Warcop Roman camp and length of Roman road, 285m south west of Moor House

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.

Roman roads were artificially made-up routes introduced to Britain by the Roman army from about AD 43. They facilitated both the conquest of the province and its subsequent administration. Roman roads are highly representative of the period of Roman administration and provide important evidence of Roman civil and military engineering skills as well as the pattern of conquest and settlement. Despite the absence of upstanding earthworks, aerial photography has identified the below ground remains of a Roman camp 285m south west of Moor House and the possible remains of an earlier and smaller Roman camp partly underlying the larger fort's south western corner. Together with the adjacent length of Roman road, the monument will contribute to any further study of Roman military campaigning in northern England.

Details

The monument includes the buried remains of a Roman camp, together with the earthworks and buried remains of a 200m length of Roman road running along the south side of the camp. This formed part of the main Roman road from York to Carlisle across the Stainmore Pass. The Roman camp is located on the gentle south-facing slope of a spur which descends gradually to the south east. It is visible as crop marks on an aerial photograph which highlights features such as the camp's infilled defensive ditch. It measures approximately 60m WNW-ESE by 50m NNE-SSW and is more or less rectangular with each corner rounded in a broad arc. The camp's ditch is interrupted on all sides except the south west by relatively wide centrally placed entrances. The Roman road survives as a slight terrace on the hillslope south of the camp and north of the modern road. Other features visible on the aerial photograph include faint traces of a possible smaller and earlier Roman camp partly underlying the larger camp's south western corner, and a curvilinear feature immediately to the east of the larger camp. These features are also included in the scheduling. All modern field boundaries are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these 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:

32852

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Welfare, H, Swan, V, Roman Camps in England: The Field Archaeology, (1995), 50-1
Welfare, H, Swan, V, Roman Camps in England: The Field Archaeology, (1995), 50-1

Other
AP No. DO 085, St Joseph,K., (1949)
AP No. DO 085, St.Joseph,J.K., (1949)
AP No. DO 085, St Joseph,J.K., (1949)

End of official list entry

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