NHER 1001 (Monument record) - Branodunum Roman 'Saxon Shore' fort

Roman fort of the 'Litus Saxonicum' or 'Saxon Shore', the walls of which stood until the 18th century.

1829.
Finger ring found. See photos.

1846. Excavation.
Excavation produced Roman finds.

1935. Excavation.
Excavation produced further Roman material, including a bronze bracelet.

1955.
Bracelet found (S3). Donated to Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 1960.4).

1956.
Coin found.

1957.
Coin found.

1958.
Coins found.

1964-66.
A colour-coated sherd of Romano-Saxon pottery of Myres class I was found inside the walls of the Saxon-shore fort. Metalwork was also found, inlcuding a medieval strap distributor (S15).
Information taken from (S14).

1969.
Roman ring found. See drawing (S16)

1971.
Roman ceramics (S17, S18, S19 and ?S23), a comb (S18, S20, S21 and S22) and a spindle whole (S19). See also rubbings of samian ware stamps (S24)-(S25).

Before 1974.
Roman pottery sherds, iron hammer head and a coin.

1974-75.
Roman metalwork found.

1980.
Roman artefacts found.

1985. Excavation.
Excavation in ditch of fort.

See (S1), (S2) and (S4) and other details in file.

19 July 1996. NLA air photography.
Eastern edge of fort defences visible on photographs taken of vicus.
S. Massey (NLA), 30 April 2001.

2001.
For a note on building materials, see (S5).
D. Gurney (NLA), 22 January 2002.

March 2001. NMP.
Brancaster Roman fort is visible as a cropmark/parchmark on 1974 aerial photographs (S6 and S7), on 1975 aerial photographs (S8) and on 1976 aerial photographs (S9).

A feature which would have been made up of banks can be seen as a cropmark within the fort at TF 7821 4398 on 1974 Aps (S10). Another feature inside the fort to the northeast of this one can be seen at TF 7823 4404 on 1976 aerial photographs (S11). The function of these features is not clear, but they are probably contemporary with the fort.

To the east of the fort, a linear ditch feature with an associated second ditch can be seen at TF 7833 4405 on 1976 aerial photographs (S12). This would appear to be the most westerly part of the vicus (NHER 1003) which stood to the east of the fort.
A. Hunt (NMP), 21 March 2001.

January 2004. Watching brief on water-pipe trench.
Possible pit containing pottery, possible grave cut, human bones and pottery.
D. Holburn (HES), 22 September 2011.

March 2005. Watching Brief.
Watching brief on refurbishment of the Norfolk Coast Path.
No damage was caused to any archaeological deposits and no artefacts were recovered.
See report (S26) for further details.
H. Paterson (A&E), 20 April 2005.

2006.
Scheduled monument consent granted concerning new strip foundations, re-routing of exisiting drainage and the creation of a new manhole. Consent was also granted regarding arrangements to carry out a magentometer survey and a metal-detecting survey.
See (S13) for details
H. White (NLA), 3 April 2009.

15 August 2007. A small sherd of Nene Valley ware and a bone die were found in scrapings from a rabbit hole by a group of Young Archaeologists Club members visiting the site.
See description in file.
E. Darch (NLA), 11 September 2007.

Before 30 April 2008. Casual find from mole hill(s).
Two Romano-British sherds, a Romano-British tile fragment and a post-medieval sherd.
See list in file.
A. Rogerson (NLA), 1 September 2008.

16 April 2008.
Scheduled monument consent granted regarding demolition of existing garage and the building of a new boathouse.
See (S13) for more information.
H. White (NLA), 9 January 2009.

12 May 2009.
Scheduled monument consent granted regarding the construction of a new porch to an existing house.
See (S13) for more information.
H. White (NLA), 4 February 2010.

Before 12 August 2010.
One sherd of Roman Nene Valley Colour Coated ware.
See description in file.
E. Darch (HES), 24 September 2010.

August 2012. Geophysical Surveys.
Magnetometer survey undertaken for Channel 4's Time Team.
An initial magnetometer survey examined the entire area of the fort, with its main elements all visible in the magnetic data. Those that are particularly well-defined include the bank and ditch defences to the east, the gateways, the east-to-west aligned internal road and barrack blocks in the south-east quadrant. The rooms and courtyard of the Principia are also visible, with the strong positive anomalies associated with certain rooms likely to represent the sources of heat for its hypocaust. This may also explain why small buildings in the northern part of the fort are also visible in the magnetic data. Several large discrete anomalies in the northern half of the fort potentially represent large pits or areas of burning.
A subsequent ground-penetrating radar survey examined a portion of the fort's interior between the north gate and the Principia. This revealed a remarkable level of detail about the surviving remains of multiple buildings, including the Principia. The outline of the Principia is well defined, with visible details including a possible monumental feature in its central courtyard and the probable pilae of a hypocaust system within its eastern range. Various buildings can be seen in the area to the north of the Principia, including a probable granary and two three-celled structures. One of the latter is of particular interest as while all the other buildings match the alignment of the fort, the axis of this building is more north-north-east to south-south-west and therefore closer to the alignment of the vicus to the east (NHER 1003). It is suggested this may represent a relatively early Mansio that was subsumed within the later fort. The more enigmatic features include a large rectangular area immediately to the north of the granary, within which is a smaller inner rectangular walled area that corresponds with one of the large discrete responses identified by the magnetometer survey. An oval response can be seen within this smaller area, although this may be the result of tiplines within demolition material. Linear anomalies running along the north-to-south aligned routeway between the Principia and the north gate are likely to represent drains.
See report (S27) for further details.
Although assigned a Norwich Castle Museum accession number (NWHCM : 2012.240), the archive associated with this work was actually deposited with the National Trust.
P. Watkins (HES), 15 March 2026.

8 June 2013
Field visit. The site is in very good condition with good grass cover. Currently being grazed by sheep with a few tracks visible. NT interpretation panels in good order.
K. Powell (HES), 23 December 2013.

September 2013. Stray Find. [1].
1 Roman pottery sherd.
Information from PAS import.
P. Watkins (HES), 2 October 2013.