Magnis (Carvoran) was a Roman auxiliary fort on the Stanegate frontier in Northumberland, predating Hadrian's Wall and then incorporated into its system, sitting just south of the Vallum near the junction with the Maiden Way running north from Kirkby Thore. Occupied from the late 1st century through the 4th century, it covered about 1.5 hectares; the Notitia Dignitatum records the Cohors I Hamiorum Sagittariorum (Syrian archers from Hama) garrisoned here in the 2nd century, an unusual specialist unit on the Wall.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Magnis controlled the strategic junction of the Stanegate and the Maiden Way, making it a key node linking the Wall frontier to the supply routes from the south. Its garrisoning by Syrian archers, attested by altars to Hammia and Syrian deities, marks it as a distinctive ethnic-religious community within the frontier zone.
The fort platform survives as earthworks, but the interior has seen only limited modern excavation; key finds include several inscribed altars (notably to Dea Syria and by the Hamian cohort) and the Carvoran modius, a bronze grain measure of AD 90/91, one of the most important Roman metrological artefacts from Britain. The site is today the location of the Roman Army Museum, whose grounds cover much of the unexcavated fort.
Magnis (Carvoran) was a Roman auxiliary fort on the Stanegate frontier in Northumberland, predating Hadrian's Wall and then incorporated into its system, sitting just south of the Vallum near the junction with the Maiden Way running north from Kirkby Thore. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Magnis 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 Milecastle 46 (Carvoran) (0.3 km), Turret 45B (Walltown West) (0.5 km), Turret 46A (0.7 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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