, excavations were carried out at
17680-471: Was probably the finest building in the entire fortress. Technically speaking it was not elliptical, but arcuate, with the central hall being formed from two intersecting arcs, and this makes it unique in the Roman Empire. Its function is unknown. There was no seating within the arcs, which precludes a theatre, and the best guess of the archaeologists was that the twelve alcoves may have contained images of
17816-401: Was provided by a 6-metre-wide (20 ft) rampart and a ditch 3 metres (10 ft) wide and 1.5 metres (5 ft) deep. The rampart was made from turf laid over sand, clay, rubble, and layers of logs. The fortress was laid out in the traditional "playing card" shape—rectangular with rounded corners—and had four gates: north, east, south and west. It covered 25 hectares (62 acres), making it
17952-407: Was quadrangular, aligned on the cardinal points of the compass. The construction crews dug a trench ( fossa ), throwing the excavated material inward, to be formed into the rampart ( agger ). On top of this a palisade of stakes ( sudes or valli ) was erected. The soldiers had to carry these stakes on the march. Over the course of time, the palisade might be replaced by a brick or stone wall, and
18088-537: Was supplied from the springs in Boughton through underground lead pipes linked to the main aqueduct near the east gate. The water was then held in large tanks with concrete foundations, before being fed through the complex. A large area of the baths was destroyed by building works in 1863 and during the construction of the Grosvenor Shopping Mall in 1963. Sandstone columns from the exercise hall of
18224-408: Was the garment of soldiers. Every camp included "main street", which ran through the camp in a north–south direction and was very wide. The names of streets in many cities formerly occupied by the Romans suggest that the street was called cardo or cardus maximus . This name applies more to cities than it does to ancient camps. Typically "main street" was the via principalis . The central portion
18360-424: Was used as a parade ground and headquarters area. The "headquarters" building was called the praetorium because it housed the praetor or base commander ("first officer"), and his staff. In the camp of a full legion he held the rank of consul or proconsul but officers of lesser ranks might command. On one side of the praetorium was the quaestorium , the building of the quaestor (supply officer). On
18496-578: Was used for fortlets, typically occupied by a detachment of a cohort or a centuria . Castrum appears in Oscan and Umbrian , two other Italic languages , suggesting an origin at least as old as Proto-Italic language . Julius Pokorny traces a probable derivation from *k̂es-, schneiden ("cut") in *k̂es-tro-m, Schneidewerkzeug ("cutting tool"). These Italic reflexes based on *kastrom include Oscan castrous ( genitive case ) and Umbrian castruo , kastruvuf ( accusative case ). They have
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