| Summary : The site of a Roman temporary camp with defensive outwork, surviving as an earthwork. The siting of this camp, and the provision of an outwork, are most unusual. The defences enclose the upper reaches of a small stream, now piped underground for much of its course, which runs from W to E almost along the axis of the camp, dividing the broad SE flank of Haltwhistle Common into two spurs. To the W of the camp, which lies at about 200 m above OD, the ground continues to rise very gently; the position of the W rampart above a slight change of slope does, however, allow a restricted outlook in this direction. The views from the interior, except towards the E, are not extensive. From the position normally occupied by the headquarters - here partly occcupied by the bed of the stream- the ground rises for about 2 m to both the N and the S ramparts. The N rampart has the most commanding views; it lies, in part, on the crest of the N spur overlooking the line of the Stanegate, only 120 m away, and beyond to the crags occupied by Hadrians' Wall between Walltown and Winshields. In contrast, the S rampart is only about 80 m from the crest of the higher ground forming the S spur of the hill; all views in this direction, across the valley of the South Tyne, are therefore blocked. Despite its proximity to the Stanegate, the camp faces almost due E. It measures 175 m from W to E and 110 m from N to S and encloses an area of 1.7 ha (4.2 acres) within an earthen rampart which averages about 0.3 m in height and is nowhere more than 0.5 m above the interior; it is spread to a width of about 6 m. The external ditch, about 0.4 m deep and some 3 m wide, survives throughout its length except around the SW angle. As a whole the defences and the interior of the camp have been badly damaged, especially by a system of drains cut in 1976 (Austen 1977). There were four gates, each one slightly offset from that on the opposite side and each defended by an internal clavicula. |
More information : [NY 70466567] Roman Camp [G.S.] (Site of) [T.I.] (1)
Leeshall Camp: approximate dimensions, 187 paces E - W by 118 paces N-S. Four gates, all with internal claviculae of radii 8 1/2 - 9 paces. Rampart width 4 1/2 paces, ditch 3. Rounded angles of radius about 10 paces. Condition fair, rather worn down. Located 7th April, 1938. (2)
Surveyed at 1:2500. A Ro. temporary camp, generally as described above. All gates have been mutilated, and only the east side retains traces of its clavicula. See RR 85a (NY 7065) for survey. (3)
This camp has been re-assessed in connection withe RCHME's survey and publication of Roman Camps in England. The following descriptive account is taken from the published text.
The siting of this camp, and the provision of an outwork, are most unusual. The defences enclose the upper reaches of a small stream, now piped underground for much of its course, which runs from W to E almost along the axis of the camp, dividing the broad SE flank of Haltwhistle Common into two spurs. To the W of the camp, which lies at about 200 m above OD, the ground continues to rise very gently; the position of the W rampart above a slight change of slope does, however, allow a restricted outlook in this direction. The views from the interior, except towards the E, are not extensive. From the position normally occupied by the headquarters - here partly occcupied by the bed of the stream- the ground rises for about 2 m to both the N and the S ramparts. The N rampart has the most commanding views; it lies, in part, on the crest of the N spur overlooking the line of the Stanegate, only 120 m away, and beyond to the crags occupied by Hadrians' Wall between Walltown and Winshields. In contrast, the S rampart is only about 80 m from the crest of the higher ground forming the S spur of the hill; all views in this direction, across the valley of the South Tyne, are therefore blocked.
Despite its proximity to the Stanegate, the camp faces almost due E. It measures 175 m from W to E and 110 m from N to S and encloses an area of 1.7 ha (4.2 acres) within an earthen rampart which averages about 0.3 m in height and is nowhere more than 0.5 m above the interior; it is spread to a width of about 6 m. The external ditch, about 0.4 m deep and some 3 m wide, survives throughout its length except around the SW angle. As a whole the defences and the interior of the camp have been badly damaged, especially by a system of drains cut in 1976 (Austen 1977 (4a)). There were four gates, each one slightly offset from that on the opposite side and each defended by an internal clavicula. The N clavicula, the presence of which was noted in Ordnance Survey records (NAR NY 76 NW 18) has been almost entirely destroyed by a drain; the other three survive to a height of about 0.3 m. The line of the ditch is broken for a causeway opposite each of the N, E and S gates although on the S it has been cut through by a modern drain (Austen 1977 (see auth 4a)).
On the W, where the ditch is no longer evident, there is now no trace of a break in the rampart; this entrance seems to have been blocked at a secondary stage. The outwork consists only of a bank with no attendant ditch. Apart from a slight irregularity in its alignment around the NE angle, it lies parallel to the rampart of the camp and about 13 m outside it. The bank is in poor condition and in some places is barely discernable, but that on the S side is clearly visible on vertical aerial photographs taken in 1946 (RAF 106G/UK 1392, 4186-7 (4b)). The NW corner has been completely destroyed but elsewhere it averages about 0.2 m in height and is spread to a width of about 3.2 m. On the N, W and S there is a break in the bank opposite each entrance; another gap probably existed outside the E gate although it is now impossible to confirm this without excavation. Outworks are know to have been provided around Roman forts in Britain (Wilson 1984 (4c)) but for a camp the provision of such an encircling outwork seems to be unique. The existence of an earthwork here must throw some doubt on the classification of the site, although it is unknown whether the inner and outer defences are strictly contemporary. Its position, which has no natural strength on the S, may have prompted the provision of this extra line of defence. Either way, it is not likely to have been a temporary encampment or fortification and occupation may have been for a season or more. If the blocking of the W entrance took place in Roman times this would suggest more than one period of use. A relatively early date for the initial construction may be indicated by the presence of claviculae. Proof is lacking, but since the fortlet beside the Haltwhistle Burn 1 km to the ENE, was not occupied before c AD 105 (Breeze and Dobson 1985, 8 (4d)), it is conceivable that the earthworks at Lees Hall are those of a predecessor. If so, they might be early Flavian, or even Agricolan, in date.
A lynchet, 0.5 m high, crosses the N half of the camp and overlies the E and W ramparts. This is probably the remnant of an old field boundary, similar to and contemporary with others to the S of the camp. There are faint traces of ridge-and-furrow to the SW, and 65 m to the E of the camp a hollow-way cuts across the natural gully. Full information is available in the NMR Archive. (4)
Additional reference. (5)
Published source. (6)
The camp was recorded from aerial photographs at a scale of 1:10000 as part of the Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site Mapping Project. (7)
Located on the English Heritage map of Hadrian's Wall 2010. (8) |