Magnis, Carvoran

Magnis or Magna was a Roman fort near Hadrian's Wall in northern Britain [1]. Its ruins are now known as Carvoran Roman Fort and are located near Carvoran, Northumberland [1]. It was built on the Stanegate frontier and Roman road before the building of Hadrian's Wall [1]. The fort at Carvoran is generally identified with the 'Magnis' which appears both in the Ravenna Cosmography and the Notitia Dignitatum [1]. 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 [1]. The earliest dateable evidence is from the end of Domitian's reign [1]. A large vicus was located on at least three sides of the fort as revealed by geophysical survey [1]. Artifacts recovered at Magnis include a 2-foot-long iron spearhead, found at a depth of 36 feet in a well, and the well-known modius, a bronze grain-measure [1].