Stanegate in the context of "Roman road"

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⭐ Core Definition: Stanegate

The Stanegate (meaning "stone road" in Northumbrian dialect) was an important Roman road and early frontier built in what is now northern England. It linked many forts including two that guarded important river crossings: Corstopitum (Corbridge) on the River Tyne in the east (situated on Dere Street) and Luguvalium (Carlisle) on the River Eden in the west. The Stanegate ran through the natural gap formed by the valleys of the River Tyne in Northumberland and the River Irthing in Cumbria. It predated the Hadrian's Wall frontier by several decades; the Wall would later follow a similar route, albeit slightly to the north.

The Stanegate should not be confused with the two Roman roads called Stane Street in the south of England, namely Stane Street (Chichester) and Stane Street (Colchester). In both these cases the meaning is the same as for the northern version, indicating a stone or paved road.

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Stanegate in the context of Roman conquest of Britain

The Roman conquest of Britain was the Roman Empire's conquest of most of the island of Britain, which was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the southern half of Britain (most of what is now called England and Wales) by AD 87, when the Stanegate was established. The conquered territory became the Roman province of Britannia.

Following Julius Caesar's invasions of Britain in 54 BC, some southern British chiefdoms had become allies of the Romans. The exile of their ally Verica gave the Romans a pretext for invasion. The Roman army was recruited in Italia, Hispania, and Gaul and used the newly-formed fleet Classis Britannica. Under their general Aulus Plautius, the Romans pushed inland from the southeast, defeating the Britons in the Battle of the Medway. By AD 47, the Romans held the lands southeast of the Fosse Way. British resistance was led by the chieftain Caratacus until his defeat in AD 50. The isle of Mona, a stronghold of the druids, was attacked in AD 60. This was interrupted by an uprising led by Boudica, in which the Britons destroyed Camulodunum, Verulamium and Londinium. The Romans put down the rebellion by AD 61.

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Stanegate in the context of Vindolanda

Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort (castrum) just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, which it pre-dated. Archaeological excavations of the site show it was under Roman occupation from roughly 85 AD to 370 AD. Located near the modern village of Bardon Mill in Northumberland, it guarded the Stanegate, the Roman road from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth. It is noted for the Vindolanda tablets, a set of wooden leaf-tablets that were, at the time of their discovery, the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain.

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Stanegate in the context of Coria (Corbridge)

54°58′42″N 2°01′59″W / 54.9784°N 2.03316°W / 54.9784; -2.03316

Coria was a fort and town 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of Hadrian's Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia. It was strategically located on the junction of a major Roman north–south road (Dere Street) with the River Tyne and the Roman Stanegate road, which was also the first frontier line which ran east–west between Coria and Luguvalium (the modern Carlisle). Corbridge Roman Site is in the village of Corbridge in the county of Northumberland.

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Stanegate in the context of Dere Street

Dere Street or Deere Street is a modern designation of a Roman road which ran north from Eboracum (York), crossing the Stanegate at Corbridge (Hadrian's Wall was crossed at the Portgate, just to the north) and continuing beyond into what is now Scotland, later at least as far as the Antonine Wall. It was the Romans' major route for communications and supplies to the north and to Scotland. Portions of its route are still followed by modern roads, including the A1(M) (south of the River Tees), the B6275 road through Piercebridge, where Dere Street crosses the River Tees, and the A68 north of Corbridge in Northumberland.

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