The legionary fortress of León (Spain) and its military vici

Abstract

One of the biggest novelties in Spanish Roman military archaeology in recent years has been the progress in the knowledge about the military settlements in the city of León, the ancient Castra Legionis (León). The stratigraphic sequence reveals the existence of 3 legionary fortress. Beneath the fortress of legio VII gemina the remains of two earlier legionary camps has been recognized. The first legion that occupied the camp was the Legio VI Victrix, of which we know two successive camps: León I, founded from 5 BC to AD 5 and the second camp (León II), erected at the beginning of the reign of Tiberius in AD 15/16. Around 74/75 AD, a new military unit established themselves in the old legio VI victrix settlement in León. This was the legio VII gemina, which built a new camp of 20 ha (León III) with stone structures. From this moment, León became the permanent base of operations of this unit throughout the Empire. The excavations carried out over the last twenty years in the urban centre have revealed many aspects of the camp, which follows the canonical rectangular layout with rounded corners and four large gates on each side. Gradually, the excavations reveal details about the sanitary infrastructures, the water supply, the internal arrangement and the inner buildings of the camp (Baths, Principia, Praetorium). The most important recent archaeological novelties have been located outside the camp, where structures belonging to its military vicus attached to the walls can be seen, among which the amphitheater stands out. There is also a second military vicus so-called Ad Legionem (Puente Castro, León), 2.2 km far from the Roman legionary fortress.