Pennocrucium
Encyclopedia
Pennocrucium was a Romano-British
settlement and military complex located at present day Water Eaton, just south of Penkridge
, Staffordshire
, with evidence of occupation from the mid-1st century until the 4th century.
The settlement was referred to as Pennocrucio in the 2nd century Antonine Itinerary
, which described it as lying 12 miles from Uxacona
(near present-day Oakengates
) and 12 miles from Letocetum
(Wall
, near Lichfield
). The exact site of Pennocrucium was identified only after aerial photography revealed cropmarks in 1946, and excavations were conducted by Kenneth St Joseph
over subsequent years.
Pennocrucium was an important road junction on Watling Street
– the main Roman road
across the Midlands to Viroconium Cornoviorum (Wroxeter
) – and was situated 700 metres east of its crossing of the River Penk
, with roads leading north to Mediolanum
(Whitchurch
) and south in the direction of Greensforge
near Kinver
and Metchley Fort
in Birmingham
.
The main civilian defensive site or burgi was a rectangular encosure approximately 450 feet (137.2 m) from north to south and 700 feet (213.4 m) from east to west, lying astride Watling Street and surrounded by three ditches. There may have been a civilian vicus
around the defended settlement, possibly forming a ribbon development along Watling Street. 800 metres (2,624.7 ft) to the north east of the civilian settlement lay a large double-ditched enclosure identified as a possible Vexillation fortress, with two smaller forts lying 700 feet (213.4 m) south east of the settlement and 200 feet (61 m) north of Watling Street on the opposite bank of the Penk. Five single-ditched enclosures in the vicinity have been identified as temporary marching camps.
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
settlement and military complex located at present day Water Eaton, just south of Penkridge
Penkridge
Penkridge is a market town and ancient parish in Staffordshire, England with a population of 7,836 . Many locals refer to it as a village, although it has a long history as an ecclesiastical and commercial centre. Its main distinction in the Middle Ages was as the site of an important collegiate...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, with evidence of occupation from the mid-1st century until the 4th century.
The settlement was referred to as Pennocrucio in the 2nd century Antonine Itinerary
Antonine Itinerary
The Antonine Itinerary is a register of the stations and distances along the various roads of the Roman empire, containing directions how to get from one Roman settlement to another...
, which described it as lying 12 miles from Uxacona
Uxacona
Uxacona was a Romano-British settlement located near to present-day Oakengates, Shropshire.The settlement lies at the highest point of the Roman Watling Street, approximately 11 miles from Viroconium Cornoviorum to the west, and 11 miles from Pennocrucium to the east...
(near present-day Oakengates
Oakengates
Oakengates is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, and now forms part of the new town of Telford...
) and 12 miles from Letocetum
Letocetum
Letocetum is the remains of a Roman settlement. It was an important military staging post and posting station near the junction of Watling Street, the Roman military road to North Wales , and Icknield Street . The site is now within the parish of Wall, Staffordshire, England...
(Wall
Wall, Staffordshire
Wall is a small village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England, just south of Lichfield. It lies on the site of the Roman settlement of Letocetum.The nearby junction of the A5 and A5127 roads and the M6 Toll motorway is often referred to as Wall junction....
, near Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
). The exact site of Pennocrucium was identified only after aerial photography revealed cropmarks in 1946, and excavations were conducted by Kenneth St Joseph
Kenneth St Joseph
John Kenneth Sinclair St Joseph, CBE was a British archaeologist, geologist and Royal Air Force veteran who pioneered the use of aerial photography as a method of archaeological research in Britain and Ireland.-Early life:...
over subsequent years.
Pennocrucium was an important road junction on Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
– the main Roman road
Roman roads in Britain
Roman roads, together with Roman aqueducts and the vast standing Roman army , constituted the three most impressive features of the Roman Empire. In Britain, as in other provinces, the Romans constructed a comprehensive network of paved trunk roads Roman roads, together with Roman aqueducts and the...
across the Midlands to Viroconium Cornoviorum (Wroxeter
Wroxeter
Wroxeter is a village in Shropshire, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Wroxeter and Uppington and is located in the Severn Valley about south-east of Shrewsbury.-History:...
) – and was situated 700 metres east of its crossing of the River Penk
River Penk
The River Penk is a small river flowing though Staffordshire, England. Its course is mainly within South Staffordshire, and it drains most of the northern part of that district, together with some adjoining areas of Cannock Chase, Stafford, Wolverhampton, and Shropshire...
, with roads leading north to Mediolanum
Mediolanum (Whitchurch)
Mediolanum was a fort and small town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is known as Whitchurch, located in the English county of Shropshire....
(Whitchurch
Whitchurch, Shropshire
Whitchurch is a market town in Shropshire, England on the border between England and Wales. It is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Shropshire. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the town is 8,673, with a more recent estimate putting the population of the town at 8,934...
) and south in the direction of Greensforge
Greensforge
Greensforge is a scattered hamlet on the boundary of Kinver and Swindon parishes, in South Staffordshire, England. It is noted for its Roman associations and its industrial heritage.-Etymology:...
near Kinver
Kinver
Kinver is a large village in South Staffordshire district, Staffordshire, England. It is in the far south-west of the county, at the end of the narrow finger of land surrounded by the counties of Shropshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. The nearest towns are Stourbridge in the West...
and Metchley Fort
Metchley Fort
Metchley Fort was a Roman fort in what is now Birmingham, England.It lies on the course of a Roman road, Icknield Street, which is now the site of the present Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the University of Birmingham in Edgbaston. The fort was constructed soon after the Roman invasion of Britain in...
in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
.
The main civilian defensive site or burgi was a rectangular encosure approximately 450 feet (137.2 m) from north to south and 700 feet (213.4 m) from east to west, lying astride Watling Street and surrounded by three ditches. There may have been a civilian 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...
around the defended settlement, possibly forming a ribbon development along Watling Street. 800 metres (2,624.7 ft) to the north east of the civilian settlement lay a large double-ditched enclosure identified as a possible Vexillation fortress, with two smaller forts lying 700 feet (213.4 m) south east of the settlement and 200 feet (61 m) north of Watling Street on the opposite bank of the Penk. Five single-ditched enclosures in the vicinity have been identified as temporary marching camps.