Verterae

Verterae was a Roman fort in the modern-day village of Brough, Cumbria, England [1]. Occupied between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, it protected a key Roman road in the north of England [1]. Verterae was probably built by the Roman governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola between AD 79-80, as part of his campaign to conquer the north of Britain [1]. One of a sequence of forts that lay every 12 miles to 14 miles along the route, the site protected the Stainmore Pass that stretched from the River Eden across the Pennines [1]. Verterae was occupied for a time after the Roman withdrawal around the year 410 but was eventually abandoned [1]. Rubbish from the Roman period was discovered on the site in the mid-19th century, and archaeological excavations were carried out in 1923 by the government [1]. More excavations followed in 1954 and during the 1970s and 1990s, with a comprehensive survey of the site being conducted in 1996 [1].