Brocavum is the Latin name of a Roman fort at Brougham near Penrith,

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

. 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 - 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) -

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 (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, and on to Alauna (Maryport). There was also a civilian settlement (part of which was excavated in 2008 during construction of a pipeline from Hackthorpe 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. 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. Brocavum

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 firs ...

in the early A.D.70s. An early- 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 medieval Brougham Castle 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, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

. 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 A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

, used as a ceiling slab. The fort is scheduled as an

Ancient Monument An ancient monument can refer to any early or historical manmade structure or architecture. Certain ancient monuments are of cultural importance for nations and become symbols of international recognition, including the Baalbek, ruins of Baalbek ...

, along with the castle, as "Brougham Roman fort and Brougham Castle".

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

Location and date

Access and conservation

See also

References