Lilia (Latin plural, meaning "lilies" in English; singular, ''lilium'') are pit traps arranged in a

quincunx A quincunx ( ) is a geometry, geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, with four of them forming a Square (geometry), square or rectangle and a fifth at its center. The same pattern has other names, including "in saltire" ...

pattern dug by the Roman armies in front of their defences. Frequently they had sharpened stakes set inside them as an extra obstacle to attackers. Lilia have been found in front of both

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

in England and the

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall () was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twenty years after Hadrian's Wall to the south ...

in Scotland.

External links

Images of lilies at the Antonine Wall
Fortification (obstacles) {{Fort-stub