Monument record MLI50546 - Roman Temporary Camps, Newton Cliff

Summary

Cropmarks of Roman temporary camps, at Newton Cliff.

Type and Period (2)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

Nearly 700ft south of the possible vexillation fortress at Newton on Trent, part of the perimeter of a temporary camp has been recorded. The remains were identified as a cropmark on aerial photographs, being a length of 750ft, including a probable gate with clavicula. A clavicula (meaning ‘little key’ in Latin) was a small extension to the defensive ditch of a Roman fortified camp, located in the area of a gateway. They were used to create a defended pathway into the camp through which an enemy would be forced to turn to the left and thus expose their right (and thus unshielded) sword-arm to defenders on the ramparts. If the clavicula is assumed to be internal, as is much the commonest arrangement, this will be the north side of a camp that lies wholly south of the fortress, while the total length of the one proven side is unlikely to be less than 1,150ft. {1}{2}{3}{4} The remains of part of the temporary camp were identified during analysis of aerial photographs in 2010. A ditch of some 380m long could be discerned as cropmarks, with the clavicula roughly midway along its visible length. Whilst the internal position of clavicula is the more common arrangement for Roman forts, they can also be external to a fort's perimeter, and it is not clear in this instance what the arrangement is here. It is therefore not clear whether the camp's interior lay to the north or south of this ditch. If it had lain to the north, it would likely have overlapped with the area covered by the probable vexillation fortress, suggesting this camp was the precursor to the fortress (see PRN 54212). Cropmarks of a second ditch could be discerned a short distance to the south of the ditch with clavicula. This second ditch lies on a similar alignment though has a rounded corner at its eastern end, which may indicate that a second temporary camp had been located in this area. Cropmarks of a third ditch located futher to the south had been previously recorded. It has been thought possible that this ditch may represent the southern side of the camp with clavicula, though this interpretation remains speculative (see PRN 58335). {5} Fourteen sherds of Roman pottery were recovered during a systematic fieldwalking survey, conducted in 2011, with the majority of the sherds being found in the area of the suspected Roman temporary camp. The sherds were all heavily abraded body sherds, and could only be broadly dated from the 1st to the 4th centuries. {6}{7} The marching camps respect the position of the fortress to the north, rather than occupying the strategically more important ground of the fortress itself, indicating that they were built while the fortress was still occupied. The northernmost of the two camps comprises a 280m long cropmark with an entrance in the middle. The entrance has a clavicula (a curved extension of the rampart and ditch extending within the defences in lieu of a gate) mid-way along. To the south is another 170m long cropmark with a rounded corner to the south, showing the presence of a second camp probably lying within the first. If this is indeed the case, then the camps would not be contemporary with each other. The presence of a defensive clavicula in the one visible gate suggests a 1st century date, so they may represent marching camps for units travelling from Lindum (Lincoln) into Brigantian territory. {8}

Sources/Archives (8)

  •  Index: Lincolnshire County Council. Sites and Monuments Record Card Index. SK 87 SW: K.
  •  Index: Ordnance Survey. Ordnance Survey Card Index. SK 87 SW: 27.
  •  Article in Serial: ST JOSEPH, J.K.S.. 1969. JOURNAL OF ROMAN STUDIES. vol.59, p.104.
  •  Aerial Photograph: 1945-84. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY COLLECTION. BUQ 17 (1975).
  •  Report: Deegan, Alison. 2010. Air Photo Mapping for Land at Newton on Trent. Feature 27.
  •  Report: Oxford Archaeology East. 2012. Lincoln Water Treatment Works, Newton on Trent. OAE site code: LWTN 11.
  •  Archive: Oxford Archaeology East. 2011. Lincoln Water Treatment Works, Newton on Trent. LCNCC 2011.51.
  •  Website: Historic England (formerly English Heritage). 2011->. The National Heritage List for England. http://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/. 1003608.

Map

Find a placename, postcode or grid reference

Map layers

Base layers

Info

Record list

Tools

Location

Grid reference Centred SK 8248 7329 (610m by 413m) Estimated from Sources
Civil Parish NEWTON ON TRENT, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (1)

Please contact the HER for details.

External Links (0)

Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

Feedback?

Your feedback is welcome. If you can provide any new information about this record, please contact us.