The Commanding Officer's house
It wasn’t easy for archaeologists to identify all the buildings. They found a large timber building with a courtyard in the middle of the fort. Was this the commanding officer’s house (the praetorium) or the army headquarters (the principia)? Both were usually near the centre of the fort and both were large with small rooms arranged around a central courtyard.
Evidence from the building
The archaeologists found three sides of a timber building with a central courtyard. The rooms had clay floors. When the army left they did not expect to return, so they set fire to this building so that no-one else could use it. The heat of the fire turned the clay floors red.
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1. The archaeologists found the foundation trenches in which timber walls had originally stood. This row of rooms was next to the road. Compare this photo with the plan that the archaeologists drew of this building (below).
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2. The plan of the commanding officer’s house is not complete because some rooms were destroyed by later buildings. The red clay floors are evidence of the fire that destroyed the building. The pattern of clay helps to complete the plan of the rooms.
Evidence from the finds
The archaeologists found a large quantity of finds in this building. They found cavalry equipment, an iron spearhead, glass bottles, a metal bowl, coins, pottery, a knife handle, a grinding stone for grain (a quernstone) and a sharpening stone for blades (a whetstone). As these are a mixture of military and household finds, it is likely that army officers lived here.
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3. The name ‘SACRA’ has been scratched on the bottom of this expensive Samian pottery bowl. Sacra is a woman’s name. She may have been the commanding officer’s wife or a member of his family.
Timeline:
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