The Roman Army, 31 BC–AD 337: A Sourcebook

126 The Roman Army
The town of Saldae (Bejaia or Bougie) in Mauretania Caesariensis required
assistance with its building project from the III Augusta at Lambaesis in the
neighbouring province of Africa. Datus’ involvement apparently dated from
the procuratorship of C. Petronius Celer in AD 137 when a plan was drawn up
and the tunnel for the water channel begun. After the work had run into some
problems, Vetustinus, procurator in AD 150, persuaded Crispinus, legate of
the III Augusta (AD 147–50), to send Datus to supervise, in the hope that he
could stay for some months. After a further approach to the new legate, Valerius
Etruscus (AD 151–2), presumably from the procurator Varius Clemens (AD
152), Datus had to return to see the work through, and the water channel was
duly dedicated in AD 152. In the later stages of this project, between AD 147
and 152, Datus was seemingly the only person in both provinces who was
competent to give advice, and his commanding officer could spare him only for
short periods. The tunnel (428 metres long) was part of the Toudja aqueduct,
bringing water to the town over a distance of 21 kilometres.
205 ILS 9375=EJ 264, boundary stone, Africa, AD 29–30
Legion III Augusta established boundaries in the third year of the
proconsulate of Gaius Vibius Marsus; seventieth (centuria) to the right
of the decumanus, and two hundred and eightieth beyond the kardo.
In land division the surveyor established two basic lines—the decumanus
maximus, generally running from east to west, and the kardo maximus, generally
running from north to south; these lines (limites) had a certain defined width
and served partly as access roads. The intersection of the two limites was the
central point of the survey and the addition of further parallel decumani and
kardines at regular intervals produced a series of squares or rectangles
(centuriae), which usually contained 200 iugera. The centuriae were subdivided
as required. One specific stone in each centuria was carved with the co-ordinates,
that is, to the right or left of the decumanus maximus, or on the far side or the
near side of the kardo maximus, depending on the original orientation, and the
centuriae were numbered accordingly (Dilke 1971).
In AD 24 the proconsul Cornelius Dolabella had put an end to the long war
against Tacfarinas, the territory of whose supporters was perhaps being divided
by the III Augusta in preparation for distribution to veteran soldiers or other
settlers.
206 Blume et al. (1848, 1852): I. p. 251, inscription, 2nd C.AD.
On the authority of Emperor Titus Aelius Hadrian Antoninus Augustus
Pius, father of the fatherland, a decision was delivered by Tuscenius
Felix, chief centurion for the second time, after Blesius Taurinus, soldier
of the sixth praetorian cohort, land surveyor, had fixed the boundaries
of the territory of the people of Ardea.