Hardknott Roman Fort

Hardknott Roman Fort stands on a rocky spur high above Eskdale in the Lake District. Built between 120 and 138, it was once home to 500 Dalmatian soldiers from the Cohors IV Delmatarum. The fort overlooks both upper and lower Eskdale from 800 feet above sea level. It was abandoned in the 2nd century, then reoccupied around 200 and used until the late 4th century. The site is owned by the National Trust and maintained by English Heritage.

The fort’s square shape with rounded corners measures 114 metres externally. Its thick rampart walls, four corner towers and central gates still stand in outline. Inside are the remains of two granaries, the headquarters, and the commander’s villa. Outside the walls lie a rare circular sudatorium and the finest surviving Roman parade ground in England. Excavations in 1965 and 1968 uncovered leather objects, including shoes and a soldier’s jerkin.

The fort is also known as Mediobogdum, named in the Ravenna Cosmography. It appears in Wordsworth’s Duddon sonnets and novels by Jack Whyte and Geoffrey Trease. A track leads from the East Gate up to the parade ground two hundred yards higher. The low walls have been partly restored, showing their original slate courses. From the site, views stretch across the pass and down to the River Esk.