Description
The fort was unusual for a Roman fort, being an irregular hexagon rather than oblong, and occupied the whole of the small plateau on which it stood. It occupied an area of almost 6 acres (24,000 m2). The fort was connected to Birdoswald fort by a Roman road, known as the 'Maiden Way'. Two stone signalling towers have been discovered between the two forts (at Barron’s Pike and Robin Hood’s Butts), and it is believed that these were used to pass on signals from Bewcastle to Birdoswald.
It is believed that the fort was built at about the same time as the forts on Hadrian's Wall, and that it was originally built with turf defences and timber buildings, but with gates and headquarters of stone. During the Antonine period, the turf ramparts were faced with stone. It was later completely rebuilt in stone. There were gateways to the north, south, east and west, the west gateway being the main one. The commandant’s house (praetorium) was in the approximate centre of the hexagon, with the headquarters (principia) to the immediate north of it. A Hadrianic-style bathhouse was situated in the south-east section of the fort.
Building inscriptions found at the site indicate that detachments from at least three legions were involved in the building of the fort, the Second Legion (stationed at Caerleon in Wales), the Sixth Legion (based in York) and the Twentieth Legion (based in Chester).
The fort was largely destroyed in A.D. 343, when Hadrian’s Wall was overrun. It was subsequently rebuilt but was finally destroyed after the barbarian invasion of A.D. 367 and was abandoned.
Read more about this topic: Bewcastle Roman Fort
Famous quotes containing the word description:
“It [Egypt] has more wonders in it than any other country in the world and provides more works that defy description than any other place.”
—Herodotus (c. 484–424 B.C.)
“The Sage of Toronto ... spent several decades marveling at the numerous freedoms created by a “global village” instantly and effortlessly accessible to all. Villages, unlike towns, have always been ruled by conformism, isolation, petty surveillance, boredom and repetitive malicious gossip about the same families. Which is a precise enough description of the global spectacle’s present vulgarity.”
—Guy Debord (b. 1931)
“An intentional object is given by a word or a phrase which gives a description under which.”
—Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe (b. 1919)