7 - Power ! Flashcards
Who built the Oppidum?
People reffered to as the Celts
(Greek word for people north - not how they would have identified themselves)
People that are grouped linguistically and culturally (warfare, social structure, mastery of metalwork and horses)
Pioneered iron rim around chariot/cart wheels
Primary allegiance and identity - family and tribal/clan based
La Tene
The culture that built the oppida was the La Tene culture - after a lake in Switzerland
Celtic people sunk things in lakes as religious activity (sacrifices - metalwork, people, animals)
Intricate metalwork, particularly gold
Exported as far away as China
Extremely high level of craftmanship made within very small villages
Warrior aristoracy
Bardic culture - genealogical stories that reinforced cultural history
Status as paramount
BUT relatively flat hierarchy
People are buried in very similar ways, with similar stuff - despite class, gender, age
3 Phases of Celtic Spatial Developemnt
700-450BCE
Large numbers of small fortified sites surrounded by agricultural areas
* Globally, very common structure for this period history
* Reason for fortification - wild animals (lions, bears, wolves) - this period didn’t actually see a lot of conflict between villages, which were very far apart (there was cattle raiding though)
450-200BCE
Undefended lowland villages
* Society stabilised/ritualised, and environment had been largely domesticated
200BCE
re-appearance of large-scale fortifications, many times larger than their predecessors - called oppida by the Romans
The Oppida
Function + features
- Specific spatial function - forts
- 20 to 1K hectatres surrounded by fortifications, natural (rivers, cliffs) and constructed
- Thought to be developed and built rapidly -could’ve been a cultural movement
- Often located on hills and high ground
- Massive amounts of energy + effort went into their construction
- This would indicate a centralised system of power - but there are no signs of it, no large public spaces, monuments or collections of wealth
The Oppida and status
- The motivation behind the oppida remains unknown
- The population in the oppida was never enough to defend the structures due to their size
- The Celts grew specialised crops in the oppida that were able to grow at higher elevationsy
- The oppida were probably a method for centralising trade
- Cannot be described as urban - a form of land use unique to the culture
- The oppida are status symbols that reflected status on the people that built and lived in them - reverse dominance (your dominance and status is created by generosity and skill)
Roman legions
- History of violence - Rome was sacked 3 times by the Celts in its early stages
- Became one of the most well-organised military forces of the iron age - and the first ‘professional’ one
- Adapted weapons and tactics from neighbours + perfected them
- Developed standardised military - equipment, training + manuals of instruction
- **Equally **well-trained in basic engineering and construction
Mobility + the marching camp
- One of two key concepts at the core of the Roman approach to warefare
- A legion could march 30k in a day - most other forces at the time would average about 10
- At the end of every day - built camp capable of housing the whole legion within 4/5 hours
- Roman culture = expressly urban - central importance of home and civilised space
- Training areas for this thepurpose, + the building of camps is dicussed in length in military manuals
- So ingrained into Roman thinking that it wasn’t written about - our best sources are non-Roman historians Polybius (Greek) Josephus (Jewish) + Trajan’s column
Roman Camp
Central design concepts
- Standardisation
- Basic concepts revolved around a grid - based on the size of standard Roman agricultural plot
- This made it legible to the average recruit with a farming background
- The grids were occupied by 8-man tents, in units, which were set up in the same place each time
- Each unit was responsible for building the section of the camp closest to their tent
- Special unit of surveyors would travel ahead and select the site and mark it out with coloured flags
- One cohort would guard the camp while it was being built - camps would be built under fire and during combat
Roman Camps
Physical defence - walls
- Surrounded by a v-shaped ditch (1.5W x 1-2D)
- The loose earth from this ditch would be used to form a 1-1.5m wall
- This wall would then be topped with a wooden palisade created by stakes (carried by the soldiers or harvested from surrounds)
Roman Camp shape + orientation
Ideally rectangular, main entrance facing east
- Orientated soldiers at all times
Modern legacy of the Roman Camp
Uniform orientations and shapes
Main and lesser roads in grid formation
Interiors in grids divided by rank and function - early systems of zoning
Projection of power; through Roman camps
- Enemies of Rome recorded their astonishment + respect for the Romans after witnessing them build camps before battle
- The ability to make + unmake the camps in such a small about of time was a major instrument of power projection
- Standardisation as deception - Caesar famously hid 7000 men in a very small camp
- The camps provided a massive morale boost for soldiers - could leave baggage behind
- Camps were never recorded as having been captured
- There was an ‘ideal camp’ - but the design was very flexible to terrain
The Grid and Ritual - Roman Camps
- Soldiers that violated rules were paraded past the entire army before being punished outside the walls
- Leaders of surrendering forces were marched along the main street to the centre of the camp as a form of ritual humiliation
