Chew Green is the site of the ancient Roman encampment, commonly but erroneously called Ad Fines (Latin: The Limits) on the 1885-1900 edition of the Ordnance Survey map, in Northumberland, England, 8 miles (13 km) north of Rochester and 9 miles (14 km) west of Alwinton. The encampment was adjacent to Dere Street, a Roman road that stretched south to York (Eboracum), and almost on the present-day border with Scotland.
Archaeological excavation at Chew Green has uncovered a complex of Roman military camps consisting of a Roman fort, two fortlets, two camps and a section of Roman road. The Roman remains were overlaid with evidence of the medieval settlement of Kemylpethe that included a small chapel, although the evidence for this latter is based on reports of an undocumented excavation in the 1880s and must be regarded as insubstantial. The largest camp structure is a square that encloses about 17 acres (7 ha) with a defensive rampart and ditch. Evidence inside the fort indicates it was used as permanent settlement. The encampment likely served only as a military base, not a colonial settlement.
The site is within the Northumberland National Park and within the Military Training Area at Otterburn.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Chew Green is the site of the ancient Roman encampment, commonly but erroneously called Ad Fines (Latin: The Limits) on the 1885-1900 edition of the Ordnance Survey map, in Northumberland, England, 8 miles (13 km) north of Rochester and 9 miles (14 km) west of Alwinton. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Chew Green 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 Brownhart Law (1.2 km), Roman camp, 1.05km north of Featherwood (3.7 km), Roman camp, 900m NNE of Featherwood (4.3 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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This page covers the Roman site at Chew Green. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this site alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:
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