Roman road, Waverbridge to Pattenfoot

Summary

Roman road, Waverbridge to Pattenfoot.

Reasons for Designation

Roman roads were artificially made-up routes introduced to Britain by the Roman army from c.AD 43. They facilitated both the conquest of the province and its subsequent administration. Their main purpose was to serve the Cursus Publicus, or Imperial mail service. Express messengers could travel up to 150 miles per day on the network of Roman roads throughout Britain and Europe, changing horses at wayside 'mutationes' (posting stations set every 8 miles on major roads) and stopping overnight at 'mansiones' (rest houses located every 20-25 miles). In addition, throughout the Roman period and later, Roman roads acted as commercial routes and became foci for settlement and industry. Mausolea were sometimes built flanking roads during the Roman period while, in the Anglian and medieval periods, Roman roads often served as property boundaries. Although a number of roads fell out of use soon after the withdrawal of Rome from the province in the fifth century AD, many have continued in use down to the present day and are consequently sealed beneath modern roads. On the basis of construction technique, two main types of Roman road are distinguishable. The first has widely spaced boundary ditches and a broad elaborate agger comprising several layers of graded materials. The second usually has drainage ditches and a narrow simple agger of two or three successive layers. In addition to ditches and construction pits flanking the sides of the road, features of Roman roads can include central stone ribs, kerbs and culverts, not all of which will necessarily be contemporary with the original construction of the road. With the exception of the extreme south- west of the country, Roman roads are widely distributed throughout England and extend into Wales and lowland Scotland. They are highly representative of the period of Roman administration and provide important evidence of Roman civil engineering skills as well as the pattern of Roman conquest and settlement. A high proportion of examples exhibiting good survival are considered to be worthy of protection.

The section of Roman Road between Waverbridge and Pattenfoot is preserved as an earthwork and will contain archaeological deposits relating to its construction, use and abandonment. The monument is highly representative of its period and provides insight into the central importance of communication and transport to the Roman administration and conquest of England.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 17 March 2016. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes the remains of a section of the Roman road between Carlisle and Papcastle. For much of its length the Roman road is followed by the modern A595 and this monument represents a section that is not overlain by the modern road because it diverges southwards from the Roman road line between Pattenfoot and Waverbridge. The monument thus includes a 575m long section of Roman road which is aligned north east-south west and traverses a slight east-west running ridge. The cambered embankment of the road, known as an agger, is preserved as a slight earthwork at several points along its route.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

CU 228

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
PastScape Monument No:- 1325580

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