Caister Roman Site

Caister Roman Site
Caister Roman Site
Norfolk, England
	Caister Roman Site
	Caister Roman Site
Coordinates	52°39′00″N1°43′09″E / 52.6500°N 1.7193°E
Grid reference	grid reference TG517122
Type	Roman Shore Fort
Site information
Owner	English Heritage
Open to; the public	Yes
Condition	partially excavated remains
Site history
Materials	Flint and some brick/tile

Last updated April 29, 2024

Caister Roman Site is a Roman Saxon Shore fort, located in Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk, England. It was constructed around AD 200 for use by units of the Roman army and navy, and was occupied until around 370-390 AD.^[1] This fort was possibly known as Gariannonum, although the single record that describes it as such may also mean the Roman site at Burgh Castle.

Description

The fort was originally 3.5 ha (8.6 acres) in size and roughly square in shape, with large stone perimeter walls 4 to 5 m (13 to 16 ft) high, earth ramparts and ditches of 175 m (574 ft) in length on all four sides. There were defensive towers at the corners and fortified gate houses in the middle of each side^[1]^[2]

At the time of its construction, the site of the fort would have been on the north side of an estuary, with a pebbled street from the fort's south gate leading a short distance to a harbour or docks.^[3] In around AD 260 a fort at Burgh Castle was constructed on the opposite side of the estuary, with both forts probably serving to protect Roman shipping in the estuary.^[2]

Between 1951 and 1955, a section of the fort was excavated with the main structures left exposed, including part of the south gate, the western section of the south wall perimeter defences, building foundations, and main road. The remainder of the site, approximately 3.15 ha (7.8 acres) now lies under modern housing.^[3]

Inside the current visitor entrance is a large defensive ditch, the innermost of a series of ditches around the fort, part of the south gate, and to the left of the gate the remains of a small rectangular guard chamber.^[3]

Just to the north of the south wall, and on a roughly east–west alignment are the remains of a building of approximately 45 m (148 ft) in length with at least six rooms of unequal size, and a further wing of the building extends northwards at the western end. On the southern side is a parallel wall which could be part of a portico, and perhaps would have served also to retain the inner face of the earthen bank behind the south wall of the fort.^[3] The second room from the west contains an example of a hypocaust heated floor. On the north side of the building is a corridor running along the southern and south eastern sides of a rectangular courtyard beyond. It is likely that the building was in use during the later third and fourth centuries AD and likely to have served various domestic and industrial functions at different times. There is evidence that the building was severely damaged by fire in the later fourth century. Within the courtyard area are parts of other possibly earlier buildings, which include for various structures and the remains of a corn-drying kiln and a water tank.^[3]

During the original archaeological digs, this building had been incorrectly interpreted as either a hotel or seamen's hostel, and it was also assumed that the building north of here was a brothel, however since then both buildings have been reinterpreted as forming part of the original fort.^[3]

Following the Roman occupation, the site remained unoccupied until the Middle and Late Saxon periods (between 650-850 and 850-1066 AD), until a settlement was established near the centre of the fort. To the south of the fort a large Saxon cemetery has been excavated.^[3]

Today (2012) the remains of the fort are open free of charge to the public by English Heritage.

Finds

Finds during the archaeological excavation include four Roman coins of the mid 4th century, as well as seven small hoards, the remains of wattle and daub walling, pottery, glass, part of a pewter plate, and grain.

Location

The site is located on the western edge of the town of Caister-on-Sea, in the county of Norfolk. At the time of its construction, the site of the fort would have been on the north side of an estuary, at the mouths of the Rivers Ant, Bure, Yare, and Waveney. Today however, the northward extension of the Yarmouth sandbank has meant that this shore fort now lies some distance inland.^[3] The Roman Saxon Shore fort of Burgh Castle lies a few miles to the southwest; its ruins are much more extensive than those at Caister. Burgh Castle is also now in Norfolk, having been in Suffolk until 1974.

Related Research Articles

Burgh Castle is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the east bank of the River Waveney, some 3.7 miles (6.0 km) west of Great Yarmouth and within the Norfolk Broads National Park. The parish was part of Suffolk until 1974.

Caister-on-Sea, also known colloquially as Caister, is a large village and seaside resort in Norfolk, England. It is close to the town of Great Yarmouth. At the 2001 census it had a population of 8,756 and 3,970 households, the population increasing to 8,901 at the 2011 Census.

Pevensey is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The main village is located five miles (8 km) north-east of Eastbourne, one mile (1.6 km) inland from Pevensey Bay. The settlement of Pevensey Bay forms part of the parish. It was here that William the Conqueror made the landing in his invasion of England in 1066 after crossing the English Channel from Normandy.

The London Wall is a defensive wall first built by the Romans around the strategically important port town of Londinium in c. AD 200, as well as the name of a modern street in the City of London, England.

