Sunny Rigg 1 Roman temporary camp

The Sunny Rigg 1 Roman temporary camp survives as a low earthwork with features buried below the ploughsoil. The rarity of temporary camps identifies them as nationally important.

The monument includes the Roman temporary camp known as Sunny Rigg 1 which lies 50m to the south of the Stanegate Roman road. It is visible as low earthworks. The camp faces east and lies parallel to the Stanegate. It measures 80m by 50m and encloses an area of 0.4ha. The northern defences occupy the crest of a ridge but in the camp itself the ground falls very gently to the south. The views are extensive in all directions, except to the east, where the land rises a few metres to the site of Sunny Rigg 2 temporary camp, and the outlook is somewhat restricted.

There are four gateways, one in each side, each being protected by an external defence bank with an outer ditch. During the construction of a new drainage scheme in 1981 a section was cut across the perimeter of the camp close to the north west corner. The rampart was found to be constructed largely of turf on an undisturbed old ground surface. The ditch was a shallow external scoop. Since 1966, when the camp was still a well defined earthwork standing up to 0.5m high, the site has been almost levelled by cultivation. However, the position of many of the features is still known since it was recorded by aerial photography and surveyed by the Ordnance Survey before 1966.