Vindomora Vindomora ( or Ebchester Roman Fort ) was an auxiliary castra on Dere Street , in the Roman province of Britannia Inferior ( Upper Britain – the Romans judged distances by proximity to Rome , therefore northern England was " inferior " as it is farther away ) . Its ruins are situated at Ebchester ( ) in the English county of Durham , to the north of Consett and west - south - west from Newcastle upon Tyne . History . Vindomora is situated in between the forts of Corstopitum ( Corbridge ) and Bywell to the north / west north , and Longovicium ( Lanchester ) to the south . It is located on Dere Street , the main Roman road linking Eboracum ( York ) with Hadrian ' s Wall and its surrounding areas . Its position also protected the river Derwent . It is about south of Hadrian ' s wall , and was built at the foot of a long descent , sloping towards the north , scattered along the edge of a still deeper declivity , which overhangs the green low - lying meadow of the river valley of the Derwent . The name Vindomora , has been mistakenly understood to signify in Latin " The edge of the Black Moor " , perhaps due to the resemblance of - mora to the Latin " maura " black / dark ( feminine ) , or " End of the Hill " ; however , the name is clearly British , with the first part being the " windo - " ( vindo - ) " fair / white " found wherever Celts lived . When the Romans had departed from the land , it received the name it now bears which is identical with " Upchester " , and signifies " The Camp on the Height . The main road through Ebchester is appropriately named Vindomora road . " The fort is only mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary Little remains to be seen of the fort as the town of Ebchester was built directly on top of the fort , unlike the successors of many other Roman towns , which are generally situated at a little distance from the ancient sites . In Ebchester Roman ramparts , altars and remains of all kinds are mingled in singular confusion with the gardens , cottages , roads and St . Ebba ' s Church . Immediately after the Roman departure , the area was reoccupied by woodland . Parts of the rampart are still visible near the post office , and some excavated ruins . Despite more recent construction on the site , a few legionary building stones and small altars have been recovered , enabling archaeologists to identify which units garrisoned the fort . It is postulated there would be a road from Vindomora to Washing Wells ( Wickham , Tyne and Wear ) , but this remains to be discovered . Also , recent discoveries at Bywell by Raymond Selkirk seem to suggest that Dere Street carried on to Bywell , and not to Corstopitum ( Corbridge ) as previously thought . Another road left to Whittonstall to the north - west and then possibly either to Corbridge ( the path previously assumed to be Dere Street ) or Hexham ( which possibly contained a fort ) . Other finds at Cong Burn near Concangis ( Chester - le - Street ) to the east suggest these two forts were also linked by a road and bridge over the Cong Burn . Gods worshipped included a typical mixture found at Auxiliary forts of classical Roman and Germanic / Celt Gods . Two altars name the ancient Germanic ancestor - god Vitiris , and one altar to a " genius loci " , a sort of presiding spirit in the local area . Roman war deities Mars and Minerva were also worshipped . A Vernostonus Cocidius was apparently a conflation of two Germanic war Gods . Garrison . Legionary stones recovered identify a Fifth Cohort as building the fort , but unfortunately give no clue as to the parent legion . This however cannot be taken as evidence of occupation because all Roman auxiliary forts were actually built by the highly trained legionaries , and not entrusted to the peregrine auxiliary soldiers who were to garrison the completed camp . The stones also identify the names of Centurions responsible for the construction work , and later restoration work done by auxiliary regiments at the time of the Scottish campaigns by emperor Severus . The first unit proven to garrison Ebchester is the Cohors Quartae Breucorum Antoninianae ( The Fourth Cohort of the Breuci : Antonine ' s Own ) , identified from an early 3rd - century altar . They were a nominally 500 - strong infantry regiment , although usually the number was around 460 or lower . This Auxilia unit was originally levied from amongst the Breuci tribe of Pannonia Inferior , natives of the Bosna valley in northeastern Bosnia - Herzegovina . This unit was also possibly present at Lavatris ( Bowes , Durham ) , but the inscription is too damaged to read accurately .