Camboglanna (with the modern name of Castlesteads) 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'' ...

. It was the twelfth fort on Hadrian's Wall counting from the east, between Banna (

Birdoswald Birdoswald is a former farm in the civil parish of Waterhead in the English county of Cumbria (formerly in Cumberland). It stands on the site of the Roman fort of Banna. Middle Ages Birdoswald first appears in the written record in 1211 whe ...

) to the east and

Uxelodunum Uxelodunum (with the alternative Roman name of Petriana and the modern name of Stanwix Fort) was a Roman fort. It was the largest fort on Hadrian's Wall, and is now buried beneath the suburb of Stanwix, in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. Roman ...

( Stanwix) to the west. It was almost west of Birdoswald, on a high bluff commanding the Cambeck Valley. It guarded an important approach to the Wall and also watched the east bank of the Cambeck against raiders from the

Bewcastle Bewcastle is a large civil parish in the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England. It is in the historic county of Cumberland. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 411, reducing to 391 at the 2011 Census. The pari ...

area. The site was drastically levelled in 1791 when the gardens of Castlesteads House were laid over it. The name "Camboglanna" is believed to mean "Crook Bank", or "Bent Valley" because it overlooks a bend in the river Irthing; the name is Brythonic, made of cambo- "curved, bent, crooked" and glanna "steep bank, stream/river side, valley with a stream". There was some confusion over the Roman name for the fort. At one time Camboglanna was the accepted name for Birdoswald, but this is now believed to be an error in the '' Notitia Dignitatum''. The Roman name for Birdoswald is now thought to be Banna.

Description

The fort was approximately square, measuring about and covering approximately . It faces roughly north-west by south-east and overlooks the gorge of the Cambeck. Erosion of the gorge has destroyed the north-west face of the fort. The fort lies within 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 ...

, but is not adjacent to the Wall. It is the only fort on Hadrian's Wall in this position. It appears that the Wall had already been built at the most convenient point to cross the Cambeck and so, when the fort was built, the strongest point was chosen rather than one adjacent to the Wall.

Garrison

The 2nd-century garrison was the First Cohort of

Batavians The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe that lived around the modern Dutch Rhine delta in the area that the Romans called Batavia, from the second half of the first century BC to the third century AD. The name is also applied to several milit ...

, followed by

Cohors IV Gallorum equitata Cohors quarta Gallorum equitata ("4th part-mounted Cohort of Gauls") was a Roman auxiliary cohort containing both infantry and cavalry contingents. It was probably raised in Gallia Lugdunensis at the time of the founder-emperor Augustus (30 BC � ...

. The 3rd-century garrison was the Cohors II Tungrorum, part-mounted.

Excavations

In 1934 the fort was partly excavated and the walls, apart from the missing north-east wall, were uncovered. The north-east and south-west double gates, and the tower at the southern corner were also uncovered. It was also established that the fort was defended by a single ditch. Several altars have been found at the site and have been preserved. Previously, in 1741, an external bath-house was located and partly dug by

Susanna Appleby Susanna Maria Appleby (born Gilpin; 1689–1769) was a British antiquarian who is principally known for excavating a Roman bath house north east of Camboglanna, Castlesteads Roman Fort, near Hadrian's Wall in 1741. Life Appleby was born in 1 ...

, a local antiquarian.

References

* J. Collingwood Bruce, Roman Wall (1863), Harold Hill & Son, * Frank Graham, The Roman Wall, Comprehensive History and Guide (1979), Frank Graham,

External links

Castlesteads (Camboglanna)
at www.Roman-Britain.co.uk {{coord, 54.965, N, 2.761, W, source:placeopedia, display=title Forts of Hadrian's Wall Roman fortifications in England Roman sites in Cumbria