In English, the terms "Roman fortress", "Roman fort" and "Roman camp" are commonly used for the castra.
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Many of the towns of England still retain forms of the word castra in their names, usually as the suffixes "-caster" or "-chester" -- Lancaster, Colchester, Tadcaster, Chester, Manchester and Ribchester, for example.
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Even from the most ancient times Roman camps were constructed according to a certain ideal pattern, formally described in two main sources, the De Metatione Castrorum or De Munitionibus Castrorum by either Hyginus Gromaticus or Pseudo-Hyginus and the works of Polybius.
castra | Castra | Castra Praetoria |
Aballava or Aballaba (with the modern name of Burgh by Sands) was a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, between Petriana (Stanwix) to the east and Coggabata (Drumburgh) to the west.
The Latin word castellum is a diminutive of castra ("military camp"), which in turn is the plural of castrum ("watchpost"); it is the source of the English word "castle".
Some of the sailors were based in Rome itself, initially housed in the barracks of the Praetorian Guard, but later given their own barracks, the Castra Ravennatium across the Tiber.
Coggabata, or Congavata / Concavata, (with the modern name of Drumburgh) was a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, between Aballava (Burgh by Sands) to the east and Mais (Bowness on Solway) to the west.
Probably because of the (founded) fear of Germanic incursions, Roman settlements (such as Roman villas and colonies) were extremely sparse, and Roman presence was mainly limited to three Castra: (Noviomagus, near modern Nijmegen; Flevum, near Velsen; and a last one near Oudenburg, its name is unknown); and a set of Castellum.
(b) the main Roman army bases: the three permanent fortresses housing the legions (castra legionaria): York (Eboracum), base of the Ninth Legion: Legio IX Hispana, later the Sixth: Legio VI Victrix; Chester (Deva), base of the Twentieth: Legio XX Valeria Victrix; and Caerleon (Isca Augusta), base of the Second: Legio II Augusta.
There are records of a church being built 'within the castle' (Latin 'in castra') by Eadbald of Kent in the 630s.
The Roman garrison at Novaesium (now Neuss) surrendered without a fight, as did the one at Castra Vetera (near modern Xanten in Niederrhein, Germany).
The 180 metre high hill upon which the town and château are now located had been the site of a Gallic oppidum and a Roman castrum until in the 8th century, a château was started to be built by the Fulcher family.
It is believed that Roman soldiers built a simple earthen-wooden castrum in Wörth as early as Roman Emperor Domitian’s time (AD 81–96), and later a massive stone castrum.