Tiverton (Bolham) is a Roman auxiliary fort of the Neronian period, established in the early-to-mid AD 60s as part of the network of forts pushing into the South-West peninsula in the aftermath of the conquest. It sits on Bolham Hill north of the modern town, occupying a position controlling the Exe valley route into Devon, and was likely garrisoned by an auxiliary unit (cohort-sized) for a relatively short occupation before the frontier moved on.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
The fort forms part of the chain of Neronian-Vespasianic installations in Devon and Somerset — alongside sites such as Cullompton, North Tawton, and the legionary base at Exeter (Isca) — that consolidated Roman control over Dumnonia. Its position on the Exe corridor north of Exeter made it a link in the lateral communications and supply network supporting the legionary fortress.
The site was identified primarily through aerial photography and geophysical survey, with cropmarks revealing the characteristic playing-card outline and ditch system of an auxiliary fort; limited intervention has constrained dating, but pottery and structural evidence point to a Neronian foundation. Beyond confirmation of the defences and internal layout in broad terms, little has been published in detail, and no extensive excavation of the interior has taken place.
Tiverton (Bolham) is a Roman auxiliary fort of the Neronian period, established in the early-to-mid AD 60s as part of the network of forts pushing into the South-West peninsula in the aftermath of the conquest. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Tiverton 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 Cullompton Forts (9.1 km), Roman fort 300m NE of Cudmore Farm (9.3 km), Romano-British villa, Downes, near Crediton (18.4 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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