Binchester Roman Fort Binchester Roman Fort ( called Vinovia or Vinovium by the Romans ) is situated just over to the north of the town of Bishop Auckland on the banks of the River Wear in County Durham , England . The fort was the site of a hamlet until the late middle - ages , but the modern - day village of Binchester is about to the east , near Spennymoor . History of the fort and vicus . The fort . Not much is yet known about pre - Roman settlement in the immediate area . The fort was probably established around 79 CE to guard the crossing of the River Wear by Dere Street , the main Roman road between York , Hadrian ' s Wall and Scotland , and also the fort ' s " via principalis " . Sitting atop a hill 15 metres above the Wear , Binchester was the largest Roman fort in County Durham . The land was cleared of trees and brush and a huge levelling fill laid down on the plateau before construction of the fort began . Archaeologists found four coins of Vespasian that seem to corroborate that initial building was related to Agricola ' s march northward into Brigantes territory . Two phases of timber structures , most likely barracks blocks , were constructed atop the levelling deposit . Much later , perhaps centuries later , buildings inside the fort were levelled and reconstructed in stone . These included a commandant ' s house at the heart of the fort and a well - appointed baths building , both that went through several phases of development ( see below under the archaeological history ) . The garrison . It is not entirely clear which garrison units would have called Binchester home . The " cuneus Frisorum Vinoviensium " and the " equites catafractariorum " have been mentioned in inscriptions from the site . The cavalry units of the " ala Vettonum " , a cohort of Frisian soldiers , and part of the Sixth Legion might also have stayed here at some point in its history . In fact , it may have been men from the " Sixth Legion Victrix " who built the original fort . The vicus . An extensive civilian settlement ( " vicus " ) existed to the north and west of the fort , the remains of which are buried under the pastures of Binchester Hall Farm . The southern part of the fort is now beneath Binchester Hall , while some of the defences were destroyed in a landslip in the 19th century . Part of the stone bridge used by Dere Street to cross the River Wear can still be seen when the river is low . In 2007 , several mausolea were found to the north of the vicus . Later history . Although the Roman occupation of Britain ended officially around 410 CE . , the area around Binchester seems to have remained occupied by the local population . By the early 6th century , a small Anglo - Saxon cemetery had been founded , and the demolition of the fort ' s buildings for reclamation of the materials had started , some of which were eventually used in the construction of the nearby 7th - century Escomb Church . A hamlet and manor house survived at Binchester until the late Middle Ages . The site of the manor house is now occupied by the 17th - century Binchester Hall . Archaeological excavations at the fort and vicus . Early discoveries . The remains of the fort have been known to antiquarians and historians since the 16th century . In 1552 , John Leland wrote that Roman coins had been uncovered in nearby ploughed fields , while William Camden , in 1586 , mentioned the remains of some walls could still then be seen . A bath - house was found in 1815 when a farm cart accidentally fell into part of a hypocaust . The ruins did not fare well under the early 19th century occupants of Binchester Hall . In 1828 , " altars , urns , and other relics " were robbed out and taken away to be used as props inside coal pits in the area . The fort and surrounding land passed from private ownership to that of the Anglican Church in 1836 . Victorian excavations . The first archaeological excavations took place between 1878 and 1880 , under the auspices of John Proud of Bishop Auckland and the Reverend Robert Eli Hooppell of Byers Green , investigating the bath - house , some of the fort ' s defences , and parts of the surrounding settlement . However , Hooppell claimed that " ( virtually ) everything of note found at Binchester before 1879 has perished , or been scattered beyond hope of recovery . " Hooppell had workmen excavate the eastern rampart of the fort where they uncovered a portion of Dere Street which functioned as the fort ' s Via Principalis . They also explored the vicus , uncovering several plain buildings . In 1891 , the installation of modern water pipes in the area caused destruction to the northeast corner of the fort , particularly the rampart , Dere Street , and a few vicus houses , but did uncover a large Roman altar dedicated by Pomponius Donatus " beneficiarius of the governor " to Jupiter and the Matres Ollototae ( three Celtic mother goddesses originally from the continent ) . 