Condercum ("place with a fine view") was a Roman auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall at modern Benwell, in the western suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne. Built c. AD 122–125 as part of the Wall's initial construction, it was garrisoned into the late 4th century, housing units including the ala I Hispanorum Asturum (a 500-strong cavalry regiment) for much of the 3rd and 4th centuries. The fort covered c. 2.2 hectares and projected northward through the Wall in the standard cavalry plan.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
As the third fort east of the North Tyne and overlooking the Tyne valley approach to Newcastle, Condercum guarded a key stretch of the Wall and the road north. It is notable for its temple of Antenociticus, a local Celtic deity attested almost nowhere else, indicating syncretic religious practice among the garrison.
The fort itself lies almost entirely beneath the Benwell housing estate and a reservoir, but excavations in the 1920s–30s (Simpson and Richmond) recovered the temple of Antenociticus — preserved in situ with replica altars — and the unique stone-built Vallum crossing with its monumental gateway, the only such causeway known on the Wall. Inscriptions naming the Asturians, a dedication slab to Antenociticus, and the cult statue head (now in the Great North Museum) are among the principal fin
Condercum ("place with a fine view") was a Roman auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall at modern Benwell, in the western suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Condercum 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 6A (0.2 km), Turret 6B (Benwell Hill) (0.3 km), Milecastle 6 (Benwell Grove) (0.8 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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