05-18-2015, 01:49 PM
Most, if not all, of the work appears to have been manpower. Turfs cut from the surface would be needed to help construct the rampart, and presumably the soil exposed beneath would have been easier to dig by hand. A plough would only be useful for breaking the ground and turning a furrow - by their nature, they can't dig very deep!
Besides which, the main baggage train was probably still on the road while the initial stages of ditch digging were commencing. Gary Breuggeman's old site (available in rather knocked-about form here) has an interesting hypothetical model of the typical day's march, which suggests that the camp would be half completed by the time the heavy baggage arrived. The mules used by the legion troops would have been available before that, but I'm not sure how useful they would be for pulling ploughs etc (besides, presumably any such big tools would travel with the main baggage anyway!).
Besides which, the main baggage train was probably still on the road while the initial stages of ditch digging were commencing. Gary Breuggeman's old site (available in rather knocked-about form here) has an interesting hypothetical model of the typical day's march, which suggests that the camp would be half completed by the time the heavy baggage arrived. The mules used by the legion troops would have been available before that, but I'm not sure how useful they would be for pulling ploughs etc (besides, presumably any such big tools would travel with the main baggage anyway!).
Nathan Ross
