[NY 63636562] Roman Camp [G.S.] (1)

There is a temporary camp, with ordinary traverse gateways, at Crooks. (2)

The camp is defined by a slight ditch only (max depth 0.6m) and is in fair condition. Resurveyed at 1:2500. (3)

Crooks Roman camp surveyed by RCHME (Newcastle). (4)

Camp visible on infra-red imagery. (5)(6)

Scheduled. (7)

RCHME account. (8)

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.
On the N edge of Thirlwall Common, at 190 m above OD and 450 m S of Crooks, are the somewhat reduced earthworks of a camp. The axis of the camp lies along a low ridge that extends NNE from Wardoughan. The position is unusual for although there is an open outlook to the S and E, visibilty from the site is severely restricted elsewhere. On the N, the ground falls into a shallow depression but then rises to another low crest only 60 m away. The W side of the camp is on the E edge of the broad crest of the hill but the slopes to the Poltross Burn produced dead ground within a distance of about 90 m. Thus, despite their proximity, the fortlet at Throp and the closest sections of the Stanegate and of Hadrian's Wall are all invisible from the camp. Bearing in mind the position of the W defences, the camp may have faced E although this cannot be proven from fieldwork. Certainly the tactical considerations that have been implied elsewhere are an illusion (Bennett 1980, 160) (9a).

The principal surviving earthwork is the ditch of the camp. This is up to 0.7 m deep and is narrow and sharply defined; this must be due, in part, to its incorporation into the system of mole-drains which form a herring-bone pattern across the site. The internal rampart, on the other hand, has been almost entirely levelled, its material spread for up to 6 m into the interior; the remnants, which probably include silt from a relatively modern clearing of the ditch, stand no more than 0.2 m high and are best preserved close to the NW angle. The reason for this levelling is unclear since neither the interior of the camp nor the surrounding ground show any other sign of former cultivation. The area enclosed by the ditch amounts to 0.9 ha (2.2 acres). There are four gates, one in the centre of each side, and each defended by a traverse. Apart from the N one, which is badly disturbed by a drain, the upcast mound of each traverse stands 1.6 m high; their ditches are now nowhere more than 0.4 m deep. The mound of the W traverse has been dug into, as has the levelled rampart just to the S of the E gate. Full information is included in the NMR Archive. (9b)

Additional references. (9c-d)

The earthwork remains of the Roman temporary camp described by the previous authorities were seen centred at NY 6361 6561 and mapped from historical aerial photographs as part of the English Heritage: Hadrian's Wall NMP project. (9e)

Located on the English Heritage map of Hadrian's Wall 2010. (9f)

The Roman camp is visible as earthworks on air photographs and digital elevation models derived from Environment Agency lidar and Structure from Motion taken from 2017 specialist oblique photography, and was mapped by Historic England as part of the English Heritage Trust's 'Hadrian's Wall: Birdoswald Sector Survey'. The site was also assessed on the ground as part of this survey.
The full outer ditch of the rectangular camp is visible, with maximum outer dimensions measuring 126 metres by 90 metres. The internal rampart is visible along most of the inside of the enclosure, but is extremely plough-levelled, showing as a broad shallow bank. The four entrances have opposing titulum. That on the west face appears to have been cut into at a later date, though for what purpose is unclear. (9g)

General association with HER 12391 (Stanegate), referred to by HER 33676 (mounds and banks). (9)