Historic England research records

Historic England Research Records

Tower 2b
Hob Uid: 9697
Location : Cumbria Allerdale Bowness
Grid Ref : NY1903060780
Summary : The site of Roman tower 2B. Excavations in 1993 uncovered the remains of a sequence of three Roman towers (part of the Roman frontier defences supporting Hadrian's Wall along the Cumbrian coast). Initial investigations indicated two timber phases followed by rebuilding in stone, although the presence of any timber towers is now refuted. The outline of the tower is visible on aerial photographs. No surface remains are visible.
More information : (NY 1903 6078 sited from Plan) Approximate position of Roman signal Tower 2B, identified by pieces of freestone in the nearest hedge bottom, or on the site (1). Several cartloads of stone were removed, prior to 1929, from an "old building" about a quarter of a mile SW of Campfield Farm (2). Clearly visible on Air Photograph (3). (NY 1906 6085) "T" (4). No visible traces. (5) Further air photographs taken in 1975 show the tower, and also indications of a buried ditch 7m in front of it. (6a) According to Austen (6b), excavations of the tower undertaken in 1993 by GDB Jones, as yet unpublished, revealed a timber phase followed by a rebuilding in stone. The tower was located precisely at NY 1903 6078 on a low ridge, from the remains of Jones' back-filled trenches, by RCHME in the course of the Cumberland Coast Project. Surveyed at 1:2500. (See NY 16 SE 9) for detail of buried ditch. (6) Note on excavations. (7) The outline of the square tower was seen as cropmarks on air photographs. Running either side of the tower is a narrow ditch (see NY16SE 9). (8-9) The G D B Jones report on the excavations have been republished in the Romans on the Solway volume (2004). G D B Jones' claim that there were two successive timber predecessors to the stone tower is dismissed by A Breeze (2004), and also by I D Caruana (2004) and R J A Wilson (2004). (10) Located on the English Heritage map of Hadrian's Wall 2010. (11)

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Source Number : 1
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Source details : (Simpson FG and Hodgson K)
Page(s) : 82
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Vol(s) : 47, 1947

Source Number : 2
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Source details : (Collingwood RG)
Page(s) : 150
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Vol(s) : 29, 1929

Source Number : 9
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Source details : NMR NY 1960/5 (GBJ 13482/15) 01-Jan-1975
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Source Number : 10
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Page(s) : 159
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Source Number : 11
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Source Number : 3
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Source details : (CUCAP D1 12)
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Source Number : 4
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Source details : Private 6" (Tullie House Library, Carlisle) (With some but not all annotations by W Fergusson in 1880)
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Source Number : 5
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Source details : F1 EG Geary 11-JUN-1955
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Source Number : 6
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Source details : Keith Blood and Colin Lofthouse/10-MAR-1994/RCHME: Cumberland Coast Project.
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Source Number : 6a
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Source details : (Higham, N J. and Jones G D B.) 'Frontier, Forts and Farmers, Cumbrian Aerial Survey 1974-5'
Page(s) : 16-53
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Vol(s) : 132, 1975

Source Number : 6b
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Source details : Oral: PS Austen, English Heritage Field Officer for Hadrian's Wall, 10-NOV-1993.
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Source Number : 7
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Source details :
Page(s) : 261-2
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Vol(s) : 25, 1994

Source Number : 8
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Source details : NMR NY 1960/15 (GBJ 13528/38) 01-Aug-1975
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Monument Types:

Monument Period Name : Roman
Display Date : ROMAN
Monument End Date : 410
Monument Start Date : 43
Monument Type : Tower
Evidence : Sub Surface Deposit, Cropmark

Components and Objects:

Related Records from other datasets:

External Cross Reference Source : Scheduled Monument Legacy (National No.)
External Cross Reference Number : 27731
External Cross Reference Notes :

External Cross Reference Source : Scheduled Monument Legacy (County No.)
External Cross Reference Number : CU 230
External Cross Reference Notes :

External Cross Reference Source : Scheduled Monument Legacy (County No.)
External Cross Reference Number : CU 91
External Cross Reference Notes :

External Cross Reference Source : SMR Number (Cumbria)
External Cross Reference Number : 151
External Cross Reference Notes :

External Cross Reference Source : National Monuments Record Number
External Cross Reference Number : NY 16 SE 4
External Cross Reference Notes :

Related Warden Records :

Associated Monuments :
Relationship type : General association

Related Activities :

Associated Activities :
Activity type : FIELD OBSERVATION (VISUAL ASSESSMENT)
Start Date : 1955-06-11
End Date : 1955-06-11

Associated Activities :
Activity type : EXCAVATION
Start Date : 1993-01-01
End Date : 1993-12-31

Associated Activities :
Activity type : MEASURED SURVEY
Start Date : 1993-01-19
End Date : 1994-02-02

Associated Activities :
Activity type : AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH INTERPRETATION
Start Date : 2002-01-01
End Date : 2008-12-31

Historic England Research Records

Tower 2b