Roman camp north west of Balmer's Farm

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.

Despite the absence of many upstanding earthworks, aerial photographs have identified the below ground features of a Roman camp north west of Balmers Farm. On typological grounds construction of this camp can be dated to the military campaigns of the Roman governor of Britain, Petilius Cerialis, undertaken against the indigenous northern tribes between AD 71-74. On present evidence this is the most northerly of Cerialis' legionary marching camps.

Details

The monument is a large Roman camp located on gently undulating land north west of Balmers Farm and immediately to the west of the A6 trunk road, which here follows the course of the main Roman road that connected forts at Brougham, (known to the Romans as Brocavum), and Old Penrith, (known to the Romans as Voreda). Much of the camp is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs which highlight features such as infilled ditches. Whilst most of the camp survives only beneath the present ground surface, the southern side retains slight upstanding earthworks. The aerial photographs show part of the east side of the camp, much of the north and west sides, and the two northern angles. The northern side measures about 390m and the western side measures about 360m. In the visible portion of the eastern side there are three gateways each defended by a tutulus - an earthen mound and ditch in front of the gate created to prevent a direct approach and thus hinder an attacking force. A survey of the camp in 1972 focussed on the upstanding earthworks but also located two gateways defended by tutuli on the camp's western side and two tutuli on the camp's northern side. The large size of this camp and its multiplicity of gates link it with similar camps at Reycross and Crackenthorpe located on the Roman road across Stainmore between Yorkshire and the Eden valley. These camps are of a size sufficient to have accommodated a legionary force on the march and are considered to have been constructed by the Roman governor of Britain, Petilius Cerialis, during his military campaigns against the indigenous northern tribes between AD 71-74. They are evenly spaced at a distance of a one-day march from Catterick to Carlisle and are relics of the earliest Roman infiltration of northern England. All modern field boundaries and gateposts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 5 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:

23666

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Higham, N, The Northern Counties to AD 1000, (1986), 151-2
St Joseph, J K, Journal of Roman Studies in Air Reconnaissance of North Britain, Vol. 41, (1951), 54

Other
Carleton, R.J., MPP Single Monument Class Descriptions - Roman camps, (1988)
AP No. BR C 006, Cambridge University Collection, Roman Temporary Camp NE of Balmers Farm,
Possibly also known as Plumpton Head, RCHME, Roman Camp NW of Balmers Farm, (1972)

End of official list entry

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