More information : NZ 21587 64771: Condercum Roman Fort [GSC] (Site of) NZ 21638 64761: Hypocaust [GSC] (Site of) (1)
The fort measured 581feet by 417 feet, giving an area of 5.6 acres including the ramparts. It was constructed between AD 122 and circa 124 and occupied until the fourth century. The northern third is entirely below a reservoir and the remainder is covered by a housing estate. Examination in 1926-9, 1938 and 1958 established the position of the ramparts and many of the internal structures. Two ditches were found outside the ramparts on the east and west sides but only one in the south. See plan (4). (2-4)
No visible remains. (5)
A sandstone altar was found in 1937 in road-making on Benwell Park Estate, SW of the Headquarters Building of the fort. It reads:- MINIIRVAE PRIMUS and has been presented to the Museum of Antiquities, Newcastle upon Tyne. (6)
Name 'CONDERCVM' accepted for 4th. edition R.B.Map. Condercum - The Roman fort at Benwell. (7)
A pipe trench dug in 1990 revealed part of the double-granary excavated in 1937 (Authority 4), furnishing some new details concerning the form of the building; the length of the granary was at least 34.75m but its northern end was demolished during the Roman period; the structural similarities with the granaries at Haltonchesters (NY 96 NE 2) and Rudchester (NZ 16 NW 11) are discussed. (8)
Survey of the extent and preservation of the known archaeological deposits of the fort and its environs. (9)
Various watching briefs have shown that extensive remains of the fort are extant, often at only 0.4 metres below ground level. (10)
Several depictions of Benwell Roman features from the James Irwin Coates Archive. (11)
Located on the English Heritage map of Hadrian's Wall 2010. (12) |