Battle_Church_Stowe_CP1

Landscape Analysis and Appraisal Church Stowe, Northamptonshire, as a Candidate Site for the Battle of Watling Street by John Pegg craft:pegg, 34 Riverside Building, Trinity Buoy Wharf, London E14 0JY all material © John Pegg 2010 issue date 10/03/2010 c ra ft :pe gg CASTLE DYKES THE CAMP RAMSDEN CORNER LODGE PLANTATION STOWE WOOD SOUTH STOWE WOOD NORTH NENE VALLEY WEEDOM HILL FARM craft:pegg has undertaken a desk based assessment of aerial photographic images, maps and site visits in order to test the hypothesis that the valley west of Church Stowe, Northamptonshire may be the site of the battle of Watling Street AD60/61. The survey has identified crop marks indicative of undocumented features which appear to be Roman Field Fortifications and indicate features previously identified as non-Roman may indeed be further Roman field fortifications. Antiquarian references also allude to Roman associations for the site and areas where associated features may have been evident in the past. c ra ft :pe gg Introduction The battle between the forces of Paulinus and Boudica has been well documented, however the actual site of the battle has eluded historians for centuries and its location has been the subject of considerable speculation. Historians have tended to favour a site in the English Midlands along the course of Watling Street as the best general area for the site. The description of the battle site being a narrow valley with an open plain to the front (description by Tacitus is referenced below). The dominant candidate site for the battle has been established as Mancetter near Atherstone, established by Graham Webster OBE based on the work of Adrian Oswald and of Keith Scott as reported in The Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society in 1964 and 1973. No physical proof has been put forward to support the claim for Mancetter. It is certain that a tried and tested commander such as Paulinus, commanding an experienced force such as he was would not have identified an adventitious site, both for a field battle against overwhelming odds, but also to provide fortification to withstand a siege. Suetonus would have know the British field army was not able to supply a standing force for very long and would therefore have sought out a position that might be held for some period as the enemy force eroded through lack of logistical support. We have therefore based a long term search for the site of the battlefield on the principal of finding a topographically appropriate site to match both the historic descriptions but also to show signs of the field fortifications which Suetonius’ force must have established, including access to a viable source of fresh water. The Roman position was extreme, we have assumed the commanders would choose the most advanticious topography, As strong a fortified position would be prepared with the expectation of both a massive attack and a drawn out siege whilst the enemy dispersed. It seem improbable that knowing something of the enemies strength the roman force would prepare significant filed fortification to improve on the topography. We established the site of Church Stowe was a strong candidate for the battle site by virtue of it’s topography and hydrology. Aerial survey analysis was undertaken to identify any apparent traces of field fortification which might be attributable to a first century Roman origin. Site visits were undertaken to test the veracity of the map data and antiquarian references were analysed for reference to potential Roman sources. Additionally the team recognised that such an important conflict would likely result in an extended period of Roman military occupation of the site, further underlining the need to find a suitable fortification, and that the victory may be marked by some monumental or votive site, by either the victor or the vanquished, or indeed both. The primary description of the battle appears in The Works of Tacitus, Book XIV, for ease of reference the relevant passages are repeated here. “XXXIV. The fourteenth legion, with the veterans of the twentieth, and the auxiliaries from the adjacent stations, having joined Suetonius, his army amounted to little less than ten thousand men. Thus reinforced, he resolved, without loss of time, to bring on a decisive action. For this purpose he chose a spot encircled with woods, narrow at the entrance, and sheltered in the rear by a thick forest. In that situation he had no fear of an ambush. The enemy, he knew, had no approach but in front. An open plain lay before him. He drew up his men in the following order: the legions in close array formed the centre; the light armed troops were stationed at hand to serve as occasion might require: the cavalry took post in the wings. The Britons brought into the field an incredible multitude. They formed no regular line of battle. Detached parties and loose battalions displayed their numbers, in frantic transport bounding with exultation, and so sure of victory, that they placed their wives in wagons at the extremity of the plain, where they might