Roman camp 750m east of Church Cottages

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 lack of upstanding earthworks Holme Roman camp remains clearly identifiable in aerial photographs. The monument will considerably enhance our understanding of the Roman occupation of the area and the impact it had on the wider landscape.

Details

The monument includes the below ground remains of a large part of Holme Roman camp. The site is situated on level ground between two tributaries of Slough Dyke, a minor arm of the River Trent. The location affords commanding views of the surrounding landscape. No upstanding remains survive but the buried remains of the monument show clearly as crop marks on aerial photographs. The camp, which is sub- rectangular in shape, is defined by a ditch which encloses an area of at least 9.3ha. The north, east and west sides of the camp are visible but no entrances can be identified with certainty. The southern ditch has been obscured by the relatively modern road from Holme to Langford and by medieval ridge and furrow which is evident in fields to the south of the road. Only that section of the camp to the north of this road is included in the scheduling although this does represent the majority of the monument. The north and west sides lie at right angles to each other but the north east angle is slightly acute with the eastern ditch having been deflected slightly westwards. This may have been necessary to avoid wetter ground to the east. The corners of the camp are characteristically rounded and a number of crop mark features are evident in the interior, particularly in the eastern half. All modern fences are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath 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:

29929

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Welfare, H, Swan, V, Roman Camps in England: The Field Archaeology, (1995), 148-149

End of official list entry

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