HIGH ROCHESTER (Bremenium)		Quality of Remains
		Ease of Access
		Atmosphere & Setting

History:

The earliest dating evidence suggests that Bremenium (place of the roaring stream) was first constructed in around 80 AD as a turf and timber fort, being rebuilt in stone in 139 AD, part of the Hadrianic frontier system and an outpost fort of Hadrian's Wall. These outpost forts served to control the populace beyond the border and as a base for scouts, giving early warning of trouble to the forts on the wall. High Rochester is unusual in that it remained occupied almost continuously, despite the frontier moving to the Antonine Wall and back and troops being gradually withdrawn to the south. Indeed, rebuilding work has been identified here in the third and the fourth centuries. After the Antonine withdrawal from Scotland, Bremenium was the most northerly fort in the Empire and the site was only truly abandoned late in the fourth century.

Occupation:

A building inscription from the east gate attests the presence of the Twentieth Legion at High Rochester, though they are unlikely to have ever constituted part of the garrison. From the late Hadrianic period, High Rochester was occupied by a mixed cavalry and infantry Cohort of Lingones from the middle of France. In the early third century, they had been replaced by a similarly sized Cohort of Vardulli, attested in a building inscription of 216 AD. A Cohort of Dalmatians may or may not have garrisoned the fort at some point, although inscriptions are limited and prove nothing. A further b uilding inscription by the Second Cohort of Nervii does not attest to their permanent presence and may just refer to additional manpower drawn in to repair buildings, as they also appear to have done at Risingham.

Remains and Visit:

It is possible to identify the entire circuit of High Rochester's walls which surround a small hamlet. In a number of places patches of stonework are visible, often with the facing stones intact and here and there are remains of the interval towers, though only one (in the south wall) is plainly visible, standing almost six feet in height. The west gate, though blocked by a modern wall, is very well preserved, still retaining its sculpted cap on the jamb. Along the walls of th fort on the inside, though no sign remains today, were artillery platforms that led ballistae and catapults. To the north of the fort, the series of defensive ditches are clearly visible beyond which was the civilian settlement. By the turning from the main road that leads to High Rochester and opposite the war memorial is a further interesting sight. The gable end of a house is peppered with reused Roman stonework, including large slabs from the fort interior and heavy stone shot from the Roman catapults we know were based at Bremenium. For the more hardy of Roman enthusiasts, a walk from High Rochester over the ridge on the skyline brings you to the site of a Roman cemetary and a quarry. The cemetary is the most extensive example visible on the ground in Britain, covered with circular tombs. In this area, you can locate Dere Street, which passed close by Bremenium, and there is a particularly well preserved circular tomb, with two courses of stonework visible.

Images:

Interval tower	The west gate	Northwest fort corner	The north gate	Local House