Derventio, sometimes described as Derventio Brigantium (Latin for "Derventio of the Brigantes") in order to distinguish it from other places called Derventio, was a Roman fort and settlement located beneath the modern town of Malton in North Yorkshire, England. The fort is 18 miles north-east of Eboracum on the River Derwent.
The Roman name for the Malton military complex first appears in the Antonine Itinerary of the late-second century. It is also mentioned in the fourth- or fifth-century Notitia Dignitatum as Deruentione – the last auxiliary garrison "at the disposal of the Right Honourable Duke of the Britains".
Initial investigations at the site were undertaken by Philip Corder and John Kirk in the 1930s. The excavated material from this site formed the core collection of the Malton Museum. These excavations took in both the defences and interior buildings of the north-east corner of the fort and trial trenches in the south-west of the fort. A further series of excavations between 1949 and 1952 by the Ministry of Works in the civilian settlement uncovered multiple phases of activity as well as a road, several buildings and a mosaic.
Timber and stone structures were identified during excavations on the fort in 1970 by Leslie Peter Wenham. A complex building sequence was revealed, with major phases occurring during the Trajanic, Severan, Constantian and Theodosian periods. The south and west defences of an early Roman military work were confirmed beneath the vicus buildings, very likely a southern annexe of the known fort. These additional defences comprised a turf rampart 16 ft (4.9m) wide, backing a ditch 6 ft (1.8m) wide and 3½ft (1.2m) deep.
The earliest secure construction of a fort at Malton was in the AD 70s under Agricola, contemporary with the nearby fortress at Eboracum. Built on the north side of the River Derwent, this original phase was in timber, with the wall being rebuilt in stone in the early second century. The presence of the Ala shows that for at least part of its history, Derventio was capable of housing a mounted cavalry unit.
Only a single unit has been clearly associated with occupation at this site, the Ala Gallorum Picentiana (The Picentine wing of Gauls). The single record of this unit is an altar dedicated by the Prefect Candidus, from the ruins of the Severan bathhouse. It remains unclear when the Ala Gallorum Picentiana were first established at Malton and when they left. However, a Hamian archers unit, known as "Numerus Syrorum Saggitariorum", served at Derventio Brigantum.
As with many Roman forts, a civilian settlement grew up around the established military base. The evidence at Malton shows extramural settlement surrounding the south gate of the fort and crossing to the south side of the river, following the roads leading away from the fort. Many buildings were discovered, the most elaborate of which was found some 150 ft south of the fort, measured 90 ft by 30 ft and included heated floors. One mid-second century structure contained circular baking ovens. To the west of the road a series of rectangular buildings of an average size of 25 by 40 ft stood closely compacted together and have been interpreted as workshops or store-houses; most of the pottery from this area, including much local ware, and coin evidence dates this area to the second half of the third and the first half of the fourth century. It has been suggested that a spring in the north-east of the civilian settlement may have been the source for the bath-house, although the structure has not been located. A canal, dug in 1810, destroyed any of the structures which may have been close to the line of the river.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Derventio, sometimes described as Derventio Brigantium (Latin for "Derventio of the Brigantes") in order to distinguish it from other places called Derventio, was a Roman fort and settlement located beneath the modern town of Malton in North Yorkshire, England. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Derventio 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 Langton (4.8 km), Roman site SW of Kennythorpe (6 km), Roman pottery kilns and associated features at Crambeck (7.2 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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