06-10-2014, 06:20 PM
Quote:some kind of internment area in Vindolanda
There have been several theories about the 'circular hut village' at Vindolanda, including the idea that it was built by Moorish troops from north Africa... If it was intended to accomodate native Britons, I would suggest it was more likely for a group of high status exiles, or even envoys, who had voluntarily crossed the border, rather than prisoners of war, who would surely have been sent off southwards towards the slave market fairly quickly. But 'Roman concentration camp' sounds far more newsworthy, of course!
Quote:later maps even showing detention locations along the borders where a 'scissors' marks the spot of castration for slaves, says one expert.
Where does this idea come from? And what are these 'maps'? Castration was strictly illegal within Roman territory, which is why eunuchs from Persian lands in particular were so highly prized. It also wasn't done with scissors, of course...
Quote:captives from his Gallic campaigns, where were they detained?
This is an interesting question, and not only for that campaign - Roman troops regularly amassed large numbers of civilian captives and prisoners of war for sale as slaves (Caesar in Gaul, plus most imperial expeditions into barbaricum). Securing them all while the marching and fighting was ongoing - perhaps in a coffle with ropes or chains around the neck - must have been a difficult business, and the more slaves or captives were taken, the more fighting men would be needed to guard them...
Sending the slaves back to some sort of collection point behind the lines would be plausible, I suppose - but before the invention of wire, and particularly barbed wire, such a camp would need to be a construction of wood and earth, with a heavily manned perimeter. Maybe easier to keep all the captives tied up and drag them along with the marching troops?
Nathan Ross
