Scheduled Monument: Roman Camp at Stamford Lodge, 350m North West of Stamford Hollows Farm (1014380)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Roman camp at Stamford Lodge, 350m north west of Stamford Hollows Farm PARISH: CHRISTLETON DISTRICT: CHESTER COUNTY: CHESHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 25730 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SJ45526685 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes a Roman camp on Stamford Heath revealed as a cropmark by an aerial photograph and confirmed by a field survey in 1987. The enclosure is on the alluvial terrace above the River Gowy on the west side and 150m to the south of the Roman road, the course of which is followed by the modern Tarvin Road. It is bisected by a hedge with drain separating two fields. The monument is surrounded by a bank with an outer ditch and traces of a counterscarp in the form of a rectangle with the corners rounded in the characteristic shape of a Roman earthwork camp. The sides of the enclosure measure 160m from east to west and 120m from north to south. The area enclosed is 1.5ha and is therefore similar to the examples of Roman camps at Upton Heath 4km to the west. The bank averages 8m wide at the base and only 0.2m high, having been reduced by ploughing since its desertion. The outer ditch is 6m wide and 0.2m deep and remains waterlogged. Outside this a counterscarp 10m wide and 0.2m high is traceable on the south and east sides. An entrance on the east side is marked by a gap 7m wide at a point roughly central in the rampart. There is a corresponding gap in the counterscarp. The site is overlain by ridge and furrow, the remains of medieval or post-medieval cultivation, and is currently under cultivation for cereal crops. The post and wire fence is not included in the scheduling, although the ground beneath is included. 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 Stamford Lodge survives as a well defined cropmark and as a slight earthwork above ground. The waterlogging of the ditches will have preserved important organic and environmental remains. In the interior there will be remains of pits and post holes indicating any living quarters or temporary buildings. The remains will enhance our knowledge of the Roman occupation of the region particularly connected with the fortress at Chester to the west. MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 24th July 1996