Banna | |
---|---|
Location in Cumbria | |
Known also as | Birdoswald Roman Fort |
Founded | c. 112 AD |
Abandoned | c. 500 AD |
Place in the Roman world | |
Province | Britannia |
Location | |
Coordinates | 54°59′22″N2°36′08″W / 54.9894°N 2.6023°W |
County | Cumbria |
Country | England |
Website | Birdoswald Roman Fort |
Birdoswald Roman Fort [1] was known as Banna ("peak, horn" in Celtic) in Roman times, [2] reflecting the geography of the site on a triangular spur of land bounded by cliffs to the south and east commanding a broad meander of the River Irthing in Cumbria below.
It lies towards the western end of Hadrian's Wall and is one of the best preserved of the 16 forts along the wall. It is also attached to the longest surviving stretch of Hadrian's Wall. [3]
Cumbria County Council were responsible for the management of Birdoswald fort from 1984 until the end of 2004, when English Heritage assumed responsibility.
This western part of Hadrian's Wall was originally built using turf starting from 122 AD. [4] The stone fort was built some time after the wall, in the usual playing card shape, with gates to the east, west and south. It was 7.5 miles east from Camboglanna (Castlesteads) fort and 6.5 miles from Aesica (Great Chesters).
The fort was occupied by Cohors I Aelia Dacorum and by other Roman auxiliaries from approximately AD 126 [5] to AD 400.
The two-mile sector of Hadrian's Wall either side of Birdoswald is also of major interest. It is currently the only known sector of Hadrian's Wall in which the original turf wall was replaced, probably in the 130s, by a stone wall approximately 50 metres further north, to line up with the fort's north wall, instead of at its east and west gates. The reasons for this change are unclear, although it has been plausibly suggested [6] that it was the result of changing signalling requirements, whilst Stewart Ainsworth of Time Team suggested it was a response to a cliff collapse into the river.[ citation needed ] At any rate, this remains the only area in which both walls can be directly compared.
As of 2005, it is the only site[ citation needed ] on Hadrian's Wall at which significant occupation in the post-Roman period has been proven. Excavations between 1987 and 1992 showed an unbroken sequence of occupation on the site of the fort granaries, running from the late Roman period until possibly 500AD.[ citation needed ] The granaries were replaced by two successive large timber halls, reminiscent of others found in many parts of Britain dating to the fifth and sixth centuries. Tony Wilmott (co-director of the excavations) has suggested that,[ citation needed ] after the end of Roman rule in Britain, the fort served as the power-base for a local warband descended from the late Roman garrison, possibly deriving legitimacy from their ancestors for several generations.
Inside were built the usual stone buildings, a central headquarters building (principia), granaries (horrea), and barracks. Unusually for an auxiliary fort, it also included an exercise building (basilica exercitatoria), perhaps reflecting the difficulties of training soldiers in the exposed site in the north of England.
Geophysical surveys detected vici (civilian settlements) of different characters on the eastern, western and northern sides of the fort. [7] A bathhouse was also located in the valley of the River Irthing. [8]
Approximately 600 metres east of Birdoswald, at the foot of an escarpment, lie the remains of Willowford bridge which carried Hadrian's Wall across the River Irthing. The westward movement of the river course over the centuries has left the east abutment of the bridge high and dry, while the west abutment has probably been destroyed by erosion. Nevertheless, the much-modified visible remains are highly impressive. Until 1996, these remains were not directly accessible from the fort, but they can now be reached by a metal footbridge over the Irthing.
The Vicus (civil settlement) was immediately south-west of the fort and a cemetery was south-east of the fort near the edge of the Irthing escarpment.
The fort at Birdoswald was linked by a Roman road to the outpost fort of Bewcastle, seven miles to the north. Signals could be relayed between the two forts by means of two signalling towers.[ citation needed ]
The fort has been extensively excavated for over a century, with twentieth century excavations starting in 1911 by F.G. Simpson and continuing with Ian Richmond from 1927 to 1933 . [9] The gateways and walls were then re-excavated under the supervision of Brenda Swinbank and J P Gillam from 1949 to 1950. [10]
Extensive geophysical surveys, both magnetometry and earth resistance survey, were conducted by TimeScape Surveys (Alan Biggins & David Taylor, 1999 & 2004) between 1997 -2001. These surveys established that the sub-surface remains in the fort were well preserved.
An area between the fort and the escarpment was excavated by Channel 4's archaeological television programme Time Team in January 2000. The excavation detected signs of an extramural settlement ( vicus ), but the area is liable to erosion and the majority of the vicus could have fallen over the cliffs.
In 2021 Newcastle University, Historic England, and English Heritage launched a major new archaeological excavation at the site. [11]
Today the fort's site is operated by English Heritage as Birdoswald Roman Fort. The visitor centre features displays and reconstructions of the fort, exhibits about life in Roman Britain, the site's history through the ages, and archaeological discoveries in the 19th and 20th centuries. Visitors can walk outside along the excavated remains of the fort.
The River Irthing is a river in Cumbria, England and a major tributary of the River Eden. The name is recorded as Ard or Arden in early references. For the first 15 miles of its course it defines the border between Northumberland and Cumbria.
Hardknott Roman Fort is an archeological site, the remains of the Roman fort Mediobogdum, located on the western side of the challenging Hardknott Pass in the English Lake District. The fort was built between 120 and 138 on a rocky spur, and was initially garrisoned by a detachment of the Cohors IV Delmatarum from the Dalmatian coast. It was abandoned around a decade later, then reoccupied circa 200 and remained in use for much of the next two centuries.
