Site of Roman fort and settlement 400m north of Brickyard Farm

Reasons for Designation

Roman forts served as permanent bases for auxiliary units of the Roman Army. In outline they were straight sided rectangular enclosures with rounded corners, defined by a single rampart of turf, puddled clay or earth with one or more outer ditches. Some forts had separately defended, subsidiary enclosures or annexes, allowing additional storage space or for the accommodation of troops and convoys in transit. Although built and used throughout the Roman period, the majority of forts were constructed between the mid first and mid second centuries AD. Some were only used for short periods of time but others were occupied for extended periods on a more or less permanent basis. In the earlier forts, timber was used for gateways, towers and breastworks. From the beginning of the second century AD there was a gradual replacement of timber with stone. Roman forts are rare nationally and are extremely rare south of the Severn Trent line. As one of a small group of Roman military monuments, which are important in representing army strategy and therefore government policy, forts are of particular significance to our understanding of the period. All Roman forts with surviving archaeological potential are considered to be nationally important.

Settlements often bacame established adjacent to many Roman forts. These were mostly civilian centres which comprised shops, private houses, workshops and multi-purpose buildings arranged around an irregular network of lanes. The settlements developed to serve the adjacent military site and included important buildings such as a bath house, guest house and temple as well as being the camps of traders and merchants providing goods to moneyed troops. Although such settlements were civilian, administrativly they were subordinate to the military authority represented by the fort and most were occupied only during the period in which the fort was in use. Although no longer visible as an earthwork, evidence of the Roman fort and associated settlement is known to survive as below ground remains. Important evidence of the form and function of buildings within the fort and the settlement will be preserved. The monument offers important scope for understanding the early years of the Roman occupation in northern England.

Details

The monument includes the site of a Roman fort and adjacent settlement. It is located on a raised river terrace, south of a bend of the River Ure to the west of Boroughbridge. The monument was identified by geophysical survey and the presence and nature of the remains were confirmed by a series of excavations adjacent to the monument. The geophysical survey revealed three sides of rectangular, double ditched enclosure with rounded corners characteristic of Roman forts. A road was revealed extending east-west to the north of the fort which was connected to it by a short spur-road. Also revealed by the survey were defensive outworks beyond the road and settlement which take the form of concentric and overlapping lengths of ditch, a characteristic additional defence associated with first century AD military sites. The settlement lies to the east and north of the fort, where a series of tracks, ditches and buildings were identified. The survey results were tested by excavations carried out along the the east edge of the monument. These produced detailed evidence of sections of the road and the outwork defences and some timber buildings from the external settlement. Pits were also excavated which produced evidence of industrial activity, particularly metal- working. The excavations also showed traces of earlier Roman occupation near to the river. This area was prone to flooding and the fort was thus constructed on the raised ground further back from the river. The excavations produced pottery, coins and artefacts, including body armour fittings and coins which date the site to the first century AD. The fort was established in the late first century AD to guard a crossing point of the river. It was probably built shortly after AD 71 when Petillius Cerealis began his push north into the territory of the native Brigantes. The fort only had a short life span, being abandoned in AD 85. After this date a fort was established at nearby Aldborough where the Roman road from York to Scotland known as Dere Street crossed the River Ure. All fences, gates and walls 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.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

29533

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Bishop, M C, A New Flavian Militay Site at Roecliffe North Yorkshire, (1997)
Bishop, M C, A New Flavian Militay Site at Roecliffe North Yorkshire, (1997)
Bishop, M C, CBA Forum in The Roecliffe Military Complex, (1993), 27
Bishop, M C, CBA Forum in The Roecliffe Military Complex, (1993)

End of official list entry

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