Malton
About
Governor Agricola's forces built this fort in North Yorkshire between 77 and 83 CE to hold the Brigantian lowlands along the River Derwent. Excavation has revealed a complex sequence of rebuilding, with a major construction phase specifically dated to Trajan's reign. The garrison remained in place from the earliest years of Roman occupation right through to the fifth century, one of the longest continuous military presences in the north. The fort now lies beneath the modern market town, with its Roman collection housed in Malton Museum.
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
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