
Concovata (Congovata, or Coggabata) Roman Fort was probably built in stone around 160 upon an earlier fort. By 1539 the stone from the fort had been stolen to a local fortified manor house so that nowadays there are no visible traces of the fort; and until recently even its name was uncertain as no inscriptions had been found to verify its presumed name based upon the fort's position in the Notitia Dignitatum. A recent discovery has, to my mind, finally put to rest the ongoing debate. In the 2nd century a veteran of Hadrian's Wall named Aelius Draco (check the unc site for a good discussion regarding his name) commissioned a bronze pan which was decorated with Celtic designs in enamel and, crucially, a list of 4 forts on Hadrian's Wall. In that list Coggabata is inserted between Maia (Bowness) and Uxellodunum (Stanwix). Aballava is missed out, but that is already known to be Burgh-by-Sands. If Drumburgh is Concavata then the unit stationed there according to the Notitia Dignitatum was the Cohors II Lingonum. A Briton called Vindomorucius is recorded as having built at the fort in AD 369 according to the interpretation given by Collingwood and Wright. The only other inscriptions recorded as being from Drumburgh are 2 building stones one from an unamed 7th cohort, the other from an unknown 8th cohort. The fort is however too small to have held a full quingeniary cohort so some of the soldiers of the unit may have been stationed elsewhere.
Sources:
The Roman Inscriptions
of Britain, Collingwood and Wright |
Birley E., Research
on Hadrian’s Wall |
| |
Also,specifically regarding the Staffordshire Pan (aka Patera)
BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3150960.stm
Hadrian's Wall News: http://www.arcg57.dsl.pipex.com/HadriansWall/News/News.htm
Roman Britain.org: http://www.roman-britain.org/frontiers/hw_souvenirs.htm
British Archaeology: http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba73/feat4.shtml
Several interesting articles and links can be found here at the University of North Carolina: