page_title: Portus Lemanis
section_title: Location and construction
hierarchical_section_title: Portus Lemanis / Location and construction
caption_attribution_description: English: Archaeological excavations of the East Gate of Portus Lemanis in 1976. Excavations of the site were carried out between 1976 and 1978. Portus Lemanis is also known as Stutfall Castle.
context_page_description: Portus Lemanis, also known as Lemanae, was the Latin name of an ancient Roman fort, settlement and port in southern Kent. The modern village of Lympne derives its name from the ancient port.
context_section_description: The fort stood on a hill overlooking a reach of sea which has since been drained to form the Romney Marsh. A harbour lay to the south and east. A vicus (civilian settlement) had also sprung up in its proximity, situated astride the road that led to Canterbury.
  The construction of the Saxon Shore-era fort can be dated to the late 270s, as is evidenced by its late-style characteristics, including forward-projecting towers. The remains are in poor condition, since the ground, mostly clay, has at places given way. The southern side of the fort is wholly missing, and elsewhere the remains have been moved at various angles, while little evidence of interior structures (remains of a bath and possibly the principia) survives. The site is still relatively unknown: the only major archaeological excavations were carried out by Roach Smith in 1850 and 1852.
  The remains of the main rampart show a strong construction ca. 3.9 m wide, and surviving sections are still between 6 and 8 m in height. The wall is built of recycled material from earlier structures and bonded with bands of brick, which include several roofing tiles. Originally, the fort may have had about 14 towers. A single main gate survives towards the east, as well as several posterns. Its shape may have been an irregular pentagon, which covered an area of ca. 3.4 ha; but this shape would be unusual for Roman forts, especially in the Saxon Shore system.
  The site, long known locally as Stutfall Castle, is on private land and may not be visited, but a fairly good view can be obtained at a distance from a public footpath running along the escarpment, and another view from a poorly maintained footpath to the west (erroneously shown on the Ordnance Survey map as running through the centre of the remains).
caption: Archaeological excavations of the east gate of Portus Lemanis in 1976
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