Newton on Trent is the site of a Roman vexillation fortress of approximately 11-12 hectares, situated on the west bank of the River Trent at a strategic crossing point. The fortress dates to the conquest period, most likely the AD 50s-60s, and is associated with two adjacent marching camps, indicating its use as a campaign base during the early military penetration of the northern Midlands. A 20th-century Royal Observer Corps underground monitoring post (operational c. 1960s-1991) occupies part of the same landscape.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
The site is significant as one of a small number of vexillation fortresses in the East Midlands (alongside Rossington Bridge and Osmanthorpe), representing the temporary bases of detachment-strength forces — likely around half a legion plus auxiliaries — engaged in operations probably linked to the campaigns against the Brigantes or the consolidation of the Fosse Way frontier. Its position controls a Trent crossing on a line of advance northward from the legionary fortress at Lincoln (Lindum).
The fortress and marching camps are known primarily through aerial photography and cropmark evidence rather than extensive excavation, with the defensive circuits visible as ditched enclosures; limited fieldwork has confirmed the Roman date but no significant internal structures have been published in detail. Surface finds and the morphology of the defences are consistent with a short-lived occupation typical of vexillation fortresses el
Newton on Trent is the site of a Roman vexillation fortress of approximately 11-12 hectares, situated on the west bank of the River Trent at a strategic crossing point. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a military camp site from the Roman period in Britain.
Roman Vexillation Fortress, two Roman Marching Camps, and a Royal Observer Corps monitoring post, Newton on Trent 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 Roman fort, south of Littleborough Lane (8.4 km), Segelocum Roman town (8.7 km), Segelocum (8.9 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 Roman Vexillation Fortress, two Roman Marching Camps, and a Royal Observer Corps monitoring post, Newton on Trent