Wath Roman Temporary Camp |
| Hob Uid: 58579 | |
Location :
North Yorkshire
Ryedale
Hovingham
|
| Grid Ref : SE6747074520 |
| Summary : The site of a Roman temporary camp visible as a cropmark at Wath. The north-west corner survives as an earthwork. A camp of irregular but almost square plan, enclosing about 4.9 hectares (12.1 acres), was identified in 1976 on the north side of the Howardian Hills. It lies on the level top of Diana Hill, on the edge of the limestone escarpment, a little over 80 metres above Ordnance Datum; on its west side the ground falls steeply away to the Wath Beck. To the north the slope is less severe, and on the south side there is a relatively gentle gradient. There are good views in all directions, particularly northwards across the Vale of Pickering. The camps at Cawthorn lie to the north-east and the fort at Malton 12 kilometres to the east-south-east and the course of a probable Roman road linking the two passes some 500 metres west of the site. Almost the entire perimeter of the camp has been levelled by ploughing, the exception being its north-west corner within Wath Wood. Here, a low scarp, up to 0.6 m high, may represent a residual rampart. Surmounted by small trees, the scarp probably once formed part of a hedge line beside a track, shown on OS 1:2500 Yorkshire sheet CVI SW for 1892. Most of the remainder of the camp's perimeter is known, except for the SW corner and much of the adjacent part of the S side. The discontinuous line of the E ditch bows outwards markedly, so that the approximate dimensions are about 230 m N-S by between 208 and 217 m transversely. The apparent absence of any diagnostic features and the lack of definition of the rather fine cropmarks make it impossible to be sure which interruptions in the ditches should be accepted as gates. The N side, which occupies a false crest where the hill slope begins to steepen, appears to have had an entrance close to its central point. The position of a probable gate in the W ditch is to the S of centre and may be matched by another almost directly opposite. If so, the camp may have faced S. |
More information : This site has been examined in connection with RCHME's survey and publication of Roman Camps in England. The following descriptive account is taken from the published text.
SE 6747 7452. Roman temporary camp. A camp of irregular but almost square plan, enclosing about 4.9 ha (12.1 acres), was identified in 1976 on the N side of the Howardian Hills. It lies on the level top of Diana Hill, on the edge of the limestone escarpment,a little over 80 m above OD; on its W side the ground falls steeply away to the Wath Beck. To the N the slope is less severe, and on the S side there is a relatively gentle gradient. There are good views in all directions, particularly northwards across the Vale of Pickering. The camps at Cawthorn lie 19 km to the NE and the fort at Malton 12 km to the ESE and the course of a probable Roman road linking the two passes some 500 m W of the site. Almost the entire perimeter of the camp has been levelled by ploughing, the exception being its NW corner, which lies within Wath Wood. Here, a low scarp, up to 0.6 m high, may represent a residual rampart. Surmounted by small trees, the scarp probably once formed part of a hedge line beside a track, shown on OS 1:2500 Yorkshire sheet CVI SW for 1892. Most of the remainder of the camp's perimeter is known, except for the SW corner and much of the adjacent part of the S side. The discontinuous line of the E ditch bows outwards markedly, so that the approximate dimensions are about 230 m N-S by between 208 and 217 m transversely. The apparent absence of any diagnostic features and the lack of definition of the rather fine cropmarks make it impossible to be sure which interruptions in the ditches should be accepted as gates. The N side, which occupies a false crest where the hill slope begins to steepen, appears to have had an entrance close to its central point. The position of a probable gate in the W ditch is to the S of centre and may be matched by another almost directly opposite. If so, the camp may have faced S. Full information is included in the NMR Archive. (1)
The cropmark element of the temporary camp described by authority 1 was mapped at 1:10000 as part of the Howardian Hills project in order to put it into it's landscape context. (Morph No. HH.79.1.1). (2)
Published reference. (3) |