Camping Ground

       Around the time of Tiberius [42 BC - 37 AD] the military might of Rome consisted of 25 Legions totaling 400,000 men in arms. Essentially, the known world became the camping ground for these military units. Thus, the outlying provinces became the life blood of the Empire. Be plundered or pay tribute peacefully was the moto. 

      My Celtic ancestor's small geographic part of this world was remote and peripheral to the many other provinces administered by this military organization. Of the four military camps established by the Legions, where this world ended, two anchored the land bridge shared by my folks. Deva (Chester) to the north, and Viroconium (Wroxeter) to the south. The following map, first referenced June 3rd, shows the two stations associated with the military control established between my two Celtic family groups.

      The green arch around Deva (Chester) suggests the major control area of the Decenagli. Iron and salt were key elements produced here. The orange arch around Wroxeter shows the area involving the Celtic Cornovii tribe, where sheep and corn were major products. The next map shows the geographic relationship to Old Oswestry, which was the center of Celtic activity on the land bridge connecting the two kin groups.

      The green and orange colors follow the new, dynamic, structures called Roman roads, that became a way to transport all the things needed between the Legion's camp grounds. Old Oswestry, and its relationship to these forts, is colored pink. My Celtic ancestors had utilized this hill fort for all their regular life activities prior to the arrival of all this new, dynamic activity, called Roman administration. Their (my Celtic ancestors) camping ground would certainly change.