The Lunt Roman Fort is the archaeological site of a

Roman fort In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

, of unknown name, in the Roman province of

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

. It is open to the public and located in the village of

Baginton Baginton is a village and civil parish in the Warwick district of Warwickshire, England, and has a common border with the City of Coventry / West Midlands county. With a population of 801 ( 2001 Census), Baginton village is 4 miles (6.5 km) sout ...

on the south eastern outskirts of

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed ...

. The fort has now been fully excavated and partially reconstructed; the wooden gateway rebuild was led by archaeologist Margaret Rylatt, using the same tools and techniques that the military engineers of the Roman Army would have used. In 2001,

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

artefacts dating to

Sub-Roman Britain Sub-Roman Britain is the period of late antiquity in Great Britain between the end of Roman rule and the Anglo-Saxon settlement. The term was originally used to describe archaeological remains found in 5th- and 6th-century AD sites that hin ...

were discovered on the site.

Location

The site has a large steep bank just beyond the northern boundary of the fort, which descends to the

River Sowe The River Sowe is a river in Warwickshire and West Midlands, England. It is a tributary of the River Avon, and flows into it just south of Stoneleigh about 5 miles (8 km) south of Coventry. It is about long. The Sowe rises in Bedwo ...

. The elevation from the top of the bank provides good views of the landscape to the north for two or three miles ()

History

Four periods of occupation of the fort during periods of unrest in Roman Britain have been identified by excavation.The Lunt Roman Fort: Period 4 https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/catalogue_her/the-lunt-roman-fort-period-4 The fort was built around AD 60 to act as a supply depot and headquarters for an unknown legion during the final campaign against

Boudica Boudica or Boudicca (, known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as ()), was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She ...

Coventry Telegraph The ''Coventry Telegraph'' is a local English tabloid newspaper. It was founded as ''The Midland Daily Telegraph'' in 1891 by William Isaac Iliffe, and was Coventry's first daily newspaper. Sold for half a penny, it was a four-page broadsheet ne ...

, ''Romans in action at Lunt Fort'', 3 July 2009 From AD 64 it was used, in the second phase, by a

cohort Cohort or cohortes may refer to: * Cohort (educational group), a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum * Cohort (floating point), a set of different encodings of the same numerical value * Cohort (military unit) ...

which reduced the size of the fort, but from which the '' principia'', '' praetorium'', two granaries and six barrack blocks have been excavated. A number of buildings were demolished to construct a gyrus. Many horse fittings, possible stabling, an extensive metalworking area, granary and storage space suggests a cavalry unit was present at this time. This second phase lasted until AD 77/8. The third period of AD 77/78-79 included construction of a double ditch system, a twin-portalled gateway on the south and occupation outside the defences until the fort was decommissioned. After AD 260, perhaps during the rebel Gallic Empire, it was recommissioned as a temporary fort with ditches on a similar alignment but slightly larger than that of Period 2. This is based on the discovery of a single coin found in the post hole of a gateway at the site of the fort that dates to the reign of Gallienus (''r.'' 260-268), but the coin could have been a casual loss long after the fort had been abandoned.

Gyrus

The north, south and west sides followed the usual pattern for a Roman camp of straight ditches and ramparts. However, on the eastern side the defences bulge out around a circular structure with a diameter of . The sand and gravel subsoil had been dug out to a depth of and the area surrounded with a timber stockade. This ring, the only known "gyrus" in the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

, may have been used for training horses. The gyrus was added to the fort during its second period of occupation and its construction caused significant disruption to the fort. Having the gyrus within the fort affects not just the wall which curves to accommodate the structure deviating from the Roman playing card shape pattern but also the layout of the fort which is significantly different from the standard layout. This makes the fort unique not just in Britain but also in the Roman Empire.

Archaeology and preservation

The site was identified when large quantities of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

pottery were found in the 1930s. In the 1960s, Brian Hobley, keeper of field archaeology at the Coventry Museum, commenced a long-term project to combine excavation with a study of the methods by which Roman camps were built. Archaeological excavations identified three distinct periods of occupation of the Roman military site. The Times, ''Army helps to rebuild Roman fort'' 23 October 1970 During the 1970s some features of the fort were reconstructed upon the original foundations: these are a section of the wall, a gateway modelled on images of Trajan's column, one of the three granaries and the gyrus. In 2001 a team of Canadian students unearthed a fragment of Roman Samian pottery and a Nero's head coin dating from 65 AD. Other finds have included a ring etched with a palm leaf. This type of design symbolized victory and was worn by successful gladiators.Goulden, Barbara. ''Ancient find at the Lunt hints of Roman games,'' Coventry Telegraph, 3 May 2007 Evidence of Saxon settlement was unearthed in 2001 and finds evidencing mediaeval occupation include large post holes and a post-Roman ditch filled with pottery fragments. The fort is open for public, school visits and organised tours and has hosted many holiday excavation trips.Goulden, BARBARA ''Dig reveals life after the Romans'' Coventry Telegraph, 20 August 2001

References

*Brian Hobley, BA. FSA. M.St. (Oxon) Excavator (1969) 'A Neronian-Vespasianic Military Site at The Lunt Baginton, Warwickshire' (Trans. B'ham & Wars.Archaeological Society.Vol.83 (1969) *(1972) 'Excavations at The Lunt Roman Military Site Baginton, Warwickshire' 1968–71.' ( Trans. B'ham & Wars.Archaeological Society. Vol.85 (1972) *(1974) 'The Lunt Roman Fort & Training School for Roman Cavalry, Baginton, Warwickshire. Excavations 1972–73' Trans. B'ham & Wars. Archaeological Society Vol.86

External links

*
Roman-BritainLunt Fort – A Virtual Experience
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Warwickshire History of Warwickshire Military history of Warwickshire Roman fortifications in England Museums in Warwickshire Museums of ancient Rome in the United Kingdom Open-air museums in England Military and war museums in England History museums in Warwickshire Roman legionary fortresses in England