Navio Roman fort overlooks a tight bend of the River Noe at Brough-on-Noe near

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

, in England. Navio fort and

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) is a

Scheduled Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. The town was recorded as ''Nauione'' in the

Ravenna Cosmography The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' ( la, Ravennatis Anonymi Cosmographia, "The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese") is a list of place-names covering the world from India to Ireland, compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around 700 AD. Tex ...

's list of all known places in the world in about 700 AD. The entry is followed by places with which Navio had road connections: '' Aquis Arnemeza'' (

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Ardotalia Ardotalia (also known as Melandra, or Melandra Castle) is a Roman fort in Gamesley, near Glossop in Derbyshire, England. Ardotalia was constructed by Cohors Primae Frisiavonum—The First Cohort of Frisiavones. Evidence for the existence of th ...

, later called Melandra fort, near

Glossop Glossop is a market town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is located east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of the county town, Matlock. Glossop lies near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Manche ...

) and ''Mantio'' (

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

). There is also an entry for the river ''Anava,'' next to the river ''Dorvantium'', which is considered to be the River Derwent. A Roman milestone was discovered in 1862 in the Silverlands district of Buxton. It is the oldest inscribed milestone found in Derbyshire. The inscription is:

TRIB POT COS II P P A NAVIONE M P XI

which means ‘With the

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on the ...

's power, twice

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states th ...

, father of this country. From Navio 11 miles.' The milestone is on display in the Buxton Museum. ''Navio'' is Latin for "on the river". The Roman name of the fort Navio was later changed to the Old English word for fort, '' brough''. Excavations in the 1930s by

Sir Ian Richmond Sir Ian Archibald Richmond, (10 May 1902 – 5 October 1965) was a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empire at the University of Oxford. In addition, he was Director of the British School at ...

and J.P. Gillam established the locations of the perimeters of successive forts on the same site. Navio fort was originally about in size and built of timber and earthworks around 80 CE. It was rebuilt in stone in a rectangular form (about ) around 150 CE from when it was occupied for over 200 years. It was subsequently rebuilt and altered and in use until around 350 CE. The site of the fort now consists of earthwork banks and ditches around an earthen platform, buried remains and a few exposed stone slabs. Earlier excavations in 1903 by

John Garstang John Garstang (5 May 1876 – 12 September 1956) was a British archaeologist of the Ancient Near East, especially Egypt, Sudan, Anatolia and the southern Levant. He was the younger brother of Professor Walter Garstang, FRS, a marine bio ...

uncovered steps into an underground stone-walled chamber below the ''Principia'' or headquarters building. A large Centurial stone and a gritstone altar were found in the fort's strong room. They are on display in the Buxton Museum. Site of Navio Roman Fort at Brough in July 2020

Site of Navio Roman Fort at Brough in July 2020

The Centurial stone found at Navio dates from the rebuilding of the fort in 154 CE by occupying soldiers from southwest France. The inscription on it reads:

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 as: "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." The gritsone altar is dedicated to the goddess Arnemetia (or Arnomecta), who dwelt in the

sacred waters Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, spring (hydrosphere), springs, Water reservoir, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with t ...

at Buxton, and is inscribed with:

DEAE ARNOMECTE AEL MOTIO V S L L M

This translates as: "To the Goddess Arnomecta, Aelius Motio gladly, willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow." The fort guarded the

Doctor's Gate Doctor's Gate is a Roman road in the Derbyshire Peak District of England, which ran between Melandra fort at Glossop and Navio fort at Brough-on-Noe. Doctor's Gate was recorded in 1627 as "Docto Talbotes Gate", named after Dr John Talbot who ...

route northwest to the larger fort of Melandra (near Glossop), the Portway road to the south and the Batham Gate road (between the fort at

Templeborough Templeborough (historically Templebrough) is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The suburb falls within the Brinsworth and Catcliffe ward of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. The area takes its name from the remains of the R ...

and the Roman spa town of Aquae Arnemetiae, modern-day Buxton). This was an important route for access to sites of lead production in the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorl ...

. In the 1980s geophysical surveys identified the extent of the vicus (settlement adjoining the fort) to the south and east of the fort. Excavations in the 1990s determined that the vicus extended further east beyond Bradwell Brook. In 2019 excavations of the vicus uncovered foundations from stone and timber buildings. The team also found many pottery fragments, carved stone pieces, coins and a ‘

ballista The ballista (Latin, from Greek βαλλίστρα ''ballistra'' and that from βάλλω ''ballō'', "throw"), plural ballistae, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an ancient missile weapon that launched either bolts or stones at a distant ...

ball’ (ammunition for a large missile-throwing device). In 1929 a

denarius The denarius (, dēnāriī ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very ...

(a silver coin) of Vespasian's sixth consulate (AD 75) was found nearby at Hope Cement Works.{{Cite web , title=MDR2335 - Roman coin, Hope Cement Works, Bradwell - Derbyshire Historic Environment Record , url=https://her.derbyshire.gov.uk/Monument/MDR2335 , access-date=5 June 2022 , website=her.derbyshire.gov.uk

References

Roman fortifications in England Scheduled monuments in Derbyshire Peak District History of Derbyshire Former populated places in Derbyshire Roman sites in Derbyshire