page_title: Castleshaw Roman Fort
section_title: Post-Roman
hierarchical_section_title: Castleshaw Roman Fort / History / Post-Roman
caption_attribution_description: English: A plan of Castleshaw Roman fort drawn by antiquarian Thomas Percival
context_page_description: Castleshaw Roman fort was a castellum in the Roman province of Britannia. Although there is no evidence to substantiate the claim, it has been suggested that Castleshaw Roman fort is the site of Rigodunum, a Brigantian settlement. The remains of the fort are located on Castle Hill on the eastern side of Castleshaw Valley at the foot of Standedge but overlooking the valley. The hill is on the edge of Castleshaw in Greater Manchester. The fort was constructed in c. AD 79, but fell out of use at some time during the 90s. It was replaced by a smaller fortlet, built in c. 105, around which a civilian settlement grew. It may have served as a logistical and administrative centre, although it was abandoned in the 120s.
  The site has been the subject of antiquarian and archaeological investigation since the 18th century, but the civilian settlement lay undiscovered until the 1990s. The fort, fortlet, and civilian settlement are all protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, recognising its importance as a "nationally important" archaeological site or historic building, and protecting it against unauthorised change.
context_section_description: After being abandoned by the Romans, Castleshaw was rediscovered by antiquarian Thomas Percival in 1752. The remains were in good enough condition for him to draw a plan and he commented that he was "pleased to find a double Roman camp". He also remarked that the Roman road from Manchester running east to the Pennines was "the finest remain of a Roman road in England that I ever saw". The site has suffered damage from ploughing in the 18th and 19th centuries as it is situated in one of the best draining areas of the valley. In 1897, a local antiquarian and poet, Ammon Wrigley, dug several trenches on the site. He did not record the results of his digging and unrecorded digs continued on and off until 1907. In 1907, the site was bought for the purpose of organised excavation and survey which continued from 1907 to 1908 under the supervision of Francis Bruton who had recently been involved with the excavation of Mamucium. The spoil heaps from the 1907–08 dig were never levelled, leaving a series of misleading modern earthworks on the interior of the site.
  Under the supervision of the University of Manchester, further excavation was undertaken on the site in 1957–61 and 1963–64. Between 1984 and 1988, Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit undertook excavations and restoration of the site. A group led by Professor Barri Jones – an expert on Roman Britain – was set up to co-ordinate the work. North West Water, then the owners of the site, ensured the area would not be used for agriculture. In an attempt to make the site accessible to the public, the outline of the fort and fortlet was marked out in low mounds and an education centre was set up nearby. The area beyond the fort was investigated for the first time in 1995–96; archaeologists were searching for a civilian settlement or vicus associated with the fort. Surveys revealed a settlement triangular in shape and to the south of the fort. The vicus is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument with the fort and fortlet.
caption: A plan of Castleshaw drawn by Thomas Percival in 1752 showing the fort and the later fortlet
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