Scheduled MonumentsEnglandVindolanda (Chesterholm) Roman forts, civil settlement and cemeteries, adjacent length of the Stanegate Roman road and two milestones

Vindolanda (Chesterholm) Roman forts, civil settlement and cemeteries, adjacent length of the Stanegate Roman road and two milestones

England
List entry 1014820
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1014820
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
26.8 hectares
Grid reference
NY 76344 66400
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Vindolanda is a Roman auxiliary fort located near Chesterholm in Northumberland, England, which was established around AD 85 and occupied intermittently until the early fifth century. The fort guarded the Stanegate road, a crucial military supply route linking the garrisons of northern Britain, and was accompanied by a substantial civil settlement, multiple cemeteries, and associated milestones that together illustrate the infrastructure of Roman occupation. The site is exceptionally important for the survival of organic remains, particularly the Vindolanda writing tablets, which preserve correspondence and records of remarkable historical and linguistic value. The fort's physical remains, excavated and studied continuously since the nineteenth century, include defensive ditches, barrack blocks, administrative buildings, and layers of accumulated occupation deposits that document the economic and social life of both military personnel and civilian inhabitants across nearly three centuries of habitation.

Vindolanda (Chesterholm) Roman forts, civil settlement and cemeteries, adjacent length of the Stanegate Roman road and two milestones is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1014820. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Vindolanda (Chesterholm) Roman forts, civil settlement and cemeteries, adjacent length of the Stanegate Roman road and two milestones?

Vindolanda is a Roman auxiliary fort located near Chesterholm in Northumberland, England, which was established around AD 85 and occupied intermittently until the early fifth century. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1014820.

Who is responsible for protecting Vindolanda (Chesterholm) Roman forts, civil settlement and cemeteries, adjacent length of the Stanegate Roman road and two milestones?

Vindolanda (Chesterholm) Roman forts, civil settlement and cemeteries, adjacent length of the Stanegate Roman road and two milestones is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1014820.

What other scheduled monuments are near Vindolanda (Chesterholm) Roman forts, civil settlement and cemeteries, adjacent length of the Stanegate Roman road and two milestones?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bean Burn 1 Roman temporary camp (1.2 km), Bean Burn 2 Roman temporary camp (1.3 km), Seatsides 2 Roman temporary camp (1.5 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Vindolanda (Chesterholm) Roman forts, civil settlement and cemeteries, adjacent length of the Stanegate Roman road and two milestones

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Vindolanda (Chesterholm) Roman forts, civil settlement and cemeteries, adjacent length of the Stanegate Roman road and two milestones's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Vindolanda (Chesterholm) Roman forts, civil settlement and cemeteries, adjacent length of the Stanegate Roman road and two milestones

Vindolanda (Chesterholm) Roman forts, civil settlement and cemeteries, adjacent length of the Stanegate Roman road and two milestones stands on Yoredale Group, bedrock that formed in the Bashkirian. The rock here is limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks.

The wider landscape

Around Vindolanda (Chesterholm) Roman forts, civil settlement and cemeteries, adjacent length of the Stanegate Roman road and two milestones

Hadrian's WallArchaeological site · ~3.7 milesBattle of Otterburn 1388Battle (1388) · ~18.3 miles