Hardknott Roman Fort

Hardknott Roman Fort

Hardknott Roman Fort; its parade ground is the flat area at top right
Shown within Cumbria
Location	Cumbria,England
Region	Britannia
Coordinates	54°24′10″N3°12′19″W
Type	Castrum

Hardknott Roman Fort. Its granary at right can be identified by its external buttresses.

Hardknott Roman Fortis an archeological site, the remains of theRoman fortMediobogdum,located on the western side of the challengingHardknott Passin theEnglish Lake District.The fort was built between 120 and 138 on a rocky spur, and was initially garrisoned by a detachment of theCohors IV Delmatarumfrom theDalmatiancoast (in modernCroatia). It was abandoned around a decade later, then reoccupied circa 200 and remained in use for much of the next two centuries.

The fort is on land owned by theNational Trust,part of the Trust'sWasdale, Eskdale and Duddonproperty, and is maintained byEnglish Heritage.It is in thecivil parish of Eskdale,theunitary authority area of Cumberland,and theceremonial county of Cumbria.

Location and name

The fort was built on a rocky spur giving a superb view over theRiver Eskin both upper and lowerEskdale,and protectingHardknott Pass.At an altitude of 800 feet, it isn't the highest fort in theRoman provinceofBritannia,the highest fort isEpiacumor Whitley Castle, just over the border from Cumbria in Northumberland, at an altitude of 1,050 feet.

The ruins have been commonly known in recent times as Hardknott Fort or Hardknott Castle, but are identified from theRavenna Cosmographyas theMediobogdumfort,situated along the Roman road between the forts ofGalavaatAmblesideto the east, andGlannoventaon the coast atRavenglassto the west.

History

Built between about 120 and 138, the fort was abandoned during theAntonine advance into Scotlandduring the mid-2nd century. The fort was reoccupied around 200 and continued in use until the last years of the 4th century. During this time, an extensivevicusdeveloped outside the fort.The initialRomangarrison here was a detachment of 500 infantry of theCohors IV Delmatarumfrom theDalmatiancoast.

Leather objects from Roman occupation have been found at the site. A 1965 excavation found a piece of leather near the granary, thought to be part of soldier'sjerkin.Another excavation in 1968 byDorothy Charlesworthand J. H. Thornton uncovered more leather, including several shoes.

Layout

On many walls a slate layer demarcates original Roman construction (below) and modern reconstruction (above)

The fort is square with rounded corners, 114 metres long externally, or 105 metres internally, the rampart wall being about 1.7 metres thick with ditches adding to the total width of the rampart. The low walls of the fort were "restored" some years ago, a slate course showing the height of the walls before their rebuilding.

The outer wall has four gates, at the centre of each side, and lookout towers at each corner. Within the walls are the remaining outlines of several buildings: two side-by-side granaries, the garrison headquarters building and garrison commander's villa, orPraetorium.In addition to these stone buildings, long-lost timber structures would have housed barracks for the mounted auxilia.

The Roman bath house at Hardknott, outside and below the fort perimeter to the southwest. The car shows the proximity of the modern road.

Outside the square of the fort are the remains of the bath house below it (which has a rare circularsudatoriumor sweating room), and the levelled parade ground above it, which is considered to be the finest surviving example in England.

Information sign at Hardknott

The parade ground is approximately two hundred yards higher up the slope to the east of the fort. A track led up to it from the East Gate of the fort. A plan of the fort byR. G. Collingwoodin 1930 shows the parade ground to have been as big as the fort, with embanked edges to ensure a level surface. The English Heritage online ‘History of Hardknott Roman Fort’ suggests that the parade ground would have been large enough to train horses there (cf. ‘External links’ below).

Cultural influence

• Hardknott is the eponymous fort in theJack Whytenovel,The Fort at River's Bend.
• The fort also features in ‘’Spain 1937’’ by W H Auden; as well as in the 17thRiver Duddonsonnet byWordsworth,where it is described as “that lone Camp on Hardknott’s height,/Whose guardians bent the knee to Jove and Mars”.
• The fort is featured in the first chapter ofGeoffrey Trease's young adult novel,Word to Caesar(1955), a story set circa year 117

External links

• Eskdale and Duddon information at the National Trust
• Hardknott Roman Fort information at English Heritage
• Hardknott Roman FortLink to website cambridgemilitaryhistory which discusses Hardknott Roman Fort