Summary

Two Roman camps 550m south-east of Burlington Farm.

Source: Historic England

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 17 June 2015. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records. As such they do not yet have the full descriptions of their modernised counterparts available. Please contact us if you would like further information.

This monument includes two superimposed Roman camps situated on a very slight spur on the south western side of Burlington Pool and on the western bank of a tributary to the River Worfe. The smaller camp lies within and shares the northern corner of the larger camp and both are to the south of the Roman road of Watling Street. Both camps survive as predominantly buried structures, layers and deposits visible on aerial photographs as crop and soil marks, with the very slightest of surface undulations discernible on the ground. The camps are both rectangular in plan with rounded corners although the larger is of more regular rectangular shape. Both camps are defined by single ditches. Trial excavation has revealed the ditch shared by both camps has a V-shaped profile and measures up to 1.5m wide and 0.7m deep. The larger camp measures approximately 460m long by 340m wide (thus covering around 15.3ha) and is aligned roughly ENE to WSW following the topography rather than running parallel to Watling Street. There is an entrance to the centre of the north east side. The northern corner has been subject to shallow quarrying. The smaller camp lies within and shares the northern corner and part of the north-west and north eastern sides of the larger camp. It measures approximately 200m long by 130m wide (2.5ha), is more clearly visible on aerial photographs and is slightly less regular in plan. Its clearer definition and relative closeness to the road implies this is the more recent camp of the two.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Roman camps are rectangular or sub-rectangular enclosures which were constructed and used by Roman soldiers either when out on campaign or as practice camps although most campaign camps were only temporary overnight bases and few were used for longer periods. They were bounded by a single earthen rampart and outer ditch and in plan are always straight-sided with rounded corners. Normally they have between one and four entrances, although as many as eleven have been recorded. Such entrances were usually centrally placed in the sides of the camp and were often protected by additional defensive outworks. Roman camps are found throughout much of England, although most known examples lie in the midlands and north. Around 140 examples have been identified and, as one of the various types of defensive enclosure built by the Roman Army, particularly in hostile upland and frontier areas, they provide an important insight into Roman military strategy and organisation. Despite cultivation and limited quarrying the two Roman camps 550m south east of Burlington Farm survive comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to their construction, longevity, relative chronologies, inter-relationship with the Roman road, military, strategic and political significance and overall landscape context.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
PastScape 73972 and 918132
Shropshire HER 01111

Source: Historic England