MAGLONA [CARVETIORVM]

Roman Fort
Minor Settlement

Old Carlisle, Cumbria

NGRef: NY2546 OSMap: LR85 Type: Roman Fort, Minor Settlement.	Old Carlisle Fort and Vicus (From Higham & Jones, p.61, fig.29)
Roads
ENE (10) to LVGVVALIVM (Carlisle, Cumbria) SW (6) to Blennerhasset (Cumbria) Possible Road: WSW (15) to ALAVNA (Maryport, Cumbria)

The Roman name for the Old Carlisle fort first appears in the Notitia Dignitatum as Maglone, between the entries for BRAVONIACVM (Kirkby Thore, Cumbria) and MAGIS (Burrow Walls, Cumbria). The site has also been tentatively equated with a compound entry in the Ravenna Cosmology (R&C#120-21), Maio-Olerica, which occurs between BIBRA (Beckfoot, Cumbria) and DERVENTIO (Papcastle, Cumbria).

The Old Carlisle Fort

Between the ramparts the Roman fort of Maglona measures about 935 ft. from east to west by 610 ft. transversely (c.285 x 185 m), giving an internal occupation area of about 13 acres (c.5.3 ha); the arrangements of the gateways and internal buildings apparent on aerial photographs taken in the late-1940's by Prof. J.K. St. Joseph prove, beyond doubt, that the fort faced due east. It was apparently purposefully built to house an Ala Quingenaria, a squadron of auxiliary cavalry having a nominal five-hundred troopers, and as such, was considerably larger than a fort housing an equivalent number of infantry. This was not only due to the need to house the squadron's horses in addition to the troopers, but also because the soldiers themselves, being the auxiliary élite, demanded more spacious and luxurious accommodation than their foot-slogging counterparts in the infantry cohorts. (JRS 1951 p.54 & pl.iv.1.)

1. The emperor Caracalla and Decimus Caelius Calvinus Balbinus were consules ordinarii AD213 (a.u.c. 966). Caracalla had been consul in 202 with his father Septimius Severus, and in 205 and 208 with his brother Geta. Balbinus was himself emperor for a brief period during the turbulent year of 238, which saw the violent deaths of five wearers of the purple.

Seven dated stones have been recovered from Maglona ranging from AD188 to 244, which indicate a flurry of activity around the time of the Severan campaigns into Scotland and the period thereafter.

The Dateable Stones from Old Carlisle

Neither the fort nor the civil settlement have been excavated as yet, which probably explains the absence of any of the usual legionary building inscriptions. These will no doubt crop-up once the site is put under the trowel, but until then, speculation predominates the early history of the site.

The Garrison Units

1. Publius Seius Fuscianus and Marcus Servilius Silanus were consuls - both for the second time - in AD188 (a.u.c. 941).

This regiment is known from inscriptions at several other cavalry forts. The full title - 'the Augustan Wing, so named by reason of their virtue' - is very likely the name by which the Ala Augusta Gordia were once known.

1. A small but troublesome province on the west bank of the Danube; their major population centre and legionary base was Aquincum, modern Budapest in western Hungary.
2. Opilius Pedo Apronianus and Marcus Valerius Bradua Mauricus were consules ordinarii AD191 (a.u.c. 944).

1. Tiberius Claudius Maternus and Marcus Appius Bradua Regillius Atticus were ordinary consuls for the year AD185 (a.u.c. 938).

1. Possibly the city of Turzo in Africa Propria mentioned by Ptolemy.
2. Gaius Vettius Gratus Atticus Sabinianus and Gaius Asinius Lepidus Praetextatus were consules ordinarii AD242 (a.u.c.995).

The Ala Augusta Gordia is recorded on several dated stones recovered from the Old Carlisle area, ranging from AD185 to AD244. They were probably stationed at CILVRNVM (Chesters, Northumberland) on Hadrian's Wall sometime during the Hadrianic period, then apparently moved to LVGVVALIVM (Carlisle, Cumbria; RIB 946) where they are attested immediately prior to their first known presence here at Old Carlisle.

This unit is identified only in the above reference and unsupported by epigraphic evidence from the site. They were an irregular auxiliary unit, probably part-mounted, who formed the garrison at Old Carlisle towards the end of the fourth century, coming under the overall command of the Duke of the Britains - sub Ducis Britanniarum as this document phrases it. It is possible that this regiment may be connected with Solentia insula, a small island which lies off the Adriatic coast of Dalmatia, now Šolta in Croatia.

The Civil Settlement

For a long time the only epigraphic evidence for the existence of a civil settlement or vicus at Old Carlisle was the tombstone of a native woman named Tancorix (vide supra). Confirmation beyond expectation came in the form of a series of air photographs taken in a time of drought during 1977-8 which revealed an 'extended vicus' surrounding the Maglona fort. In addition, an altarstone to the gods Jupiter and Vulcan is dedicated by the Vicani Maglonarum or 'the villagers of Maglona, which both confirms the Roman name of the Old Carlisle fort also its official status as a vicus.

The settlement core lay along the militarily important Carlisle-Papcastle road outside the south-east corner of the fort, with several outlying farms linked by ditched trackways, including a large agricultural complex overlooking the Wiza Beck to the south. The settlement at Maglona expanded over time, no doubt helped by the presence - and spending-power - of five-hundred well-paid troopers, and eventually grew to be larger in area than its parent fort, in fact, the vicus at Old Carlisle was larger than some Roman walled towns.

1. Jupiter was the king of the Roman pantheon and Vulcan was his crippled weaponsmith.
2. The emperor Gordian III ruled from May AD238 following the assassination of the emperors Pupienus and Balbinus by the praetorians, until he was himself murdered by his own praetorian prefect Philip the Arab in Mesopotamia in February 244.
3. The Vik[enses] Mag[lonarum].

The Gods of Maglona

Several altars to the gods have been uncovered from both the fort and the immediate environs of the vicus; there are at least seven dedicated to Jupiter (vide RIB 894 supra), the ruler of the Roman pantheon and a god commonly worshipped among the military, three altars to the Germanic war god Belatucader, often associated with the Roman war god Mars, who has two altars dedicated to him. There are single altars to the demi-god Hercules, to Eternity (vide RIB 886 infra) and also to the Roman goddess of War, Bellona, who used to prepare the chariot of Mars before he rode to battle.

Altars to Deities of War

1. Most would have opted for the expansion AUR[igae] 'the charioteer' instead of AUR[icomus], but consider the following note.
2. The order of the dedicators names seem to have been re-arranged, possibly in order to emphasise the name Aurelius, which cognomen was often applied to fair-haired people signifying a "golden" appearance.

Dedicatory Inscription to Aeterna

1. The inscription may also be read: "The goddesses of eternity ...", though this is less likely.

1. The emperor Philip the Arab and his like-named son were consuls for the years AD247 and 248 (a.u.c.1000 & 1001).

See: Chronicle of the Roman Emperors by Chris Scarre (Thames & Hudson, London, 1995);
Peoples of Roman Britain - The Carvetii by Nicholas Higham & Barri Jones (Gloucester 1985);
Chronology of the Ancient World by E.J. Bickerman (Thames & Hudson, London, 1980);
The Roman Inscriptions of Britain by R.G. Collingwood and R.P. Wright (Oxford 1965);
Air Reconnaissance of North Britain by J.K. St. Joseph in J.R.S. xli (1951) pp.52-65;
Atlas of the Greek and Roman World in Antiquity by Nicholas G.L. Hammond (Bristol Classical Press);
All English translations, including any inherent mistakes, are my own.

This page was last modified: