Branodunum

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Coordinates: 52°57′50″N 0°39′07″E / 52.9639°N 0.6519°E / 52.9639; 0.6519
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Branodunum
Grid reference
TF7844

Branodunum was an ancient Roman fort to the east of the modern English village of Brancaster in Norfolk. Its Roman name derives from the local Celtic language, and may mean "fort of the raven".

History

The fort, built in the 230s, became later part of the

Aquitania".[3] There is possible evidence (burials and grave goods) of later Saxon use of the site.[4]

According to the

National Trust notice boards present on the site of the fort, the fort is within a rectangular field to the east of the current village of Brancaster; there is no urban development on the fort's site itself. Urban residential development in the 1970s has covered much of the area to the west of the fort where part of the local 'vicus
' (surrounding civilian settlement) was situated.

Location and construction

The site is bounded by the modern village of Brancaster to the west, and the

National Trust
. Free access is possible from the adjoining A149 road or the Norfolk Coastal Walk.

In Roman times, the fort's northern wall lay directly on the seashore, which served as a harbour. Since then, the shoreline has accreted, and the fort now lies inland. The fort was of a rectangular shape with rounded corners, with a 10 ft (3.0 m) wide wall with internal turrets at the corners and backed by an earthen rampart, which increased the wall's strength and gave easy access to the battlements. In front of the wall there was a V-shaped single ditch.

Boudicca in the mid-1st century AD.[4]

The walls still stood up to 12 feet (3.7 metres) tall in the seventeenth century, but robbing of materials during following centuries means that only the site and the earthworks now remain.[8]

Archaeology

The site provided the subject of an episode of archaeological television programme Time Team first broadcast in January 2013. The Time Team made new discoveries which extend the knowledge base beyond that described above. In 2018, archaeological geophysicist John Gater returned to the site with Sumo Survey Services and was able to confirm the outline of the fort and the layout of interior features like barrack rooms and major buildings.[9]

References

  1. ^ Johnston 1977, pp. 3–5.
  2. ^ Notitia Dignitatum, Pars Occ., XXVIII.16
  3. ^ Johnston 1977, pp. 8, 27.
  4. ^ a b c Johnston 1977, p. 29.
  5. ^ Fields 2006, p. 25.
  6. ^ a b Johnston 1977, p. 25.
  7. ^ Brancaster (Branodunum): Archaeology Data Service
  8. ^ BRANODUNUM: Archaeology Data Service
  9. ^ "Ground Penetrating Radar and Aerial Survey at Branodunum", Sumo Survey Services

Sources

  • Fields, Nic (2006). Rome's Saxon Shore - Coastal Defences of Roman Britain AD 250-500 (Fortress 56).
    ISBN 978-1-84603-094-9
    .
  • Johnston, David E., ed. (1977). "The Saxon Shore" (PDF).
    ISBN 0-900312-43-2
    . Retrieved 20 August 2007.

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Branodonum.
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