Charterhouse Fort

Auxiliary Fort

An English Heritage survey in 2007 suggested an Iron Age origin for the enclosure, with a subsequent Roman fort constructed within the enclosure bounds.

A Roman settlement associated with mining activities at Charterhouse-on-Mendip, Priddy, Somerset, centred on ST 500 562, and recognised as one of the most important Roman industrial sites in Britain. Silver, lead, zinc, iron, and haematite are all likely to have been extracted, and at least 11 lead ingots have been found which are believed to have originated from the site. The available evidence suggests the settlement was occupied from the immediate post-Roman Conquest period to at least the early fourth century, although it is not clear which elements were occupied contemporaneously. An English Heritage survey in 2007 characterised the settlement and its relationship with the core mining zones of Blackmoor and Velvet Bottom valleys, and included earthwork survey, and aerial photograph and LiDAR analysis.

The survey covered several different areas – Hill Ground, Lower Rains Batch, Marthas Lot, Charterhouse Green, Great Cowleaze Pasture, Plentys, Hundred Acre, Upper Rains Batch, Grays Ground, and Further Blackmoor, and has demonstrated that it covered an area of at least 27 hectares. It consists of a regular system of streets adapted to the local topography, which, where visible, divided a series of compound enclosures consisting of a varied layout of building-platforms and yards. Trackways, building platforms (at least 65), and enclosures indicate an unenclosed settlement, although a possible boundary ditch on the north-east side was identified, beyond which a possible cemetery has been located. Including the military monument of the fort and possible amphitheatre, the potential settlement area increases up to 36 hectares. The area of the settlement could potentially expand even beyond this, into unsurveyed areas such as Home Ground to the south-east and the probable industrial focus in the Blackmoor and Velvet Bottom valleys.

Sites near Charterhouse Fort