Ilkley (probably ancient Verbeia, named after the goddess of the River Wharfe) was an auxiliary fort on the road linking Manchester (Mamucium) and York (Eboracum), guarding a crossing of the Wharfe in the Pennine foothills. First established in timber under Agricola or shortly after (c. AD 79–80), it was rebuilt in stone in the early-to-mid 2nd century and occupied, with periods of disrepair and refurbishment, into the 4th century. The fort is small (c. 1.2 hectares), consistent with garrisoning by a single auxiliary cohort.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Verbeia formed part of the network of forts pacifying and controlling the Brigantes in the trans-Pennine region, complementing sites like Elslack, Olicana (Bainbridge) and Castleshaw. Its cult dedications to the local river-goddess Verbeia are unusual and provide rare epigraphic evidence for the Romanisation of indigenous Pennine deities.
The fort lies beneath the centre of Ilkley around the parish church and manor house; excavations by Woodward (1920s) and by Hartley in the 1960s revealed timber-phase defences, stone curtain walls, gateways, and internal buildings including granaries and barracks. Finds include altars to Verbeia and to Hercules-Brigans, tombstones, and a sequence of pottery and coins indicating occ
Ilkley (probably ancient Verbeia, named after the goddess of the River Wharfe) was an auxiliary fort on the road linking Manchester (Mamucium) and York (Eboracum), guarding a crossing of the Wharfe in the Pennine foothills. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Ilkley (Verbeia?) 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 Roman period native settlement in Danefield Wood, 490m south west of Stubbings Farm (10.7 km), Roman period native settlement in Poolscar Wood, 350m south of Stubbings Farm (11 km), Adel (17.4 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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