survey the scene of action, and behold the wonders of British valour. XXXVII. The engagement began. The Roman legion presented a close embodied line. The narrow defile gave them the shelter of a rampart. The Britons advanced with ferocity, and discharged their darts at random. In that instant, the Romans rushed forward in the form of a wedge. The auxiliaries followed with equal ardour. The cavalry, at the same time, bore down upon the enemy, and, with their pikes, overpowered all who dared to make a stand. The Britons betook themselves to flight, but their wagons in the rear obstructed their passage. A dreadful slaughter followed. Neither sex nor age was spared. The cattle, falling in one promiscuous carnage, added to the heaps of slain. The glory of the day was equal to the most splendid victory of ancient times. According to some writers, not less than eighty thousand Britons were put to the sword. The Romans lost about four hundred men, and the wounded did not exceed that number. Boudicca, by a dose of poison, [ended] her life. Poenius Postumius, the Prefect in the camp of the second legion, as soon as he heard of the brave exploits of the fourteenth and twentieth legions, felt the disgrace of having, in disobedience to the orders of his general, robbed the soldiers under his command of their share in so complete a victory. Stung with remorse, he fell upon his sword, and expired on the spot. “ Source: Works of Tacitus, translated by Arthur Murphy (1794) c ra ft :pe gg Site Description The site lies immediately west of Watling Street close to the head of the River Nene. To the east is the wide open flood plain of the River Nene west of Northampton which may correspond to Tacitus description of “an open plain lay before him”. The valley is self contained, i.e. open only to the east, the western termination closed by a ridge rising to 167m, the valley sides are uniformly steep to the north, south and west. This is a dramatic large scale geomorphic feature unparalleled on the Midland course of Watling Street. The valley has been an important site since prehistory with a barrow recorded as part of one of site schedulings and a second apparently visible close to the Fortlet, identified below. The management of the Nene and introduction of the neighbouring canal will have altered the drainage of surrounding valleys constraining the course of the Nene and making passable adjacent valleys which may have been rather more boggy and impassable in AD60/61. The accepted strategic model for the battle is transposed onto a map of the local area (Fig. 01). This plan incorporates the sites we suggest may be those of potential Roman field fortifications. There are well noted historic remains, the unusual Motte and Bailey of Castle Dykes (SP617563), the “Castle Yard” immediately south of Castle Dykes (SP618567), and the bank and ditch feature the Larches (SP633567). In addition recent aerial photography indicates a ridge top fortlet (SP639567) east of the Larches and a continuation of the bank and ditch assemblage across the ridge top, outside the SAM area (SP633568). Further non specific earthworks appear to be present at Lodge Plantation (SP629564), and at high points on the northern ridge (SP618583). The valley is peppered with high level natural springs demonstrating that a clean, readily available, water source capable of supplying a besieged army. The then wooded character of the area would have lent itself easily to providing the materials necessary for the construction of a camp anticipated to need to survive a siege of some form. Roman Fortiied Ridge Fig. 01 Transposed strategy model. Roman Field Forces British Line of Advance In reviewing the candidate sites the description in Tacitus “The narrow defile gave them the shelter of a rampart.” is key. the Church Stowe ridge is unique amongst the candidate sites in being a ridge with a steep appraoch from all sides, no other site could be interpreted as having the character of a rampart, nor does any other have an elevational change of the same order. c ra ft :pe gg Site Topography and Location Plan c ra ft :pe gg 1 Castle Yard (SP618567, National Monument Number ref 21627) This site appears to be a Roman military camp traces of exterior ditches and internal buildings appear as clear crop marks. Although listed as an Iron Age, Univallate Hill Fort, the earthwork appears to be of “playing card” shape and 2.4ha in size, both typical of a Roman first century marching camp. The site presents its narrow face to the obvious line of advance along the southern ridge. In 1848 the following observation was made about the site; “On the brow of a hill in the north-eastern extremity of the parish, is an intrenchment with a lofty keep mount, named Castle Dykes, supposed to have been one of the numerous forts erected in Mercia in 913, and to have been destroyed by the Danes under Sweyn in 1013. Upon the declivity of a continuous hill is an area of irregular form, called the Castle-Yard, with trenches on all sides except the south-west; and in a field which has been recently cleared of wood, and brought