The fort defences
How was the fort defended?
The main defence was the rampart (called the vallum). The rampart was 6m wide at the base and 5m high. Sentries would patrol a walkway along the top of the ramparts. Outside the rampart a deep v-shaped ditch provided another layer of defence against attack.
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1. walls of turf with soil filling between. Roads crossed the fort between the gateways and ran behind the rampart.
Gateways into the fort
The army controlled access to the fort through gateways in each side of the fort. Only one gateway of the four gateways into the fort was found and excavated at Castleford. This was the gateway that led from the fort into the annexe.
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2. The only evidence for the gateway was the large pits, or postholes in which the huge timber uprights of the structure stood. The timbers themselves had long since decayed.
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3. s reconstruction shows what the gateway and ramparts might have looked like. It is based on the pattern of postholes for the timber uprights, as well as evidence from other sites. Two tall guard towers stood against the rampart, on either side of the gate.
Timeline:
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