The Lunt Roman fort is the archaeological site of a Roman fort, of unknown name, in the Roman province of Britannia. It is open to the public and located in the village of Baginton on the south eastern outskirts of Coventry. The fort has now been fully excavated and partially reconstructed; the wooden gateway rebuild was led by archaeologist Margaret Rylatt, using the same tools and techniques that the military engineers of the Roman Army would have used. In 2001, Anglo Saxon artefacts dating to Sub-Roman Britain were discovered on the site.
The site has a large steep wooded bank, known as The Lunt, just beyond the northern boundary of the fort, which descends to the River Sowe. The elevation from the top of the bank provides good views of the landscape to the north for two or three miles (about 4.0 km).
The original Roman name for the fort is unknown. The modern name refers to "The Lunt", the local name for the steep wooded escarpment descending to the River Sowe from the plateau on which the fort sits. The name "Lunt" is derived from the Old Norse word lundr, which means a "grove" or "copse".
Four periods of occupation of the fort during periods of unrest in Roman Britain have been identified by excavation. The fort was built around AD 60 to act as a supply depot and headquarters for an unknown legion during the final campaign against Boudica.
From AD 64 it was used, in the second phase, by a cohort which reduced the size of the fort, but from which the principia, praetorium, two granaries and six barrack blocks have been excavated. A number of buildings were demolished to construct a gyrus. Many horse fittings, possible stabling, an extensive metalworking area, granary and storage space suggests a cavalry unit was present at this time. This second phase lasted until AD 77/8.
The third period of AD 77/78-79 included construction of a double ditch system, a twin-portalled gateway on the south and occupation outside the defences until the fort was decommissioned.
After AD 260, perhaps during the rebel Gallic Empire, it was recommissioned as a temporary fort with ditches on a similar alignment but slightly larger than that of Period 2. This is based on the discovery of a single coin found in the post hole of a gateway at the site of the fort that dates to the reign of Gallienus (r. 260–268), but the coin could have been a casual loss long after the fort had been abandoned.
The north, south and west sides followed the usual pattern for a Roman camp of straight ditches and ramparts. However, on the eastern side the defences bulge out around a circular structure with a diameter of 32 m (105 ft), enclosing an area of 1,024 m2 (1,225 yd2). The sand and gravel subsoil had been dug out to a depth of 600 to 900 mm (24 to 35 in) and the area surrounded with a timber stockade.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
The Lunt Roman fort is the archaeological site of a Roman fort, of unknown name, in the Roman province of Britannia. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Lunt Roman fort 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 settlement at Glasshouse Wood (4.8 km), Radford Semele (10.6 km), Long Itchington (12.2 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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