Binchester Roman Fort

 
Excavations at Binchester
Between 2009 and 2015 the Arch & Arch was a partner in an international field school investigating parts of Binchester Roman fort and its accompanying civil settlement, on the outskirts of Bishop Auckland, funded by English Heritage (now Historic England) and Durham County Council who operated a visitor centre on site, displaying the parts of the fort excavated in the 1970s and 1980s.

Seasonal excavations were run by Archaeological Services Durham University with excavation areas selected by Dr David Mason, Principal Archaeologist with Durham County Council. Arch & Arch members had the chance to participate in the project with all volunteers received training in excavation, recording and interpretation, working alongside others from project partners, including Durham University, Stamford University, the Texas Tech University.
 
Binchester - Overview
Following on from the Time Team investigation at Binchester Roman Fort in 2007, a major research project was initiated, concentrating initially on an area in the interior of the fort, the south east gateway and an area in the civil settlement. The Society was involved from the outset, and members have taken part in the community excavation every summer from 2009 and have also participated in post excavation finds processing. The progress of the project may be followed on the Binchester Blog.

Binchester Roman Dig is a joint venture involving Durham County Council, Archaeological Services University of Durham (ASUD), the Department of Classics of Stanford University, and the Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland.

Binchester Research Report - by Dr David Mason Click on the .pdf icon to download Dr David Mason's site report.

 
Who occupied Binchester?
About Binchester Fort The Roman fort at Binchester lies above the River Wear just outside the town of Bishop Auckland in County Durham. Known to the Romans as Vinovia, it commanded the main road that ran from the legionary headquarters at York northwards to Hadrian’s Wall. It formed a key element of the complex frontier system that lay both sides of the Wall that marked the northern-most edge of the Roman Empire for nearly four hundred years. The fort itself was built to house a cavalry regiment in the early years of Roman control in Northern England. It housed troops from across the Empire, including Spain and Germany. It was not just a military site, a thriving civilian settlement (vicus) grew up at its gates.