This stretch of the Maiden Way Roman road crosses the high, exposed terrain of Melmerby Fell in the northern Pennines, running northwards from Bank Rigg towards Rowgill Burn at elevations approaching 700m. The Maiden Way as a whole linked the fort at Kirkby Thore (Bravoniacum) on the Stainmore road with Carvoran (Magnis) on Hadrian's Wall, and was in use from the early second century through the later Roman period, primarily as a military supply route that also served civilian traffic and lead-mining activity in the Alston area.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
This upland section is one of the best-preserved stretches of Roman road in northern England, demonstrating Roman engineering across difficult moorland terrain and providing a vital trans-Pennine connection between the Eden Valley garrisons and the Wall frontier. It also gave access to the mineral wealth of the North Pennines, particularly the silver-bearing lead deposits around Alston.
Field survey has recorded the road here as a substantial agger up to 6m wide with flanking quarry pits and side ditches visible in places, surviving particularly well because the moorland has escaped later cultivation. No formal excavation has taken place on this stretch, and knowledge derives chiefly from earthwork survey, aerial photography and antiquarian observation rather than from stratified archaeological investigation.
This stretch of the Maiden Way Roman road crosses the high, exposed terrain of Melmerby Fell in the northern Pennines, running northwards from Bank Rigg towards Rowgill Burn at elevations approaching 700m. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a site site from the Roman period in Britain.
Maiden Way Roman Road, Melmerby Fell from Bank Rigg northwards to Rowgill Burn is classified as a Roman site — a civilian 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 Romano-British farmstead and a length of Roman road 800m south of Winderwath (11 km), Epiakon (Epiacum) (11.4 km), Roman milestone, 180m north west of Spitals (12.1 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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Research the area around Maiden Way Roman Road, Melmerby Fell from Bank Rigg northwards to Rowgill Burn