Smith, William: A smaller dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities (London, 1871)

OASTRA.

CASTRA.

(K) taken from the extraordinaries, with
mounted volunteers, who served out of respect
to the consul, and were stationed near him.
And parallel to these were posted similar
bodies of foot-soldiers (L). Before the quaes-
torium and the forum were the tents of the
twelve tribunes of the two legions (B), and
before the select bodies of horse and infantry
the tents of the praefecti sociorum were pro-
bably placed (C). Again, behind the praeto-
rium, the quaestorium, and the forum, ran a
street or via (D), 100 feet broad, from one
side of the camp to the other. Along the
upper side of this street was ranged the main
body of the "extraordinary" horse (M) : they
were separated into two equal parts by a
street fifty feet broad (E). At the back of
this body of cavalry was posted a similar
body of infantry (X), selected from the allies,
and facing the opposite way, i. e. towards the
ramparts of the camp. The vacant spaces
(0) on each side of these troops were reserved
for foreigners and occasional auxiliaries. The
lower part of the camp was divided from the
upper by a street, called the Via Principalis
(V P), or Principia, a hundred feet broad.
Here the tribunal of the general was erected,
from which he harangued the soldiers, and
here the tribunes administered justice. Here
also the principal standards, the altars of the
gods, and the images of the emperors were
placed. The lower part of the camp was
occupied by the two legions and the troops of
the allies according to the arrangement of the
preceding cut. Between the ramparts and
the tents was left a vacant space of 200 feet
on every side, which was useful for many
purposes : thus it served for the reception of
any booty that was taken, and facilitated the
entrance and exit of the army. The camp
had four gates, one at the top and bottom,
and one at each of the sides; the top or back-
gate, which was the side most away from the
enemy, was called the decumana. The bottom
or the front gate was the pradoria, the gates
of the sides were the porta principalis dextra,
and the porta principalis sinistra. The whole
camp was surrounded by a trench (fossa),
generally nine feet deep and twelve broad,
and a rampart (vallum) made of the earth
that was thrown up (agger), with stakes
(ralli) fixed at the top of it. The labour of
this work was so divided, that the allies com-
pleted the two sides of the camp alongside of
which they were stationed, and the two
Roman legions* tne rest.—In describing the
Roman camp and its internal arrangements,
we have confined ourselves to the informa-
tion given by Polybius, which, of course,
applies only to his age, and to armies consti-
tuted like those he witnessed. When the

practice of drawing up the army according to
cohorts, ascribed to Marina or Caesar [Exer-
citcs], had superseded the ancient division
into maniples, and the distinction of triarii,
&c, the internal arrangements of the camp
must have been changed accordingly. In each
legion the tribunes divided themselves into
three sections of two each, and each section in
turn undertook for two months the superin-
tendence of all matters connected with the
camp. Out of the twenty maniples of Prin-
cipes and Triarii in each legion, two were
appointed to take charge of the broad passage
or street called Principia, extending right
across the camp in front of the tents of the
tribunes. Of the remaining eighteen mani-
ples of Principes and Hastati in each legion,
three were assigned by lot to each of the six
tribunes, and of these three maniples one in
turn rendered each day certain services to the
tribune to whom it was specially attached.
One maniple was selected each day from the
whole legionary force, to keep guard beside
the tent of the general. Three sentinels were
usually posted at the tents of the quaestor
and of the legati : and by night sentinels
kept watch at every maniple, being chosen
out of the maniple which they guarded. The
Yelites mounted guard by day and by night
along the whole extent of the vallum : to
them also in bodies of ten was committed the
charge of the gates, while strong bodies of
infantry and cavalry were thrown forward in
advance of each gate, to resist any sudden
onset, and give timely notice of the approach
of the enemy.—Excubiae; excubias agere;
excubare; are the general terms used with
reference to mounting guard whether by
night or by day. Vigiliae ; rigilias agere ;
rigilare; are restricted to night duty : Excu-
biae and Vigiliae frequently denote not only
the service itself, but also the individuals
who performed it. Stationes is used specially
to denote the advanced posts thrown forward
in front of the gates. Castodes or Custodiae
the parties who watched the gates themselves,
Praesidia the sentinels on the ramparts, but
all these words are employed in many other
significations also. The duty of going the
rounds (Vigilias circuire s. circumire) was
committed to the Equites, and for this pur-
pose each legion supplied daily four, picked
out from each turma in rotation by the com-
mander of the troop. The eight persons thus
selected decided by lot in which watch they
should make their rounds, two being assigned
to each watch. They then repaired to the
tribune, and each individual received a
written order specifying the posts which he
was to visit, every post being visited in each
watch by one or other of the two to whom