Hardknott Roman Fort is an archeological site, the remains of the Roman fort Mediobogdum, located on the western side of the challenging Hardknott Pass in the English Lake District. The fort was built between 120 and 138 on a rocky spur, and was initially garrisoned by a detachment of the Cohors IV Delmatarum from the Dalmatian coast (in modern Croatia). It was abandoned around a decade later, then reoccupied circa 200 and remained in use for much of the next two centuries.
The fort is on land owned by the National Trust, part of the Trust's Wasdale, Eskdale and Duddon property, and is maintained by English Heritage. It is in the civil parish of Eskdale, the unitary authority area of Cumberland, and the ceremonial county of Cumbria.
The fort was built on a rocky spur giving a superb view over the River Esk in both upper and lower Eskdale, and protecting Hardknott Pass. At an altitude of 800 feet, it isn't the highest fort in the Roman province of Britannia, the highest fort is Epiacum or Whitley Castle, just over the border from Cumbria in Northumberland, at an altitude of 1,050 feet.
The ruins have been commonly known in recent times as Hardknott Fort or Hardknott Castle, but are identified from the Ravenna Cosmography as the Mediobogdum fort, situated along the Roman road between the forts of Galava at Ambleside to the east, and Glannoventa on the coast at Ravenglass to the west.
Built between about 120 and 138, the fort was abandoned during the Antonine advance into Scotland during the mid-2nd century. The fort was reoccupied around 200 and continued in use until the last years of the 4th century. During this time, an extensive vicus developed outside the fort. The initial Roman garrison here was a detachment of 500 infantry of the Cohors IV Delmatarum from the Dalmatian coast.
Leather objects from Roman occupation have been found at the site. A 1965 excavation found a piece of leather near the granary, thought to be part of soldier's jerkin. Another excavation in 1968 by Dorothy Charlesworth and J. H. Thornton uncovered more leather, including several shoes.
The fort is square with rounded corners, 114 metres long externally, or 105 metres internally, the rampart wall being about 1.7 metres thick with ditches adding to the total width of the rampart. The low walls of the fort were "restored" some years ago, a slate course showing the height of the walls before their rebuilding.
The outer wall has four gates, at the centre of each side, and lookout towers at each corner. Within the walls are the remaining outlines of several buildings: two side-by-side granaries, the garrison headquarters building and garrison commander's villa, or Praetorium. In addition to these stone buildings, long-lost timber structures would have housed barracks for the mounted auxilia.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Hardknott Roman Fort is an archeological site, the remains of the Roman fort Mediobogdum, located on the western side of the challenging Hardknott Pass in the English Lake District. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
‘Medibogdo’ 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 from Wrynose Bottom to Hardknott Ford (2.8 km), Roman road in Wrynose Bottom (6 km), Roman road up Wrynose Pass (6.7 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
Aubrey Research generates detailed historical reports for any location in Britain, incorporating Roman heritage, Domesday Book records, scheduled monument data, archaeological finds and much more. Enter a nearby address to begin.
This page covers the Roman site at ‘Medibogdo’. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this site alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any address in Britain, drawing on Roman heritage, Domesday records, scheduled monument data and medieval history to reveal the complete story of a landscape.
Research the area around ‘Medibogdo’