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The Castra Nova equitum singularium was an ancient Roman fort in Rome housing part of the emperor's cavalry bodyguard. The site of the fort now lies beneath the Basilica of St John Lateran. The ''Castra Nova'', or "new fort", was one of two cavalry forts that provided a base in Rome for the mounted bodyguard of the Roman emperors (the ''Equites singulares Augusti''). The Castra Nova ("new fort") was so-called because it was the newer of the two forts, built to house an enlargement of the cavalry guard. Their previous fort ''Castra Prioria'' which lay not far away to the north〔On this ''castra'' see Buzzetti, C. 1997. ‘Castra Equitum Singularium’, in E. M. Steinby (ed), ''Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae'', 1 (A - C). Rome: Edizioni Quasar, 246-248.〕 had been built earlier, possibly under the emperor Domitian, and still housed the original force of 1500 mounted troopers. The full name of the fort is ''Castra nova Equitum singularium Augusti''. == History == The fort can be precisely dated to AD 193, at the beginning of the reign of Septimius Severus. The new camp was necessitated by this emperor's increase of the size of his cavalry guard from 1,500 to 2,000 men.〔Coulston, J. 2000. ‘Armed and belted men: the soldiery in imperial Rome’, in J. Coulston and H. Dodge (eds.), ''Ancient Rome: The archaeology of the eternal city.'' Oxford: Alden Press, 78. Also Speidel, M. P. 1994. ''Riding for Caesar''. London: Batsford. p. 128〕 The site of the camp was always speculated as being beneath the cathedral of St John Lateran (Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano), but it was identified definitively by excavations between 1934 and 1938 undertaken by Enrico Josi.〔Josi, E. 1934. ‘Scoperte nella Basilica Constantiniana al Laterano’, RAC, 11, pp. 353-358.〕 Josi had obtained permission to explore the area of the basilica’s nave in advance of the construction of a new reinforced concrete floor. Within days it became clear that the remains of the Castra Nova existed in good condition just below the floor level and that the excavation was including a large part of the ''principia'' (headquarters) building. The completed excavations were then published by Colini.〔Colini, A. M. 1944. ‘Storia e Topografia del Celio nell’antichità’ (APA (3rdseries) 7). Vatican: Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana.〕 A large two-storey storage building and two barracks were also uncovered, but the greatest interest centered around the ''principia'' as its two strong rooms were very well preserved as were several office rooms. On the completion of the investigation the remains were preserved beneath the basilica (along with the remains of the Constantinian cathedral and a Neronian ''domus'') in a spectacular underground archaeological park.〔The remains are under the custodianship of the Vatican Archaeological Service and are only open to the public on request.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Castra Nova equitum singularium」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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