More information : A Roman fort of the 1st century AD at Okehampton on the north edge of Dartmoor, occupies the saddle of a spur between the river Okement and one of its tributaries, at 183m above sea level. It was noticed on air photographs in 1974 (at SX 59639600 on OS air photographs) and was excavated in 1976 and 1977. The rectangular enclosure has an area of 1.05 ha internally and can be seen on the ground as a low and intermittent scarp bank, the south east corner of which has been built upon. The trench cut in 1977 across the north west defences showed that the fort had a single V-shaped ditch with cleaning slot, up to 3.3m wide and 1.8m deep. The base of a clay rampart 4.5m wide was found to have had a 1.5m wide revetment bank on its inner side, which still survives to a height of 40cm. The inner end of the trench showed that occupation material had accumulated to a depth of 50cm, and exposed the corner of a rubble platform. The occupation material, consistent with the period of military occupation in southwest England circa 50 to 80 AD, included sherds of at least one vessel typical of the local kilns serving the legionary fort at Exeter. (1-3)
A small trial trench 6m long by 1m wide was dug in 1976 across the southeast rampart and the area behind it. Apparently (the section given is ambiguous) a hollow had been cut through the original turfline into the subsoil immediately behind the rampart. Possibly it had then been paved with stones, but certainly it had been filled with a layer of stones and pottery, the only pottery found in the section, to form " a well trodden and remade pathway". Overlying this were two layers; collapsed clay and burnt material from the rampart. The pottery found could not be closely dated, but a mortarium sherd is of first or second century.
The enclosure is not clearly shown on the air photographs. Its corners look too sharp for a Roman fort and nothing could be seen of the eastern entrance shown on Balkwill's map. (4-5)
Further excavation was undertaken to establish the nature of the site more clearly. A trench 14.65m long and 1m wide was extended across the western defences. The ditch was found to be 3.3m wide, 1.75m deep and had a 'V' shaped profile with a cleaning slot. The only find from the ditch was a fragment of a Dr. 37 bowl dated to c 70-85AD. The rampart was just over 6m wide and had been almost completely ploughed away at the front. Other finds from the site included samian, pottery and small tile fragments. The site is only 7km south-west of the fort at North Tawton (SX 69 NE 2). It is suggested that 2 forts so close to each other are unlikely to have been occupied at the same time and that perhaps the fort at Okehampton (with its early Flavian sherd) superseded North Tawton. (6)
Okehampton fort (SX 596960): the fort was shown by aerial survey to have 2 close-set ditches; only one was previously recorded. Immediately south-west a cropmark resembling a fortlet c 50m square was seen. (7)
A rapid examination of air photography (8a) shows the fort, including rampart, double ditches and indications of internal roads and gateways. A note on the air photography was published in 1985 (8b). The fort has been ploughed, but is pasture in 1990. A possible associated road is recorded as SX 59 NE 27, and a possible fortlet is recorded as SX 59 NE 28. (8)
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