under tillage, about a furlong southwest of Castle Dykes, the remains of a quadrilateral intrenchment, probably a castra æstiva of the Romans, have been discovered.” A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 220-225. c ra ft :pe gg 2 Castle Dykes (SP617563 ) Castle Dykes is described as a medieval Motte and Bailey, unusual with 4 Baileys. However the outer ditch is rectangular and corresponds closely in terms of scale to the camp to the south and is laid out at about 80 degrees to the adjacent camp. One might speculate that the motte and bailey were established here on the site of an earlier fortification. Any motte may also be an artificial high point established following the battle as a memorial or viewing point, the whole valley being visible from this point. Had Paulinus chosen this site and had time to prepare field fortification this would have been the obvious location and the presence of two Legions (14 and 20) may account for the raising of two camps, as may a longer post battle presence on the site. Indeed the combination of two camps in such close proximity would provide interlocking fire against any enemy force approaching between them up the steep gully. “The great encampment of Castle-Dykes, south west of Weedon seems to have been either formed, or altered by the Romans. It was a fortress of great strength and magnitude.” New British Traveller 1819 pg 652”… “Castle Dykes, an extensive entrenchment on the west side of Farthingstone Wood. It appears to have consisted of two different works….the first which commanded the road from Farthingstone, and another which passes from Preton Capes to Stowe: and further along the latter road is another entrenchment on Stowe Heath, which has been thrown up for the same purpose. “in a field recetly reclaimed from wood to tillage, about a furlong south west of the Castle Dykes, and described by Morton as a plot of ground called Castle-yard, is a square intrenchments with only the inner vallum remaining; but on the north side, which is within the wood, both the vallum and foss are still visible.” The vallum at the west end is now levelled, and it was “ascertained to be about nine feet in width, and constructed of two outer walls of stone, about three feet each in thickness; the intervening space of three feet was filled with soil, except at one point, where earth and small cobble stones, which had evidently undergone the action of fire, were used for about three yards in length. At each end was a solid mass of several hundreds weight of scoriae of iron intermixed with considerable quantities of charcoal, and inside the wall, near to the scoraie, was found a long iron spoon, and the socket of a spear. Similar masses of scoriae, dug up in the vicinity of camps in various parts of the kingdom, have been considered indicative of Roman occupation, and, corroborated as it is in the present instance by the regular form of the earthworks, there can be little hesitation in referring this spot to a summer encampment of that war like people.” A Mr J. Simco, at p1179, vol 63 “Gentleman’s magazine”, states that “T. Grant esq of Towcester has been levelling the Castle Dykes, and gave me a Roman pot;” this was in 1793. North of the above entranchment is the Castle Dykes, occupying an area of about thirteen acres. “It is surrounded by a single ditch, and an outer bank or vallum, varying in height, but at all points much lower than the inner vallum. A deep ditch completely interests it, and produces nearly two equal divisions. The northern one approaches to a square with angles rounded; the depth of the vallum from the crown to the centre of the foss is about seventeen feet, and the height from the level of the inner area about seven feet. The southern division is surrounded by a ditch about twenty-eight feet above the level of the area; in the centre of this division is a circular mound, or keep, on the same level with the rest of the area, and encompassed by a ditch and rampart of the same dimensions. The only decided entrance appears to c ra ft :pe gg have been near the middle of the southern division, and to have been protected to the south east by an additional vallum or ditch within the outer one.” “the site of the circular keep seems to have been subsequently (as in many other instances) converted into a Baronial castle of the feudal lords.” This originally may have been a British post, afterwards strengthened by the addition of the Roman work, and forming an intermediate link of communication with Lactodorum on the south, Bennavenna on the north, Arbury on the west and looking down the Nen to Hunsborough Hill on the west. …..On the north side of the road…is the entrenchment alluded to at p173 in a fox cover. It consists of a double trenched foss about six feet deep. Proceeding on to the village of …Stowe Nine Churches….The Manor House adjoins the churchyard and from the irregularity of the ground and the mound of earth facing north we may suppose that a fortified residence had been erected and probably on some earlier work, which served as a speculum to the adjoining