Magnis or Magna was a Roman

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

near

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

in northern Britain. Its ruins are now known as and are located near Carvoran,

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, in northern

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It was built on the Stanegate frontier and Roman road, linking Coria (Corbridge) in the east to Luguvalium (

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

) in the west, before the building of Hadrian's Wall. The fort is now the site of the

Roman Army Museum Magnis or Magna was a Roman Empire, Roman castra, fort near Hadrian's Wall in northern Roman Britain, Britain. Its ruins are now known as and are located near Carvoran, Northumberland, in northern England. It was built on the Stanegate fronti ...

Name

The fort at Carvoran is generally identified with the 'Magnis' which appears both in the ''

Ravenna Cosmography The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' (, "The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese") is a work describing the Ecumene, known world from India to Ireland, compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around 700 AD. It consists of five books describing ...

'' and the '' Notitia Dignitatum''. Further evidence for the name comes from a fragmentary inscription ( RIB 1825) apparently seen by the antiquary William Hutchinson in 1766 but which is now lost, which referred to "numerus Magnee(n)s(ium)" ("of the unit of Magn ......"). The name could be a Latin nominative form ''Magni'', or ''Magna'', and the fort is today sometimes referred to under the name "Magna". The name is rather inappropriate for a relatively small fort, and one suggestion is that it could ultimately derive from the Celtic word ''maen'' meaning "stone" or "rock".

Roman fort

The site was occupied by several earlier timber-built camps as revealed by aerial photography, and a large enclosure of just under 8 acres (c. 3.2ha) below the later walls. The earliest dateable evidence is from the end of

Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...

's reign (1st century). Magnis was built on the Stanegate frontier in about 80 AD to guard the junction of the Maiden Way Roman road (running north to south) with the Stanegate (running west to east). As such the fort predates

. The Maiden Way ran south from Magnis to Bravoniacum ( Kirkby Thore near Penrith). An intermediate fort halfway between the two on the Maiden Way was Whitley Castle or Epiacum, just north of Alston, Cumbria. Five hundred Hamian archers, known as '' Cohors Prima Hamiorum Sagittaria'', the only regiment of archers known in Britain, were stationed at Magnis starting from 120 AD. Hadrian's wall was built from 122 only a few hundred yards north of the fort and its Vallum ditch was dug to the north of the fort, separating it from the Wall and the frontier zone. The vallum was also diverted much further north of the fort than needed with no apparent reason. The fort was rebuilt in stone in 136-7 when the

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall () was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twenty years after Hadrian's Wall to the south ...

was built. Further rebuilding was done at the end of the reign of

Antoninus Pius Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius (; ; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held var ...

(c. 161) and after the withdrawal from the Antonine wall, the same garrison that had occupied it in Hadrianic times fort returned.

Vicus

A large ''

vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus ...

'' (civilian settlement) was located on at least three sides of the fort as revealed by geophysical survey. It was identified by visitors to the remains including Horsley in 1732 and is also testified by many dedications to the god Vitiris.

Archaeology

Artifacts recovered at Magnis include a iron spearhead, found at a depth of in a well, and the well-known modius, a bronze grain-measure. The site is under the care of the Vindolanda Trust and has the same preservation layers of organic remains. Supported by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, a five-year excavation began in 2023.

Roman Army Museum

Magnis is the location of the Roman Army Museum run by the Vindolanda Trust. Like the museum at Vindolanda, the Roman Army Museum was modernised and reopened in 2011. The museum illustrates frontier life on the northern edge of the Roman Empire. The museum displays genuine Roman artifacts including weapons and tools; life-size replicas; a 3D film showing Hadrian's Wall past and present, and a large timeline of

. There is a gallery devoted to the emperor

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

himself. A large gallery describes daily life in the Roman army as seen through the eyes of a team of eight auxiliary soldiers, complete with a film showing their activities. Notable exhibits include a rare surviving helmet crest.

References

External links

"Magnis Carvetiorum"
at Roman Britain Online {{Authority control Forts of Hadrian's Wall History of Northumberland Roman sites in Northumberland Military and war museums in England Roman auxiliary forts in England Stanegate