Elginhaugh Fort- Some essay help please?

[Amethyst_ice]

Hello all! Sorry to be so brass...in short i have been battling through ill health to finish my university degree and i have been given an essay with a few weeks to complete- 4000 words! I am so out of touch! My question is-

Analyse the plan of the fort at Elginhaugh in order to identify the functions of the individual structures and in order to suggest what type of unit may have been in garrison.

i have started to identify the basic structues- principia, praetorium, 2 ganneries, barracks etc but wondered if anyone had some hints and tips for me? I know i need to compare to other forts just struggling to get going atm!

Thanks all and look forward to browsing round the site! x

[D B Campbell]

... but wondered if anyone had some hints and tips for me?

You probably have the excavation report (hopefully the abridged report, rather than the two-volume excavation report), but you really need Nick Hodgson's review article in Britannia 40 (2009), pp. 365-368, to put it into context.

[Amethyst_ice]

sadly i have those 2 titles on reserve at uni..not sure they will be available before my essay is due >.<

[Occulus]

If you're looking to compare the design of different forts and their internal buildings a good book is Roman Forts by Anne Johnson, 1983. There is a really good section on the development of forts from Republican through to the 3 century.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Second-Centuries...325&sr=1-3

(The second hand one is £17.50)

[Paullus Scipio]

I would second that....Anne Johnson's "Roman Forts" book is excellent. It has stood the test of time well, and being substantial in its length, contains far more information than certain more recent shorter 'popular' works.

Another older work, "Roman Forts - an illustrated introduction to the Garrison posts of Roman Britain" by Roger Wilson (1980) is useful for locating the 140 or so known Roman fortifications in Britain, and for its large number of plans and photographs.

[Richard McGill]

[quote="Paullus Scipio" post=284695]I would second that....Anne Johnson's "Roman Forts" book is excellent. It has stood the test of time well, and being substantial in its length, contains far more information than certain more recent shorter 'popular' works.
quote]

PMS, on the subject of certain other books, what's happened to your Roman Conquest of Spain? Did you ever finish it? Wasn't it due for publication back in 2009? Can we expect a novel to appear before the Spain tome? I read your An Incident on the Steppe with particular interest.

[Nathan Ross]

sadly i have those 2 titles on reserve at uni..not sure they will be available before my essay is due >.<

You need the Hanson at least - buy it, it's only a few quid and you could have it delivered within a week. It addresses your topic exactly, and more importantly will provide you with something of the methodology used to arrive at the conclusions, which I imagine is the actual point of the essay!

- Nathan

[Amethyst_ice]

Hello all,

Well after a few tiring days I have got quiet a few books including (which makes me happy im on the right track!)

-Roman forts : an illustrated introduction to the garrison posts of Roman Britain
-Roman Forts- johnson

and i managed to finally get the review and Hanson book

I plan to lock myself away over the weekend and knuckle down..its hard to not become distracted!

Thank you all..i have a few weeks until it is due but have a rather yacky forensic archaeology essay to tackle also so just giving myself a week tops on this..any other suggestions are more than welcome thanks! x

[Amethyst_ice]

if anyone would like to make a plan for me to work to i would bow down to you :lol: ! It has been many years since i wrote an essay and i wish i could just get into the swing of it already!

also feel under a bit of pressure to mark well in this...my last set of marks were put on hold with uni and they were 1st's...my tutors keep messaging me saying they are looking forward to reading this essay as they loved my Hadrian and Antonine wall project I did when i was last in uni...really making me so nervous!

[D B Campbell]

I would second that....Anne Johnson's "Roman Forts" book is excellent. It has stood the test of time well, and being substantial in its length, contains far more information than certain more recent shorter 'popular' works.

I can see why you might think that. (And I note that you have championed Johnson's book on previous threads.) However, Roman fort studies have moved on since 1983 (thankfully).

You will not, for example, find any reference to Elginhaugh (the subject of this thread) in Johnson's book. That fort was only discovered in 1979 and was excavated in 1986; it has only recently seen full publication.

Another older work, "Roman Forts - an illustrated introduction to the Garrison posts of Roman Britain" by Roger Wilson (1980) is useful for locating the 140 or so known Roman fortifications in Britain, and for its large number of plans and photographs.

Oddly, your dislike of "shorter popular" works doesn't extend to this one, with its highly schematic plans and sketchy line drawings. (p. 4: "for the sake of clarity, lines have sometimes been drawn thicker than is strictly accurate" -- in other words, the plans are inaccurate.) There are some nice black-and-white photographs, though.

... the 140 or so known Roman fortifications in Britain

For the record, there are around 300 known Roman fortifications in Britain.

[Amethyst_ice]

Hello,

Just got the essay back...

2.1 :mrgreen:

Thank you all

[Nathan Ross]

2.1 :mrgreen:

Well done!