Customer Reviews

Roman Legionary Fortresses 27 BC-AD 378

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Roman Legionary Fortresses 27 BC-AD 378, by Duncan B Campbell, Illustrated by Brian Delf is recently published by the folks at 'Osprey' as a part of their "Fortress" series. ISBN 1-84176-895-2. There are 27 B&W photos, 16 color photos, 14 line drawings and 6 color plates and 2 color maps, not including the covers.

This is a good starter for people wanting to know about the Roman fortresses of the legions. Not only are there many different locations, with some nice photos, but there is a wealth of information about different positions, time periods, and legion deployments contained in this work. I enjoy the idea that it is not Anglo-centric, and covers Roman Fortresses from Scotland to Egypt, with a good deal of mention being given to the forces and forts in the Danube region.

I didn't see anything outstandingly controversial, or even 'jump in your face' new, but the work brings together a lot of different material from various sources in a concise and well written primer on Roman Fortresses. Unlike many of the modern speculative works so popular in recent publications, we have facts and a brief bibliography, and actual references are given in the body of the work.

Even though this is published by 'Osprey' it weighs in as a must add to my collection, and is informative and enjoyable to the serious student of the topic, as well as the dilettante.

This title in the Osprey fortress series examines the fortified camps of the Roman legionaries, many of which gradually evolved into complete townships. It covers the Roman era from the foundation of the Empire to the Battle of Adrianople (378), but it suffers the typical tendency of overlooking the 3rd and 4th Centuries, focusing largely on the era between Augustus and Domitian.

Like all titles in this series, this book is very powerful visually. In addition to 7 fine color plates by Brian Delf, it also contains several maps and numerous photographs, some of which, unusually for Osprey, are actually in color.

The book is opened with a useful chronology of the Roman Legions from the Augustan era to the beginning of the 3rd Century. The next section is 'The deisgn and development of legionary fortresses', which examines what the forts under individual emperors 27 BC-AD 217 were like in layout. After this is 'The elements of a legionary fortress', which, discussing the various buildings within the fortress, may well be the most useful and interesting section of the book. The last major section, 'living in a legionary fortress' is similar. The book is closed with a brief, 5-page summary of the forts of the last two centuries of this era.

Overall it is a solid resource on the forts of Rome's elite soldiers, and a useful addition to one's Roman military library.

I read this wonderful book! A fine addition to the others they publish. Well written and accurate in art, a must for the serious reader and for young adults. The entire collection of Osprey Publishing is worth having for the entire family. Such colorful illustrations, with the original and restored pieces, are additions to our scope of the past.

Great work from Duncan Campbell that provides an huge amount of data in only 64 pages. It focuses mainly on fortifications from the 1st and 2nd centuries, but also gives some information about the location and layout of 4th century fortresses like the one in Bethorus.

The author locates the strategic deployment of Roman Legions and their fortresses from the time of Augustus till the Severan period with some detail. The similarities between the marching camps and the permanent fortresses layout, the question of the double strenght first cohort (arqueology can't answer that question yet) and the several buildings that constitute those fortresses, including the principia (HQ), fabricae (factories/workshops), valetudinarium (Hospital), horrea (granaries), thermae (baths)and the living quarters of officers and legionaries are also described.

Roman fortresses weren't castles; the objective of their existence was quartering one or two legions on a permanent or semi-permanent base. They were huge barracks, almost cities (some cities actually evolved from roman fortresses!). So the physical defences of those fortresses weren't very impressive, but they didn't needed to be; for the romans of the first and second centuries the strongest defence was their legionaries. Most adversaries would be faced outside the fortress not behind walls.

Good maps and photographs, excellent paintings by Brian Delf. Recommended.