The Longthorpe Legion

The Longthorpe Legion We are a Living History group based in Cambridgeshire who aim to inform, entertain and portray the w The period of occupation extended from c. 44/8 to c. 62.
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A Legion at Longthorpe

Within the confines of greater Peterborough lies what was once the separate village of Longthorpe. The village is home to Longthorpe Tower, a 14th century fortified manor house which contains some of the finest period domestic wall paintings in Western Europe. Close to the village lies the Thorpe Wood golf course beneath which lies once of the earliest Roman forts in the co

untry. This fort was preceded by a smaller marching camp covering around 5 acres, just to the south of the River Nene at Water-Newton to guard the river crossing. Soon after this, and certainly within 5 years of the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD, a larger fort, initially covering an area of 25 acres, was built further East. It was large enough to house around 5 cohorts of a Roman legion along with auxiliary troops, probably around 3000 in all. From later information, it seems almost certain that the fort was built and garrisoned by Legio VIIII Hispana. It was erected here to govern the local area which was already well established as a major industrial region. The fort itself measured 1,150 feet NW-SE by 950 feet NE-SW (350 x 290 metres) within the ramparts, which were fronted on all sides by a double ditch system and enclosed an area of almost exactly 25 acres (c. 10ha). The gateways of this large fort were centrally placed in the NE and SW sides, but on the NW and SE sides were off-set markedly towards the south-west by a ratio of 3:2; on this evidence it would appear that the fortress faced north-east. The fortress may have been built as early as c.A.D.44, prior to the campaign against the Coritani of Lincolnshire. It is equally probable however, that the fortress was built in response to the uprising of the Iceni c. 48 AD. That the fortress was not in existence at the beginning of the revolt is possibly substantiated by the fact that the revolt was suppressed by the use of auxiliary forces only, implying perhaps that there were no legionary forces nearby. The site was discovered by observation from the air in 1961: no traces now remain on the surface. Excavations between 1967 and 1973 have shown that a fortress with timber buildings, accommodating a legionary vexillation together with auxiliary troops, was succeeded by an 11-acre fort. Crop marks observed from the air at Orton Stanch, 400 m. south-east of the fortress, have led to the discovery of a native farmstead. Excavations there have shown that agricultural activities were intermitted for the period of the occupation of the fortress, the settlement being replaced by a large industrial establishment or works depot involved in pottery manufacture and possibly in bronze-working with clear military connections. The succeeding 11 acre Fort made use of existing buildings but it has not been possible to refine the construction date of the smaller fort within this time span. The smaller fortress measured approximately 660 feet NW-SE by 725 feet NE-SW (c.200 x 220 metres), with a single ditch on all sides but the south-east where part of the original defences were utilized, the original gateway on this side being retained while a simple narrow gateway pierced the new north-eastern rampart. The ditch of the smaller fort measures about 10-11 ft. (c.3.2m) wide. The Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus (Annals; XIV.32) narrates how, during the initial stages of the revolt of Boudicca in the winter of 60/61AD, a detachment of the Ninth Legion under the command of Quintus Petilius Cerialis was severely mauled by the rampaging Britons, the infantry was annihilated and the legionary legate escaped "back to the camp" with only his cavalry intact. Excavations carried out on the Longthorpe site revealed that the defences of the fortress had been reduced in size to that of a large auxiliary fort, and that the work was carried out in a hurried fashion at around this period in history. It seems reasonable to assume therefore, that the "camp" to which Cerialis' cavalry escaped was in fact, the Longthorpe vexillation fortress. By 60 – 62 AD the fort appears to have fallen into disuse and by 65 AD the ninth legion appear to have moved on the found a legionary fortress at what was to become Lincoln. The arrival and then departure of the Roman army had a lasting effect of the surrounding area. To the west a new town had taken root called Durobrivae (Water-Newton) and this settlement became the hub around which much of the industry in the Nene valley flourished. Its location made it a cross-roads with routes going East-West as well as being a vital stop along the great North Road. Another Roman settlement has been identified under the village of Castor. In addition to pottery production, including Nene valley colour-coated ware, the area housed iron smelting, salt extraction, wood and charcoal. The Nene itself provided an easy means of transport of bulk good produced locally.

You know that when I do my archaeology table at Roman events I talk about water shrines and how Christians later re-name...
10/11/2024

You know that when I do my archaeology table at Roman events I talk about water shrines and how Christians later re-named them wishing wells? This is a picture of one of the most famous water shrines from the Roman period, which I shall now add to my display.