encampments…….. Wettons guide book to Northampton and its Vicinity – Edward Pretty et al 1849 “To the north of Castle Dykes Farm is Castle Dykes, a Norman motte castle with three baileys. In 1712, workmen digging on the site of the castle found a “room with a vaulted stone roof, and another room beneath and rudely carved stones with human figures on them” A History of Farthingstone, Farthingstone Parish Council, 1999 c ra ft :pe gg The plan extracts shown on this page are taken from “An Inventory of Archaeological Sites in North West Northamptonshire” - RCHM 1981, page 87. Here one can assess the relative morpholgy and interplay between the two sites. On the left, the plan shows the two rectangular compounds covering a steep ravine which runs between them, the obvious approach to the ridge top plateau from the valley. The compounds, if contemporary to each other, would have interlocking fields of fire both into this approach but also onto each others flanks, Castle Dykes being able to cover the east and north faces of Castle Yard and Castle Yard able to cover the west and south faces of Castle Dykes. The plan extract above smaples the earlier plan and re-orientates the enclosure plans. this demonstrates the close similarities between the size and proportion of the two compounds. The later reworking of the southern end of Castle Dykes accounts for the southern “flaring” of the plan, otherwise the site have the same dimensions in both principal axes. In addition both plans show an entrance on hte right of each image in proportionally the same position. The form and similarity of scale between of the two enclosures is remarkable. This is particularly interesting as one or both of the sites may have been a redigging of, in part, of an earlier enclosure on the site, or further alterred post battle. c ra ft :pe gg 3 The Larches (SP633568) The Larches are currently understood as a prehistoric bank and ditch system. Historically they have been name the “Intrenchments” and ascribed to a Civil War origin or as a deer park enclosure. The line of the ditch and banks can be clearly seen extending beyond the scheduled area forming a barrier across the width of the southern ridge. It may be possible to reinterpret this feature as a Vallum contemporary with any Roman camp. In this case the line of the vallum would effectively cut straight across the ridge top plateau, forming an effective perimeter to the citadel at Castle Yard/Castle Dykes. An additonal set of triple ditches on the northern ridge 300m north of Castle Dykes at SP 615570 is identified in by the RCHM*. This could have provided a second vallum cutting the ridge before the Castle Dykes citadel. (*ref “An Inventory of Archaeological Sites in North West Northamptonshire” - RCHM 1981 page 86) c ra ft :pe gg 4 Lodge Plantation (SP629564) The Larches feature appears to terminate in Lodge plantation. This plantation sits on the ridge top with a 360 panorama. The woods show some significant earthworks which are probably the product of iron stone quarrying, but hold a strong strategic position, termoinatoing the triple ditch and c ra ft :pe gg 5 Fortlet (SP639567) The Fortlet east of the bank and ditch feature is a clear crop mark and stands at a strong strategic position covering the head of a small valley trending south east, the site has panoramic views. c ra ft :pe gg 6 Spurs at Stowe Wood (SP627574) and Weedon Hill (SP625580) The twin spurs of Stowe Wood and Weedon Hill, pinch the valley bottom allowing defenders to hold a narrow front and retain troops or cavalry out of sight to any enemy approaching from the east. Tacitus describes the site as “narrow at the entrance”, “The narrow defile gave them the shelter of a rampart” and had “cavalry posted on the wings” c ra ft :pe gg 7 Earthworks on Weedon Hill (SP618583) This is an obvious topographic location for a fortification; aerial photographs indicate some hints of a possible site but are inconclusive. c ra ft :pe gg 8 Round Hill (SP628587) There is a geomorphologically anomalous mound at the end of the northern ridge with good panoramic views, this may have a fortification of memorial association. c ra ft :pe gg 9 Bone Deposit (SP644584) There are references to historic mass graves in this location on Watling Street. “On lowering the hill on the Watling Street towards Pateshall, between the sixty-forth and sixty fifth mile-stones, many skeletons were found, and horse shoes of a smaller description than those of the present day. The skulls were described as approaching the character of an African…..” …The hills command extensive views particularly of Whitewell-hill. It is very much the shape of long barrow, or tumulus…… Wettons guide book to Northampton and its Vicinity – Edward Pretty et al 1849 c ra ft :pe gg CONCLUSION Strategic Strategically the Church Stowe site corresponds to the Tacitus description being a tight valley with a plain, the Nene Valley, to the front. The site would have been obvious to the Roman forces from Watling Street. The site is in the same area as other candidates site, Mancetter (15 miles to the north) and Cuttle