Roman forts in their landscapes

Burnett, Adele 2022. Roman forts in their landscapes. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

This thesis examines the siting of Roman auxiliary forts and legionary fortresses within the topography of Wales and along the English-Welsh border. The study focusses on forts that were in use from the start of the Roman invasion of the study area up to the end of the Flavian period (96 AD). The siting of these forts has been referred to frequently in modern literature, especially in relation to the themes of control, supply, communication and defence. However, the siting data used is often imprecise and researchers rarely state their methods of collecting the data. This research aimed to address this problem. A methodology was developed and applied to the forts in the study area. Both fieldwork and a Geographic Information System (GIS) were used to collect data using a systematic approach, so that each fort was considered equally. Siting data was collected, including the forts’ proximity to certain topographical features, their relative altitude to the surrounding landscape, their orientation, and views from the fort gates. Distance bands were used so that descriptions such as ‘near’ and ‘far’ could be defined. The results were used to contribute to and refine interpretations regarding the conquest and occupation of Wales. It was argued that views from the forts focused on sections of large valleys and that these areas were monitored from the forts as a method of control by reminding travellers of the presence and dominance of the Roman army. The results were also used to contribute to the arguments that forts were sited to provide access to local supplies, transport routes for imports as well as communication, and with a consideration for defence where possible. Variations within the results revealed that the evidence is not as clear-cut as that usually described in the literature, which tends not to account for variety in fort siting.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	History, Archaeology and Religion
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GF Human ecology. Anthropogeography U Military Science > U Military Science (General)
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	3 March 2023
Date of Acceptance:	24 February 2023
Last Modified:	07 Mar 2023 10:11
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/157490

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