08/11/2024

Okay, not Roman, but still pretty interesting!

You all know I love these Roman inscriptions. This is an unusual, and rather poignant, one.
24/10/2024

You all know I love these Roman inscriptions. This is an unusual, and rather poignant, one.

Tombstone found in Chester (Deva) in NW England for a soldier awaiting promotion to Centurion who was sadly lost at sea.

The stone is broken so the soldiers name is lost..

Dimensions = 838mm wide x 991mm high.

The tombstone has three buildings with ornamental gables. Two of buildngs may be shrines with a shrub in front, the centre building has double doors which may possibly be the entrance to the afterlife.

It was found 1891 in or adjacent to the North Wall of the town.

Inscription =

opionis ad spem
ordinis (centuria) Lucili
Ingenui qui
naufragio perit
s(itus) e(st)

Translation =

… an optio, serving in the century of Lucilius Ingenuus, and awaiting promotion to centurion, who died by shipwreck. He is buried [here].

Just when you think that there can't be anything much left to find...
24/10/2024

Just when you think that there can't be anything much left to find...

An artists impression of a Roman Army Barrack Block in a fort like those on Hadrian's Wall. This looks perfectly feasibl...
23/10/2024

An artists impression of a Roman Army Barrack Block in a fort like those on Hadrian's Wall. This looks perfectly feasible to me.
No more crowded than a messdeck on a modern(ish) warship, I imagine. Back in the 70s we had thirty marines in a messdeck with three tier bunks, closer together than the ones shown in the drawing.

21/10/2024

If anyone is planning on coming to see me at Peterborough Museum tomorrow, this is a reminder that the Roman Gallery is being used for another purpose so I shall not be there.
Instead, I shall be attending a Lip Reading Course!
I shall be back at the museum next Tuesday, 29th October. It is half term week, so it is likely to be busy!

21/10/2024

Amazing what modern technology can do! This is proper "Wow" moment.

A terrible social 'gaffe' in ancient Rome. Here we see a boy showing his mother the 'intimate photo' that his older sist...
09/10/2024

A terrible social 'gaffe' in ancient Rome. Here we see a boy showing his mother the 'intimate photo' that his older sister has sent him by mistake. 😉

Another beautiful Roman Army Diploma.Image borrowed from another site, (sorry, there was no share option), so I can't te...
06/10/2024

Another beautiful Roman Army Diploma.
Image borrowed from another site, (sorry, there was no share option), so I can't tell you where it is. In a museum somewhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00fVMfPcqls
04/10/2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00fVMfPcqls

The Roman Empire saw centuries of very active economic activity and enormous prosperity. As a very monetized society, it needed many different denominations ...

02/10/2024

For the Information of anyone planning on coming in to see me at Peterborough Museum, I have been notified of some Tuesdays coming up where schools will be in the archaeology gallery, so I won't be in Peterborough Museum on those days:
Next Tuesday 8th October,
22nd October,
19th November.
All other Tuesdays should be as normal; display open from 10 am until 2 pm.

Big shout out to our newest top fan! 💎 Elaine Hooper
28/09/2024

Big shout out to our newest top fan! 💎 Elaine Hooper

A Huge 'Thank You' to Martin Stokes of Digging History UK for inviting us to take part in the Festival of History event ...
22/09/2024

A Huge 'Thank You' to Martin Stokes of Digging History UK for inviting us to take part in the Festival of History event at a private location hear Cambridge. We had never worked alongside Metal Detectorists before, but this proved to be one of the best events we have done!
The level of engagement was first class. Not only were people fascinated by the objects that we had brought to show them, but they were happy to show us their Roman finds, many of which we were able to identify. Unusually for reenactors, we were placed right in the centre of the site, directly opposite the breakfast tent and a few steps away from the loos, coffee stands, and bar!
This meant that as soon as we opened the tent flaps people were waiting to talk to us and this continued throughout the day and into the evening, except for when they were actually out in the fields detecting.
Many thanks to all the folks who talked to us. We really enjoyed talking to you and we hope you'll invite us again!
A few random pictures from the weekend are attached, with captions.

16/09/2024

Friends, next weekend, the 21st & 22nd September, we have our final event of the season, at a location near Cambridge
No public access, I'm afraid, as it is an archaeological dig, and they don't want to risk nighthawkers turning up and damaging the site.
We'll post some pictures after the event.

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