Mediobogdum was a fort

Castra

The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position. The word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin. It may have descended from Indo-European to Italic...

 in the Roman province

Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...

 of Britannia

Britannia

Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...

. Its remains are located on the western side of the Hardknott Pass

Hardknott Pass

Hardknott Pass is a pass that carries a minor road between Eskdale and the Duddon Valley in the region of Cumbria, England, in the Lake District National Park...

 in the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county of Cumbria

Cumbria

Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...

 (formerly part of Cumberland

Cumberland

Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....

).

The location and name

It was built on a rocky spur giving a superb view over the River Esk

River Esk, Cumbria

The River Esk is a river in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. It is one of two River Esks in Cumbria, and not to be confused with the River Esk which flows on the Scottish side of the border....

 in both upper and lower Eskdale

Eskdale, Cumbria

Eskdale is a glacial valley and civil parish in the western Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. It forms part of the Borough of Copeland, and has a population of 264....

, and protecting Hardknott Pass

Hardknott Pass

Hardknott Pass is a pass that carries a minor road between Eskdale and the Duddon Valley in the region of Cumbria, England, in the Lake District National Park...

. The fort has been commonly known in recent times as Hardknott Castle, but identified from the Ravenna

Ravenna

Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...

 Cosmography as the Mediobogdo fort (or more correctly Mediobogdum), situated along the road between the forts of Galava (Ambleside

Ambleside

Ambleside is a town in Cumbria, in North West England.Historically within the county of Westmorland, it is situated at the head of Windermere, England's largest lake...

) and Glannoventa (Ravenglass

Ravenglass

Ravenglass is a small coastal village and natural harbour in Cumbria, England. It is the only coastal town within the Lake District National Park...

).

Classical history

Built between about AD 120 and 138, the fort was abandoned during the Antonine advance into Scotland during the mid 2nd century. The fort was reoccupied c. AD 200 and continued in use until the last years of the 4th century. During this time an extensive vicus

Vicus (Rome)

In ancient Rome, the vicus was a neighborhood. During the Republican era, the four regiones of the city of Rome were subdivided into vici. In the 1st century BC, Augustus reorganized the city for administrative purposes into 14 regions, comprising 265 vici. Each vicus had its own board of...

 developed outside the fort. The Roman

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 garrison here was a detachment of 500 cavalry from the Dalmatia

Dalmatia

Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....

n coast.

Physical description

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 three buildings: a granary, a garrison headquarter building and a house for the garrison commander. In addition to these stone buildings, timber structures would have housed barracks for the legionaries.
Outside the square of the fort is the remains of the bath house (which has a rare circular sudatorium

Sudatorium

In architecture, a sudatorium is a vaulted sweating-room of the Roman baths or thermae. The Roman architectural writer Vitruvius In architecture, a sudatorium is a vaulted sweating-room (sudor, sweat) of the Roman baths or thermae. The Roman architectural writer Vitruvius In architecture, a...

), and the levelled parade ground, which is considered to be the finest surviving example in the Western Empire.

The Modern site

The fort is on land owned by the National Trust

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

, part of the Trust's Wasdale, Eskdale and Duddon

Wasdale, Eskdale and Duddon

Wasdale, Eskdale and Duddon is a National Trust property located in south-western Cumbria, England.- Wasdale:In Wasdale, the National Trust owns both the country's highest mountain, Scafell Pike, as well as its deepest lake, Wastwater. The majority of the surrounding mountains also belong to the...

 property, and maintained by English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

.

External links

• Wasdale, Eskdale and Duddon information at the National Trust
• Hardknott Roman Fort information at English Heritage
• iRomans Link to website showing Hardnott's position in relation to other roman forts in Cumbria