Piercebridge Roman Fort
Encyclopedia
Piercebridge Roman Fort (possibly originally known as Morbium or Vinovium) is a scheduled ancient monument situated in the village of Piercebridge
on the banks of the River Tees
in County Durham
, England
. There were Romans here from about 70 AD
until at least the early 5th century. There was an associated vicus
and bath house
at Piercebridge, and another vicus and a villa
south of the river at Cliffe, Richmondshire. The Victorians
used carved stones from this site when they built St Mary's church at Gainford, County Durham
. Part of the site is under Piercebridge village green
.
at Piercebridge
indicate that underneath it is the Roman fort
which was called Magis or Morbium. Dere Street
was the main road through it, or Via Principalis. It was the furthest south of four forts along Dere Street in what is now County Durham
, the others being at Binchester
, Lanchester
and Ebchester
. Artefacts found in Piercebridge suggest that there were Romans on the site around the river as long ago as 70 AD
, perhaps because there was a ford
or ferry
to be defended from the Brigantes
. A civil settlement in the Toft field existed by 125 AD, and a military installation alongside Dere Street south of the Tees
appeared in the late 2nd century. However the fortifications which can be seen today on the north side of the river were not built until 260 to 270 AD, when the other Roman settlements and vicus north and south of the river began to decrease in size. The fort was maintained from around 290 to 350 AD, with later development, by which time the inhabitants were mostly inside the fort area. It was inhabited until the 6th century, although some theories state that it was finally abandoned in the early 5th century. It is now a scheduled ancient monument. It was not the only Roman fort next to a bridge hereabouts; there was also Greta Bridge
.
, workshops, granaries
and the garrison headquarters with the commandant's separate accommodation. According to the 2005 Conservation Area
appraisal, the bridge had a south abutment and four piers; however it has been suggested by some archaeologists such as Raymond Selkirk that the existing remains do not represent a bridge, and that it is a dam and spillway
. If it is a Roman bridge
, then it would be one of only two remaining in the country; the other one being Chesters Bridge
. Whether or not a Roman bridge existed, there would have been a ferry here in the past, before any bridge was built.
which began in the 1st century AD
and survived into the early 5th century: a civilian settlement outside the fort's boundaries for providers of goods and services to the fort itself. Accordiing to cropmark
s, it apparently consisted of about thirty buildings whose inhabitants probably traded via the river from the late 1st century, but fewer people lived there once the fort's defences were built. This vicus probably followed the building of the Roman villa south of the river at Holme House, which in turn began as a native roundhouse
. There was an associated vicus at the other side of the river crossing, at Cliffe, Richmondshire.
was still standing at the south-east corner of the fort-site in the 13th century when St Mary's chapel was built to incorporate part of it: possibly the wall with rounded arched doorway which is still visible from a distance, on private land. In the traditional manner, the garrison
bath house stands outside the fort itself. It is a Grade II* listed building and scheduled ancient monument.
never extended beyond the original Roman
boundaries of the fort
, the north and west earthworks are preserved, and part of this has been excavated. An excavation was made in 1938, where a guard chamber each side of the western gateway was found. They also exposed the wall of the outer rampart, near the north-west corner, and in 1939 exposed part of the south outer wall. Another dig was carried out by Dennis Harding and Peter Scott between 1969 and 1981. A 1973 dig found a 3rd-century rectangular building with hypocaust
. A bronze figure of a ploughman with oxen, which is now in the British Museum, was found here along with Roman coins dated early 4th century. St Mary's 1855 church building at Gainford
contains Roman worked stones from this site. Other finds have included kiln
s and Roman pottery, a metalworking site, a carved stone altar and burials including gravestones and a lead coffin. Time Team
investigated Piercebridge Roman Fort in 2009, and at that time divers examined holes in the river bed which may have been Roman. Among their finds were a small lead goat and a hairpin. Inscriptions found here attest to the presence of members of the Legio II Augusta
, the Legio VI Victrix
, and the Legio XXII Primigenia
, as well as worship of Jupiter
and Mars
. Around 1910, Edmund Wooler discovered a large, worked Roman stone which he believed to have been part of the original Roman bridge. The site has been reassessed by archaeologist Dr David Mason in 2006, and the archive from the excavations is at the Bowes Museum
.
at Barnard Castle
. Remains of the bridge
- which may have carried Dere Street
over the River Tees
or may have been a dam
and spillway
- can be seen on the south side of the river at Cliffe, Richmondshire.
