Caermote Roman Fort

Caermote Fort in Cumberland’s Allerdale near Bewaldeth and Snittlegarth is actually the site of two Roman fortifications. Although the sources are not fully agreed, the larger set of earthworks may date from AD 60-90, while the smaller one, from more settled and confident times, sits in a corner of the larger, and dates to about 117-161, the time of Emperor Trajan. There is little to see today but a few unnatural-looking earthworks. Few natives of Britannia would have welcomed this large, armed camp in their vicinity, especially as there was no corresponding settlement or vicus with which they might have traded.

Whatever Rome’s violent expansionism, it brought a stability and internationalism which allowed the spread of the Christian message, early on. I am reading Peter Green’s Early Christianity in Britain (Day One, 2023), which argues that the gospel was present even before the legions invaded in AD43. Nevertheless, the roads, the ‘Roman Peace’ and the continuity in government all combined to assist the spreading of God's good news. Caermote Fort is long gone, leaving behind a windswept hill and bleak landscape, but it may well have played a little part in bringing the tribes of Japheth into the tents of Shem.

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