The strain of camp followers

The environmental impact of a Roman army was not limited to exhausting the water supply or the impact of the camps. There were doubtless numerous camp followers, such as traders and female 'entertainment' providers, eager to profit from the army’s presence. Often, we are only told of their existence when they were expelled from camps (such as happened at Numantia), implying they were probably a constant of camp life wherever Roman armies happened to be. The numbers of such people are uncertain and probably varied but may have been numerous. Their quarters must have had environmental demands and consequences of their own similar to the camps. If the camp-followers moved on with the army after hostilities, they too would have left a potentially polluted and despoiled landscape behind.…

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Ancient Warfare (Digital) - 1 Issue, AW XVII.1

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