Segedunum was a Roman fort at modern-day Wallsend, North Tyneside in North East England. The fort lay at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall near the banks of the River Tyne. It was in use for approximately 300 years from around 122 AD to almost 400. Today Segedunum is the most thoroughly excavated fort along Hadrian's Wall, and is operated as Segedunum Roman Fort, Baths and Museum. It forms part of the Hadrian's Wall UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Birdoswald is a former farm in the civil parish of Waterhead in the English county of Cumberland. It stands on the site of the Roman fort of Banna.
Milecastle 48 (Poltross Burn), is a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY6340666195). Its remains lie near the village of Gilsland in Cumbria where it was historically known as "The King's Stables", owing to the well-preserved interior walls. Unusually a substantial section of stone stairs has survived within the milecastle. The two turrets associated with this milecastle have also survived as above-ground masonry.
Milecastle 49 (Harrows Scar) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY6202866407).
Ambleside Roman Fort is the modern name given to the remains of a fort of the Roman province of Britannia. The ruins have been tentatively identified as those of either Galava or Clanoventa, mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary. Dating to the 1st or 2nd century AD, its ruins are located on the northern shore of Windermere at Waterhead, near Ambleside, in the English county of Cumbria, within the boundaries of the Lake District National Park.
Magnis or Magna was a Roman fort near Hadrian's Wall in northern Britain. Its ruins are now known as Carvoran Roman Fort and are located near Carvoran, Northumberland, in northern England. It was built on the Stanegate frontier and Roman road, linking Coria (Corbridge) in the east to Luguvalium (Carlisle) in the west, before the building of Hadrian's Wall.
Alauna was a castrum or fort in the Roman province of Britannia. It occupied a coastal site just north of the town of Maryport in the English county of Cumbria.
Glannoventa is a Roman fort associated with the Roman naval base at Ravenglass in Cumbria, England. Its name is derived from the Latin place-name Clanoventa as recorded in the 2nd-century Antonine Itinerary, Glannibanta in the 4th-century Notitia Dignitatum, and Cantiventi in the 6th-century Ravenna Cosmography.
Upper Denton is a small village and civil parish in the north of Cumbria, England, about 1 km north of the A69 road linking Haltwhistle and Brampton. The population of the civil parish when taken at the Census of 2011 was less than 100. Details are included in the parish of Nether Denton. The village is situated on the line of the Roman Stanegate road which ran from Corbridge (Coria) to Carlisle (Luguvalium). Just 1 km to the north across the river Irthing is Birdoswald fort on Hadrian's Wall. Nearby villages include Gilsland, Greenhead and Lanercost.
Condercum was a Roman fort on the site of the modern-day Condercum Estate in Benwell, a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It was the third fort on Hadrian's Wall, about 6.8 miles east of Rudchester fort and only 2.4 miles west of Pons Aelius fort (Newcastle), and was situated on a hilltop 2 miles (3 km) to the west of the city.
Camboglanna was a Roman fort. It was the twelfth fort on Hadrian's Wall counting from the east, between Banna (Birdoswald) almost 7 miles (11 km) to the east and Uxelodunum (Stanwix), 9 miles to the west. It was on a high bluff commanding the Cambeck Valley. It guarded an important approach to the Wall and also watched the east bank of the Cambeck against raiders from the Bewcastle area. The site was drastically levelled in 1791 when the gardens of Castlesteads House were laid over it. The name "Camboglanna" is believed to mean "Crook Bank", or "Bent Valley" because it overlooks a bend in the river Irthing; the name is Brythonic, made of cambo- "curved, bent, crooked" and glanna "steep bank, stream/river side, valley with a stream".
Uxelodunum was a Roman fort with associated civilian settlement (vicus) in modern-day Carlisle, Cumbria, England. It was the largest fort on Hadrian's Wall and is now buried beneath the suburb of Stanwix.
Aballava or Aballaba was a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, between Petriana (Stanwix) to the east and Coggabata (Drumburgh) to the west. It is about one and a half miles south of the Solway Firth, and its purpose was to guard the south end of two important Solway fords, the Peat Wath and the Sandwath, which were also to become favourite routes for medieval border raiders.
Maia, or Mais, in Cumbria, England was a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, and was the last fort at the western end of the Wall, overlooking the Solway Firth.
Whitley Castle (Epiacum) is a large, unusually shaped Roman fort north-west of the town of Alston, Cumbria, England. The castrum, which was first built by the Roman Army early in the 2nd century AD, was partly demolished and rebuilt around 200 AD. It appears to have been sited to protect lead mining in the area as well as to support the border defences of Hadrian's Wall.
Milecastle 50TW (High House) was a milecastle on the Turf Wall section of Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NY60716583). The milecastle is located close to the Birdoswald Roman Fort and is unique in that it was not replaced by a stone milecastle when the turf wall was upgraded to stone, the replacement wall instead running some 200m to the north. The milecastle was partially demolished by the Romans after it was abandoned. The milecastle was excavated in 1934 and several Roman rubbish pits discovered. The remains of the two turrets associated with this milecastle (which were demolished when the turf wall was abandoned) have also been located. As the turf wall lies some distance from the stone wall, the sites are not accessible from the Hadrian's Wall Path.
Brenda Swinbank was an English archaeologist. She was one of the first women in Britain to become a professional archaeologist, specialising in the study of Hadrian's Wall, and was instrumental in bringing to publication excavations under York Minster.
Susanna Maria Appleby was a British antiquarian who is principally known for excavating a Roman bath house north east of Camboglanna, Castlesteads Roman Fort, near Hadrian's Wall in 1741.