Protecting the Roman Empire: Fortlets, Frontiers, and the Quest for Post-Conquest Security

Description

The Roman army enjoys an enviable reputation as an instrument of waging war, but as the modern world reminds us, an enduring victory requires far more than simply winning battles. When it came to suppressing counterinsurgencies, or deterring the depredations of bandits, the army frequently deployed small groups of infantry and cavalry based in fortlets. This remarkable installation type has never previously been studied in detail, and shows a new side to the Roman army. Rather than displaying the aggressive uniformity for which the Roman military is famous, individual fortlets were usually bespoke installations tailored to local needs. Examining fortlet use in north-west Europe helps explain the differing designs of the Empire's most famous artificial frontier systems: Hadrian's Wall, the Antonine Wall, and the Upper German and Raetian limites. The archaeological evidence is fully integrated with documentary sources, which disclose the gritty reality of life in a Roman fortlet. List of Figures xi Acknowledgements xiii 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Outposts of Empire 4 What Is a Fortlet? 5 What Is a Tower? 12 Interpreting Fortlets 16 Bands of Brothers? 23 PART 1. CONSOLIDATING CONQUEST 33 2. WATERWAYS 35 The Lower Rhine 36 The Raetian Danube 42 The Exmoor Coast 48 Controlling Watercourses in the First and Second Centuries 53 3. HIGHWAYS 55 Germany 57 Wales 58 The Gask Ridge 65 The Pennines 72 Antonine Scotland 77 Controlling Roads in the First and Second Centuries 90 PART 2. BORDER CONTROL 93 4. HADRIAN'S WALL 95 The Build-up to Hadrian's Wall 96 The Stanegate System 98 Constructing Hadrian's Wall 104 The Cumbrian Coast 121 The Purpose of the Hadrianic System 122 The Post-Antonine Frontier 127 Intelligent Design? 131 5. THE ANTONINE WALL 133 The Empire Strikes Back 136 Building the Antonine Wall 137 Designing and Operating the Wall Fortlets 142 The Coastal Cordon 147 Regular Irregularity 149 6. THE UPPER GERMAN AND RAETIAN LIMITES 152 A Flexible Format 154 Watching the Limes 157 Incremental Exclusion 159 Outpost Use 167 Localism 172 A Mercurial Frontier 173 PART 3. PROVINCIAL COLLAPSE 177 7. LATE HIGHWAYS 181 Desert Deals 182 The Zülpich Nexus 183 The Final Frontier 189 The Fourth-Century Security Situation in Britain 192 Roads to Ruin? 195 8. LATE WATERWAYS 197 The Late Rhine 198 The Yorkshire "Signal Stations" 203 Stormy Waters 208 9. IMPERIUM BY OUTPOST 213 Fortlet Variations 214 Regularity versus Irregularity 220 And in the End... 223 Rome's Small Wars 225 Bibliography 229 Index 247