Old Church fort

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Old Church Castle (Brampton)
limes Britain
section Stanegate
Dating (occupancy) trajanic / hadrianic,
1. – 2. Century AD
Type Cohort fort
unit unknown
size 125 × 118 meters
(1.5 ha)
Construction Wood earth
State of preservation Visible above ground (elevations).
place Brampton (Cumbria)
Geographical location 54 ° 56 '46.7 "  N , 2 ° 45' 58.7"  W Coordinates: 54 ° 56 '46.7 "  N , 2 ° 45' 58.7"  W. hf
Previous Castle Hill small fort (east)
Subsequently Luguvalium (west)
Upstream Uxelodunum Castle (Hadrian's Wall) (northeast)
Course of the Stanegate and Hadrian's Wall with locations of the forts
Coin portrait of Trajan
St. Martin's Church (Old Church) in the northeast corner of the fort, view from the southwest
Findings sketch 1935–1936

The Old Church fort was a Roman fortification on the Stanegate border in northern Britain . It is located in the Carlisle District , in the area of ​​the City of Brampton , in County Cumbria , England .

The camp dates from the late first or early second century AD. Despite the use of the northern half of the Roman fortress as a cemetery, the isolated excavations and chance finds in both the northern and southern halves of the fort indicate the presence of well-preserved remains of the defenses and internal structures. In addition, the area of ​​the cemetery on which the now destroyed part of the medieval St. Martin's Church is located was never used for later burials. The Old Church was partly built from stones that came from Roman structures in the area. According to local tradition, this church was one of the earliest Christian meeting places in Cumbria.

location

The fort is located 13.9 km northeast of Carlisle and 800 meters south of Stanegate. It lies on a spur that slopes steeply on the north and west sides to the Irthing River and from which the crew could monitor a ford . The Stanegate, which runs past the fort in a lowland to the north, is now marked by a steeply sloping road that leads to the old river bed of the Crooked Holme. The church can be reached on Longtown Road. At the Old Church the Stanegate crossed the floodplain of the river, about 0.6 km northwest of the fort. In the 2nd century the region belonged to the province of Britannia inferior , from the 4th century to the province of Britannia secunda .

Road connections existed over the Stanegate,

A road that was probably already laid in front of the Stanegate led to the outpost fort Castra Exploratorum (Netherby).

Research history

The ground monument includes the late first or early second century Roman fortress at the Old Church at Brampton and the remains of the medieval St. Martin's Church, which is in the northern half of the Roman fortress. The churchyard was expanded in 1861 and 1889. During this construction work were u. a. Roman foundations and amphora fragments discovered. The fort itself was examined in 1935/36 by the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society under the direction of Frank Gerald Simpson / Ian Archibald Richmond and in 1962. The northern part of the fortress was inside the old churchyard and could not be excavated. It was therefore limited to the southern half of the area. The excavation results were published in the Society's publication (Transactions) the following year. The camp was dated using a number of ceramic fragments that were very similar to those of the Haltwhistle Burn and Throp fort . In addition, two Roman coins could be recovered: a silver denarius of the late Roman Republic , minted in 88 BC. And a Kupferas from the time of Postumus (260–268 AD). However, they were of no importance for the dating of the fort; they were probably lost there at some point by people passing through. According to reports, a fragment of an inscription was found in 1897 in a field on the south side of Old Church Lane, east of St. Martin's Church and 800 meters northwest of Brampton, an interpretation was not possible. At the foot of the terrain spur in the north-west of the fortress, a large-scale mortar mass, apparently of Roman origin, was encountered. Its original purpose could not be determined, perhaps the foundation for a building, watchtower or shrine. On the grounds of the William Howard School, about 1.45 km east of the fort, south of Old Church Lane, a craftsmen's complex of the same time was discovered between 1963 and 1964.

development

The Stanegate was first created as a supply route under the governor Gnaeus Iulius Agricola , 79/80 AD, or one of his successors. In order to protect the troop movements and supplies, forts were built on the road at set intervals (one day's march). The next step was the conversion into a Limes , for this the construction of further fortifications was necessary, which also closed the gaps between the already existing camps. Brampton Fort was arguably one of those new military bases that were built in the early 2nd century to monitor traffic at Stanegate. The Stanegate border thus advanced to become the first solid Roman defense system in northern Britain, which ran across the Tyne - Solway Firth line . The fortress at Old Church, like the one at Newbrough , was probably built during the retreat of the Roman army from Scotland; H. in the early days of the reign of Trajan . Some of the forts along the Stanegate line were built during the Agricola campaigns. Now they have been repaired and filled with soldiers. The restoration of this slightly larger fortress on Stanegate is an indication that a number of alternating large and small fortresses were built along the border in the time of Trajan. Like the fort in Newbrough , the one in Brampton only had a short lifespan and was abandoned when Hadrian's Wall was completed. In local traditions it is reported that a church is said to have been built there as early as late antiquity. Later even the Scottish bishop Ninian of Whithorn is said to have built a church in the abandoned Roman fort. The earliest documented evidence of St. Martin's Church dates back to 1169, when it was mentioned among the church properties at the inauguration of Lanercost Priory . It was built partly from reused stones from Hadrian's Wall.

