Brougham (Brocavum) Roman Fort

Flavian Auxiliary Fort (AD 69–96) and Vicus

The Brocavum Fort is sited in a field adjacent to Brougham Castle Farm, just off the A66 trunk road about two miles south of Penrith. The fort was constructed on the south bank of the River Eamont near its confluence with the River Lowther at the junction of main north-south and east-west Roman roads which intersected and crossed the River Eamont at this point.

The fort was 540 ft. by 360 ft. covering over 3.4 acres. There are ditches on all sides and the line of the fort walls can be seen, except in the north, where were destroyed by 17th century garden. The positions of the west and east gate are just viable as track across the fort. The only stonework visible is in the castle.

Finds indicated that the fort was occupied from the governorship of Agricola AD 78-84 to the end of the C4.  It was a stone fort; typical of the Hadrianic forts. It is likely that under the fort was a 1st century turf and timber fort probably before 80 AD.

It defended the river crossing necessary to maintain contact with the fort built at Carlisle built-in 72/73 AD. The site probably developed over time from a matching camp to heavily fortified camp to a full turf and timber fort before 80AD and eventually in 2nd century to a stone fort.

There is a small marching camp on the opposite side of the A66 about 400 yards north-east of the fort, sited on a bluff overlooking the confluence of the Rivers Eamont and Lowther. Another temporary camp is situated about three miles to the north-east on Langwathby Moor. The buried remains of the fort’s associated vicus or civil settlement lying to the south and south-east of the fort,

The Garrison Units of Brougham Roman Fort

Cohors Gallorum?

RIB 782 - Fragmentary dedication?

… Cohort] of Gauls, military [tribune] of the Eighth Legion Augusta.

[...]
RI[...]
GALL[...]R [...]
MIL LEG VIII
AVG

No commentary.

The Eighth Legion were present during the initial invasion of Britain in 43AD, very likely acting as escort to the Emperor Claudius, who is documented to have stayed for only sixteen days on the island before leaving for the continent. Vexillations of this legion are known to have been stationed in the province during the early part of the second century and possibly also during the Carausian revolt at the end of the third century, though the context of the inscription means that the legion need not have been in Britain at the time the stone was commissioned.

Numerus Equitum Stratonicianorum?

RIB 780 - Altar dedicated to Mars

To the god Mars … Januarius … of the unit of Stratonician Cavalry deservedly fulfilled his vow for himself and his family.

DEO MARTI
[...]
[...] IANVARIVS
N EQ
[...]RATONICIANO
RVM V M
PRO SE ET SOVIS

No commentary.

Other Inscribed Stones

RIB 773 - Altar dedicated to Balatucairus

To the god Balatucairus Baculo readily fulfilled his vow for himself and his family.

DEO BALATVCAI
RO BACVLO PR
O SE ET SVIS V
L S

For a comparable form Blatucairus see Jackson Lang. Early Brit. 430.

RIB 785 - Funerary inscription for Crescentinus

To the spirits of the departed Crescentinus lived 18 years. Vidaris his father set this up.

D M
CRESCENTINV
S VIXIT ANNIS
XVIII VIDARIS
PATER POSVIT

Werle, Zeitschr. f. dt. Wortforsch. 12 (1910) s.v. considers that Vidaris is a Germanic name. Addenda from RIB+add. (1995): Some twenty inscribed tombstone fragments from the cemetery east of the fort have been found since 1954: Tomlin, Cumb. Westm. AAST 2nd Ser. 76 (1976), 1-5.

RIB 787 - Funerary inscription for Tittus M[...]

To the spirits of the departed Tittus M[…] lived 32 years more or less. M[…], his brother, set up this inscription.

D C M
TITTVS M[...]
VIXIT ANN[...]
[...]VS MINVS XXXII M[...]
FRATER TI[...]VLVM
[...]T

Collingwood suggests that from the use of plus minus this is probably a Christian tombstone. Jocelyn Toynbee (BAAJ 3rd Ser. xvi (1953) 14) considers that ‘the arguments for this are not quite conclusive’ R.P.W. Addenda from RIB+add. (1995): Diehl notes (ILCV iii, p. 599) that the formula titulum posuit is frequent in Christian epitaphs from Trier and the Rhineland (cf. RICG i, p. 624); but of the other four instances in RIB, none is explicitly Christian, and RIB 620 and 689 are certainly not Christian.

