More information : (SE 7852 9012) Tumulus (NR) (1)
A mound forming the tribunal of the Trajanic practice fort, in
the angle between the main east and south roadways, was excavated
in 1923 and 1929 by F G Simpson and J L Kirk. A platform,
composed of turf, 22 ft by 12 ft., with two small expansions like
the type of tribunal shown on Trajan's Column, partly overlay a
tumulus opened by Bateman or Greenwell in 1860. The earlier
excavation was cleared out, showing that the interment had been
in a circular pit about 3 1/2 ft. diam. and 2 ft. deep. (2)
There is now no trace of this feature in an area covered by
dense bracken and scrub. (3)
This site has been re-assessed in connection with RCHME's survey and
publication of Roman Camps in England. The following descriptive
account is taken from the published text.
SE 7852 9012 (FCE). A mound close to the centre of Cawthorn fort 'A'
(SE 79 SE 63), now standing 0.9 m high and measuring about 9 m
across, was identified by Richmond as the tribunal, a dias for the
commanding officer. This was constructed by adding a turf platform
to the N side of an earlier mound. The latter seems to have been a
prehistoric barrow with a central pit which had been disturbed by
earlier excavators (Richmond 1932, 61-3 (see auth 2)). Aerial
photography by RCHME in 1993 revealed that the barrow was surrounded
by a circular ditch more than 20 m in diameter.
Further investigation is required, for the date, associations and
functions of all the features within the fort and its annexe are
unclear. Other structures, apparently not wholly dissimilar, survive
outside the W and S sides of the forts defences. Full information is
included in the NMR Archive. (4)
As reported by authority 4, a circular ditch is clearly visible surrounding the barrow and Richmond's tribunal on air photographs. It measures approximately 24m in diameter and has slight external upcast banks in places. It is not certain that the ditch is contemporary with the barrow, as the latter is not situated centrally within the ditch, as one might expect. (5-6)
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