Drumburgh Roman Fort (Congabata) | Tynedale Hadrian's Wall Group

Drumburgh Roman Fort is situated on a knoll overlooking a flat expanse to the East and West. Given the right tide, it is possible to walk across the Solway. A clay mound(probably from the shore) and wood fort was possibly built about 130 AD, measuring 316 ft. by 270ft, just less than 2 acres. The fort is said to be an afterthought. It was aligned slightly differently than the later fort and can be identified by a ditch in the above diagram. Its Celtic name means dish-like, referring to a knoll resembling an upturned dish. It is situated in the northwest corner of the village, 3 miles east of Bowness. The above gives a rough guide to its location.

The fort was replaced by a smaller stone fort, probably built in the 160s AD. Its north wall was the Wall itself. There is little information about this fort. Its size indicates that it housed no more than half a cohort of infantry as it was possibly the smallest Wall fort. (Newcastle is the other candidate). The fort was obviously built to guard the crossing. It was occupied late into the 4^th century.

It is possible that it had a harbour. There are no visible remains, as stone is not readily available in the area; all the stone has been reused.

South of the village is Drumburgh Castle, a fortified manor house built of stone from the fort in 1307, but heavily modified since.