Binchester Roman Fort

Binchester Roman Fort sits on Dere Street and was built around 75 AD (although some sources say 79 AD) Like many Roman forts it was first built of wood then in stone. It was rebuilt in the 200s and 300s AD

69 to 75 AD The earliest fort, built was 7 hectares (17.50 acres) in size, one of the largest in northern Britain. It could have accommodated upwards of 2,000 soldiers.
100 AD the garrison had been reduced in strength and the fort became a works depot supplying forts farther to the north. Subsequently, a new and smaller fort was built.
158 AD as part of the re-deployment of forces caused by the withdrawal from the Antonine Wall. This fort was still larger than many auxiliary forts at around 4.50 hectares (11 acres). We know from inscriptions that the principal garrison was a unit of Spanish cavalry (the ala Vettorium) and this would have required more space than an infantry unit as the horses were accommodated within the fort. It may have housed more than one military unit and we know that a unit of Frisian cavalry from what is now the Netherlands was also here for a time.
350 AD Fort still in use.
410 AD abandoned

The buildings of the fort, and those of the civil settlement, underwent many alterations and re-buildings during its long history. Each time this happened the non-reusable debris from a building was levelled out and a new building was constructed upon it. As a consequence, the ground level rose steadily over time and by the end of the Roman period it was about 3 metres (10 feet) higher than when the fort was founded. The streets were re-surfaced on numerous occasions to keep pace with the rising ground level

Apart from the excavated and displayed remains, little of Roman Binchester is now visible above ground except for the grass-covered embankments of the massive fort defences. A major landslip some centuries ago, almost certainly caused by the river eroding into the unstable hillside formed of sand, gravel and clay, destroyed a large part of the site.

Beyond the defences
There were also military facilities outside the fort. These included the regimental bath-house (balneum), a parade ground (campus), a lodging house for officials travelling on government business (known as a mansio) and occasionally a small amphitheatre (ludus). At forts where the garrison was a cavalry unit, there might also be a horse-training arena enclosed by a stout timber stockade (gyrus).
Most forts were also accompanied by a civil settlement beyond the defences. The population was composed of traders and merchants who made their living by selling goods and services to the garrison, and in our case also to travellers using Dere Street, along with the unofficial wives and families of serving soldiers. Unofficial because until the early third-century ordinary soldiers were not allowed to be married though that obviously didn’t prevent them from entering into informal liaisons

These were legitimised when a soldier was discharged after serving his 25 years and received Roman citizenship as a reward.
The buildings of these settlements normally clustered along the frontages of the roads approaching a fort as these were the best locations for those engaged in commercial activities. The buildings functioned as both shops and houses and even small factories. They were usually long, narrow and rectangular in plan, positioned end-on to the road just like the shops to be found in any modern town or city, and were frequently provided with a yard or enclosure at the rear

Beyond the civil settlement and lining the approach roads lay the cemeteries along with religious structures such as shrines and temples. At Binchester for example burials have been found as far away as 1km both to the north and to the south of the fort

The 6th Legion were here at one time.