Scipio sent emissaries to Syphax to attempt to persuade him to defect. Syphax in turn offered to broker peace terms. A series of exchanges of negotiating parties followed, the sessions lasting several days. With his delegations Scipio sent junior officers disguised as slaves to report back on the layout and construction of the Numidian camp, as well as the size and composition of the Numidian army and the most frequented routes in and out of the camp. The Carthaginian camp was solidly constructed, with earthen ramparts and timber-built barracks, but the Numidian one less so, with no clearly defined perimeter and the accommodation for the soldiers being largely constructed of reeds and roofed with thatch.
