Glannoventa


Glannoventa is a consensus form of the Latin place-name for a Roman fort that appeared as Clanoventa in the 2nd-century Antonine Itinerary, Glannibanta in the 4th-century Notitia Dignitatum, and Cantiventi in the 6th-century Ravenna Cosmography. It is identified with the naval base at Ravenglass in Cumbria, England.
An infantry unit of the Roman army, apparently based at the fort in the year 158 was the First Cohort Aelia Classica, where ‘Aelius’ was the family name of the Emperor Hadrian, while ‘Classica’ is derived from the Latin classis ‘fleet’, suggesting that the soldiers were recruited from the fleet in Hadrian’s time.
Apart from the extramural bath house, little survives of the fort. A railway line was built through it in the nineteenth century, and one end has been affected by coastal erosion.
A Roman Road led inland via Hardknott and other sites named in the Ravenna Cosmography.

Extra mural structures

Roman Bath House

The walls of a bath house, sometimes referred to as Walls Castle, survive to a height of 4m and include bricked archways.
This building was constructed to the north east of the fort. It is under the care of English Heritage.

Vicus

A project to excavate the vicus began in 2013. It has concentrated on areas identified in a geophysical survey.