20th century excavations . In 1937 , Kenneth Steer undertook some excavations around the fort ' s defences as part of his archaeology degree at Durham University . There he found evidence for post - Roman buildings overlying these ditches , suggesting that the vicus continued as a small settlement after the fort was actively occupied . He was also able to identify an early Agricolan fort under a later one dating to about the 3rd century . Further work continued in 1955 and between 1964 and 1972 when the bath suite was re - excavated and mostly cleared . The 1960s were also the period that the archaeological site came under the guardianship of the Durham County Council . In 1971 , rescue excavation at the north - western end of Binchester Hall found around six successive layers of timber barracks . A long term program of excavation begun by the Bowes Museum for Durham County Council ran from 1976 – 1980 , and then again from 1986 – 1988 . It focused primarily upon the baths suite and the attached commandant ' s house , uncovering several phases of activity . The first was the construction of the original courtyard house presumably used by the commandant of the fort , built sometime after the middle of the 4th century atop two previous smaller stone buildings , also presumably " praetoria " . It had attractive decor and was meant for a single occupant . Later , but also perhaps in the 4th century , a detached bath suite was built adjoining the house , necessitating the demolition of part of the earlier building . It had three rooms : a warm room , a hot room , and a hot room with two plunge baths . The excavators understood this bath building to be for the use of the commandant only . Still later , the house seems to have lost its singular occupant . Rooms were subdivided and several self - contained units were created in what was originally a large house . The baths receive a flagstone court , a triple arched gateway , and a small anteroom , and it is suggested that the reorganisation of both structures meant the baths were opened to the entire regiment at the fort . A coin of the usurper Magnentius , minted between 350 and 360 , may provide a " terminus post quem " for these renovations . The baths and house then fall on rough times . Lack of maintenance of the baths can be seen archaeologically in the next period , and in the house , the rooms come to be used for industry , including blacksmithing , lime slaking , and animal butchery . A midden dug in a channel around most of the building held a great deal of animal bones and debris . Finally , the collapse of a few walls and part of the roof of the baths seems to have heralded the end for the complex some time in the post - Roman period . However , the entire fort seems to have been used as a cemetery from the mid - 6th to the 11th centuries . A Saxon woman was found buried in the rubble caused by the roof collapse . Recent excavations . Around 4 . 7 hectares of the vicus were mapped with a geophysical survey in 2004 . Along with previous surveys , a picture began to emerge of a quite extensive civilian settlement laying under the fields to the east of the fort , where Hooppell had done his early test trenches . This led to David Mason , the County Archaeologist , suggesting to the Channel 4 television show Time Team that Binchester could provide a fertile ground for investigation . In April 2007 , the production company came and spent three days excavating and extending the area surveyed by geophysical means . Apart from discovering more remains of the larger , earlier fort , they also found a row of three military mausolea , " the first to have been found in Britain for 150 years . " They also identified that the vicus also extended to the north of the fort . The Binchester programme was broadcast on Channel 4 on 13 January 2008 , ending Time Team ' s involvement with the site . In 2009 , a test season was conducted in July where the team opened a trench at the north - east corner of the fort . The first full season of these new excavations in 2010 , with the team opening trenches both inside the fort and outside in the vicus . At Durham University , the principal investigators of the project are Richard Hingley and David Petts . At Stanford University , the principal investigators are Michael Shanks , Gary Devore , Melissa Chatfield , and David Platt . Problems in interpretation of the site . Dating aspects of the fort and vicus of Binchester is quite difficult given the limited modern archaeological exploration that has occurred on the site . Most of the floors investigated inside the fort have been of " opus signinum " , and kept relatively clean during their life . A few coins have been found under floor deposits , but these often only give a " terminus post quem " , and coins stop becoming reliable diagnostic items in the 5th century , although settlement in and around Binchester surely lasted into the early Medieval period . Modern investigation of the vicus has been non - existent or fruitless in the search for datable finds . It is hoped that the current excavations might inform more about the chronology of the site . External links . History Videos Articles