Monument record 8299 - Roman Centurion's House (Latera praetorii west) at Hunter Street

Remains of centurion's quarters were recorded during excavations in 1989, during trial evaluations at the former Bowling Green undertaken by the Grosvenor Museum, when evidence of an east-west aligned wall and adjacent opus signinum floor were recorded. More recently in 2020-1, further evidence was recorded during groundworks undertaken as part of the Northgate redevelopment, including the excavation of a surface-water drainage trench which traversed the probable centurion’s accommodation (see CHER 8299/1 for further detail) as well as the western extent of the contubernia of the barrack block. Legionary barrack blocks each accommodated a century of 80 men plus their officers, and were normally arranged in groups of 6 (a cohort of 480 men). Narrow streets gave access to facing pairs of barracks. The centurions' quarters were situated at the ends of the barracks, adjacent to a major road - either the perimeter road (via sagularis) or main transverse street (via principalis). The centurions' quarters were divided from those of the rank-and-file by a narrow alley. They were wider than the men's quarters but lacked a veranda. In ground plan they consisted of a corridor with rooms (including a private latrine) opening off on each side. The men's quarters consisted on 14 (later 11 or 12) units of two rooms for approximately eight men, fronted by a veranda that often contained an enclosed latrine at one end. The outer room was used to store equipment; the inner was for living and sleeping and contained a hearth. Only 10 pairs of rooms should have been needed to accommodate a century; the purpose of the spare rooms is uncertain. The domestic quarters for the Roman army were divided according to their cohort (480 men) comprising a series of six barrack buildings for the legionary officers (one barrack holding one century or 80 men) accessed by minor streets and alleys and six centurion's quarters (the commander of each century) usually located on a major road. The centurion’s house was usually placed at the end of the barrack block, certainly as a separate structure in the early Roman period but later often joined to the barracks across the narrow alley separating them. The internal floor plan of the centurion’s house appeared to consist of a central narrow corridor with several rooms leading off it and often contained high status items.