68 SOME FEATURES OF EOMAN FORTS 



position of the angle turrets witliin the line of the rampart 

 points at any rate to the earlier period of the Roman 

 occupation of Britain : the towers of the forts on the 

 Saxon shore are nearly always external. ^^ 



The existence in all cases of at least four gates leads to 

 the interesting question as to why these should have been 

 considered necessary. Josephus 2* expressly states that 

 the gates were "wide enough for making excursions should 

 occasion require." There are just three passages in Livy 

 which throw light on this matter, two of which are worth 

 referring to here. In the first of these two legions are 

 represented as receiving the command to march out by 

 the two principal gates ;^^ in the other the signal is given 

 to make a sally from all four gates at once.^^ The fact 

 that the gates are invariably present, even when they face 

 a steep descent, would seem to show that the construction 

 of them was looked upon as an important point. 



The selection of the site of the camp is a point of special 

 interest in the case of Melandra, because it is within the 

 bounds of possibility that this particular site may have 

 been chosen by Agricola himself. The importance of the 

 matter is shown by the fact that the duty was not un- 

 frequently performed by the commander. Thus, to take 

 only two instances out of many, we read that Yespasian 

 went in person to mark out the ground of his camp,^'^ and 

 in two striking passages in the life of Agricola it is stated 

 that that general would himself choose the position of the 



23. It is remarkable that Vitruvius, who is supposed to have served 

 under Julius Caesar, B.C. 46, recommends external towers (Vitniv, 

 de Architect, i. 5). 



24. Bell: Jud. III., v. 



25. Liv. xxxiv., 46. Cf. also Caes. B.G v., 58. 



26. Liv. xl., 27. 



27. Tac. Hist, ii., 5. 



