Archaeological map of Xanten
Around 15 BC the Roman camp Castra Vetera was created on the Fürstenberg near today's locality Birten. It was intended as a base for campaigns into Germania and until its destruction during the Revolt of the Batavi in 70 AD it was occupied by 8,000 to 10,000 legionaries, and was the main base of the Classis germanica.
Note: Vetera was located within modern Xanten.
Vetera in Give Me Back My Legions![]
Vetera had begun as a legionnaire camp in Gaul during the time of Julius Caesar. By AD 7, when Publius Q. Varus made it his winter headquarters, it had become a town with much Roman influence. Nevertheless, Varus found it quite primitive until he spent the summer in the Germanic province he governed.
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