[ Abraham Brothers
] [ Armitt Sisters
] [ Arnolds ] [
Herbert Bell ] [
J W Brunskill ] [
Collingwood Family
] [ W E Forster ] [
William Green ] [
Alfred Heaton Cooper
] [ John Kelsick ] [
Harriet Martineau
] [ Charlotte Mason
]
[ Beatrix Potter ]
[ William Payne ] [
J B Pyne ] [
Canon Rawnsley ] [
The Romans ] [
John Ruskin ] [
Kurt Schwitters ]
[ Josefina de
Vasconcellos ] [
Charles Walmsley ] [
Fred Yates ]
The Romans
 |
Ambleside was quite a stronghold for the Romans. An extensive fort lay at Galava at the head of Windermere and many Roman troops were stationed here. |
R G Collingwood carried out the first excavations between 1913 and 1924 and recorded them fully in the Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society volumes which are available in the Armitt Library for consultation. The reprinted booklet he published in 1924 is available from the Museum Shop at £1.00 and can be read at this link. Collingwood thought it likely that the fort was established during the governorship of Agricola (A.D. 78-85), but we now know from pottery that it was built in the A.D. 90s. Various finds have confirmed the existence of a 'vicus' (civilian settlement) and in 1964 a gravestone was found about 400 metres to the east of the fort (outside the vicus, as Roman law required). In the bed of the lake to the south of the fort there have been reports of large blocks of masonry, presumably the remains of the jetty which enabled the fort to be supplied by boat from further along the lake. The site of the fort is now in the custody of the National Trust.
 |
These are original RG Collingwood labels for the Museum display of articles found at the Roman Fort, circa 1933.
|
 |
The Roman Gravestone
This unique gravestone in the Ambleside Museum which is to two burials, was found to the east of the Roman camp close to Lake Road in Ambleside in 1962. The stone is a piece of local Brathay slate. The text, written with several abbreviations, reads as follows:
|
D B M / FLA FUSCINUS EME I EXORDI VlSI ANIS LV D B M / FLA ROMANUS ACT I VIXIT ANNI XXXV IN CAS INTE AB HOSTI |
Translated as: TO THE GOOD GODS OF THE UNDERWORLD FLAVIUS FUSCINUS RETIRED / FROM THE CENTURIONSHIP LIVED 55 YEARS TO THE GOOD GODS OF THE UNDERWORLD FLAVIUS ROMANUS RECORD CLERK / LIVED 35 YEARS KILLED IN THE FORT BY THE ENEMY |
The date of the gravestone is difficult to establish with any certainty, but the early 3rd century AD seems probable from the styles of writing. The writing in the second part of the inscription (from the 4th line, commemorating Flavius Romanus) is rougher than in the first part, and it seems probable that it was added at a slightly later date.
It is interesting to note that Flavius Romanus was killed inside the fort. The attackers had somehow got inside the defences. The stone was found on the property of Marathon Knitwear (John Beales Associated Group) while new foundations were being excavated on the site of Wanlass Howe, Waterhead, Ambleside. It was discovered by Alexander Maxwell Mann, at the time a Director of Marathon Knitwear. Mr Mann gave the stone, now known as “The Wanlass Stone”, to the Armitt Museum in 1999 for permanent display in Ambleside. The Friends of the Armitt Trust funded its restoration and presentation.
Arts And Humanities Data Service At this site you will find detailed information about Ambleside Roman Fort, including a catalogue of artefacts held at the Ambleside Museum and bibliographies of associated Roman material held in the Armitt Library.
A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ROMAN AMBLESIDE is at this link.
[ Abraham
Brothers ] [
Armitt Sisters ] [
Arnolds ] [ Herbert
Bell ] [ J W
Brunskill ] [
Collingwood Family ] [
W E Forster ] [
William Green ] [
Alfred Heaton Cooper
] [ John Kelsick ] [
Harriet Martineau
] [ Charlotte Mason
]
[ Beatrix Potter ]
[ William Payne ] [
J B Pyne ] [
Canon Rawnsley ] [
The Romans ] [
John Ruskin ] [
Kurt Schwitters ]
[ Josefina de
Vasconcellos ] [
Charles Walmsley ] [
Fred Yates ]