Scheduled Monument: Roman Camp At Bent Farm (1014116)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Roman camp at Bent Farm PARISH: NEWBOLD ASTBURY DISTRICT: CONGLETON COUNTY: CHESHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 25716 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SJ83686194 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes the greater part of an earthwork Roman camp in the field immediately to the east of Bent Farm. The camp consists of a bank and ditch which are visible at the north west and north east corners, with the bank and ditch traceable on the northern side along the whole of its 160m length. The bank and ditch are intermittently visible along the east side where they have been partly obscured by the headland of a well defined ridge and furrow system which covers the whole of the surviving interior. The south side has been quarried away by a clay pit which was abandoned in the last century and is now ploughed away to a deep hollow south of the hedge line. This activity has removed a 20m strip of the camp's interior together with the rampart and ditch on that side. The western side is visible for 30m before being obscured by the later ridge and furrow. It is assumed that the fence and activity in the adjacent orchard and gardens on the west side has removed any further trace of the rampart and ditch to the south of this point. The eastern side is traceable for 180m before being cut off by the hedge and drain to the south of the field. The area originally encompassed by the fort was 3.2ha. This site was firmly identified as the Roman camp by a local historian, Carlidge whose grandfather remembered filling in part of the ditch during the last century. Excavations in 1967 and 1970 discovered that the rampart had been constructed of large river pebbles surmounted by a clay and turf bank now spread 4m into the interior. The bank had been 2.4m wide at the base. The single V-shaped ditch was 3.5m wide. Traces of postholes and foundations of timber buildings were uncovered in the interior. There were no dateable finds from the site, although the form of the site confirms that it was a Roman military construction. From early accounts of the site it appears that two road alignments met the east and west sides of the camp; the one to Middlewich and the other to Astbury. The remains suggest a temporary camp occupied long enough to form a focus of the local roads and for wooden buildings rather than the tented arrangements of a marching camp. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE Roman camps are rectangular or sub-rectangular enclosures which were constructed and used by Roman soldiers either when out on campaign or as practice camps; most campaign camps were only temporary overnight bases and few were used for longer periods. They were bounded by a single earthen rampart and outer ditch and in plan are always straight-sided with rounded corners. Normally they have between one and four entrances, although as many as eleven have been recorded. Such entrances were usually centrally placed in the sides of the camp and were often protected by additional defensive outworks. Roman camps are found throughout much of England, although most known examples lie in the midlands and north. Around 140 examples have been identified and, as one of the various types of defensive enclosure built by the Roman Army, particularly in hostile upland and frontier areas, they provide an important insight into Roman military strategy and organisation. All well-preserved examples are identified as being of national importance. The Roman camp at Bent Farm survives well in spite of the loss of a portion on the south side. The survival of earthwork remains is particularly unusual in this part of England. The bank and ditch are still defined and the bank stands 0.4m high in some places. The interior will contain extensive remains of buildings and the pits and hollows associated with military settlement. In addition there is a well preserved ridge and furrow system which overlies the interior and will have preserved the remains beneath the ploughsoil. SCHEDULING HISTORY Monument included in the Schedule on 14th January 1977 as: COUNTY/NUMBER: Cheshire 106 NAME: Earthwork at Bent Farm The reference of this monument is now: NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 25716 NAME: Roman camp at Bent Farm SCHEDULING REVISED ON 25th January 1996