RIB 2285 - Milestone of Constantine I

For the Emperor Caesar Valerius Constantinus, most dutiful Augustus.

IMP
C VAL
CONST
ANTINO
PIENT
AVG

Constantine I, A.D. 307-37.

Probable Fortlet at Lightwater Bridge

Sited upon an old river scarp on the south bank of the Eamont only 1,300 feet (c.395m) from the Brocavum fort but better situated to observe long stretches of the river, a rectangular ditched enclosure with rounded corner-angles measuring 200 feet by at least 120 feet (c.60 x 36+ m) and covering an area of about ½ acre (c.0.22 ha) has been identified as a Roman fortlet (St. Joseph, 1961).

If this small site east-north-east of the main fort indeed proves to be a fortlet, it is very unlikely that the two were occupied at the same time, and although it is probable, due to its superior position, that the fortlet post-dates the fort, this supposition cannot be proved without further investigation.

Other Roman Finds in the Area

RIB 790 - Fragmentary dedication

… gave.

[...] AR
[...]SS
[...] VG
[...] ES
[...] IVS
[...]INVS
[...] DEDIT

Perhaps more likely to have been brought from Brougham, 6.4 km. to the northwest, than across the River Eden from Kirkby Thore, 4.8 km. to the north-east.

RIB 791 - Inscription

This bath-building [for … styled …] which after the old work had been burnt had fallen into ruin … by renewing the pillars in all the rooms and by … the channels and pipes ..

BALNEVM [...]
[...] VETERI OP[...]N DILABSVM [...]
[...]ILIS PER T CELLA[  ...]
[...]ALIBVS ET F[...  ...]
[...]S[...]

Perhaps more likely to have been brought from Brougham, 6.4 km. to the northwest, than across the River Eden from Kirkby Thore, 4.8 km. to the north-east.The corresponding slab preceding this one must have carried the full style of the emperor who undertook the work cf. Wright Arch. Ael. 4th Ser. xxii (1944) 85.

RIB 792 - Altar dedicated to Jupiter Optimus Maximus and the Genius Loci

To Jupiter, Best and Greatest, and to the Genius of this place Subrius Apollinaris, princeps of the First Cohort of V(…), (set this up).

I O M
GENIO
LOCI
SVVBR AP
OLLINA
RIS PRIN
CEP C I V

7.  The cohort here abbreviated to v is unlikely to have been coh. I Vardullorum as this normally placed Fida immediately after the numeral. It may well have been coh. I Vangionum; no evidence is yet known for its position before Antonine times. Addenda from RIB+add. (1995): 6‒7.  Princeps is the title of a centurion or decurion who is the acting-commander of a unit, especially one reduced in strength or a detachment: Speidel, Brit. xii (1981), 7-13. See also Glossary.

Classical References for the Brocavum Roman Fort

The ancient name for the Brougham fort has been identified from two ancient geographical references; the Brocavo item of the Antonine Itinerary is listed 20 miles from Verteris (Brough Castle, Cumbria) and 22 miles from (Carlisle, Cumbria) at the terminus of Iter V, also the Brocara of the [link_post post_id="1497" type="link"]Ravenna Cosmology (R&C#156), which occurs between the entries for Fanvm Cocidi (Bewcastle, Cumbria) and the inidentified station Croucingo.

References for Brocavum (Brougham) Roman Fort

  • Chronicle of the Roman Emperors by Chris Scarre (Thames & Hudson, London, 1995);
  • The Roman Inscriptions of Britain by R.G. Collingwood and R.P. Wright (Oxford 1965);
  • Air Reconnaissance of North Britain by J.K. St. Joseph in J.R.S. xli (1951) pp.52-65; 

Roman Roads near Brocavum (Brougham) Roman Fort

SW (20) to Ambleside (Ambleside, Cumbria) E (7) to Bravoniacvm (Kirkby Thore, Cumbria) Itinera II et V: NNW (7) to Voreda (Old Penrith, Cumbria) S (18) to Low Borrowbridge (Cumbria) NNW (4.5) to Plvmpton Head N (5) to Salkeld Gate N (4) to Stonybeck

Sites near Brougham (Brocavum) Roman Fort