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Buckton Roman Fort

Coordinates: 52°21′16″N 2°53′48″W / 52.35444°N 2.89667°W / 52.35444; -2.89667
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Buckton Roman Fort
Buckton Roman Fort is located in Herefordshire
Buckton Roman Fort
Shown within Herefordshire
LocationBuckton, near Leintwardine, Herefordshire
Coordinates52°21′16″N 2°53′48″W / 52.35444°N 2.89667°W / 52.35444; -2.89667
OS grid referenceSO 390 733
History
PeriodsRoman Britain, 1st–2nd century AD
Designated31 May 1962
Reference no.1003592

Buckton Roman Fort is an archaeological site at Buckton, about 1 mile south-west of Leintwardine, in Herefordshire. England. it is a scheduled monument.[1]

Description

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The Roman vicus Bravonium was established at present-day Leintwardine about AD 70; a fort was built there about AD 160, and abandoned about AD 196.[2]

The fort at Buckton is just above the floodplain of the River Teme. The remains, entirely buried, were observed and photographed from the air by W A Baker in 1959, during a drought. There was excavation between then and 1961, from which a chronology was established.[1][3]

Originally there were turf ramparts and timber gate towers, constructed about AD 80. The fort replaced an earlier fort nearby at Jay Lane. It is thought that this site had a better water supply; traces of a bath house were found to the east of the fort.[1][3]

The fort was rebuilt in stone about AD 120, with a similar size, about 2.3 hectares (5.7 acres). It housed a cavalry unit. There were gates of width 22.3 metres (73 ft), inside stone gate towers; it was the largest gatehouse of an auxiliary fort known in Britain. The fort was later dismantled, perhaps to build the fort at Bravonium, and was abandoned in AD 130.[1][3]

There is an adjacent fort to the north-west, entirely buried but visible on aerial photographs, of area about 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres). It is presumably associated with the larger fort, and may have been an earlier temporary fort.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Historic England. "Roman fort (1003592)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Bravonivm / Branogenivm" Roman Britain. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Historic England. "Buckton Roman Fort (106850)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  4. ^ Historic England. "Roman fort NE of Buckton (1003593)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 February 2022.