Norton Fitzwarren, just northwest of Taunton in Somerset, is the site of a Roman temporary marching camp identified through aerial photography on the lower ground near the prominent later prehistoric hillfort of the same name. It most likely dates to the mid-1st century AD, associated with the Claudian-Neronian advance into the South West under Vespasian's Legio II Augusta or subsequent campaigning and consolidation in the region (c. AD 43–60s).
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
The camp lies within the strategic corridor between the Quantocks and Blackdown Hills used by Roman forces pushing west toward Devon and the Exmoor lead-silver deposits, complementing nearby installations such as the fort at Wiveliscombe and the legionary works at Exeter (Isca). It reflects the temporary, campaign-phase military presence characteristic of this frontier zone before civilian Romanisation around Taunton developed.
The camp is known primarily from cropmark evidence rather than substantial excavation, with no major published assemblage of finds specifically tied to it; the adjacent Bronze Age and Iron Age hillfort at Norton Fitzwarren has seen more archaeological attention than the Roman feature itself. Beyond morphological identification of the enclosure ditch, detail on internal layout, gates, or occupation duration remains limited in the published record.
Norton Fitzwarren, just northwest of Taunton in Somerset, is the site of a Roman temporary marching camp identified through aerial photography on the lower ground near the prominent later prehistoric hillfort of the same name. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a military camp site from the Roman period in Britain.
Norton Fitzwarren is classified as a Roman military camp — 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 Wiveliscombe Auxiliary Fort (9.2 km), Roman fort 300m NE of Cudmore Farm (17.8 km), Roman villa N of Whitestaunton (18.3 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.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any address in Britain — drawing on Roman heritage, Domesday records, scheduled monument data, archaeological finds and medieval history to reveal the complete story of a landscape.
Research the area around Norton Fitzwarren