| Branodunum | |
|---|---|
| Norfolk, England, UK | |
 Aerial view of Branodunum | |
  Branodunum Location in Norfolk | |
| Coordinates | 52°57′50″N0°39′07″E / 52.9639°N 0.6519°E |
| Grid reference | TF7844 |
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".
The fort, built in the 230s, became later part of the Saxon Shore fortification system. It was built to guard the Wash approaches and is of a typical rectangular castrum layout. [1] According to the 4th-century document Notitia Dignitatum , the fort was garrisoned by the Equites Dalmatae Brandodunenses ("Dalmatian cavalry of Bran[d]odunum"), [2] although a tile found on the site stamped Cohors I Aquitanorum suggests that its original garrison was the "First cohort from Aquitania". [3] There is possible evidence (burials and grave goods) of later Saxon use of the site. [4]
According to the National Trust notice boards present on the site of the fort, the fort is within a rectangular field to the east of the current village of Brancaster; there is no urban development on the fort's site itself. Urban residential development in the 1970s has covered much of the area to the west of the fort where part of the local 'vicus' (surrounding civilian settlement) was situated.
The site is bounded by the modern village of Brancaster to the west, and the A149 road to the south. The site is maintained by the National Trust. Free access is possible from the adjoining A149 road or the Norfolk Coastal Walk.
In Roman times, the fort's northern wall lay directly on the seashore, which served as a harbour. Since then, the shoreline has accreted, and the fort now lies inland. The fort was of a rectangular shape with rounded corners, with a 10 ft (3.0 m) wide wall with internal turrets at the corners and backed by an earthen rampart, which increased the wall's strength and gave easy access to the battlements. In front of the wall there was a V-shaped single ditch. [5] The wall thus enclosed an area of 2.56 ha. [6] In typical castrum fashion, the fort had four gates, one on each side. Evidence of the eastern and western gates and of flanking towers survives. Aerial survey has revealed the existence of several buildings in the fort's interior, including the principia . [6] A civilian settlement ( vicus ) existed on the eastern and northern sides [7] of the fort, which has been dated to the 2nd century AD. Its size would make it one of the largest settlements in the territory of the Iceni tribe. [4] Because the streets of the settlement are not aligned with the layout of the fort, it has been hypothesised that an earlier fort, built of timber, existed at the site, possibly from as early as the revolt of Queen Boudicca in the mid-1st century AD. [4]
The walls still stood up to 12 feet (3.7 metres) tall in the seventeenth century, but robbing of materials during following centuries means that only the site and the earthworks now remain. [8]
The site provided the subject of an episode of archaeological television programme Time Team first broadcast in January 2013. The Time Team made new discoveries which extend the knowledge base beyond that described above. In 2018, archaeological geophysicist John Gater returned to the site with Sumo Survey Services and was able to confirm the outline of the fort and the layout of interior features like barrack rooms and major buildings. [9]
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.
Piercebridge Roman Fort is a scheduled ancient monument situated in the village of Piercebridge on the banks of the River Tees in modern-day County Durham, England. There were Romans here from about AD 70 until at least the early 5th century. There was an associated vicus and bath house at Piercebridge, and another vicus and a villa south of the river at Cliffe. The Victorians used carved stones from this site when they built St Mary's church at Gainford. Part of the site is under Piercebridge village green.
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.
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.
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.
Halmyris was a Roman and Byzantine fort, settlement and naval port, located 2.5 km west of the village of Murighiol at the mouth of the Danube Delta in Romania.
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.
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.
Coggabata, or Congavata / Concavata, was a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, between Aballava to the east and Mais (Bowness-on-Solway) to the west. It was built on a hill commanding views over the flatter land to the east and west and to the shore of the Solway Firth to the north. Its purpose was to guard the southern end of two important Solway fords, the Stonewath and the Sandwath.
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.
Habitancum was an ancient Roman fort (castrum) located at Risingham, Northumberland, England. The fort was one of series of built along the extension of Dere Street, a Roman road running from York to Corbridge and onwards to Melrose, in Scotland.
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).
Portus Lemanis, also known as Lemanae, was the Latin name of a Roman Saxon Shore fort, settlement and port in southern Kent. The modern village of Lympne derives its name from the ancient port. The site, known locally as Stutfall Castle, is on private land which is accessible by public footpath.
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.
Cnobheresburg was a castrum in East Anglia, where in about 630 the first Irish monastery in southern England was founded by Saint Fursey, as part of the Hiberno-Scottish mission described by Bede.
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. 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.
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.
Derventio, sometimes described as Derventio Brigantium in order to distinguish it from other places called Derventio, was a Roman fort and settlement located beneath the modern town of Malton in North Yorkshire, England. The fort is positioned 18 miles north-east of Eboracum on the River Derwent.
Petavonium was a Roman Legionary Fortress (castrum) of the Legio X Gemina, and later a Roman city formed from the canabae, or civilian camp. It was located in the valley of Vidriales in an area of the modern Santibanez de Vidriales and its hamlet Rosinos de Vidriales, in the province of Zamora.
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.
