Cataractonium

Cataractonium was a fort and settlement in Roman Britain [1]. The settlement evolved into Catterick, located in North Yorkshire [1]. The name is attested as Cataractonium in two 2nd-century Vindolanda tablets [1]. Among the artifacts excavated at the site was a theatrical mask, suggesting there may have been a theatre or small amphitheatre [1]. A 1995 project that mapped the site from the air, located at least sixteen identifiable buildings and the partial remains of several others [1]. Cataractonium was a crossroads where the road north from Eboracum (York) and Isurium (Aldborough) split into Dere Street running 12 Roman miles northeast to Vinovium (Binchester) and the Roman equivalent of Watling Street running 16 or 18 Roman miles northwest to Lavatrae (Bowes) [1]. The fort was located to the south of the River Swale [1]. The early fort was used as a marching camp for patrols in the area and as defence for the trunk road's bridgehead [1].