Roman Settlement
There was a Roman settlement here named Holingdom. The Saxon Shore fort at Brancaster, and accompanying area (much of which was destroyed during the construction of a locally opposed housing development in the 1970s) is not visible now, and remains mainly untouched. The garrison at Brancaster was made up of cavalry from Dalmatia. Native Roman centurions and officers were rarely posted to such remote places unless deemed necessary for disciplinary reasons.
Numerous theories exist as to what the Roman presence would have made or exploited in the area, in particular, the natural harbour that the fort would have been very close to at that time. Theories have connected it with amber although a more likely cargo would have been grain and oysters.
The church of Burnham Deepdale St Mary is one of 124 existing round-tower churches in Norfolk.
Read more about this topic: Brancaster, Branodunum
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