More information : SK 810591 Large Ro camp identified from air on level ground east of River Trent at Holme. The west ditch is uninterrupted for 600 ft, but could be longer. The east-west dimension is 1,150 ft. The camp's position, away from any known Ro road, and size, possibly large enough for a legion, could give it a conquest date. (1)
Perambulation of the indicated area produced nothing of interest. Nothing is to be seen on the OS AP, and neither Newark Museum nor Nottingham University hold a St Joseph AP for this site. (2)
This camp has been re-assessed in connection with RCHME's survey and publication of Roman Camps in England. The following descriptive account is taken from the published text.
The cropmarks of the N part of a camp have been noted in the lowlands of the River trent, alittle over 500 m to the E of Holme (St Joseph 1961, 120 (see auth 1); NMR AP SK 8159/20 (3a)). It occupies level ground, at about 10 m above OD, between two tributaries of the Slough Dyke, a minor arm of the Trent. The position chosen may relate to a crossing of the river some 850 m to the W, near the present village. Although the site of the camp is only slightly elevated it nevertheless commands extensive views in all directions. The small Roman town of Brough (Crococalana), which probably had a military origin, lies 2.5 km to the ESE, on the Foss Way.
Only the N side of the camp, about 410 m long, and parts of the E and W sides are known and no gates can be identified with any certainty (NMR AP SK 8159/3-9; 8059/20 (3b)). Although the W and N ditch lines are at right angles to one another, the NE angle is slightly acute, suggesting that the E ditch may have been deflected slightly westwards to avoid wetter ground. Whether or not the total area of the camp extended to the S of the modern road from Holme to Langford is uncertain. The crop indications on the extreme S end of the W side are ambiguous; on some aerial photographs they could be taken to indicate that the ditch turns eastwards to form the SW corner just N of the hedge line (NMR AP SK 8059/27 (3c)), but cultivation marks make certainty impossible. The field to the S of the modern road is under permanent pasture and is covered with ridge-and-furrow.
Irregularities in the alignment of the road and hedge line immediately to the S of the camp could perhaps relate to the former position of its S side, but this too is by no means conclusive. The defensive circuit N of the road would have enclosed at least 9.3 ha (23 acres). Double-ditched trackways of unknown date cross the E half of the site and cut the NW corner; their relationship to the camp is unknown. Full information is included in the NMR Archive. (3)
Additional reference. (4)
Published reference. (5) |