Castle Shaw (Rigodunum) Roman Forts

Flavian Auxiliary Fort (AD 69–96) and Fortlet

The Flavian Auxiliary Fort, circa AD 79, at Rigodunum measures 360 by 300 feet inside the defences giving an occupation area of just under 2½ acres. The rampart is 18 feet wide on average, and constructed partly of turf and partly of clay. There is a 15 foot wide ditch close to the rampart, with an outlying, smaller, second ditch on the weaker sides. All four gates were of timber construction, the main eastern and western gateways were double. Originally built during the Flavian period, the fort was abandoned for some time before the site was later re-used. This was refurbished soon after construction and then abandoned circa AD 95.

The original fort was demolished in circa AD 105 and replaced by a much smaller Trajanic Fortlet, within the south eastern half of the fort. The “Castleshaw II” fort, although on the site of the original fort, had two ditches and a rampart of its own and enclosed an area 50 metres by 40 metres with barracks, workshops and a large granary. Its defences consisted of  a 13 feet wide turf rampart, probably having a timber walkway and palisade along the top, with a timber double-gateway in each of the longer sides. Internal buildings were mainly of timber but at least one stone building is indicated. Artefacts found on the site suggest an occupation date of c.100-120AD. With an internal area of just half an acre, this fortlet was, in the words of R.G. Collingwood; “obviously a block house for a handful of men policing the road”.

The presence of ash-pits inside the fort and rampart material in the lower half of the ditches, suggested that when the fort was abandoned the defences were partly levelled, the buildings systematically demolished and their timbers burnt.

The fort was abandoned c.AD 125.

RIB 582 - Dedication to the Victory of the Sixth Legion

To the Victory of the Sixth Legion Victrix Valerius Rufus willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow.

VICTORIAE
LEG VI VIC
VAL RVFVS
V S L M

This plate and the movable wristlet to which it is added appear to form an offering additional to the statuette itself. Sir George Macdonald points out that this must represent loot from the legionary headquarters at York.

The roman road from Castleshaw to Slack was identified in 1969 to the north-east of the fort (@ SE003098), climbing Standedge Ridge by means of a graded terraceway. The road was originally more than 22 feet (6.7m) wide but has been considerably eroded.

Who Garrisoned the Rigodunum Forts?

Cohors Tertiae Bracaraugustanorum – The Third Cohort from Bracara Augusta

COH III BR[A?]

“[Property of] the Third Bracaraugustan Cohort.”

(Burn 30b)

The only evidence for the name of the auxiliary regiment which occupied the Castleshaw fort comes in the form of roofing? tiles bearing the stamp of Cohors III Bracaraugustanorum, a Hispanic regiment from a town in the Roman province of Lusitania, now Braga in northern Portugal. The regiment is also recorded on tiles recovered from the fort at Manchester (Burn 30a).

Classical References to Rigodunum – The Fortress of the King

The only classical reference we have for the Roman name of Castleshaw is Geography of Ptolemy of the second century, where it appears among the nine poleis attributed to the Brigantes tribe of northern England. The ‘town’ is named Rigodunum and is listed between the entries for Isurium Brigantum the tribal capital, and the auxiliary fort at Olenacum.

The Roman name for Castleshaw is said to be British in origin, from the words rigon ‘king’ and dunum ‘fortified encampment’, easily translated as ‘the King’s Fort’, although it is not known which iron-age monarch is implied in the name. The name cannot apply to the Roman fort, which was probably built here in order to mount an offensive against a nearby Brigantian stronghold, and it is this unknown native fort after which the Roman site was later named.

References for Rigodvnvm

  • Britannia ii (1971) p.253;
  • The Romans in Britain – An Anthology of Inscriptions by A.R. Burn (Blackwell, Oxford, 1969);
  • The Roman Inscriptions of Britain by R.G. Collingwood and R.P. Wright (Oxford 1965);
  • Roman Roads in Britain : Volume II North of the Foss Way – Bristol Channel by Ivan D. Margary (London 1957); 

Map References for Rigodvnvm

NGRef: SD9909 OSMap: LR109

Roman Roads near Rigodvnvm

NE (7) to Cambodvnvm (Slack, West Yorkshire) WSW (12) to Mamvcivm (Manchester, Greater Manchester)

Sites near Castle Shaw (Rigodunum) Roman Forts