Roman BritainCorda?
Roman Fort · Military

Corda?

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: 89139
Site type
Fort
Category
Military
Latitude
55.6799
Longitude
-3.7055
Overview

History & context

Formerly ) Castledykes (NAT) Roman Fort (R) Roman Fort, Castledykes: The Romans established sizable garrisons here in both the Flavian and Antonine periods. The superimposed remains of their successive forts lie on the edge of the escarpment 60m SE of Corbiehall farmhouse. Although almost the entire perimeter of the defences can be traced above ground, the only substantial remains are on the E, where the rampart survives to a maximum height of 1.5m above the level of the interior. Most of our knowledge of the history of the fort derives from excavations carried out between 1937 and 1955 (A S Robertson 1964), but air photographs have revealed the presence on the same plateau of at least three temporary camps and four enclosures (see .00 and 7.02 - 7.06 and 16) all now totally levelled by cultivation. Flavian Fort: Although two subsequent occupations had destroyed or obscured much of the defences, excavation showed that the Flavian fort, which faced S, measured internally about 174m by 160m. The rampart, built of turf and earth, was at least 6m thick, and in front of it were from two to five ditches. The relatively shallow innermost ditch was 2.3m in average width, but the original dimensions of the rest are uncertain, since they were recut in the Antonine period. (Internal details and discussion of the garrison are given.) An unusual feature (X on plan) was a discontinuous ditch, measuring on average only 1.9m wide and 0.75m deep, which was traced round the E half of the fort outside the defences already described. A short section of what was presumably the same ditch was also found on the N side of the W gate, although between that gate and the one on the N it had otherwise been destroyed by the outer ditch of the fort, while more recently it has been revealed as a crop-mark to the S of the W gate. No fewer than seven entrances were located in this outlying ditch, and at three of them the ditch terminals were either staggered or made to overlap in a manner unusual in Roman castramentation. The excavator suggested that the ditch represented an Agricolan defensive enclosure which was replaced later in the Flavian period by a permanent fort, but it has also been interpreted as a contemporary outwork; a more likely explanation may be that it was a purely temporary defence thrown up by troops building the fort itself.

Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Corda??

Formerly ) Castledykes (NAT) Roman Fort (R) Roman Fort, Castledykes: The Romans established sizable garrisons here in both the Flavian and Antonine periods. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.

What type of Roman site is Corda??

Corda? 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.

What other Roman sites are near Corda??

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Wandel (17.5 km), Castle Greg (19.3 km), Tocherknowe (22.8 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.

How can I research the history of the area around Corda??

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Everything a full report reveals about Corda?

This page covers the Roman site at Corda?. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this site alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

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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