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Time for another instalment of #RomanFortThursday, this week looking at Aballava fort on Hadrian’s Wall at Burgh by Sands. This 5-acre fort was placed at the southern end of the Peat Wath & the Sandwath, guarding two important Solway Firth fords.
The fort was oblong & straddled the Turf Wall & the Stone Wall formed the fort's north wall, although only the robbed out eastern wall has been located. A fortified border church, built almost entirely out of Roman stones, is thought to stand on the site of the fort’s Principia.
In the 3rd cent., a unit from North Africa, the Aurelian Moors named after Marcus Aurelius, was stationed at Aballava. These soldiers settled in the area & had families, forming the first known African community in Britain.
Excavations by Collingwood in 1922 uncovered the east wall & gate, as well as barracks. Pottery finds indicate that the fort was occupied from the mid 2nd c. to the mid-late 4th c.
Excavations by @HeadlandArchUK in 2002 revealed features from the extramural settlement 200m south of the fort. This included post-pits for substantial buildings, postholes & beam slots for smaller buildings, ditches & gullies, all dated to the mid 2nd century.