Piercebridge
Piercebridge is a village and civil parish in the borough of Darlington and the ceremonial county of Durham, England. It is situated a few miles west of the town of Darlington. It is on the site of a Roman fort of AD 260-270, which was built at the point where Dere Street crossed the River Tees....
on the banks of the River Tees
River Tees
The River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...
in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, England
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...
. There were Romans here from about 70 AD
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
until at least the early 5th century. There was an associated 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...
and bath house
Thermae
In ancient Rome, thermae and balnea were facilities for bathing...
at Piercebridge, and another vicus and a villa
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
south of the river at Cliffe, Richmondshire. The Victorians
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
used carved stones from this site when they built St Mary's church at Gainford, County Durham
Gainford, County Durham
Gainford on Tees is a village on the north bank of the River Tees in County Durham, England. It is half-way between Barnard Castle and Darlington, near Winston, at OS map reference NZ 1716....
. Part of the site is under Piercebridge village green
Village green
A village green is a common open area which is a part of a settlement. Traditionally, such an area was often common grass land at the centre of a small agricultural settlement, used for grazing and sometimes for community events...
.
Fort
Lumps and bumps in the village greenVillage green
A village green is a common open area which is a part of a settlement. Traditionally, such an area was often common grass land at the centre of a small agricultural settlement, used for grazing and sometimes for community events...
at Piercebridge
Piercebridge
Piercebridge is a village and civil parish in the borough of Darlington and the ceremonial county of Durham, England. It is situated a few miles west of the town of Darlington. It is on the site of a Roman fort of AD 260-270, which was built at the point where Dere Street crossed the River Tees....
indicate that underneath it is the Roman 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...
which was called Magis or Morbium. Dere Street
Dere Street
Dere Street or Deere Street, was a Roman road between Eboracum and Veluniate, in what is now Scotland. It still exists in the form of the route of many major roads, including the A1 and A68 just north of Corbridge.Its name corresponds with the post Roman Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Deira, through...
was the main road through it, or Via Principalis. It was the furthest south of four forts along Dere Street in what is now County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, the others being at Binchester
Binchester Roman Fort
Binchester Roman Fort is situated just over to the north of the town of Bishop Auckland on the banks of the River Wear in County Durham, England...
, Lanchester
Longovicium
Longovicium was an auxiliary fort on Dere Street, in the Roman province of Britannia Inferior. It is located just southwest of Lanchester in the English county of Durham, roughly to the west of the city of Durham and from Consett.-History:Longovicium was situated between the forts of...
and Ebchester
Vindomora
Vindomora was an auxiliary castra on Dere Street, in the Roman province of Britannia Inferior...
. Artefacts found in Piercebridge suggest that there were Romans on the site around the river as long ago as 70 AD
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
, perhaps because there was a ford
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
or ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
to be defended from the Brigantes
Brigantes
The Brigantes were a Celtic tribe who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England, and a significant part of the Midlands. Their kingdom is sometimes called Brigantia, and it was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire...
. A civil settlement in the Toft field existed by 125 AD, and a military installation alongside Dere Street south of the Tees
River Tees
The River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...
appeared in the late 2nd century. However the fortifications which can be seen today on the north side of the river were not built until 260 to 270 AD, when the other Roman settlements and vicus north and south of the river began to decrease in size. The fort was maintained from around 290 to 350 AD, with later development, by which time the inhabitants were mostly inside the fort area. It was inhabited until the 6th century, although some theories state that it was finally abandoned in the early 5th century. It is now a scheduled ancient monument. It was not the only Roman fort next to a bridge hereabouts; there was also Greta Bridge
Greta Bridge
Greta Bridge is a village on the River Greta in County Durham, England.-Geography and administration:Greta Bridge lies in the Pennine hills near to Barnard Castle...
.
