Lavatrae

Lavatrae (also Lavatris) was a Roman fort in the modern village of Bowes, County Durham, guarding the eastern entrance to the Stainmore Pass through the Pennines. Built with timber ramparts in the early 70s AD under Governor Petilius Cerealis, it served as a waypoint on the road connecting Carlisle to York. Stone walls replaced the timber defences in the 130s AD, and a civilian vicus developed to the north with a bathhouse to the southeast. The medieval Bowes Castle was later constructed within the fort's perimeter. The site is a Scheduled Monument managed by Historic England.