Burgh Castle (Roman fortification)

Burgh Castle Roman Site
Norfolk, England
A turret on the eastern wall
Burgh Castle Roman Site is located in Norfolk
Burgh Castle Roman Site
Burgh Castle Roman Site
Coordinates52°34′57″N 1°39′05″E / 52.5826°N 1.6515°E / 52.5826; 1.6515
Grid referencegrid reference TG474045
TypeRectangular Roman Shore fort
later Norman motte and bailey fort
Site information
OwnerNorfolk Archaeological Trust and
English Heritage
Open to
the public
Yes
ConditionRoman fort: fair, surviving walls
on 3 sides to 4.6 m (15 ft) high
Norman fort: no remains
Site history
MaterialsFlint and some brick/tile

Burgh Castle is the site of one of nine Roman Saxon Shore forts constructed in England around the 3rd century AD, to hold troops as a defence against Saxon raids up the rivers of the east and south coasts of southern Britain. It is located on the summit of ground sloping steeply towards the estuary of the River Waveney, in the civil parish of Burgh Castle, in the county of Norfolk (but until 1974 in Suffolk).

This fort was possibly known as Gariannonum, although the single record that uses the name may perhaps be referring to the Roman site at Caister-on-Sea. Between the mid-7th and 9th centuries the site was possibly occupied by a monastic settlement, and in the 11th and 12th centuries a Norman motte and bailey castle existed there.[1]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference EHP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).