Portus Trucculensis

Kirkbride Castle
Alternative name	a) Portus Trucculensis ? b) Trucculensem portum ? c) Trucculensis ? d) Ugrulism ?
limes	Britain
section	Hadrian's Wall Stanegate ?
Dating (occupancy)	agricolanic-Trajanic, 1st to 3rd century AD?
Type	Port or cohort fort?
size	Area: Castle A: 190 × 175 meters, 3.3 ha, Castle B: 168 × 138 meters, 2.3 ha
Construction	Wood and earth fort
State of preservation	square floor plan with rounded corners, not visible above ground
place	Kirkbride
Geographical location	54 ° 54 '18 "  N , 3 ° 12' 10.8"  W Coordinates: 54 ° 54 '18 "  N , 3 ° 12' 10.8"  W.
Previous	Congavata Fort (northeast)
Subsequently	Bibra Fort (southwest)

Findings plan fort B

Aerial view of the wampool

Altar of Belatocairus

The Roman port of Portus Trucculensis was believed to be in the Parish of Kirkbride, District Allerdale , County Cumbria , England .

The archaeologically proven, multi-phase fort in Kirkbride was built in the late 1st century, abandoned, renovated and reoccupied in the early 2nd century. It is believed that it secured a port that served as a supply base for the western part of Hadrian's Wall . However, like most of the forts around Hadrian's Wall, the wood-earth camp was apparently never rebuilt in stone. The ground monument includes the fort, the civil settlement attached to the camp and a Roman road that starts from the east gate of the fort. No remains of them can be seen today. Aerial photographs, smaller excavations and geophysical studies have shown that the foundations of the Roman buildings are still relatively well preserved.

Surname

Whether the fort bore this name - due to the lack of ancient written sources found on site - is still controversial today, as the actual location of Portus Trucculensis is unclear. It is possible that this place is actually identical to the Trucculensis Portus mentioned by Tacitus in the life story of his father-in-law Agricola (there (38) in the accusative Trucculensem portum ). However, this is said to have been on the east coast of Britain. Agricola's fleet ran there in the course of circumnavigating the British Isles to spend the winter at this place. He could therefore also in the

• northern Scotland (Sandwood Loch), at
• Firth of Forth (Cramond) or on
• Firth of Tay (Carpow).

However, a connection with the port city of Rutupiae (Richborough) on the English Channel appears highly unlikely . Emil Huebner wanted to have recognized the place in the - mutilated - entry Ugrulentum of the cosmography of the geographer of Ravenna .

The name could be derived from the Latin trucculum , which means "rough, stormy". A Celtic root, Truccu, could also come from Turk or Twrch (= boar ). Rivet / Smith suggest that the port was at the mouth of a river, Trucculus or Truculus . Ogilvie / Richmond offer an even more speculative proposal. Accordingly, the place name is based on the Latin tructa or a river name, Trucula (= small trout).

location

Kirkbride is located south of Bowness-on-Solway, directly at the mouth of the Wampool (so-called Moricambe-Watt) and thus had a natural harbor well protected from the tides . The fort stood on a flat hill, but dominating the surrounding area, overlooking the Wampool and the Moricambe Fjord, cut deep to the NE. From there roads led to:

• Luguvalium (Carlisle), to the ramparts
• Maia (Bowness-on-Solway),
• Congavata (Drumburgh),
• Aballava (Burgh-by-Sands) in the north, and on the west coast to the fort of
• Bibra (Beckfoot).

It is further assumed that Kirkbride was the western end point of Stanegatestrasse . The castle grounds are now home to the medieval St. Bridget's Church, the rectory and the Banks House Farm buildings, which occupy the southwestern part of the area. They all stand 370 meters southeast of the Whitrigg Bridge, which spans the Wampool. In the late 2nd century, the west coast of Cumbria belonged to the province of Britannia inferior , from the 4th century to the province of Britannia secunda .

