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Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.
Field Fortification- An emplacement or shelter of a temporary nature which can be constructed with reasonable facility by units requiring no more than minor engineer supervisory and equipment participation.
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

so yes, something as temporary as a marching camp would be a "Field Fortification".

However the extant ditches at Castle Dykes and crop marks at Castle Yard would seem to imply something rather more permanent. It could well be that two same sized "playing card" shaped ditched enclosures within 100m of each other are, by some coincidence, an Iron Age Uni-vallate Hill Fort and a medieval Motte and Bailey. But another interpretation, based on the limited data we have, might be that they are some form of Roman field fortifications, but only time and excavation will tell.

[attachment=5747]fortssamescale.jpg[/attachment]

If CS is the site there has to be a camp/camps of some sort somewhere (this applies to all candidate sites and is a more material consideration than distance)the book/standing orders as we know them with an intervening 2000 years and obvious blanks in the information may not have accounted for this situation, nor do we know how the Romans got there or when. Hence I cannot rush to the assumption that the Romans occupied a single massive fortification, flexibility for the Romans and for those of us trying to interpret them is a key to this search. If it were linear and obvious the site would have been located and confirmed by now. A number of smaller forts to hold the Romans suits the topography but is also more flexible in terms of the timing of arrivals, dominating of ground and provides a series of options with shorter perimeters for the defenders to hold should they need shelter after a bad day in the field.

The Larches triple ditch complex may or may not be Roman in origin, but if a commander was looking to deny access to the CS ridge top that would probably be the line that would be most effective and the form of barrier that would be most effective, it may well have been pre-existing. So in that respect I am suggesting there is a possible existence of "ditches and or structures to channel the enemy" so I have no problem with you interpreting my words in that way. Although my words are still only speculation based on tangible remains, no archaeologist, as far as I am aware has a confident assessment of dates for this feature.

http://www.jwaller.co.uk/nas/Stowe9Churches.htm

[attachment=5748]aerial4.jpg[/attachment]

"unproven speculation" is the term I prefer because my speculations are based on observations of features that could be subject to full investigation. "Pure speculation" is a term better applied to;
a) the western theory,
b) the concept that all the Iceni went on the parade,
c) time table of events,
as "there is nothing whatsoever in the sources to justify it (them)" and no features that can be tested to prove or disprove them.

"I repeat, there is no evidence for these in the sources."
yep but there's quite a lot not in the sources isn't there.


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Messages In This Thread
Re: Calling all armchair generals! - by Ensifer - 03-11-2010, 03:13 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-18-2012, 06:26 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 12:02 AM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 02:50 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 05:40 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 11:26 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 05:11 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 09:42 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 10:10 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 03:11 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 03:25 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 08:36 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-26-2012, 02:57 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-27-2012, 01:50 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 08-05-2012, 02:24 PM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-07-2014, 02:18 PM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-08-2014, 01:50 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-11-2014, 02:03 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-18-2014, 07:54 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-20-2014, 02:37 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-25-2014, 08:29 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by John1 - 11-10-2012, 04:31 PM

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