Navio Roman Fort facts for kids
Centurial Stone from Navio Roman Fort
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| Location | Brough-on-Noe |
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| Region | Derbyshire, England |
| Coordinates | 53°20′28″N 1°43′48″W / 53.34111°N 1.73000°W |
| Type | Fort (Castra) |
| History | |
| Periods | Roman Empire |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Buried remains |
| Public access | Footpath |
| Official name | Navio Roman fort and vicus |
| Designated | 30 November 1925 |
| Reference no. | 1017505 |
Navio Roman fort was an old Roman army base in England. It sits near the River Noe, in a place called Brough-on-Noe, close to Hope in Derbyshire. Today, Navio fort and the nearby civilian settlement (called a vicus) are protected as a Scheduled Monument. This means they are important historical sites.
Contents
The name of the fort, Navio, means "on the river" in Latin. About 700 years after the Romans were there, the town was written down as Nauione in a very old book called the Ravenna Cosmography. This book listed many places known around the world at that time.
The book also showed other places Navio was connected to by Roman roads. These included Aquis Arnemeza (which is now Buxton), Zerdotalia (which was Ardotalia, a fort near Glossop), and Mantio (which is now Manchester). The book also mentioned a river called Anava, which is thought to be the River Derwent today.
The Roman Milestone
In 1862, a Roman milestone was found in Buxton. Milestones were like road signs that told travellers how far they were from certain places. This one is the oldest inscribed milestone ever found in Derbyshire.
The stone has a Latin message carved into it. It says:
TRIB POT COS II P P A NAVIONE M P XI
This means: "With the tribune's power, twice consul, father of this country. From Navio 11 miles." It tells us that Buxton was 11 miles away from Navio. You can see this milestone at the Buxton Museum.
Building the Fort
The Roman name for the fort, Navio, later changed to the Old English word brough, which also means "fort".
Archaeologists, like Sir Ian Richmond and J.P. Gillam, dug at the site in the 1930s. They found out where different forts had been built over time, one on top of the other.
Early Forts
The very first Navio fort was built around 80 CE. It was quite large, about 3 acres (1.2 hectares) in size. It was made from timber (wood) and earthworks (mounds of earth).
Around 150 CE, the fort was rebuilt using stone. This stone fort was shaped like a rectangle, measuring about 90 by 105 meters (295 by 344 feet). Roman soldiers lived here for over 200 years! The fort was changed and rebuilt again over time, and it was used until about 350 CE.
Today, you can still see the remains of the fort. There are earthwork banks and ditches around a raised area of ground. Most of the fort is buried, but a few stone slabs can be seen.
Discoveries at the Fort
In 1903, another archaeologist named John Garstang found steps leading down into an underground stone room. This room was beneath the Principia, which was the main headquarters building of the fort.
Inside the fort's strong room, two important stone objects were found:
- A large Centurial stone
- A gritsone altar
Both of these amazing finds are now on display at the Buxton Museum.
The Centurial Stone
The Centurial stone found at Navio was made in 154 CE. This was when soldiers from southwest France were rebuilding the fort. The writing on the stone tells us who built it and why.
The inscription says:
IMP CAESARI T AEL HADR ANTONINO AVG PIO P P COH I AQVITANORVM SVB IVLIO VERO LEG AVG PR PR INSTANTE CAPITONO SCO PRAE
This translates to: "The 1st Cohort of Aquitanians under Julius Verus, the Emperor’s Governor of Britain, under the instructions of Capitonius Fuscus, Prefect of the Cohort, erected this stone in honour of the Emperor Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius, Father of his Country." It's a dedication to the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius.
The Gritsone Altar
The gritsone altar is a special stone dedicated to a goddess named Arnemetia (sometimes called Arnomecta). The Romans believed she lived in the sacred waters at Buxton.
The altar has this message carved into it:
DEAE ARNOMECTE AEL MOTIO V S L L M
This means: "To the Goddess Arnomecta, Aelius Motio gladly, willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow." This shows that Romans living at the fort worshipped local gods and goddesses.
Navio fort was very important because it guarded several Roman roads. These roads included:
- The Doctor's Gate route, which went northwest to a larger fort called Melandra (near Glossop).
- The Derbyshire Portway road, which went south.
- The Batham Gate road, which connected Navio to the fort at Templeborough and the Roman spa town of Aquae Arnemetiae (modern-day Buxton).
These roads were vital for getting to places where lead was mined in the Peak District. Lead was a very important material for the Romans.
The Civilian Settlement (Vicus)
A vicus was a civilian settlement that grew up next to a Roman fort. It was where families of soldiers, traders, and other people lived and worked.
In the 1980s, scientists used special equipment to find out how big the vicus was around Navio fort. They discovered it spread out to the south and east of the fort.
Later, in the 1990s, more digging showed that the vicus went even further east, past a stream called Bradwell Brook. In 2019, new excavations of the vicus uncovered the foundations of buildings made from stone and timber.
The teams also found many interesting objects, such as:
- Pieces of pottery
- Carved stone pieces
- Coins
- A 'ballista ball' (this was ammunition for a large Roman weapon that could throw heavy missiles)
These finds help us learn more about the daily lives of the people who lived near Navio Roman Fort.
Images for kids
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Site of Navio Roman Fort at Brough-on-Noe
See also
In Spanish: Fuerte romano de Navio para niños