Mill Bank (5 miles to the south). The topography is uniquely dramatic along this length of Watling Street, identifying it as a potentially defensible site in the case of a “last stand” or siege scenario. The site of Castle Yard, identified as a hill fort, may have been a pre-prepared defensive site which could have been utilised by the Roman, if indeed it is not a purely Roman field fortification. Tactical Tactically the ground lends itself to a defensive position by virtue of the steep valley sides. The ridge appears peppered with potential sites for Roman field fortifications and routes to the summit are viable for military purposes. The ready supply of timber, water and panoramic, long distance views over the surrounding landscape make it an ideal site to choose to defend against a numerically superior force. The layout of the citadel of two marching camps around Castle Dykes is suggestive of a place of safety where a final stand might be made. Military Elements There are several features noted above which can easily be suggested to be of Roman field fortification origin. Three of these have been scheduled but none as Roman, Castle Dykes is a Medieval site, the Larches a late Bronze age/early Iron Age site and Castle Yard is postulated to be Iron age in origin. If these three sites are seen as a potential single complex, all of Roman origin, or at the very least re-used or re-cut as field fortifications then the area is compelling as a significant Roman military location. In addition sites such as the Fortlet, the potential Vallums and the earthworks in Lodge Plantation, and those on the northern ridge further add to the hypothesis that this site is major military complex which, to date, has not been identified or ascribed to the Roman period. Post Military Elements The Battle of Watling Street was of massive significance to Roman and British culture alike. It is unlikely that the site was forgotten for generations and it is more than likely that the Romans would have marked the site. Firstly with a military base, to both symbolically dominate the landscape and to prevent the use of the site as a rallying point for their enemies and secondly, to make a valorific statement, a temple or viewing area. In addition there were significant Roman casualties, this would seem to imply that their deaths, or at least the deaths of notable individuals, might be recognised or marked in a physical manner. The obvious site for an honorific statement might well be one of the main camps, particularly that of Castle Dykes with its panoramic views over the conjectured battlefield. Later, such a site might make an ideal basis for the development of a Norman Motte which could account for the later development of Castle Dykes. Other anomalous features include Round Hill. This feature may be geological, however there are several evident slips on the face and adjacent terraces implying it may be of more recent origin, this may be a monument. Taken in total this briefing note cannot state that the Church Stowe valley is the location of the Battle of Watling Street, however the strategic, topographic and aerial photographic evidence certainly suggests that this site has as strong a claim as any other site to being that site. (c) craft:pegg 2010 c ra ft :pe gg ADDENDUM May 2011 View from NE corner of Castle Dykes to Nene Valley Addendum Introduction Following the publication of The Landscape Analysis in March 2010 further desk top and field studies have been undertaken of the Church Stowe site and it’s strategic position. This work has been prompted by the support and encouragement of a number of individuals and positive reference to the original document in recent publications on the Boudiccan Revolt. This addendum is intended as an update to the original document and is part of a work in progress as further studies are undertaken of the site with the support of the landowner. Observations have been made by the team and third parties which we will attempt to summarise from the strategic location of the site, the local topography, the character of sites identified in the original piece and the addition of further sites or speculations. Strategic Location - Rivers We are significantly indebted to Anthony Durham for his observations and references pertaining to the use of rivers as a primary means of logistic support for the Roman Military. This is well discussed in Raymond Selkirk’s 1995 book On the Trail of the Legions. This has lead us to look at the wider picture of rivers in the vicinity of the site. There is a remarkable confluence of water courses in the area. The slopes of Arbury Hill, approximately 4 miles west of Castle Dykes, marks the source of tributaries of four of the countries major rivers, the Nene, Ouse, Thames and Avon. This marks the same strategic utility that led to the development of the Weedon Barracks as an arsenal and place of safety at the centre of the country. Furthermore, one may speculated that a site marking such a significant watershed may have held a significant place both as a cross roads and as an island wide focus, maybe