Research history and range of finds

Roman finds that could be dated to the early 2nd century have been recovered around Kirkbride. Because of this, archaeologists have long suspected a Roman fort or a settlement there. In 1873 an altar dedicated to the god Belatocairus was found near Kirkbride , which had been donated by a soldier named Peisius. Archaeological investigations took place between 1961 and 1977. Exploratory excavations were carried out in the Kirchgarten from 1961 to 1962. Foundations made of clay and rubble stones were repeatedly observed. As a result, ceramics ( Samian ware ) and the inner wall street of the fort were found. Experimental excavations in the northeast corner of the garden brought to light further Roman times. Their number increased further to the east, with the earliest ceramics found there indicating an occupancy from the 1st century onwards. The majority of the finds include vessel fragments, rough cast beakers, very simply designed statuettes, bowls, broken glass, nails, a lead object (possibly a plumb bob ) and some pieces of leather.

During a dry spell in 1976 C. Jones recognized the typical rectangular shape of a Roman fort (Fort B) on aerial photographs. This observation was confirmed by geophysical measurements by Clive Melville. It was archaeologically examined by Richard Bellhouse that same year. The geophysical investigations also revealed the outlines of walls, a north-south road and smelting furnaces. The road leading to the east could be followed over a length of 200 meters.

development

Little is known about the history of Kirkbride Fort. It was probably founded by the governor of Britain, Gnaeus Iulius Agricola , towards the end of the 1st century AD, shortly thereafter abandoned and probably reoccupied during the - middle or late - reign of Trajan . Since then, this camp has probably been part of the Stanegate border security system, a military road between Carlisle and Corbridge, which was guarded by a chain of forts in the 2nd century and marked the northern border of Roman Britain until the middle of the 2nd century. The Stanegate probably ran from Kirkbride to Pons Aelius camp (Newcastle upon Tyne) on the south bank of the Tyne. In the north, the chain of fortifications was supplemented by a few watchtowers, from which light or smoke signals could be better passed on to the neighboring bases. The pottery found on site dates the Flavian-Traian fort to the period between 80 and 120 AD. In 122 AD, the Romans began building Hadrian's Wall, which is now Bowness-on-Solway on the Solway Firth was enough. Presumably, after the completion of Hadrian's Wall, the Traian camp was renovated and somewhat reduced in size. It is estimated that this fortification was occupied by regular soldiers until the end of the 3rd century. It probably served as one of the rear military stations from which the garrisons on the wall could be reinforced in the event of a major attack. The port may also function as a logistics and supply center for the crews in the western sector of the wall and the northwest coast for a while.

Fort

There are no more remains of the fort today. A total of two construction phases could be observed:

Fort A

The early fort from the time of Agricola, built using the wood and earth technique, covered an area of ​​2.3 hectares and faced north-east, the banks of the Wampool. It measured about 190 meters by 175 meters and was surrounded by a 9-meter-wide earth wall - at the base - and a double ditch. The latter can still be seen on the west side of the church. The northern section of the inner wall road (via sagularis) could also be seen in the photos, as well as two streets that started from the north and east gates. Short sections of the road can still be seen to the southeast, near a disused railway line, and to the northwest towards the river bank. A section of the east wall, immediately south of the east gate, revealed two trenches, 7 meters wide and 2.5 meters deep, a piece of the earth wall, the Intervallumstrasse and traces of wooden structures. The road that reaches the fort to the east probably started from the Drumburgh fort. The road going north could have led to the west end of Hadrian's Wall, at Bowness-on-Solway.

Fort B

The excavation results from the 1970s indicate that the following, somewhat smaller Fort B is a fortification from the Trajan reign - also made using the wood-earth technique . It is located southeast of the church and is only visible from the air. The fence was about 168 (east-west) × 138 meters (north-south) and was surrounded by a moat. During the excavations between 1970 and 1978, the course of his Wallstraße from the north gate to the east gate, that of the main camp street to the east gate and almost the whole of the main camp street running from northeast to southwest were recognized. Subsequently, the position of the north gate could also be determined. The inner buildings were probably built using timber and timber-frame technology.

garrison

It is not known which military unit was stationed there. Whether there were also Roman naval units (Liburnari) and Classis Britannica ships in the port of the fort has not yet been proven due to a lack of relevant finds.

