| Summary : Roman temporary camp surviving as an earthwork. A small fort, and three camps that are exceptional in having all their gates defended by claviculae, form a group of earthworks that survive to the N and to the NW of the hamlet of Troutbeck, 15 km to the W of the fort at Brougham (Brocavum). The easternmost of the camps, 2, is also the largest enclosing an area of 9.7 ha (23.9 acres). Its S side is aligned with the contours along the crest of the slope above a shallow valley to the SSE; the course of the Roman road lies immediately outside the defences of the camp. The W half of the N side was laid out along the S crest of the almost level summit of Lofshaw Hill itself, at 305 m above OD. The position of the NE angle and the lines of the Eand W sides simply served to complete the enclosure to the desired size; the surveyors setting them out were not able to take advantage of any naturally defensible lines. The S rampart, alongside the Roman road, is straight but each of the other three sides is realigned at the gateway. This realignment is most marked on the SSW where, to the S of the gate, the defences turn perceptibly to the E in order that the SW angle should lie on the crest of a hill. None of the angles is a right angle. Four gates are visible, at least three of them are defended by internal and external claviculae. The N and S gates are at the central points but the lateral gates are offset, in the ratio 1:2, indicating that the camp faced S. Two thirds of the W side, to the S of a field boundary that runs from E to W, have been greatly reduced by cultivation, thus, the external clavicula of the gate is now barely 0.1 m high; it is most readily identifiable by its vestigial ditch, the line of which has been reused as a shallow drain cutting through poorly developed ridge-and-furrow. |
More information : NY 389276. Roman camp measuring 1470ft N-S by 1220ft and covering nearly 41 acres (1). The rampart is 12-15ft wide with a small ditch (2) in front which, on the NW and possibly SW angles, are shallow scoops or quarry pits, 15-20 ft across (1). The S rampart is much reduced and the end of the E rampart is lost. There are entrances in the centre of the N and S ramparts and at one third of the distance along the E and W ramparts from the S end. All are protected by internal and external claviculae (3). Plan (2). (1-3)
Traceable on all but the S side. Surveyed at 1:2500. (4)
This camp has been re-assessed in connection with RCHME's survey and publication of Roman Camps in England. The following desctriptive account is taken from the published text. A small fort, and three camps that are exceptional in having all their gates defended by claviculae, form a group of earthworks that survive to the N and to the NW of the hamlet of Troutbeck, 15 km to the W of the fort at Brougham (Brocavum). The position chosen is of strategic importance since it controls one of the pricipal natural routeways into the uplands of the Lake District from the broad lowlands of the River Eden. A Roman road, leading south-westwards to Troutbeck from the fort at Old Penrith (Voreda), probably continued to near Keswick (Bellhouse 1954 (5a); Allan and Richardson 1978 (5b) and 1980 (5c)).
The four sites make the most of what level ground there is in this undulating landscape and occupy the gentle S slopes of Lofshaw Hill and its SW spur; these lie between the Naddles Beck and the Trout Beck, two tributaries of the River Glenderamackin which drains westwards, around the S side of the massif of Blencathra and Skiddaw, to the foot of Derwent water. The exact date and relative chronology of the four sites is not known, but the similarity of plan of both the fort and camp 2 at Troutbeck with their counterparts at Oakwood, in Ettrick and Lauderdale, which are Flavian in date (Steer and Feachem 1954 (5d)), may be significant. The numbering of the camps follows that of Lenoir (1977) (5e).
