Legionary fortresses

There are three legionary bases of this period known from archaeological evidence. Perhaps the most impressive is the legionary camp created in the Luxor temple at Thebes (El-Saghiretal. 1986). The fabric of the temple was incorporated into a slightly trapezoidal, largely mudbrick, wall circuit, with projecting square corner towers and horseshoe-shaped interval towers (typical features of later Roman fortifications). We know relatively little about the internal arrangements of the fortress, but there are remains of two monumental tetrastyles marking street crossings, dated by dedicatory inscriptions to ad 301 and ad 308/9 respectively (El-Saghir et al. 1986: 20-21; 122). The origins of the camp as a whole may lie a little earlier, perhaps in ad 298, when Diocletian himself was in Egypt. Diocletian’s adventus (procession of arrival) may be what is depicted by the paintings in the temple ante-chamber, which was converted into a chapel for military standards when it was incorporated into the camp (Deckers 1973; Kalavrezou-Maxeiner 1975). The total area enclosed by the walls is 3.72 ha. comparable to other late Roman legionary bases but small compared to the fortresses of the Principate, which, as discussed above, housed larger legions. The late Roman legionary fortress at Babylon (Old Cairo) was similar in size to that of Luxor, and there are also some similarities of plan, such as the horseshoe-shaped towers and gates. Standing remains of the camp have long been visible, but more intensive investigation and recording of the walls took place in the 1990s (Lambert 1994; Grossmann et al. 1994; 1998; Sheehan 1996), and study of the sub-surface remains more recently still (Sheehan, forthcoming). The visible evidence and the similarities to Luxor suggest a tetrarchic date. Finally, the remains of the Roman legionary base at Nikopolis (Alexandria), which survived until the late nineteenth century, clearly belonged to a late antique structure, as is made clear by contemporary descriptions of its plan and construction (Murray 1880, 141, cited and discussed in Alston 1998: 192-3).

Figure 24.1 Reconstruction of the Roman military camp at Luxor incorporating the Pharaonic temple of Amun which was no longer in use. After El-Saghir et al. 1986: pl. xx. Courtesy IFAO Cairo.