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Brocavum is the Latin name of a Roman fort at
The dating of the fort is uncertain, but an important role from an early date is thought to be likely. The foundation date may be just after the revolt of
Brocavum is the Latin name of a Roman fort at Brougham
Brougham may refer to:
Transport
* Brougham (carriage), a light four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage
* Brougham (car body), an automobile with a similar style
Automobile models
* Cadillac Brougham, 1987–1992
* Chrysler New Yorker Brougham, c. 1 ...
near Penrith, Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...
. The fort survives as earthworks, but no excavation of these has been carried out so far.
Location and date
With the rivers Eamont and Lowther flowing nearby and meeting to the west, the site had natural defences. As well as two rivers, three Roman roads intersected at the fort: the York - Scotch Corner - Stainmore Pass - Brough under Stainmore -Kirkby Thore
Kirkby Thore is a small village and civil parish in Cumbria, England (), in the historic county of Westmorland. It is close to the Lake District national park and the Cumbrian Pennines. It includes the areas of Bridge End, in the southwest by t ...
- Brougham route (along the present A66); the Manchester/Lancaster - Burrow-in-Lonsdale - Middleton - Low Borrow Bridge (Tebay) - Brougham route (along the present West Coast rail line); and the Glannaventa (Ravenglass) Roman port - Hardknott - Galava
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 Galava, mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary. Dating to the 1st or 2nd century AD, its ruins ...
(Ambleside) - High Street
High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...
- Brougham route. From Brocavum (Brougham), the road went north to Luguvallium
Luguvalium was a Roman town in northern Britain in antiquity. It was located within present-day Carlisle, Cumbria, and may have been the capital of the 4th-century province of Valentia.
Name
The Romans called the settlement at what is today Car ...
(Carlisle) via Old Penrith (along the present A6). From late Flavian times (80sAD) onwards, there may also have been a road from Old Penrith and/or Brocavum westwards to Troutbeck, to an undiscovered fort at Keswick, to the fort at Papcastle
Papcastle is a village and civil parish in the borough of Allerdale in the English county of Cumbria. The village is now effectively a northern extension of Cockermouth, which lies to the south of the River Derwent. It has its own parish counc ...
, and on to Alauna (Maryport)
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 (formerly part of Cumberland).
It was linked by a Roman road to the Roman fort a ...
.
There was also a civilian settlement (part of which was excavated in 2008 during construction of a pipeline from Hackthorpe
Hackthorpe is a hamlet in the Eden district, in the county of Cumbria, England. Circa 1870, it had a population of 110 as recorded in the Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales.
Location
It is located on the A6 road just south of Lowther ...
to Penrith), and a cemetery (excavated in the 1960s), the evidence from the latter suggesting that an East European (Danubian) contingent of people lived there.
Six dedications to the local deity Belatucadrus were discovered at Brougham, suggesting perhaps "that his worship was centred there". It has been suggested that the focus of the Carvetii
The Carvetii (Common Brittonic: *''Carwetī'') were a Brittonic Celtic tribe living in what is now Cumbria, in North-West England during the Iron Age, and were subsequently identified as a ''civitas'' (canton) of Roman Britain.
Etymology
The ...
, a pre-Roman and Roman 'tribe' may have been nearby at Clifton Dykes
Clifton is a small linear village and civil parish in Cumbria, England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies south east of Penrith.
Geography
The civil parish of Clifton has its western boundary defined by the River Lowther, to the north ...
. This may have been an additional factor, to the road and river ones mentioned above, in the positioning of the fort after the Roman conquest.
The dating of the fort is uncertain, but an important role from an early date is thought to be likely. The foundation date may be just after the revolt of Venutius
Venutius was a 1st-century king of the Brigantes in northern Britain at the time of the Roman conquest. Some have suggested he may have belonged to the Carvetii, a tribe that probably formed part of the Brigantes confederation.
History first b ...
in the early A.D.70s. An early-Flavian Flavian may refer to:
* A member of the Flavian dynasty of Roman emperors, during the late 1st century AD, or their works
* Flavian Zeija, a Ugandan lawyer, academic and judge. Principal Judge of Uganda, since December 2019.
* A person named Flavian ...
occupation is probable, even though the artefacts found in the excavation of the cemetery were from the second and third centuries A.D.
Access and conservation
The medievalBrougham Castle
Brougham Castle (pronounced ) is a medieval building about south-east of Penrith, Cumbria, England. The castle was founded by Robert I de Vieuxpont in the early 13th century. The site, near the confluence of the rivers Eamont and Lowther, ha ...
now occupies part of the site, which is in the care of English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
. It is known that stones from the Roman fort were used in the construction of the castle, as a Roman tombstone can be seen in a passageway in the keep, used as a ceiling slab. The fort is scheduled as an Ancient Monument
In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The ''Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 ...
, along with the castle, as "Brougham Roman fort and Brougham Castle".
See also
*Brough Castle
Brough Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Brough, Cumbria, England. The castle was built by William Rufus around 1092 within the old Roman fort of ''Verterae'' to protect a key route through the Pennine Mountains. The initial mott ...
References
{{coord, 54.6540, N, 2.7191, W, source:wikidata, display=title Roman auxiliary forts in England Roman sites in Cumbria Scheduled monuments in Cumbria Archaeological sites in Cumbria