Chapel Rigg Roman Camp (Thirlwall)
[NY 6459 6542] Roman Camp [G.S.] (1)
There is a small temporary camp, with gates combining tutuli and claviculae, at Chapel Rigg. See Illustration Card. (2)(3)
Correctly described and in good condition. Re-surveyed at 1:2500. (4)
Surveyed by RCHME. (5)
Scheduled. (6)
Further reference. (7)
This camp has been re-assessed in connection with RCHME's survey and publication of Roman Camps in England. The following descriptive account is taken from the published text.
A well-preserved camp, with unusual gates and an outwork, occupies the summit of an E to W ridge at 190 m above OD. To the W and SW of the camp this ridge is cut by a steep-sided gully drained by an unnamed tributary of the Tipalt Burn. Except to the E, where the gently ascending ridge curtails visibility some 200 m from the camp, there are extensive views all round, notably to the N and NE towards Hadrian's Wall and the Stanegate. The camp is rectangular, measuring 87 m from E to W by 69 m transversely within a rampart and ditch enclosing an area of 0.6 ha (1.5 acres). The S defences are aligned along the S false crest of the ridge, the N crest line of which is approximately on the long axis of the camp; to the N of this the interior slopes gently to the N. There are no signs of modern drainage or of any cultivation, with the result that the surface of the site is largely obscured by a very heavy growth of rushes. Around the whole perimeter the ditch is silted up and in many places it is waterlogged; nowhere does its counterscarp stand more than 0.3 m high. On the N and E sides, hillwash has masked the earthworks, so much so that the principal surviving feature is an outward-facing scarp no more than 0.6 m high; on the N the ditch is barely distinguishable. The S and W defences, by contrast, are in unusually good condition. They survive as a bank and ditch, the former being 0.5 m high internally and standing to a maximum height of 1.4 m above the bottom of the ditch. Here the defences measure 9.0 m across overall. Around the SW angle, between the entrances, the line of the rampart is emphasised by an abrupt change in vegetation: the surviving bank is covered with grass, whereas rushes predominate over the remainder of the site. Centrally placed in each of the four sides of the camp is a gateway protected by the unusual combination of a traverse and an internal clavicula. The W clavicula, although obscured by rushes, is in particularly good condition, its bank standing up to 0.8 m high; the E example, however, is so reduced as to be unsurveyable. Each traverse is 12.0 m long; those on the N and W have a bank and ditch surviving to a height of 0.1 m and a depth of 0.3 m respectively, but little more than the ditch, up to 0.2 m deep, is traceable in the S and E examples. From a point 19 m W of the W traverse, a well-defined scarp extends along the lip of the gully, merging occasionally with the natural slopes and fading out 22 m SW of the traverse of the S gate. Standing to a maximum height of about 0.6 m, it is marked by the same vegetation change as the rampart of the camp itself. This suggests that the scarp is the remnant of an artificial bank, which seems to have been provided only along that portion of the crest beyond which the floor of the gully forms dead ground when seen from the rampart of the camp. From this scarp, however, there is an unrestricted view down to the burn and it seems most likely that the bank was an outwork contemporary with the camp. Both the arrangement of the gates and the provision of an outwork is extremely unusual and may be indicative of the circumstances in which the camp was constructed. There is nothing to support the suggestion that this was a practice camp (Bennett 1980, 154). Full information is included in the NMR Archive. (8a-b)
Additional references. (8c-e)
The earthwork remains of Chapel Rig temporary camp described by the previous authorities were seen centred at NY 6459 6542 and mapped from historical aerial photographs as part of the English Heritage: Hadrian's Wall NMP project. (8f)
Located on the English Heritage map of Hadrian's Wall 2010. (8g)
There is a small temporary camp, with gates combining tutuli and claviculae, at Chapel Rigg. See Illustration Card. (2)(3)
Correctly described and in good condition. Re-surveyed at 1:2500. (4)
Surveyed by RCHME. (5)
Scheduled. (6)
Further reference. (7)
This camp has been re-assessed in connection with RCHME's survey and publication of Roman Camps in England. The following descriptive account is taken from the published text.