The easternmost of the camps, 2, is also the largest enclosing an area of 9.7 ha (23.9 acres). Its S side is aligned with the contours along the crest of the slope above a shallow valley to the SSE; the course of the Roman road lies immediately outside the defences of the camp. The W half of the N side was laid out along the S crest of the almost level summit of Lofshaw Hill itself, at 305 m above OD. The position of the NE angle and the lines of the Eand W sides simply served to complete the enclosure to the desired size; the surveyors setting them out were not able to take advantage of any naturally defensible lines. The S rampart, alongside the Roman road, is straight but each of the other three sides is realigned at the gateway. This realignment is most marked on the SSW where, to the S of the gate, the defences turn perceptibly to the E in order that the SW angle should lie on the crest of a hill. None of the angles is a right angle. Four gates are visible, at least three of them are defended by internal and external claviculae. The N and S gates are at the central points but the lateral gates are offset, in the ratio 1:2, indicating that the camp faced S. Two thirds of the W side, to the S of a field boundary that runs from E to W, have been greatly reduced by cultivation, thus, the external clavicula of the gate is now barely 0.1 m high; it is most readily identifiable by its vestigial ditch, the line of which has been reused as a shallow drain cutting through poorly developed ridge-and-furrow. Some slight indications of an external bank may have been created by upcast from the comparatively modern drain on the line of the Roman ditch, but since this feature is found elsewhere around the perimeter of the camp it may be an original element in the design. To the N of the field boundary, the ridge and furrow lies parrallel to the defences which, in consequence, are much better preserved. The outer and inner scarps of the bank survive here to heights of 0.7 m and 0.3 m respectively.
Around the NW angle, where the defences climb almost to the crest of the hill, the line of the ditch is visible as a narrow terrace.
Some small surface quarries impinge on the Roman earthworks. Where best preserved on this N side, the inner scarp of the rampart is 0.8 high and the outer scarp of the ditch survives to 0.4 m. The hilltop continues to rise northwards for about 2 m in vertical height, creating a substantial area of dead ground between Lofshaw Hill and Naddles Crag. Had the defences been placed on the N crest of the summit, about 50 m away, this would have been eliminated.
The N gate is in a slight depression; the mounds of its claviculae are 0.3 m high but the ditch in each case is almost invisible. A vestigial, unsurveyable, outer mound beside the external clavicula may have been reused as a ploughing headland. To the E, the defences descend a gentle slope and are crossed obliquely, and are almost entirely obliterated, by ridge and furrow. The ground levels out at a modern field boundary, aligned almost N to S; between this point and the site of the NE angle the land is poorly drained. The arc of the angle has been eroded away and the defences only reappear on the slightly drier ground to the SE.
The N end of this E side is set on a slight change of slope, from which the land falls gently to the E. The defences are cut by ridge-and-furrow, aligned from E to W; the bank, now 0.1 m high, is spread to a width of 5 m and the ditch is a little more than a vegetation mark less than 2 m across. The condition of the earthworks deteriorates further towards the S boundary of this field, set in a gentle dip, and it is difficult to trace any surviving scarps through the rushes in the field beyond. Nevertheless, the external clavicula of the E gate is still relatively well preserved, surviving to a height of 0.4 m.
It is clear that at the SE angle the defences have been much levelled by ploughing; the S rampart, set along a false crest overlooking the valley, is represented by a lynchet up to 0.5 m high which is cut by shallow natural drainage channels. Here the Roman road runs parallel with the side of the camp, its S scarp standing 0.7 m high. The mound of the external clavicula of the S gate is visible only as a slight swelling, its tip overlain by the agger of a road, apparently later in date, that diverges to pass to the S of a quarry to the W which cuts across the line of the Roman road. The surface features of the last phase of use of the Roman road suggest that, despite the orientation of the camp, the road was constructed later than the defences. This chronological relationship has also been deduced from the course of the road itself (Bellhouse 1956, 35-6 (5e). The SW angle of the defences has been ploughed flat, except perhaps for a small elongated mound, 0.2 m high, which may represent the S end of the W side of the camp. To the N of this, the bank has been levelled by cultivation for more than 80 m. Full information is included in the NMR Archive. (5)
Additional references. (6-7)
The camp was transcribed as part of the Skiddaw NMP project, based on the RCHME field survey plan.
(8) |