FOR 56 - Rome’s Saxon Shore.pdf

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Rome's Saxon Shore
Coastal Defences of Roman Britain
AD 250-500
Artist's note
Abbreviations
ASCA
CT
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
manuscript A
T. Mommsen and P. Meyer,
Codex Theodosianus
(Berlin, 1905)
De
excidio
Gildas, De
excidio
et
conquestu Britanniae
Epit
Vegetius,
Epitoma Rei Militaris
FIRA
Fontes luris Romani Anteiustiniani
HE
Bede,
Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
ILS
H. Dessau,
Inscriptiones Latinae Selectoe
(Berlin, 1892-1916)
ND Occ.
O. Seeck,
Notitia Dignitatum in partibus Occidentis
(Berlin, 1876)
P
Oxy.
.
B. P. Grenfell, A. S. Hunt and H. I. Bell et a/.,
The Oxyrhynchus Papyri
(London, 1898-)
RIB
Roman Inscriptions of Britain I
2
(Stroud, 1995)
The Fortress Study Group (FSG)
The object of the FSG is to advance the education of the public
in the study of all aspects of fortifications and their armaments,
especially works constructed to mount or resist artillery. The FSG
holds an annual conference in September over a long weekend
with visits and evening lectures, an annual tour abroad lasting
about eight days, and an annual Members' Day.
The FSG journal
FORT
is published annually, and its newsletter
Casemate
is published three times a year. Membership is
international. For further details, please contact:
The Secretary, c/o 6 Lanark Place, London W 9 IBS, UK
Front cover: Portchester Castle ( © English H e r i t a g e
Photo Library)
Contents
Introduction
Chronology
Britannia
Carausius •
Barbarica conspiratio
• Stilicho • Constantinus
4
8
9
Design
Construction methods • Raw materials • Human resources
18
Anatomy
Defences • Brancaster-Branoduno • Caister-on-Sea • Burgh Castle-Gariannum
Walton Castle • Bradwell-Othona • Reculver-Regulbium • Richborough-Rutupiae
Dover-Dubris • Lympne-Lemonis • Pevensey-Anderitum • Portchester-Portus
Adurni
24
Function
Notitia Dignitatum
• Anti-pirate defence • Defence against Rome • Fortified ports
38
Occupation
Internal buildings • Garrisons • Extra-mural activity • Twilight years
46
The sites today
Brancaster • Caister-on-Sea • Burgh Castle • Walton Castle • Bradwell
Reculver • Richborough • Dover • Lympne • Pevensey
Porchester • Useful contact information
58
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
62
63
64
Wash-Solent
limes
The system of forts that
made up the landward
defences of the Saxon
Shore was designed to
deter seaborne raids from
across the 'northern seas'.
Nowadays it seems fashionable to view the Saxon Shore forts as little more
than fortified ports, essential links in a provincial logistical system concerned
with troop movements and the exploitation of natural and agricultural resources
in Britannia. And so significant doubt is cast on the documentary evidence for
maritime attacks on the south and east coasts of Britannia. Still, just because the
Graeco-Roman sources are silent or ambiguous we cannot simply assume that
piracy was not taking place. Writings that discuss Britannia are scant, and the
problem of a maritime threat to the island could easily have been passed over
by contemporary authors writing from Rome or elsewhere in the empire. It is
indeed curious if such powerful defences were intended to be no more than in
transient and occasional use. The reality of the raids, or at least, the perception
of a threat, need not be doubted.
The Roman curtains and towers of
Portchester-Portus
Adurni
were
later incorporated into the defences
of a Norman keep. The fabric of the
walls is entirely of Roman work
though refaced in places, as shown
here in this view of the fort's east
circuit. (Esther Carre)

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