Structure of fort and bridge
The fort appears to have followed the standard Roman plan, being rectangular in shape with towers at each corner and two big gates for Dere Street. Inside would be barracksBarracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
, workshops, granaries
Granary
A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain or animal feed. In ancient or primitive granaries, pottery is the most common use of storage in these buildings. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals.-Early origins:From ancient times grain...
and the garrison headquarters with the commandant's separate accommodation. According to the 2005 Conservation Area
Conservation area
A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
appraisal, the bridge had a south abutment and four piers; however it has been suggested by some archaeologists such as Raymond Selkirk that the existing remains do not represent a bridge, and that it is a dam and spillway
Spillway
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy...
. If it is a Roman bridge
Roman bridge
Roman bridges, built by ancient Romans, were the first large and lasting bridges built. Roman bridges were built with stone and had the arch as its basic structure....
, then it would be one of only two remaining in the country; the other one being Chesters Bridge
Chesters Bridge
Chesters Bridge was a Roman bridge over the River North Tyne at Chollerford, Northumberland, England, and adjacent to Chesters Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall...
. Whether or not a Roman bridge existed, there would have been a ferry here in the past, before any bridge was built.
Vicus
To the east of the fort in Tofts Field there is a vicusVicus (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...
which began in the 1st century AD
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
and survived into the early 5th century: a civilian settlement outside the fort's boundaries for providers of goods and services to the fort itself. Accordiing to cropmark
Cropmark
Cropmarks or Crop marks are a means through which sub-surface archaeological, natural and recent features may be visible from the air or a vantage point on higher ground or a temporary platform...
s, it apparently consisted of about thirty buildings whose inhabitants probably traded via the river from the late 1st century, but fewer people lived there once the fort's defences were built. This vicus probably followed the building of the Roman villa south of the river at Holme House, which in turn began as a native roundhouse
Roundhouse (dwelling)
The roundhouse is a type of house with a circular plan, originally built in western Europe before the Roman occupation using walls made either of stone or of wooden posts joined by wattle-and-daub panels and a conical thatched roof. Roundhouses ranged in size from less than 5m in diameter to over 15m...
. There was an associated vicus at the other side of the river crossing, at Cliffe, Richmondshire.
Bath house
A Roman bath houseThermae
In ancient Rome, thermae and balnea were facilities for bathing...
was still standing at the south-east corner of the fort-site in the 13th century when St Mary's chapel was built to incorporate part of it: possibly the wall with rounded arched doorway which is still visible from a distance, on private land. In the traditional manner, the garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
bath house stands outside the fort itself. It is a Grade II* listed building and scheduled ancient monument.
Archaeology
Because modern PiercebridgePiercebridge
Piercebridge is a village and civil parish in the borough of Darlington and the ceremonial county of Durham, England. It is situated a few miles west of the town of Darlington. It is on the site of a Roman fort of AD 260-270, which was built at the point where Dere Street crossed the River Tees....
never extended beyond the original Roman
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...
boundaries of the 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...
, the north and west earthworks are preserved, and part of this has been excavated. An excavation was made in 1938, where a guard chamber each side of the western gateway was found. They also exposed the wall of the outer rampart, near the north-west corner, and in 1939 exposed part of the south outer wall. Another dig was carried out by Dennis Harding and Peter Scott between 1969 and 1981. A 1973 dig found a 3rd-century rectangular building with hypocaust
Hypocaust
A hypocaust was an ancient Roman system of underfloor heating, used to heat houses with hot air. The word derives from the Ancient Greek hypo meaning "under" and caust-, meaning "burnt"...
. A bronze figure of a ploughman with oxen, which is now in the British Museum, was found here along with Roman coins dated early 4th century. St Mary's 1855 church building at Gainford
Gainford, County Durham
Gainford on Tees is a village on the north bank of the River Tees in County Durham, England. It is half-way between Barnard Castle and Darlington, near Winston, at OS map reference NZ 1716....
contains Roman worked stones from this site. Other finds have included kiln
Kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...
s and Roman pottery, a metalworking site, a carved stone altar and burials including gravestones and a lead coffin. Time Team
Time Team
Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...
investigated Piercebridge Roman Fort in 2009, and at that time divers examined holes in the river bed which may have been Roman. Among their finds were a small lead goat and a hairpin. Inscriptions found here attest to the presence of members of the Legio II Augusta
Legio II Augusta
Legio secunda Augusta , was a Roman legion, levied by Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus in 43 BC, and still operative in Britannia in the 4th century...
