Seatsides 1 Roman temporary camp and section of Stanegate

The Stanegate military road linked Corbridge and Carlisle, both of which were also situated on important north-south routeways. It also extended west of Carlisle towards the Cumbrian coast. The construction of a series of forts along the road line allowed many troops to be stationed in this crucial frontier area and ensured that the area could be extensively patrolled. A series of smaller watchtowers were also built to help frontier control. The Stanegate frontier thus created, developed further and was consolidated during the late first and early second century AD and helped crystallise Roman tactics and military expectations in the area. The function of the road and its forts changed when Hadrian's Wall was constructed to the north and their support roles were, initially at least, enhanced. The later history of the road and its forts and their relationship with the Wall are less well understood although, overall, their strategic functions declined as the new frontier line was confirmed. Seatsides 1 Roman temporary camp and the Stanegate Roman road from the road from Once Brewed to the B6318 survive well as upstanding earthworks and buried features. The rarity of temporary camps identifies them as nationally important. In addition, significant information on the development of frontier systems over time will be preserved.

The monument includes the Roman temporary camp, Seatsides 1, and a section of the Stanegate Roman road which runs from the west side of the road from Once Brewed through the camp to the south side of the B6318, south of Shield on the Wall. Both the camp and the section of Stanegate survive well as a series of upstanding earthworks and buried remains.

The camp is located on the east shoulder of an east-west aligned ridge. The north and south sides lie about 11m below the crest of the ridge, but are parallel despite the terrain. However, the north east and south west angles are slightly obtuse and this makes the camp a parallelogram in plan. The rampart is now spread to a width of about 6m and stands up to 0.4m high on the north and north west sides. An external ditch 0.5m deep survives on the north west side. Along the south side the defences have been severely reduced by ridge and furrow, and the bank now stands 0.3m high at its highest point. Four gateways can be identified; one at the north end of the east side and one at the north end of the west side, each being defended by an external defence. The gateway on the south side is defended by an internal and external bank now 0.3m in height. The gateway in the north side has the faint traces of an external defence 0.3m high and an internal defensive bank 0.4m high.

The Stanegate was the main east-west road running along the Tyne valley and into Cumbria west of Carlisle. The course of this road can be traced as an earthwork for substantial parts of its length. In the section of its course which follows the crest of the ridge and passes through the camp, the Stanegate is over 11m wide and up to 0.9m high. Beyond the camp to the west, the course of the road is known but only intermittently do earthworks survive. Where they do survive they too are over 11m wide and up to 0.9m high. The area of Seatsides Farmhouse and buildings and farmyard is totally excluded from the scheduling.