Old Carlisle (identified with the *Maglone/Maglona* of the Ravenna Cosmography, though the identification is not certain) was an auxiliary cavalry fort on the road running south from Carlisle through Cumbria, occupied from roughly the early 2nd century until the late 4th century AD. It garrisoned the *ala Augusta*, a 500-strong cavalry regiment attested epigraphically here through much of the 3rd century, and was accompanied by an unusually extensive *vicus* (civilian settlement) on the surrounding slopes.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
The fort was a key node in the network of Hadrianic and later forts policing the Cumbrian hinterland behind Hadrian's Wall, controlling movement along the western Stainmore-to-Carlisle corridor. Its long cavalry occupation and substantial vicus suggest it functioned as a regional military-economic centre rather than a mere frontier outpost, with altars recording dedications to Jupiter Optimus Maximus by the *ala Augusta* and its prefects.
The site has never been comprehensively excavated, but aerial photography and geophysical survey (notably the work culminating in Higham and Jones's studies in the 1980s) have revealed the playing-card fort plan and an extensive vicus with streets, enclosures, and field systems extending over many hectares. Numerous inscribed altars and tombstones recovered since the 18th century document the garrison
Old Carlisle (identified with the *Maglone/Maglona* of the Ravenna Cosmography, though the identification is not certain) was an auxiliary cavalry fort on the road running south from Carlisle through Cumbria, occupied from roughly the early 2nd century until the late 4th century AD. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
‘Maglone’ 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 road, Waverbridge to Pattenfoot (4.6 km), Sandy Brow Romano-British settlement (4.8 km), Three Romano-British settlements, an irregular aggregate field system, and a bowl barrow on Aughertree Fell (8.6 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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