Fort

The wood-earth warehouse had the rectangular (slightly NE) floor plan typical of that time, measuring 125 meters (north-south) × 118 meters (east-west) and provided with rounded corners. Its area is still recognizable as a very low earth platform that covers an area of ​​1.5 hectares. The excavations showed that St. Martin's Church stood in the northeast corner and that its east wall was directly against the camp wall. The old cemetery, together with the remains of the 11th century church, covers the northern part of the Roman fortress. The north-east corner can be seen in the churchyard as a prominent elevation, parts of the west and south sides, including the south-west corner, are marked by a field boundary and remnants of the fence. Soil erosion on the north-western corner exposed the wall core and its stone foundation there in the 1980s, this section is now partially covered by trees. The southeast wall can be seen on the slope on the left, west of the new cemetery. The northern camp road and access to Stanegate have been preserved as a ravine. A small section of the Stanegate embankment is still visible northeast of the Old Church. The fort wall consisted of turf bricks and tamped clay, which sat on a 4.9 meter wide foundation of river rubble and sandstone. Parapet, possibly intermediate towers and gate structures were probably made entirely of wood. In addition, the camp was surrounded by a weir ditch 4.3 meters wide and 1.5 meters deep, with a 4.3 meter wide berm in front of it. There was a gate in the middle of the north and south walls. The south gate was recognizable by a gap in the wall foundation. The west and east gates were offset slightly to the northwest. The foundations of several interior buildings, including the commandant's office ( Principia ) in the center of the camp area, two granaries ( Horreum ), one each on the east and west side, a barracks block ( Contubernium ) in the southern part of the camp ( Raetendura ) and the Remains of a building with an unspecified function in the west, either a workshop ( Fabrica ) or the, albeit very small, Praetorium , the house of the commanding officer. The building foundations were made of tamped clay, and their superstructure was probably also made of wood. After the completion of Hadrian's Wall, the fort was obviously demolished by its crew as planned, and even the support post holes in the inner buildings were refilled.

garrison

The fort provided space for a crew the strength of a Cohors peditata (500 infantry). Which unit was stationed in the fort is unknown due to the lack of relevant finds and written sources.

Marching camp

Approximately 3 km west of Watchclose, a temporary marching camp and three others have been identified in White Moss and Stanwix Rural. All were in the zone between Stanegate and Hadrian's Wall.

Craftsmen and pottery center

Eight ovens were uncovered on the William Howard School grounds, four square brick ovens and four oval pottery ovens, one of which still contained a terracotta lamp stamped FORTIS . During the excavations, over 800 ceramic shards and brick fragments were found. The site was apparently abandoned when the Old Church fort was demolished. So it is almost certain that it was operated by Roman military personnel. During the excavations, a 3 meter deep Roman well shaft was uncovered. It contained 61 metal objects, including agricultural tools, handicraft equipment, various pieces of armor and crockery fittings. The items date from around AD 125, which in turn indicates that the site was abandoned after Hadrian's Wall was completed. To the east of the Roman fortress, at Brampton, was another Roman brick kiln.

literature

  • RG Collingwood, RP Wright: The Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Vol 1, Inscriptions on Stone, Oxford 1965.
  • John Collingwood Bruce, Ian Richmond: Handbook to the Roman Wall. 12th Edition, 1965–1966.
  • David Shotter: Roman Coins from North-West England. Lancaster 1990.
  • Henry Whitehead: Brampton in Olden Times, publ. James Lewis Selkirk, 1907.
  • Henry Whitehead: Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society. Old Series, in Vol. IV, ()
  • Frank Gerald Simpson, Ian Archibald Richmond: The Roman Fort On The Stanegate And Other Remains at Old Church. Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society, New Series, Vol. XXXVI, 1936.
  • J. Robinson: Notes on Brampton Old Church. Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society, Vol. LXXXII, 1982.
  • NB Rankov: Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies Britannia: a journal of Romano-British and kindred studies. No. 13, 1982.
  • Barrie Jones, David Woolliscroft: Hadrian's Wall from the air. Old Church Brampton, 2001.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Collingwood Bruce / Richmond 1966, p. 188.
  2. ↑ Shotter 1990, p. 54, Selkirk 1907, p. 118, Simpson / Richmond 1936, p. 172–182, Robinson 1982, pp. 73–89, Whitehead, p. 548, Jones / Woolliscroft 2001, p. 58- 59, RIB 2355 .
  3. ↑ Selkirk 1907, p. 118, Simpson / Richmond 1936, pp. 172-182, Robinson 1982, pp. 73-89, Whitehead, p. 548.
  4. ↑ Selkirk 1907, p. 118, Simpson / Richmond 1936, p. 172-182, Robinson 1982, pp. 73-89, Whitehead, p. 548, Rankov 1982, p. 343, Jones / Woolliscroft 2001, p. 58– 59.

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