Castra

Originally a castrum is a Celtic fortification, which is like a round walled castle in the top of a hill. Romans used the name later to call their military camps, which were rectangular.

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In the Roman Empire, a castra (the plural form of castrum, castri, a fortification) was a Roman military camp. Roman camps were always constructed according to a certain pattern, with two main crossing streets: the "Cardus Maximus", running north and south, and the "Decumanus Maximus" running east and west, dividing the camp into four quarters. These streets terminated at four gates. The forum was located at the intersection of the Cardus Maximus and the Decumanus Maximus.

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The rest of the streets and constructions were parallel to these streets, which formed a quadricular pattern widely used in cities.

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Many villages in Europe originated as Roman military camps and still show traces of their original pattern (e.g. Castres in France, Barcelona in Spain). The pattern was also used by Spanish colonizers in America following strict rules by the Spanish monarchy for founding new cities in the New World.

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Many of the towns of England still retain forms of the word castra in their names -- Lancaster, Chester and Manchester, for example.

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Roman Empire: The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Caesar Augustus)....

Fortification: Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defense in warfare. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs. The term is derived from the Latin fortis ("strong") and facere ("to make")....

Military camp: A military camp or bivouac is a minor, semi-permanent facility for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large campsites....