Roman camp, 350m east of Redlands Bank

Reasons for Designation

Roman camps are rectangular or sub-rectangular enclosures which were constructed and used by Roman soldiers either when out on campaign or as practice camps; most campaign camps were only temporary overnight bases and few were used for longer periods. They were bounded by a single earthen rampart and outer ditch and in plan are always straight-sided with rounded corners. Normally they have between one and four entrances, although as many as eleven have been recorded. Such entrances were usually centrally placed in the sides of the camp and were often protected by additional defensive outworks. Roman camps are found throughout much of England, although most known examples lie in the midlands and north. Around 140 examples have been identified and, as one of the various types of defensive enclosure built by the Roman Army, particularly in hostile upland and frontier areas, they provide an important insight into Roman military strategy and organisation. All well-preserved examples are identified as being of national importance. The Roman camp, 350m east of Redlands Bank is preserved as cropmark and in places as an earthwork. The monument is representative of its period and will contain archaeological deposits relating to its construction, use and abandonment. The monument is one of a number of Roman remains located along the route of the Roman road from Kirkby Thore to Brough. These remains include the Kirkby Thore Roman fort and vicus to the north west and a Roman fortlet to the south east. Taken together these monuments provide insight into the Roman military strategy for the occupation of Britain.

Details

The monument, which falls into three areas, includes the remains of a temporary Roman camp sited parallel and on the south west side the Roman road between Kirkby Thore and Brough. The camp is on broadly level ground bisected by a steep sided gully. The fort, which is preserved as an earthwork and in places as a cropmark, is an irregular quadrilateral in plan and measures about 320m by 310m covering an area of approximately 9.3ha. It is surrounded by at least one ditch and the slight intermittent remains of a bank, which varies in height up to about 1m. The fort had at least ten gateways located on the north east, south east and south west side. On the north east side, adjacent to the Roman road, the gateways are regularly spaced at 60m intervals and all of the gateways are defended by traverses which are preserved as low mounds.

SOURCES PastScape Monument No:- 13608 NMR:- NY62SE5 Cumbria HER:- 1654

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

CU 244

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

End of official list entry

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