Magnis or Magna was a
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 lette ...
fort
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
on
Hadrian's Wall in northern
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
. Its ruins are now known as and are located near Carvoran,
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land ...
, in northern
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It is thought to have been sited with reference to the
Stanegate
The Stanegate (meaning "stone road" in Northumbrian dialect) was an important Roman road built in what is now northern England. It linked many forts including two that guarded important river crossings: Corstopitum (Corbridge) on the River Ty ...
Roman road, before the building of Hadrian's Wall, to which it is not physically attached. In fact the
Vallum
Vallum is either the whole or a portion of the fortifications of a Roman camp. The vallum usually comprised an earthen or turf rampart (Agger) with a wooden palisade on top, with a deep outer ditch (fossa). The name is derived from '' vallus'' (a ...
ditch unusually goes north of the fort, separating it from the Wall.
The fort is now the site of the
Roman Army Museum
Magnis or Magna was a Roman Empire, Roman castra, fort on Hadrian's Wall in northern Roman Britain, Britain. Its ruins are now known as and are located near Carvoran, Northumberland, in northern England. It is thought to have been sited with re ...
.
Name
The fort at Carvoran is generally identified with the 'Magnis' which appears both in the ''
Ravenna Cosmography
The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' ( la, Ravennatis Anonymi Cosmographia, "The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese") is a list of place-names covering the world from India to Ireland, compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around 700 AD. Textu ...
'' and the ''
Notitia Dignitatum''. Further evidence for the name comes from a fragmentary inscription (
RIB 1825) apparently seen by the antiquary
William Hutchinson in 1766 but which is now lost, which referred to "numerus Magne
e(n)s(ium)" ("of the unit of Magn ......"). The name could be a Latin nominative form ''Magni'', or ''Magna'', and the fort is today sometimes referred to under the name "Magna". The name is rather inappropriate for a relatively small fort, and one suggestion is that it could ultimately derive from the Celtic word ''maen'' meaning "stone" or "rock".
Roman fort
Magna was originally built to guard the junction of the Maiden Way
The Maiden Way or Maidenway (Middle English: ''Maydengathe''; lat-med, Via Puellarum) was a roughly Roman road in northern Britain connecting the Roman fort of Bravoniacum (Kirkby Thore) near Penrith with that of Magnae (Carvoran) on ...
Roman road (running north to south) with the Stanegate
The Stanegate (meaning "stone road" in Northumbrian dialect) was an important Roman road built in what is now northern England. It linked many forts including two that guarded important river crossings: Corstopitum (Corbridge) on the River Ty ...
Roman road (running west to east), the key supply route linking Coria (Corbridge
Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, west of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages nearby include Halton, Northumberland, Halton, Acomb, Northumberland, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe.
Etymology
Corbridge was kno ...
) in the east to Luguvalium
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 ...
( Carlisle) in the west. As such the fort predates Hadrian's Wall. Its ruins are located at Carvoran in the civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
of Greenhead in the English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
county of Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land ...
. Magna is one of 16 Roman forts along Hadrian's Wall; there were also 80 smaller milecastle
A milecastle was a small fort (fortlet), a rectangular fortification built during the period of the Roman Empire. They were placed at intervals of approximately one Roman mile along several major frontiers, for example Hadrian's Wall in Great Bri ...
forts and 158 turrets along its length. The Maiden Way
The Maiden Way or Maidenway (Middle English: ''Maydengathe''; lat-med, Via Puellarum) was a roughly Roman road in northern Britain connecting the Roman fort of Bravoniacum (Kirkby Thore) near Penrith with that of Magnae (Carvoran) on ...
ran south from Magna to Bravoniacum (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 ...
near Penrith). An intermediate fort half-way between the two on the Maiden Way was Whitley Castle
Whitley Castle (''Epiacum'') is a large, unusually shaped Roman fort ( la, castra) 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 r ...
or Epiacum, just north of Alston in 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 ...
, though the fort itself is just over the county boundary in Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land ...
.
Five hundred Hamian archers, known as "''Cohors Prima Hamiorum Sagittaria''", were stationed at Magna starting from AD 120.
Archaeology
Artifacts recovered at Magna include a iron spearhead, found at a depth of in a well, and the well-known modius, a bronze grain-measure.
The site is under the care of the Vindolanda Trust and has the same preservation layers of organic remains.
Recent excavations are continuing.
Roman Army Museum
Magna is the location of the Roman Army Museum run by the Vindolanda
Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort ('' castrum'') just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, which it originally pre-dated.British windo- 'fair, white, blessed', landa 'enclosure/meadow/prairie/grassy plain' (the modern Welsh word ...
Trust. Like the museum at Vindolanda
Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort ('' castrum'') just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, which it originally pre-dated.British windo- 'fair, white, blessed', landa 'enclosure/meadow/prairie/grassy plain' (the modern Welsh word ...
, the Roman Army Museum was modernised and reopened in 2011. The museum illustrates frontier life on the northern edge of the Roman Empire. The museum displays genuine Roman artifacts including weapons and tools; life-size replicas; a 3D film showing Hadrian's Wall past and present, and a large timeline of Hadrian's Wall. There is a gallery devoted to the emperor Hadrian himself. A large gallery describes daily life in the Roman army as seen through the eyes of a team of eight auxiliary soldiers, complete with a film showing their activities. Notable exhibits include a rare surviving helmet crest.
Further reading
*
References
External links
"Magnis Carvetiorum"
at Roman Britain Online
at North of the Tyne
Forts of Hadrian's Wall
History of Northumberland
Roman sites in Northumberland
Military and war museums in England
Roman auxiliary forts in England
{{Roman visitor sites in the UK