Alauna, Maryport

Alauna was a castrum or fort in the Roman province of Britannia [1]. It occupied a coastal site just north of the town of Maryport in the English county of Cumbria (formerly part of Cumberland) [1]. It was linked by a Roman road to the Roman fort and settlement at Derventio to the southeast [1]. Alauna is a river name and the Roman fort stands on a hill north of the River Ellen [1]. The fort was established during the reign of the emperor Hadrian around AD 122 as a command and supply base for the coastal defences of Hadrian's Wall at its western extremity [1]. There are substantial remains of the Roman fort, which was one of a series along the Cumbrian coast intended to prevent Hadrian's Wall being outflanked by crossing the Solway Firth [1]. Geo-magnetic surveys have revealed a large Roman town surrounding the fort [1]. The site has yielded more altars than any other in Britain, and the finds have been made over a long period of time [1].