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    A Roman Watchtower

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    • GaieusG Offline
      Gaieus
      last edited by

      Some of you may know that every year I go to this re-enectment camp with kids and Roman soldiers and such. Now this Roman legion (legio I Adiutrix in Brigetio, Pannonia) wants to build something that they believe a Roman watchtower would have looked like on the Danubian frontier.

      I helped them "visualize" what it could look like and give the architects some clue what they should design (so of course I won't make real construction documents as they would probably wish the building not to collapse during the first winter).

      Here is something we generally find left of such a watchtower: the walls and a big, stone square in the middle.

      plan.jpg
      Now there are debates what that middle piece is for but most probably that is just the foundation for a timber frame which - in the middle of the tower - would support the different floors, stairs and the roofing on top.

      elev.jpg
      elev2.jpg
      And a render with the fosses all around (Roman soldiers from the 3D Warehouse)

      ortorony.jpg
      (Rendered with Twilight "Easy 8" exterior progressive within about an hour)

      Gai...

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      • Rich O BrienR Offline
        Rich O Brien Moderator
        last edited by

        Thanks for sharing πŸ‘

        Should've put the watchmen all along the watchtower and two riders approaching πŸ˜‰

        Download the free D'oh Book for SketchUp πŸ“–

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        • leedeeteeL Offline
          leedeetee
          last edited by

          Really nice Gai, and an interesting read to boot. πŸ‘

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          • GaieusG Offline
            Gaieus
            last edited by

            Rich, the file is high poly enough from this half dozen guys! 😲
            They're only there to give scale and atmosphere not for a battle scene! πŸ˜†

            I may even make some LO documents for the guys - I have never used LO (for a real project) anyway! 😳

            Gai...

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            • Rich O BrienR Offline
              Rich O Brien Moderator
              last edited by

              @gaieus said:

              Rich, the file is high poly enough from this half dozen guys! 😲
              They're only there to give scale and atmosphere not for a battle scene! πŸ˜†

              πŸ˜’ They're lyrics to a Jimi Hendrix/Bob Dylan song....

              [flash=640,480:20xga8lt]http://www.youtube.com/v/OmwFRvKYZNs[/flash:20xga8lt]

              Download the free D'oh Book for SketchUp πŸ“–

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              • R Offline
                Roger
                last edited by

                That central pad was to support the "elevictoriax", a hand-cranked elevator used to lift food and other supplies rather than having to climb the exposed exterior stairs with unwieldy loads during bad weather or barbarian attacks.

                http://www.azcreative.com

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                • FrederikF Offline
                  Frederik
                  last edited by

                  I saw Fletch had added some trees in PP... πŸ˜„
                  Tower-Fletch.jpg
                  I also added some trees in post pro...
                  Tower-KFB.jpg

                  Cheers
                  Kim Frederik

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                  • R Offline
                    Ross Macintosh
                    last edited by

                    Csaba - Common sense (if there is such a thing) might suggest the upper windows likely did not have that type of shutter protruding into the limited circulation space of balcony.

                    Would the exterior stair have been equipped with a pivot so it could be drawn up?

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                    • DanielD Offline
                      Daniel
                      last edited by

                      Great looking rendering, Gaieus. Would a watch tower be taller than that, though? One wouldn't be able to see beyond the trees from there.

                      My avatar is an anachronism.

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                      • T Offline
                        tomislavm
                        last edited by

                        Nice idea Gai, I like it!

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                        • GaieusG Offline
                          Gaieus
                          last edited by

                          Roger, I also thought of that but the guys (8who want to build it) resisted...

                          Ross: About the upper windows; you must be right. I created a scene in 3DVIA and when I succeeded to climb up, I could not walk around. I will suggest this to the guys, too. πŸ˜†

                          Daniel: no-one really knows. As they used to be on hill-tops looking over the river (where possible), maybe not.

                          And yes, Fletch seems to have slept too much last night!
                          πŸ˜„

                          Gai...

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                          • Bryan KB Offline
                            Bryan K
                            last edited by

                            Very cool.

                            See my portfolio at https://delphiscousin.blogspot.com/

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