Wansdyke is a series of early medieval defensive linear earthworks in the West Country of England, consisting of a ditch and a running embankment from the ditch spoil, with the ditching facing north.

Norfolk is a rural county in the East of England. Knowledge of prehistoric Norfolk is limited by a lack of evidence — although the earliest finds are from the end of the Lower Paleolithic period. Communities have existed in Norfolk since the last Ice Age and tools, coins and hoards such as those found at Snettisham indicate the presence of an extensive and industrious population.

Richborough Castle is a Roman Saxon Shore fort better known as Richborough Roman Fort. It is situated in Richborough near Sandwich, Kent. Substantial remains of the massive fort walls still stand to a height of several metres.

Pevensey Castle is a medieval castle and former Roman Saxon Shore fort at Pevensey in the English county of East Sussex. The site is a scheduled monument in the care of English Heritage and is open to visitors. Built around 290 AD and known to the Romans as Anderitum, the fort appears to have been the base for a fleet called the Classis Anderidaensis. The reasons for its construction are unclear; long thought to have been part of a Roman defensive system to guard the British and Gallic coasts against Saxon pirates, it has more recently been suggested that Anderitum and the other Saxon Shore forts were built by a usurper in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to prevent Rome from reimposing its control over Britain.

Gariannonum, or Gariannum, was a Roman Saxon Shore fort in Norfolk, England. The Notitia Dignitatum, a Roman Army "order of battle" from about AD 400, lists nine forts of the Saxon Shore in south and east England, among which one was called Gariannonor. It has been much discussed over the years in terms of spelling, purpose, and location. The fort is listed as being commanded by the Praepositus equitum stablesianorum, implying its garrison was a cavalry of a form originated in the late 3rd century, the Equites Stablesiani. Both proposed sites show archaeological evidence for military occupation beginning at around the time this type of unit began use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portus Adurni</span> Roman fort

Portus Adurni was a Roman fort in the Roman province of Britannia situated at the north end of Portsmouth Harbour. It was part of the Saxon Shore, and is the best-preserved Roman fort north of the Alps. Around an eighth of the fort has been excavated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anderitum</span> Roman fort in East Sussex, England

Anderitum was a Saxon Shore fort in the Roman province of Britannia. The ruins adjoin the west end of the village of Pevensey in East Sussex, England. The fort was built in the 290s and was abandoned after it was sacked in 471. It was re-inhabited by Saxons and in the 11th century the Normans built a castle within the east end of the fort.

The Saxon Shore was a military command of the Late Roman Empire, consisting of a series of fortifications on both sides of the Channel. It was established in the late 3rd century and was led by the "Count of the Saxon Shore". In the late 4th century, his functions were limited to Britain, while the fortifications in Gaul were established as separate commands. Several well-preserved Saxon Shore forts survive in east and south-east England.

Branodunum was an ancient Roman fort to the east of the modern English village of Brancaster in Norfolk. Its Roman name derives from the local Celtic language, and may mean "fort of the raven".

Regulbium was the name of an ancient Roman fort of the Saxon Shore in the vicinity of the modern English resort of Reculver in Kent. Its name derives from the local Brythonic language, meaning "great headland" (*Rogulbion).

Othona or Othonae was the name of an ancient Roman fort of the Saxon Shore at the sea's edge near the modern village of Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex, England. The Old English name Ythanceaster for the locality derives from the Roman name.

This is part of a series on the History of Norfolk

Burgh Castle is the site of one of nine Roman Saxon Shore forts constructed in England around the 3rd century AD, to hold troops as a defence against Saxon raids up the rivers of the east and south coasts of southern Britain. It is located on the summit of ground sloping steeply towards the estuary of the River Waveney, in the civil parish of Burgh Castle, in the county of Norfolk.

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.

Walton Castle was a Saxon Shore Fort in the Roman province of Britannia. The fort was reused by the Normans who used it as the bailey for a castle. It stood 30 metres above sea level but was destroyed by coastal erosion in the 18th century. It was located in the village of Walton, Suffolk, now part of Felixstowe.

Lancaster Roman Fort, also known as Wery Wall, Galacum or Calunium, is the modern name given to ruined former Roman fort atop Castle Hill in Lancaster in North West England. The first castra was founded c. 80 AD within the Roman province of Britannia.

References

1 2 "English Heritage website: Caister Roman fort" . Retrieved 20 December 2012.
1 2 English Heritage Visitor Information Panels
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Historic England. "Caister Roman site (134167)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 6 May 2011.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[EH-1] 1 2 "English Heritage website: Caister Roman fort" . Retrieved 20 December 2012.

[EHVI-2] 1 2 English Heritage Visitor Information Panels

[PS-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Historic England. "Caister Roman site (134167)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 6 May 2011.

[1]

[2]

[3]