Bannaventa

Geobox|Roman Settlement
name = Bannaventa
category = Roman Settlement


image_caption =Plan of the site of Bannaventa


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country = England
state = Northamptonshire
region = East of England
district = Daventry
municipality = Norton
location = Astride Watling Street (A5) !.3 miles west of the village of Norton
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Bannaventa was a Romano British Fortified Town [ [http://www.roman-britain.org/places/bannaventa.htm] Description and name given. roman-britain.org] which was situated on the Roman road of Watling Street, which today is known as the A5 trunk road. Bannaventa is 1.3 north east of the village of Norton in the English county of Northamptonshire. The Ordnance survey grid reference for the centre of the town is SP612645 [’OS’ Explorer Map, Rugby & Daventry 222, ISBN 978 0 319 23734 2 ] .

Iter II (Watling Street)

The road where Bannaventa was located is thought to be the first road constructed by the Romans in Britain. It begins in Portus Ritupis (now Richborough) in the county of Kent and runs in a north westerly direction linking many Roman settlements and towns along its route. At Viroconium (now Wroxeter in Shropshire), the road branched with one route going to Deva Victrix (now Chester) and the other into Wales. Bannaventa was a small fortified town on the this road and was 10.9 miles north west of the Roman town of Lactodorum (now Towcester).17.3 miles to the north west was the Roman settlement of Venonis (now Wigston Parva) were Watling street is intersected by the Fosse Way.

Name

The meaning of the name Bannaventa is from “The Market on the spur of the Land” [’ Early Daventry’ by A E Brown, ISBN 0 901507 44 X] . mention of the settlement can be found in Emperor Antoninus Pius’s Itinerarium, Iter Britanniarum (The Road Routes of Antoninus Augustus) [Borough Hill (Daventry) and its History by William Edgar, Page 53 ASIN: B001075ZNY] . The extracts are as follows:
* Iter 2, Venone XII, Benaventa XVII, Lactodorum XII.
* Iter 6, Lactodorum XVI, Isannavaria XII, Tripontium XII.
* Iter 8, Venone XII, Benaventa XVIII, Magiovinter XXVIII.
The translation of these place names are as follows although Isannavantia is assumed to be Bannaventa.
*Venone = High Cross, Wigston Parva, Leicestershire
*Isannavantia = Bannaventa
*Tripontium = Cave's Inn, Warwickshire
*Magiovinter = Dropshort, Buckinghamshire

Description

Bannaventa was a posting station for Roman travelers and would have operated along the lines of the Coaching towns of a later period along Watling street. The town would have been a vital part of the road infrastructure of Roman Britain. The Fortified town would provide a safe, warm resting place where provisions for the journey could be purchased and horses and other livestock could be safely stabled overnight. The town would also provide some protection for the wider population in the vicinity in times of danger. In close proximity of the town there are several other Roman sites which are connected with Bannaventa. These include the remains of a villa on the summit of near-by Borough Hill [Borough Hill (Daventry) and its History by William Edgar, Page 39 ASIN: B001075ZNY] , another smaller settlement between Thrupp lodge and Thrupp Grounds (SP 599651) [An Inventory of Archaeological Sites in North West Northamptonshire, Page 154, Fig 118. ISBN 0 11 700900 8] and various other small homesteads have been located at grid references SP613638, SP608649 and another Roman villa at SP605649 [An Inventory of Archaeological Sites in North West Northamptonshire, Page 153, Fig 116. ISBN 0 11 700900 8] .

The site today

Much of what has been learnt about this site has been discovered in recent times. It was not until the early 18th century that the site of Bannaventa was positively identified. Before this site at near-by Weedon Bec, Daventry-Borough Hill and even Northampton [Borough Hill (Daventry) and its History by William Edgar, Page 54, Discussion on the Location. ASIN: B001075ZNY] . There have been many archaeological finds across the site including the discovery of a skeleton, numerous cremations in a Roman burial ground a small distance south of the boundary of the fortifications. Other discoveries include Constantinian coins, some foundations, stonework, pottery of which most of these were found in the early 18th century and led to definitive location of the town [An Inventory of Archaeological Sites in North West Northamptonshire, Page 150 . ISBN 0 11 700900 8] . More finds in the 20th century have been discovered and are listed below:
*A number of rubbish pits dating from the 1st and 2nd century
*In 1900 remnants of building including wall plaster rotten wood roof slates and a cobbled floor.
* Also 1900, Roman coins of Victorinus and Samian ware.
* In 1922 roman coins including a Sestertius of Hadrian.
* In 1957 a Large Nene Valley beaker, large painted pot, part of a glass bowl. Fragments of a black Samian pot plus many other artifacts.In 1970 the site was photographed from the air. These aerial photographs revealed the position of the Roman road of Watling Street as it bisected the town. These photographs also revealed the outline of the town lying to the west of the A5 [1970 Air Photographs taken by J.K.S. St Joseph, Cambridge University Air Photographs] . This set of photographs and further excavations have revealed the irregular shape. The settlement was enclosed by an irregular quadrilateral shape with broad rounded corners. The shape was formed by a series of three sets of banks and ditches. The enclosed area covered some 13.5 acres (55,000 m²). Inside the enclosure evidence has been found of wooden buildings of which most of the town was constructed. A walk across the site today reveals nothing of the town which lies below the ground. This sight has still to reveal its full treasures to the world.

aint Patrick connection

It is possible that Bannaventa was the birthplace of Saint Patrick the patron saint of Ireland [Borough Hill (Daventry) and its History by William Edgar, Page 57, Quotes opinion of Professor Haverfield, Victoria County History ASIN: B001075ZNY] . In his Confessio he said that he had been born in a settlement called "Banavem Taburniae" which could possibly be an alternative name for Bannaventa. He tells us that "... about sixteen years of age (around 405 AD) ... I was taken into captivity in Ireland", where he was held as a slave. This view is backed by the fact that the Watling Street ran indirectly to North Wales and thus offered easy passage to Ireland. After six years of slavery Saint Patrick escaped to Gaul (now France) where he became a monk. In the year 432 St Patrick he returned to Ireland as a missionary and succeeded in converting many of the island's tribes to Christianity. It was late in his life that he wrote a brief text, Confessio, detailing his life and ministry and it was in this manuscript that St Patrick recorded

References

*"Tripontium", by Jack Lucas FSA (1997) ISBN 0-9531265-0-1

External links

* [http://www.roman-britain.org/places/bannaventa.htm Roman-Britain.org] - info about Bannaventa