A well-preserved camp, with unusual gates and an outwork, occupies the summit of an E to W ridge at 190 m above OD. To the W and SW of the camp this ridge is cut by a steep-sided gully drained by an unnamed tributary of the Tipalt Burn. Except to the E, where the gently ascending ridge curtails visibility some 200 m from the camp, there are extensive views all round, notably to the N and NE towards Hadrian's Wall and the Stanegate. The camp is rectangular, measuring 87 m from E to W by 69 m transversely within a rampart and ditch enclosing an area of 0.6 ha (1.5 acres). The S defences are aligned along the S false crest of the ridge, the N crest line of which is approximately on the long axis of the camp; to the N of this the interior slopes gently to the N. There are no signs of modern drainage or of any cultivation, with the result that the surface of the site is largely obscured by a very heavy growth of rushes. Around the whole perimeter the ditch is silted up and in many places it is waterlogged; nowhere does its counterscarp stand more than 0.3 m high. On the N and E sides, hillwash has masked the earthworks, so much so that the principal surviving feature is an outward-facing scarp no more than 0.6 m high; on the N the ditch is barely distinguishable. The S and W defences, by contrast, are in unusually good condition. They survive as a bank and ditch, the former being 0.5 m high internally and standing to a maximum height of 1.4 m above the bottom of the ditch. Here the defences measure 9.0 m across overall. Around the SW angle, between the entrances, the line of the rampart is emphasised by an abrupt change in vegetation: the surviving bank is covered with grass, whereas rushes predominate over the remainder of the site. Centrally placed in each of the four sides of the camp is a gateway protected by the unusual combination of a traverse and an internal clavicula. The W clavicula, although obscured by rushes, is in particularly good condition, its bank standing up to 0.8 m high; the E example, however, is so reduced as to be unsurveyable. Each traverse is 12.0 m long; those on the N and W have a bank and ditch surviving to a height of 0.1 m and a depth of 0.3 m respectively, but little more than the ditch, up to 0.2 m deep, is traceable in the S and E examples. From a point 19 m W of the W traverse, a well-defined scarp extends along the lip of the gully, merging occasionally with the natural slopes and fading out 22 m SW of the traverse of the S gate. Standing to a maximum height of about 0.6 m, it is marked by the same vegetation change as the rampart of the camp itself. This suggests that the scarp is the remnant of an artificial bank, which seems to have been provided only along that portion of the crest beyond which the floor of the gully forms dead ground when seen from the rampart of the camp. From this scarp, however, there is an unrestricted view down to the burn and it seems most likely that the bank was an outwork contemporary with the camp. Both the arrangement of the gates and the provision of an outwork is extremely unusual and may be indicative of the circumstances in which the camp was constructed. There is nothing to support the suggestion that this was a practice camp (Bennett 1980, 154). Full information is included in the NMR Archive. (8a-b)
Additional references. (8c-e)
The earthwork remains of Chapel Rig temporary camp described by the previous authorities were seen centred at NY 6459 6542 and mapped from historical aerial photographs as part of the English Heritage: Hadrian's Wall NMP project. (8f)
Located on the English Heritage map of Hadrian's Wall 2010. (8g)
N6027
FIELD OBSERVATION, Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigation 1966; R W Emsley
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH INTERPRETATION, English Heritage: Hadrian's Wall WHS Mapping Project, NMP 2008; English Heritage
MEASURED SURVEY, RCHME: Hadrian's Wall Project ; RCHME
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH INTERPRETATION, English Heritage: Hadrian's Wall WHS Mapping Project, NMP 2008; English Heritage
MEASURED SURVEY, RCHME: Hadrian's Wall Project ; RCHME
Disclaimer -
Please note that this information has been compiled from a number of different sources. Durham County Council and Northumberland County Council can accept no responsibility for any inaccuracy contained therein. If you wish to use/copy any of the images, please ensure that you read the Copyright information provided.