Vicus and port

The excavations also uncovered the remains of a civil settlement ( vicus ) . Like many other settlements of this time, it probably consisted of a collection of residential houses ( strip house ), small workshops and shops, possibly also a temple district. Cobbled streets or simple paths ran in between. The houses were surrounded by fields and gardens. Usually such settlements were not protected by defenses. The excavations in the 1960s and 1970s revealed smelting furnaces with traces of lead and iron deposits. It was found that the vicus expanded west of the church. In the vicinity of the outer moat of the fort, there were traces of masonry on the road. Approx. Stone foundations of a building were found 22 meters south of the east gate. Exploratory pits to the east provided further evidence of a larger civilian settlement. Most of the vicus area is built over today. The location of the port is unknown.

See also

• Hadrian's Wall
• Mile fort and watchtowers on Hadrian's Wall

literature

• Barri Jones / David Woolliscroft: Hadrian's Wall from the air. The History Press, 2001. ISBN 0-7524-1946-3 .
• Cornelius Tacitus: De Vita Julii Agricolae . Translation M. Hutton, Harvard, 1970.
• Stephen Johnson: Hadrian's Wall. Sterling Publishing Company, 2004. ISBN 0-7134-8840-9
• Albert Rivet / Colin Smith: The place-Names of Roman Britain. Batsford Ltd. 1979-1982.
• JGF Hind: Agricola's Fleet at Portus Trucculensis. Britannia, V, 1974.
• Richard Bellhouse / George Richardson: Council for British Archeology Group 3. Archaeological newsbulletin for Northumberland, Cumberland, Durham, Westmorland and Lancashire-north-of-the-sands. No. 15, 1977.
• R. Bellhouse / G. Richardson: The Trajanic fort at Kirkbride; the terminus of the Stanegate frontier . 1982.
• The Trajanic Fort at Kirkbride: Terminus of Stanegate Frontier . In: Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society , New Series. No. 15, 1889, No. 25, 1925, No. 63, 1963, No. 75, 1975 and 1982 (PDF file, accessed April 17, 2018)
• Eric Birley / Richard Bellhouse: The Roman Site at Kirkbride, Cumberland . In: Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society , New Series, Vol.LXIII, 1963 (PDF file, accessed April 17, 2018)
• Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies Britannia: a journal of Romano-British and kindred studies. No. 9, 1978.
• Barri Jones: Kirkbride Roman Fort , 1975.
• Martin Henig: Intaglios from Castlesteads and the Roman fort at Kirkbride. Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society , No. 72, New Series, 1972, pp. 57-65.

Remarks

• RIB = Roman inscriptions in Britain

1. ↑ Hind: Britannia V, 1974, pp. 285-288, Rivet & Smith 1979-1982, p. 478, Agricola 38, 4.
2. ^ RIB 2056 , Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies Britannia: 1978, pp. 423–424, Bellhouse / Richardson 1977, p. 11.
3. ^ Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society. No. 15, 1889, p. 146, No. 25, 1925, p. 350, No. 63, 1963, pp. 126-139 and No. 75, 1975, pp. 58-90, Jones / Woolliscroft 2001, p 66-70, Johnson 2004, p. 128.

Web links

• West Cumbria Coast on Digital Atlas of Roman Empire
• Roman Inscriptions of Britain (English)
• Location of the fort on Vici.org
• Kirkbride on ROMAN BRITAIN
• ROMANS IN CUMBRIA HADRIAN'S WALL AND THE COASTAL DEFENCES
• Kirkbride Castle on Pastcape
• Kirkbride on Historic England