Questions people actually ask
Short answers, each with its source. Longer ones live on the topic pages.
What were the Saxon Shore forts?
In the 3rd century AD, several Roman forts were built along the Channel coasts of east and south-east England and northern Gaul. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison All of them were built at important coastal estuaries and inlets. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison
Why are they called the Saxon Shore?
They are known as the “forts of the Saxon Shore” from a single mention in a much later Roman document, the Notitia Dignitatum. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison We don’t know why the Notitia uses the name “Saxon Shore”. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison
How many were there?
Nine forts listed in the Notitia as under the Count of the Saxon Shore have been matched with Roman remains between the Wash in Norfolk and the Solent in Hampshire. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison Walton Castle is not mentioned in the Notitia, but is of similar design to the later forts. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison
Which was the biggest?
Pevensey was the biggest of the Roman “Saxon Shore” fortresses. English Heritage: Pevensey Castle Pevensey’s Roman walls are more than 500 metres (1,640 feet) long. English Heritage: Pevensey Castle
Which is the best preserved?
English Heritage’s Portchester overview says it is the best-preserved Roman fort in northern Europe, the only one whose whole circuit of walls survives little altered. English Heritage: Portchester Castle, history and stories
Why were they built?
The name led to a long-standing assumption that the forts housed Roman soldiers fighting off “Saxon” pirates. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison The forts may have been built to defend Britain against Rome, rather than against Germanic raiders. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison
Who built the later forts?
Archaeological dating suggests Carausius or Allectus are more likely to have built the later British forts. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison English Heritage says the fort may well have been founded by Carausius, appointed to command the Roman fleet in the Channel in about AD 285. English Heritage: History of Portchester Castle
When were they built?
In the AD 230s, three forts were built on the east coast of Britain: Brancaster and Caister-on-Sea in Norfolk, and Reculver in Kent. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison Archaeologists have shown that the later forts were built at various times between about AD 260 and AD 300. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison
What is the Saxon Shore Way?
Today the name lives on in a 153-mile long-distance footpath, the Saxon Shore Way. English Heritage: Roman Coastal Defences and the Saxon Shore, by Paul Pattison
Where does this fit in the national curriculum?
The words “Saxon Shore” do not appear in the national curriculum in England. Department for Education: National curriculum in England, history programmes of study At KS2, pupils in England study “the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain”; one non-statutory example is “successful invasion by Claudius and conquest, including Hadrian’s Wall”. Department for Education: National curriculum in England, history programmes of study
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