03-09-2008, 11:14 PM
Magnus wrote:-
Normally, the turves were first cut and piled, then a ditch(fossa) 1 metre deep aprox was dug, with the spoil heaped on the inside to form a rampart (agger).The spoil was tamped down and flattened on the top and the outside faced with the turves. Each soldier carried two stakes which were emplaced on the top to form a palisade - giving a density of roughly a dozen stakes per metre. These were tied together.
In the face of the enemy, the digging was much tougher! The velites, cavalry and half the Infantry formed a battle-line and the other half of the Heavy Infantry (2-2,500 men) got on with digging a ditch 3 metres deep and 4 metres wide, and rampart correspondingly larger, 1.5 m high aprox..............
hock: hock:
Quote:Do we have any information on the depth and width of ditch and ramparts on fortifications of this size?.......to add to David's comments, the four sides of a 'typical' consular army camp were each dug by one legion/Allied force, thus some 4-5000 were available to dig a ditch aprox 700 metres long.
Normally, the turves were first cut and piled, then a ditch(fossa) 1 metre deep aprox was dug, with the spoil heaped on the inside to form a rampart (agger).The spoil was tamped down and flattened on the top and the outside faced with the turves. Each soldier carried two stakes which were emplaced on the top to form a palisade - giving a density of roughly a dozen stakes per metre. These were tied together.
In the face of the enemy, the digging was much tougher! The velites, cavalry and half the Infantry formed a battle-line and the other half of the Heavy Infantry (2-2,500 men) got on with digging a ditch 3 metres deep and 4 metres wide, and rampart correspondingly larger, 1.5 m high aprox..............
hock: hock:
"dulce et decorum est pro patria mori " - Horace
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
