The Cheeke Street fort was an auxiliary-scale Roman military installation discovered in 2019 during groundworks for Exeter's new bus station, located on the north-eastern side of the Roman town. It appears to date to the mid-1st century AD and likely operated alongside, or shortly after, the better-known legionary fortress of Isca Dumnoniorum (established c. AD 55–60 for Legio II Augusta), forming part of the Claudian-Neronian military presence in the south-west.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
The discovery substantially revises understanding of Roman Exeter, demonstrating that the military footprint in the south-west was more complex than the single legionary fortress model previously assumed, and suggesting a network of forts supporting the conquest and control of the Dumnonii. It adds to a growing picture of multiple auxiliary forts around Exeter (alongside sites like Topsham and the suspected installation at St Loye's), reflecting Exeter's role as the south-western military hub before the legion's transfer to Caerleon c. AD 75.
Excavations by Cotswold Archaeology identified defensive ditches, rampart material, and internal features consistent with a Roman fort, along with 1st-century military finds including pottery and metalwork. Full publication remains limited, and the fort's precise plan, garrison, and duration of occupation are not yet firmly established in print.
The Cheeke Street fort was an auxiliary-scale Roman military installation discovered in 2019 during groundworks for Exeter's new bus station, located on the north-eastern side of the Roman town. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Unnamed Roman fort, Cheeke Street, Exeter 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 Isca Dumnoniorum (0.2 km), Exeter Roman Bathhouse (0.6 km), Stoke Hill (2.4 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 Unnamed Roman fort, Cheeke Street, Exeter