Castra et canabae legionis: Organization of space and the administration of civilian settlements adjacent to Roman legionary camps
The lands controlled by the army are frequently described by scholars as the ‘military territory’, ‘Militärland’, ‘territoire militaire/legionnaire’ or ‘militärisches Nutzland’, while epigraphic evidence uses the terms prata or territorium. Their size, function, and legal status are the subject of debate among scholars. In this paper some questions are raised concerning these lands, understood in three basic ways; (1) the sector of a border remaining under the military control of a legion (borderland), (2) the area or areas used and controlled by the unit within the entire province (military territory), and (3) the territory outside the camp (legionary territory). Following this, the author discusses problems regarding military and civil administration, civil settlements near the military bases, settlement duality, the organization of the extramural space and its limitation, as well as the role of some public buildings and religious features.