, the Legio VI Victrix
Legio VI Victrix
Legio sexta Victrix was a Roman legion founded by Octavian in 41 BC. It was the twin legion of VI Ferrata and perhaps held veterans of that legion, and some soldiers kept to the traditions of the Caesarian legion....
, and the Legio XXII Primigenia
Legio XXII Primigenia
Legio XXII Primigenia was a Roman legion levied by Roman Emperor Caligula in 39, for his campaigns in Germania. There are still records of the XXII Primigenia in Mogontiacum from the end of 3rd century...
, as well as worship of Jupiter
Jupiter (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
and Mars
Mars (mythology)
Mars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions...
. Around 1910, Edmund Wooler discovered a large, worked Roman stone which he believed to have been part of the original Roman bridge. The site has been reassessed by archaeologist Dr David Mason in 2006, and the archive from the excavations is at the Bowes Museum
Bowes Museum
The Bowes Museum has a nationally renowned art collection and is situated in the town of Barnard Castle, Teesdale, County Durham, England.The museum contains an El Greco, paintings by Francisco Goya, Canaletto, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, François Boucher and a sizable collection of decorative art,...
.
Public display
It is the eastern wall which can be seen today, with the remains of where the eastern gate was robbed out. The original rectangular defence pits are lawned over between the wall and the outer ditch. There were obstacle pits, and also man-traps or camouflaged holes spiked with large, pointed, wooden stakes for unsuspecting attackers to fall into. These were squareish holes, probably originally covered with undergrowth. Beyond the fort wall was a road with a drain or culvert which still exists. The commandant's substantial house is beyond this road and built on river-pebbles. He had his own bath-house, and this is the one at the north of the site on private property, but visible over a fence. Admission is free and the site is open to the public all year round. A large proportion of the substantial 11 acres (44,515.5 m²) fort now lies under later buildings; the village has never expanded beyond the old Roman boundary. Visible Roman remains at the eastern part of the site include parts of the east gate and defences, a courtyard building and an internal road, and a section of the eastern elevation is now preserved and on permanent public display. However it is believed that Roman residences were to the west of the revealed archaeology. Some of the artefacts found at the site are on show at Bowes MuseumBowes Museum
The Bowes Museum has a nationally renowned art collection and is situated in the town of Barnard Castle, Teesdale, County Durham, England.The museum contains an El Greco, paintings by Francisco Goya, Canaletto, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, François Boucher and a sizable collection of decorative art,...
at Barnard Castle
Barnard Castle
Barnard Castle is an historical town in Teesdale, County Durham, England. It is named after the castle around which it grew up. It sits on the north side of the River Tees, opposite Startforth, south southwest of Newcastle upon Tyne, south southwest of Sunderland, west of Middlesbrough and ...
. Remains of the bridge
Piercebridge Roman Bridge
Piercebridge Roman Bridge was a Roman bridge, now ruined, over the River Tees, near the village of Piercebridge, County Durham, England.The bridge was the crossing point over the river Tees for the Roman Road Dere Street...
- which may have carried Dere Street
Dere Street
Dere Street or Deere Street, was a Roman road between Eboracum and Veluniate, in what is now Scotland. It still exists in the form of the route of many major roads, including the A1 and A68 just north of Corbridge.Its name corresponds with the post Roman Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Deira, through...
over the River Tees
River Tees
The River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...
or may have been a dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
and spillway
Spillway
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy...
- can be seen on the south side of the river at Cliffe, Richmondshire.
See also
- CastraCastraThe 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...
(Roman fort) - Roman BritainRoman BritainRoman 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...
- Roman bridgeRoman bridgeRoman bridges, built by ancient Romans, were the first large and lasting bridges built. Roman bridges were built with stone and had the arch as its basic structure....
- PiercebridgePiercebridgePiercebridge is a village and civil parish in the borough of Darlington and the ceremonial county of Durham, England. It is situated a few miles west of the town of Darlington. It is on the site of a Roman fort of AD 260-270, which was built at the point where Dere Street crossed the River Tees....
- Cliffe, Richmondshire
