Corbridge (Coria), was once a thriving town on the northern frontier of the Roman Empire. It appears to have been built on top of a circular Iron Age enclosure.
Visit Corbridge
Corbridge Roman Town preserves the settlement that developed from successive military bases. Check English Heritage’s visitor information for the site and museum.
Corbridge at a glance
| Occupation | Successive forts from the late first century; later a military supply centre and town. |
| Garrison | Different early garrisons, followed by detachments of the Sixth and Twentieth Legions. |
| Size | The forts, later military compounds and town have different extents. |
| Troop estimate | No single figure applies across the changing military and civilian complex. |
Inscriptions
The Corbridge corpus includes legionary building evidence, religious dedications and personal names.
References
Roman Inscriptions of Britain: Corbridge
DOWNLOAD A PLAN OF CORBRIDGE ROMAN TOWN
- AD 85, the Roman army built a series of forts at Corbridge to protect a vital crossroads and bridge and Corbridge would have been a supply route at this time to the legions in Scotland.
- 105 AD The fort was burnt down (possibly dismantled?)
- 122 AD Fort was rebuilt to provide support to Hadrian’s Wall.
- 160 AD after the abandonment of the Antonine Wall elements of the 20th Legion and 6th Legion were stationed here building temples and other structures.
- 163 AD Fort was abandoned and Corbridge became a garrison town
- 180 AD (ish) structures were again burnt down
- 205 AD granaries were rebuilt as one of two main supply bases for Septimus Severus’s expeditions into Scotland
- 370 repair work on the road through the town was still taking place at this time
- 420 ish abandoned
After the last fort was abandoned in the middle of the second century AD, a town prospered here for over 250 years.
Corbridge had fine buildings but also many humble houses and workshops. Craftspeople, traders and their families lived and worked here alongside soldiers and travellers passing along important routeways of northern Britain.
Military Units
- detachments of the 6th Legion
- detachments of the 20th Legion
References
- Corbridge Roman Town (Historic England Research Records)
- HISTORY OF CORBRIDGE TOWN (English Heritage)
- DOWNLOAD A PLAN OF CORBRIDGE ROMAN TOWN (English Heritage)
- Corbridge Finds – Glassware, tiles, pottery, inscriptions ( Roman Inscriptions of Britain)
- Corbridge Roman Site, Northumberland (historic UK Magazine – good article)
- Corbridge Roman Site and Museum ( Romano Britain)
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