Roman forts Gallery

Roman camp, Bradford Abbas 26650_004

Roman camp in Bradford Abbas, Dorset
Roman camps are temporary enclosures dug by Roman troops when on manoeuvres and have a very distinctive shape. The line of the buried ditch of a camp shows on this photo as different colours in the crops across several fields. This playing card shaped enclosure on a slope looking over the river Yeo fits the pattern of size, shape and location of a Roman camp. They're common in some areas of Britain, such as along the line of Hadrian's Wall, indicating militarised zones. However, they are relatively rare in the south west of England and the camp at Bradford Abbas is only the fourth to be discovered in the area. Evidence for Roman military activity is known nearby at Ham Hill, South Cadbury and the probable early Roman fort, and later town, at Ilchester. The discovery poses the question of whether the camp at Bradford Abbas could be a survival of an early Roman military campaign against the local population

© Historic England Archive

Ambleside Roman Fort K930152

AMBLESIDE ROMAN FORT, Cumbria. View of the site from the South. A 2nd century fort, probably built under Hadrian's rule to guard the Roman road from Brougham to Ravenglass and act as a supply base

© Historic England

Roman

Phoenix Tower, Chester 20755_010

PHOENIX TOWER, CHESTER CITY WALLS. Aerial view. Lying on, or close to the location of the corner tower of the Roman fortress, Phoenix Tower is a much-restored medieval construction, one of a number of projecting defensive towers. Originally Newton Tower it got its new name from the crest of one of Chester's Guilds which occupied it in the 17th century. In 1645, during the English Civil War, King Charles I used the tower as a look-out during the Battle of Rowton Heath during his failed attempt to relieve the siege of Chester by Parliamentarian forces

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