Bremetennacum,, or Bremetennacum Veteranorum, was a Roman fort on the site of the present day village of Ribchester in Lancashire, England (grid reference SD650350). (Misspellings in ancient geographical texts include Bremetonnacum, Bremetenracum or Bresnetenacum.) The site is a Scheduled Monument.
The site guarded a crossing-point of the River Ribble. The first known Roman activity was the building of a timber fort, believed to have been constructed during the campaigns of Petillius Cerialis around AD 72/3. This was replaced by a stone fort in the 2nd century. For most of its existence the fort was garrisoned by Sarmatian auxiliaries, first stationed in Britain by Marcus Aurelius in 175. Prior to that it is suggested that the fort was garrisoned by the Ala II Asturum from Spain, but there is some uncertainty about this. Pottery evidence indicates that the fort was occupied for most of the 4th century until the end of the Roman period.
The first fort was built in timber in AD 72/73 by Legio XX Valeria Victrix. The fort was renovated in the late 1st century AD and was rebuilt in stone in the early 2nd century. During the life of the fort, a village grew up around it. A fort remained at Ribchester until the 4th century AD and its remains can still be seen around the present village.
In the spring of 1913 a small school-building was pulled down at Ribchester, and the Manchester Classical Association was able to resume its examination of the Principia (praetorium) of the Roman fort, above a part of which this building had stood. The work was carried out by Prof. W. B. Anderson, of Manchester University, and Mr. D. Atkinson, Research Fellow of Reading College, and, though limited in extent, was very successful.
The first discovery of the Principia is due to Miss Greenall, who about 1905 was building a house close to the school and took care that certain remains found by her builders should be duly noted: excavations in 1906-07, however, left the size and extent of these remains somewhat uncertain and resulted in what we now know to be an incorrect plan. The work done last spring (1913) makes it plain (see illustration) that the Principia fronted — in normal fashion — the main street of the fort (gravel laid on cobbles) running from the north to the south gate. But, abnormally, the frontage was formed by a verandah or colonnade: the only parallel which I can quote is from Caersws, where excavations in 1909 revealed a similar verandah in front of the Principia. Next to the verandah stood the usual Outer Court with a colonnade round it and two wells in it (one is the usual provision): the colonnade seemed to have been twice rebuilt. Beyond that are fainter traces of the Inner Court which, however, lies mostly underneath a churchyard: the only fairly clear feature is a room (A on plan) which seems to have stood on the right side of the Inner Court, as at Chesters and Ambleside. Behind this, probably, stood the usual five office rooms.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Bremetennacum,, or Bremetennacum Veteranorum, was a Roman fort on the site of the present day village of Ribchester in Lancashire, England (grid reference SD650350). It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Bremetennacum Veteranorum 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 Ribchester Roman Bath House (0 km), Roman signal station on Mellor Moor (4 km), Length of Roman road N of Bateson's Farm (11.7 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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