Banna (Birdoswald) is a Hadrian's Wall auxiliary fort in Cumbria, occupying a commanding spur above a meander of the River Irthing. Built in stone c. AD 122–130 to replace an earlier Turf Wall arrangement, it covered roughly 2.1 hectares and housed a 1,000-strong mixed unit; inscriptions attest the cohors I Aelia Dacorum garrisoned here through much of the 3rd and 4th centuries. Occupation continued unusually late, with timber halls erected over the granaries indicating sub-Roman use into the 5th and possibly early 6th century.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Banna was one of the principal forts on the western sector of Hadrian's Wall, controlling the Irthing crossing and the junction between the original Turf Wall and its later stone replacement. It is among the most important sites in Britain for evidence of continuity from Roman garrison to post-Roman warband centre, making it a key site in debates about the end of Roman Britain.
Extensive excavations, notably those directed by Tony Wilmott from 1987 onwards, have revealed the gates, granaries, principia, basilica exercitatoria (drill-hall), and the late timber halls overlying the south granary. Numerous altars and building inscriptions naming the Dacian cohort have been recovered, alongside extramural settlement and cemetery remains, and the fort circuit survives as one of the
Banna (Birdoswald) is a Hadrian's Wall auxiliary fort in Cumbria, occupying a commanding spur above a meander of the River Irthing. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Banna is classified as a Roman fort — a military site in the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer. Roman Britain's archaeology encompasses thousands of sites ranging from legionary fortresses and marching camps to villas, temples and towns.
Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Turret 49A (0 km), Turret 49B (Birdoswald) (0.4 km), Turret 49B (Turf Wall) (0.4 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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