Caister Roman Site
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Castle Caister -on-Sea was a part of the limes of the British " Saxon Shore " (SK), in the present county of Norfolk. Its area is overbuilt for the most part today. A small section has been preserved and made accessible to visitors.
Name and location
The name of Caister -on-Sea derives from the Latin castra ( fort ). Caister -on-Sea is now a seaside resort in the county of Norfolk in England. It is located right on the coast, about five kilometers north of Great Yarmouth. Here the coastline has changed considerably since the Roman era, the castle stood in antiquity still at the mouth of the River Yare, which reached far inland. Where is the town of Great Yarmouth today, was still the open sea.
History of Research
The camp site was excavated in the years 1951-1955. Any residues of the internal buildings, parts of the south gate and the south wall, the almost complete western section and the bearing main road could be examined. Exposure of the remaining sections of the Kastellarerals was due to modern Complex no longer possible. The finds from the excavations consisted mainly of seven smaller hoards of Roman coins from the mid-4th century and wattle -and-daub of the buildings of the fort, pottery shards, glass, parts of a Zinngeschirrs and cereal grains.
Development and function
The castle was probably built around 200 AD for a unit of the Classis Britannica and an infantry cohort and was assigned to the years around 370-390. Presumably, the fort was one of the first on the SK. The fortress protected the estuary and a small port town, which was founded in the middle of the 2nd century. After withdrawal of the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons occupied the area around the fort. This built in the center of the camp, a small settlement in the south and a larger Anglo-Saxon burial ground could be identified.
Fort
The attachment had the classic form of a rectangle with rounded corners. The wall built of local flint and other stone material from the nearby coast has been strengthened and made accessible through an inner earth ramp. It covered an area of about 3.5 ha, its perimeter was on its inner side is supported by an earth ramp that also served as a rampart walk. The wall originally reached a height of four to five meters. On all four sides it was broken by a fortified gate, their corners were reinforced by towers. The camp was also surrounded obstacle as an approximation of two V-shaped ditch, of which the outer nor was considerably expanded and deepened in the early 4th century. From the south gate led from a gravel road to a small harbor. West of the Roman port could still a civilian settlement, a so-called vicus, are located.
Internal buildings
On a Südwall to west oriented from east, about 45 m long building was discovered, which consisted of six rooms of varying sizes in the West. Another building joined to the north. There was masonry on the south side that was interpreted as the remains of a portico. Room 2 of the west wing was equipped with a Hypocaustenheizung. The northern wing of a corridor could be exposed, which led to around a rectangular courtyard. In the courtyard remains of an older previous building, a pool and a kiln were discovered to Getreidetrockung. The building was probably built at the turn of the 3rd to the 4th century and was probably initially for representative purposes. But the passage of time it changed its function several times (residential and commercial buildings ). Ash traces indicated out that the building was destroyed by fire in the late 4th century. Both buildings were originally interpreted as a mansio for seafarers and as a brothel. This view is now also obsolete. The buildings were almost certainly to the infrastructure of the fort ( Praetorium? ).
Reference
In the archaeological park of Caister on Sea, part of the defensive trench, the remains of buildings and of the south gate, and whose left gate tower can be visited. The site is now under the supervision of English Heritage.
Remains of a Hypokaustenheizung
Detail view of masonry
View of military trench and the SE corner, looking northwest