Roman temporary camp, 350m south-west of Fourlaws

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 temporary camp at Fourlaws survives in an excellent state of preservation and is a very good example of its type; additionally it is one of a group of camps constructed along Dere Street, one of the principal routes northwards, and will contribute to our understanding of the Roman occupation of northern Britain.

Details

The monument includes a Roman temporary camp situated on the top of a local hillock known as Swine Hill. It lies some 82m west of Dere street, the Roman road from Corbridge to Newstead in Scotland. The camp, the smallest of a group in the vicinity of Dere Street, is almost square in shape with rounded corners. It measures a maximum of 165m north-south by 160m east-west within a broad rampart 3.6m across which survives to a height of 1.2m above the bottom of an external ditch 2m wide. There are gateways 5m wide in all sides except in the western side; that on the eastern side facing Dere Street is centrally placed while those in the north and south sides are situated off centre. Each gateway is protected by an internal clavicle, an extension of the rampart on one side of the gateway which swings inside the entrance in order to protect defenders and expose attackers. The camp dates from the Roman occupation of Britain in the first century AD and is large enough to have been used periodically on a temporary basis by soldiers advancing northwards and also by smaller groups engaged in routine maintainance

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

21036

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Richmond, I A, Northumberland County History xv in The Romans in Redesdale, (1940), 118

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