Verterae

---

title: "Verterae" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["roman-sites-in-cumbria", "roman-fortifications-in-england", "roman-auxiliary-forts-in-england"] description: "Roman fort in Brough, Cumbria, England" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verterae" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Roman fort in Brough, Cumbria, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox military installation"]

Field	Value
name	Verterae
partof
location	Brough, Cumbria, England
image	File:Brough Castle, Cumbria - geograph.org.uk - 7422.jpg
caption	Part of the Roman earthworks, incorporated into the later Brough Castle.
type	Castra
coordinates
open_to_public
site_other_label
site_other
area
code
built	1st century AD
height
fate
condition	Earthworks only survive
::

|name = Verterae |partof = |location = Brough, Cumbria, England |image = File:Brough Castle, Cumbria - geograph.org.uk - 7422.jpg |alt = |caption = Part of the Roman earthworks, incorporated into the later Brough Castle. |type = Castra |coordinates = |ownership = |open_to_public = |site_other_label = |site_other = |area = |code = |built = 1st century AD |used = |builder = |materials = |height = |fate = |condition = Earthworks only survive |battles = |events = |website =

Verterae was a Roman fort in the modern-day village of Brough, Cumbria, England. Occupied between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, it protected a key Roman road in the north of England. In the 11th century, Brough Castle was built on part of the site by the Normans. Archaeologists explored the remains during the 20th century, and it is now protected under UK law.

Etymology

The name Verterae, or Verteris, is of Brittonic origin, and derived from the element werther, a plural form meaning either "ramparts" or "high places" (Middle Welsh gwarther). ‘Ferter’ and Fortriu in Scotland may be derived from the same element.

Roman period

Verterae was probably built by the Roman governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola between AD 79-80, as part of his campaign to conquer the north of Britain. The name meant "the Forts", and it served as a waypoint on the northern leg of the Roman road connecting the Roman towns of Luguvalium with Eboracum – the modern-day cities of Carlisle and York – and points further south. One of a sequence of forts that lay every 12 miles to 14 miles along the route, the site protected the Stainmore Pass that stretched from the River Eden across the Pennines. The route is a major artery to this day, carrying the A66 across the Pennines.

The rectangular fort was 3 acres in size, constructed on a ridge overlooking the Swindale Beck. The size of the fort is uncertain, due to later work on the site, but it may have been approximately 100 by across east to west, with a ditch up to 15 m and 6 m deep in places. A settlement called a vicus and cemetery was constructed on the east side of the fort. The vicus included both stone and wattle-and-daub buildings.

Around the time of the late 4th century and early 5th century, an auxiliary unit called the Numerus Directorum, around 300-400 strong, were based in the fort.

Maiden Castle

The remains of a Roman fortlet known as Maiden Castle, lie 8km east of Verterae at . Maiden Castle here guards the western approach to the summit of the Stainmore Pass. Old gazetteers claim this fort gave its name to the Maiden Way – the old Roman road from nearby Bravoniacum (Kirkby Thore) north to Magnae (Carvoran) on Hadrian's Wall.

Post-Roman period

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Roman_inscribed_stones,_St_Michael's_Church,Brough-geograph.org.uk-_2036192.jpg" caption="Inscribed stones from Verterae, in the south porch of St Michael's Church in [[Brough, Cumbria]]."] ::

Verterae was occupied for a time after the Roman withdrawal around the year 410 but was eventually abandoned. In the 11th century, a Norman castle was built within the ruined walls of the fort. In the 16th century the antiquarian William Camden rediscovered the link between the location and the Roman occupation, arguing that this site, by then called Brough, was the Roman fort of Verterae.

Rubbish from the Roman period was discovered on the site in the mid-19th century, and archaeological excavations were carried out in 1923 by the government. More excavations followed in 1954 and during the 1970s and 1990s, with a comprehensive survey of the site being conducted in 1996. The area of the fort, covering the medieval castle, Brough Castle Farm and the surrounding lands, is protected under UK law as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

References

Bibliography

• {{cite book | last1 = Gaskill | first1 = Nicola | last2 = Noakes | first2 = Helen | last3 = Woods | first3 = Frances | year = 2009 | title = An Archaeological Watching Brief and Investigation at Brough Castle, Church Brough, Cumbria | edition = | publisher = North Pennines Archaeology | location= Alston, UK | isbn = | url = http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-704-1/dissemination/pdf/northpen3-61730_1.pdf
• {{cite book | last1 = Noakes | first1 = Helen | year = 2008 | title = An Archaeological Field Evaluation at Brough Castle, Church Brough, Cumbria | edition = | publisher = North Pennines Archaeology | location= Alston, UK | isbn = | url = http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-704-1/dissemination/pdf/northpen3-48396_2.pdf
• {{cite book | last = Pettifer | first = Adrian | year = 2002 | title = English Castles: A Guide by Counties | edition = | publisher = Boydell Press | location= Woodbridge, UK | isbn = 9780851157825 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=47iheRUGKIEC

References

1. "A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence - Guide to the Elements".
2. "The Roman Fort of Verteris". English Heritage.
3. "The Roman Fort of Verteris". English Heritage.
4. "The Roman Fort of Verteris". English Heritage.
5. "List Entry". English Heritage.
6. "List Entry". English Heritage.
7. {{PastScape
8. {{NHLE
9. Norgate, Martin. (2014). "Old Cumbria Gazetteer: Maiden Way". Portsmouth University.
10. (1853). "The Topographical, Statistical, and Historical Gazetteer of Scotland". A. Fullarton & Co..
11. {{harvnb. Gaskill. Noakes. Woods. 2009

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