Hi,
I'm wondering if anyone knows where someone has recorded the 'average' height of a Roman fortlet in Britain (Scotland specifically), or some information on the ranges to which they were built?
I'm asking as I'm currently creating a model that uses visibility, as so I need to know the height that the observer would be at.
Also, if anyone knows any good books that cover fortlets that'd be appreciated!
Thanks.
Hi
Rebecca H. Jones has published three books dealing with Roman camps in Scotland, Wales and the Marches and Britain. So all three should have something of interest in them. They are easy to find on Amazon.
However no camp or fortlet survives to their original height. So reconstructing the original height and appearance usually comes down to educated guesswork. In stone structures this can be worked out if any steps survive and this has been done for instance with the turrets and ramparts on Hadrian's wall. There are also some surviving stone walls at or near original height such as the wall around the Praetorian camp in Rome which can be used as a guide. With an earth and timber defence this is a bit more difficult and at the Lunt timber fort reconstruction near Coventry I believe the angle of the surviving rampart was used to guess the original height. This is often also done with comparisons of ancient depictions of the structures like those shown on Trajan's column for example. However ancient art is generally viewed with caution.
Graham.
That's a very impressive reconstruction. Not seen that one before.
A few years ago I attempted to sketch a reconstruction of the Westerton Gask Limes based on the excavation report. As Graham said, there is no way to know exactly how high they were.
The pic and the report are in this thread.
http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat/thread-20720.html