The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca

Roman Britain: military dimension
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KEY DATA
Inchtuthil, Perthshire
It is ironic that the most extensively known legionary fortress in Britain is that at Inchtuthil,
which is both the most northerly and briefest occupied of all of the fortresses. A combination of
aerial photography and limited excavation has recovered virtually the complete plan of the timberbuilt
fortress (Figure 8.4a) (Pitts and St Joseph 1985). It covered an area of some 20 ha and was
clearly intended to house a full legion. All of the barrack blocks had been built, along with the
headquarters building, hospital, workshop, some of the granaries, and the houses for most of the
junior officers. However, construction of the commanding officer’s house had not commenced
when the fortress was abandoned and dismantled as part of the Roman withdrawal from northern
Scotland, probably in AD 87. The location of the fortress on the extreme northern frontier
represents the consolidation of the conquests achieved by Agricola, but placing a legion in this
exposed position also indicates the Roman intention to continue to advance.
Red House, Corbridge, Northumberland
The full size of the fort at Red House is unknown, but its east-west dimension suggests that it
should be interpreted as a vexillation fortress of some 10 ha. Excavation ahead of road building
recovered traces of timber buildings, including a workshop, a large barrack block and several openended
storage buildings (Hanson et al. 1979), while earlier work had identified the remains of a large
bath building close by (Figure 8.4b). Occupation of the site was short-lived and seems to have been
linked to the campaigns of Agricola, after which it was replaced by an auxiliary fort nearby.
Elginhaugh, Midlothian
This timber-built auxiliary fort is the only example for which we have the complete plan recovered
by excavation. Eleven barrack blocks, two of them probably for cavalry, are crammed into a
space of only 1.2 ha, providing accommodation for some 780 men (Figure 8.5a). More limited
examination of the annexe to the west indicated a complex development of ovens and storage
buildings alongside the road, with perhaps open spaces for the tethering of horses elsewhere in
its interior. Situated at the northern end of Dere Street, the main route into Scotland up the
eastern side of the country, the fort was occupied as part of the consolidation of Lowland
Scotland from probably c.AD 80 and, like Inchtuthil, it was demolished and abandoned in AD 87.
Immediately thereafter, however, the fort enclosure seems to have been reused by the Romans as
a collection point for livestock, perhaps linked to the continuing extraction of tribute from the
local tribe, the Votadini (Hanson forthcoming).
Housesteads, Northumberland
The auxiliary fort at Housesteads is perhaps one of the most famous in Roman Britain. It
was attached to the rear of Hadrian’s Wall when garrisons were moved up to the line of
the Wall as part of the reassessment of its operation during the course of its construction.
The fort covered an area of 2 ha and probably contained some 800–1,000 men. The original
plan is not known in its entirety, and the apparently ‘full’ plan as often published is a
composite of different periods derived from excavations at the end of last century. The
fort was occupied almost continuously from the reign of Hadrian in the second century
AD through to the end of the fourth century, or the beginning of the fifth. Its garrison in
the third and fourth centuries, the first cohort of Tungrians, an infantry unit originally
from modern-day Belgium, is attested epigraphically. By the third century, an extensive
civilian settlement had grown up around the fort, with some of the buildings encroaching