playing into the assertion that Paulinus brought the Britons to Battle by despoiling their holy places. Base map www.streetmap.com The Nene and Ouse valleys are an obviously direct route to the Iceni heart land. This opens up the potential for both remnant of Legio IX and material joining the force from their base at Longthorpe. More significantly it provides an artery for major forces arriving on site from Iceni territory without the need to be sustained on the long march suggested by the “parade theory” that implies the British forces were a cohesive group moving in turn from Colchester to London to St Albans. It is conceivable that the attacks on these sites were by smaller more mobile forces moving east/west rather than following the under developed system of Roman roads south then north. Strategic Location - Roads As we elude to in the rivers section Roman roads of the period were relatively new elements within the landscape. They were of a scale that would not suit large bodies of civilians rather they were for narrow columns of disciplined troops moving fast. The section of Watling Street around Towcester is characterized by the crossing of numerous small valleys formed in a transverse direction to the road thereby compelling the user to negotiate a number of apparently un-necessary ups and downs in a short section of road. It is surely therefore likely that whilst the roman military was anchored to the roads the British forces were more likely to be using older more practical route ways such as river valleys. On the wider scale Legio II Augusta’s potential approach to the Church Stowe site would have been simple and relatively secure. A direct march form Exeter along the Fosse Way would move the force north far enough away from the Iceni forces to secure the eastern flank of the column. This would deliver the troops to somewhere in the region of Compton Verney only 10 miles west of the Church Stowe site, an easy cross country connection. Legio IX’s defeat in it’s attempt to secure Colchester is purported to have taken place south of Cambridge, a possible candidate site for this action could be Bartlow on the Cambridgeshire/Essex border. The monumental Roman burial mounds hint at some major event and the terrain of the confluence of several incised valleys makes it a good ambush site. Grahame Appleby has noted that an 1806 publication by G. Goreham nominates Wandlebury hillfort as a Boudiccan Battle site, this could be interpreted as a part of the action that impacted Legio IX. Site Topography and Elements The topographic plan on the previous page emphasises the closed nature of the ridge topography. The feature is unique in this part of the country being a “U “ shaped ridge with only the narrowest of connections to the high ground to the west. Once reinforced with redoubts at key points this would create the potential for a 360 degree defensive complex. The ridge is almost completely encircled by streams forming the headwaters of the Nene It is also notable that the Nene valley to the west appears as a significant “plain” and may be interpreted as the “Open Plain” described by Tacitus. The speculated strongpoints on the southern arm of the ridge present a dramatic front to an approach along Watling Street from the south. Location 1 The recognition of the ridge as a 360degree landscape must imply there was a need to plug the ridge at its narrow connection to the west. This site lies primarily within the existing woodland of Everdon Stubbs. The woodland floor is complicated by significant earthworks, some clearly ridge and furrow, others defined as an “Ancient Ditch and Bank” The interrogation of historic aerial photographs does indeed seem to indicate a structure in the location, and of a size similar to Castle Dykes and Castle Yard, one would anticipate may have been used to seal the ridge. The banks are partially visible on site. Location 3 Historic aerial photos show a distinct triple ditch complex (now destroyed) on the northern face of Castle Yard similar in scale to that suggested at location 1 Location 5 The Larches ditch complex can be compared favourably to the reconstructed ditch complex at Richborough. Location 6 The potential Fortlet can be compared favourably in size and scale to the standing remains of the first century fortlet and Castleshaw. Location 7 This area marks the low point of the ridge, a significant saddle. It is also the area where RCHM describes a complex of “three linear ditches” 300 metres NW of Castle Dykes. In this area we note a former field boundary which of the same form and scale of the Castle Dykes and Castle Yards perimeter. This is a potential additional camp covering the low point of the saddle. The saddle would present an obvious location for a Roman counter attack against British forces due to slope angle and the ability to assemble a force on northern face of the ridge out of site of the enemy leading to a core engagement in the area of “A”. Location 8 Some analysis of aerial photographs presents the potential for a large Fort located on the Ridges highest point, Weedon Hill.