Roman camp and section of Roman road 700m south east of Field Head 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 being crossed by ridge and furrow ploughing, the Roman camp and Roman road 700m south east of Field Head Farm survive reasonaby well, the camp's defensive earthworks in particular remaining well preserved. It is one of a group of sites in the immediate vicinity, the others being a fort and two further camps, each of which display marked differences in plan, numbers of gateways, size and subsequent troop disposition. The monument will contribute to any study of Roman military campaigning in northern England.

Details

The monument includes a Roman camp and a length of Roman road located on high ground at the head of the wide valley of the River Glenderamackin and the Trout Beck, from where it commands extensive views westwards towards Keswick, northwards through the Caldew valley, and southwards over Matterdale and Threlkeld commons. The camp is a parallelogram in plan with rounded corners and measures approximately 78m and 80m internally along its north and south sides, by 79m and 78m internally along its east and west sides. It has defences consisting of a rampart, ditch and outer bank, with entrances on the south and west sides. Limited excavation across the defences on the camp's south side in 1955 found the rampart to measure 3m-4.5m wide and up to 0.6m high. It was formed of turves and cobbles. The ditch was found to measure 2.7m wide by 1.4m deep. A berm up to 0.3m wide separates the rampart from the ditch. The outer bank is formed from the material cast up from the ditch and measures up to 6m wide by 0.3m high. The two entrances are each defended by internal and external claviculae: a clavicula is a curving continuation of the rampart and ditch which partially obstructs access through the entrance. The Roman road connecting Troutbeck Roman fort with the fort at Old Penrith, known to the Romans as Voreda, passes the camp's south side and can be seen as a raised agger or mound approximately 10m wide with faint traces of side ditches. A thin gravel spread beyond the camp's ditch was found during the 1955 excavation and is considered to represent a path connecting the gateway of the camp with the road.

The camp is thought to date to the late first century AD during the period when the Roman army was consolidating its position in northern England and in particular turning its attention to the policing of the Lake District and its indigenous population.

All field boundaries and gateposts are excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath these features is included.

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:

23753

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Shotter, D C A, Roman North-West England in Roman North-West England, (1984), 21
Bellhouse, R L, Trans Cumb and West Antiq and Arch Soc. New Ser. in The Roman Temporary Camps Near Troutbeck, Cumberland, Vol. LVI, (1957), 28-36
Collingwood, R G, Trans Cumb & West Antiq & Arch Soc. New Ser. in The Hill Fort on Carrock Fell, Vol. XXXVIII, (1938), 32-41
St Joseph, J K, Journal of Roman Studies in Aerial Reconniassance in Britain, 1951-55, Vol. 45, (1955), 83-4

End of official list entry

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