Background history

Binchester (Vinovia) was founded in 80 AD and was formerly one of Northern Britain’s greatest Roman military strongholds. It was large enough to hold a fighting group made up of several cohorts of legionary infantry and one or more units of auxiliary cavalry. It was around 7 hectares in size. Even when it was reduced to 4 hectares around 160 AD, it remained County Durham’s greatest fort.

The garrison of this later fort was a cavalry force originally recruited in central Spain, accompanied at some stage by a unit of cavalry originating in the area now known as Holland, according to inscriptions. The fort was surrounded by a vast civil settlement, which was occupied until the end of the Roman Empire. After Britain was no longer a part of the Roman Empire, people continued to live in the fort for several centuries.

Excavations

The long process of recording and analysing the data gathered during the international field-school excavations of 2009-2015 (a collaboration between our Archaeology Section, Durham University Archaeology Department, and Archaeological Services, as well as Stanford and Texas Tech Universities from the United States) and Durham University’s cemetery excavation in 2016-17 is currently underway.

Education

A schoolroom, workshop activities, and guided tours for school groups and small parties, a schoolroom, workshop activities, and guided tours can be reserved in advance (up to 50).