| Roman Marching Camp | From Trajan Column |
This is just one of many examples we have of how the romans depicted a legionary marching camp. It's a section of Trajan's columns showing auxiliary infantry on guard while the legionaries are building the camp. Based on the description we have from the classical sources we know the facing of the ramparts was built of turf blocks, but we don't know exactly how and what would have looked like... I decided to follow the way the Romans depicted them themselves in their sculptures. I assumed that the perfect regularity of the blocks as can be seen here is just an artistic convention, so I've made mine much more irregular, as actual blocks cut out of turf would be, but I kept the basic structure of lines of roughly squared blocks overlapping like in masonry works. It make sense from an engineering point of view and lacking any other evidence it seems reasonable to follow those who presumably knew what they were sculpting... The squared blocks of turf cut and stacked made up only the facade, with the rest of the dirt contained by a lower palisade in the back. But if you really don't like it all you have to do is flock it over with static grass! |
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