Ribchester
About
Soldiers under governor Petillius Cerialis built a timber fort at this crossing of the River Ribble around 72 CE, decades before the Sarmatian cavalry famous for later garrisoning it ever arrived. Its defenses stood through Trajan's reign, still in their original timber phase, before a stone rebuild came in the second century. Occupation continued for most of the fourth century, among the longest-held forts in northwest England. A Roman bathhouse and museum finds, including cavalry parade armor, are on display in the village today.
What happened here
Five hundred men, sometimes a thousand, recruited from a province rather than from citizens, and often stationed a long way from where they were raised. Cavalry units get a bigger fort and far more stabling; the smell tells you which kind you are in before the plan does. The layout copies a legionary fortress at a quarter of the size — headquarters, commander's house, granaries, barracks, a bath house usually built outside the walls because of the fire risk. Duties are patrolling, escorting, customs, and policing rather than pitched battle. After twenty-five years a man is discharged with citizenship for himself and his children, recorded on a bronze diploma he keeps for life. A village grows outside the gate within a decade.
Sources
Nearby
Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →