160 feet in length by 50 in breadth. One side of it was formed by the front wall of the Principia, which was prolonged at either end so as to touch the adjoining buildings to the north and south.
Very little of this last mentioned structure remained. Even the cobble stones of its foundations had entirely disappeared in some places. The best preserved portion was the wall at the north end, and there the line of the roadway entering the building was quite distinct. Nothing was found to throw light on the details of its construction, no tiles or other roofing material to suggest that it had been covered in. But that part of the front wall of the Principia which was continued towards the north, for the purposes of this portico, as may be seen from the photograph reproduced in Plate IX., Fig. I, had its foundation laid on a very much higher level than the other portion or than the main north wall which abutted directly upon it, thus conveying the impression that the long hall had not been erected at the same time, but was an addition made towards the end of the occupation of the fort.
Fragmentary though the traces of the entrance hall were, they added greatly to the interest of the building, as nothing of the kind appears yet to have been found in Britain. In the German Limes forts, on the other hand, such a hall is a common feature. There, as at Newstead, it is usually long and somewhat narrow, having not only doors at the end, but also wide openings in the sides. In Germany the name Exercier-Halle, or Drill Hall, is usually given to this building. But it is very doubtful whether there is sufficient evidence to support the use of such a term, or to show the purpose of the structure. The so-called Praetorium at Lambaesis, probably the most complete military building which has come down to us from Roman times, provides a parallel. Here also we have a hall thrown across the Via Principalis. Unlike the corresponding buildings in Germany and at Newstead, however, it has its longer axis at right angles to the Via Principalis. On each side is a wide arched doorway, large enough for the entry of wheeled vehicles, and flanked by smaller doorways for foot passengers. It is altogether a building of greater architectural pretensions than anything that seems to have existed in the smaller forts. M. Cagnat[1] describes it as a triumphal arch of considerable size with four façades. It seems at Lambaesis to have formed a stately approach to the Principia. Possibly it may have served a somewhat similar purpose at Newstead.
1 Cagnat, Les Deux Camps de la Légion IIIe de Lambèse, p. 22.
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