| Portus Lemanis | |
Remains of Portus Lemanis |
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Portus Lemanis
Portus Lemanis shown within Kent |
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| OS grid reference | TR117342 |
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| List of places: UK • England • Kent | |
Portus Lemanis was the name of an ancient Roman fort, settlement and port in southern Kent. The modern village of Lympne derives its name from the ancient port.
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The first mention of the site is found in the late 3rd century "Antonine Itinerary", where it is mentioned as lying 68,000 paces (68 Roman miles) from Londinium and 16,000 paces from the cantonal capital Durovernum Cantiacorum (modern Canterbury).[1] However, there is evidence of much earlier use as a base of the Classis Britannica: tiles stamped CL BR have been found on the site, as well as an inscription dated to the first third of the 2nd century (RIB 66) on an altar stone, dedicated to the god Neptune from Lucius Aufidius Pantera, who is mentioned as prefect of the Classis Britannica.[2] According to the late 4th century Notitia Dignitatum, the fort was garrisoned by a numerus Turnacensium ("numerus [battalion] of men from Tournai") and formed part of the Saxon Shore under the Comes litoris saxonici.[3] The last mention of Lemanis in Latin sources is in the late 7th century "Ravenna Cosmography", by which time, however, the site, along with the rest of Britain, had long been abandoned by Rome.[4]
The fort stands on a hill overlooking the Romney Marsh. In Roman times, a harbour, now silted up, existed to the fort's south and east.[2] A vicus (civilian settlement) had also sprung up in its proximity, situated astride the road that led to Canterbury.
The construction of the Saxon Shore-era fort can be dated to the late 270s, as is evidenced by its late-style characteristics, including forward-projecting towers.[5] The fort's remains are in bad shape, since the ground, mostly clay, has at places given way. In addition, a later Anglo-Saxon fort (Stutfall Castle) was built over the site. The southern side of the fort is wholly missing, and elsewhere the remains have been moved at various angles, while little evidence of interior structures (remains of a bath and possibly the principia) survives.[2] The site is still relatively unknown: the only major archaeological excavations were carried out by Roach Smith in 1850 and 1852.[2]
The remains of the main rampart show a strong construction, ca. 3.9 m wide and surviving sections are still between 6 and 8 m in height. The wall is built of recycled material from earlier structures and bonded with bands of brick, which include several old tegulae (roofing tiles).[6] Originally, the fort had ca. 14 towers. A single main gate survives towards the east, as well as several posterns. Its shape was an irregular pentagon, which covered an area of ca. 3,4 ha.
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