Slack Roman Fort stood on a plateau above the Colne valley in West Yorkshire, on the trans-Pennine road linking Chester (Deva) with York (Eboracum) via Manchester (Mamucium) and Castleshaw. Built in the late Flavian period (c. AD 78–80, likely under Agricola) and occupied into the mid-second century before being abandoned around AD 140, it was an auxiliary fort of roughly 1.4 hectares with associated vicus and bath-house. Its identification with the Ptolemaic toponym Camulodunum of the Brigantes is plausible but unproven.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Slack was a key garrison post controlling the western Pennine crossing and policing Brigantian territory, part of the Flavian consolidation of northern England following the suppression of Cartimandua's kingdom. Its abandonment in the Antonine period reflects the broader northward shift of the frontier and reduced need for interior Pennine garrisons.
The site was investigated principally by Ian Richmond and Petch in the 1913–1915 excavations directed by P. W. Dodd and A. M. Woodward, revealing a turf-and-timber rampart, four gates, internal timber buildings, and a substantial stone bath-house outside the defences; tile stamps of the Cohors IIII Breucorum have been recovered, identifying the garrison. Later geophysical and limited excavation work has clarified the v
Slack Roman Fort stood on a plateau above the Colne valley in West Yorkshire, on the trans-Pennine road linking Chester (Deva) with York (Eboracum) via Manchester (Mamucium) and Castleshaw. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Slack Roman Fort (Camulodonum?) 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 Grimscar Roman tilery (4.9 km), Blackstone Edge Roman road See also WEST YORKSHIRE 32 (10.6 km), Blackstone Edge Roman road See also GREATER MANCHESTER 5 (10.6 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 Slack Roman Fort (Camulodonum?)