Trowupburn is a native enclosed settlement of the Roman Iron Age located in the College Valley in the northern Cheviot Hills, Northumberland, situated on a hillside above the Trowup Burn. Like other settlements of this type in the Cheviots, it likely belongs broadly to the late 1st to 4th centuries AD, representing the continued occupation of upland Northumberland by indigenous communities (within the territory of the Votadini) during the Roman period.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
The site forms part of the dense pattern of small farming settlements that characterise the Cheviot uplands under Roman influence, demonstrating that native pastoral and mixed-agricultural communities persisted essentially undisturbed beyond the formal frontier. Such sites are significant collectively for understanding the rural hinterland north of Hadrian's Wall rather than individually prominent.
The settlement survives as earthworks comprising a stone-walled or banked enclosure containing the foundations of stone-built roundhouses with associated yards, typical of the "Cheviot type" settlement recognised by surveys such as those of George Jobey in the 1960s. No modern excavation has been published for Trowupburn itself, so its dating and economy are inferred from analogy with excavated comparators in the region (e.g. Hetha Burn, Greaves Ash, Kennel Hall Knowe).
Trowupburn is a native enclosed settlement of the Roman Iron Age located in the College Valley in the northern Cheviot Hills, Northumberland, situated on a hillside above the Trowup Burn. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a settlement site from the Roman period in Britain.
Trowupburn Roman period native enclosed settlement, 120m north of Trowupburn Farm is classified as a Roman settlement — a civilian 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 period native farmstead 550m SW of Trowupburn Farm (0.7 km), Hetha Burn defended settlement, Roman period native enclosed settlement and associated trackways (0.9 km), Roman period native enclosed settlement 370m WNW of Great Hetha defended settlement (1 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 Trowupburn Roman period native enclosed settlement, 120m north of Trowupburn Farm