LEMANIS
(Lympne) Kent, England.
A Roman fort on the side of a hill overlooking Romney
Marsh; originally a navigable inlet flanked its S side.
Occupation in the 2d and 3d c. is attested by the presence
of fragments of tiles stamped CL BR (Classis Britannica)
and by the discovery of an altar, reused in the later
foundations, dedicated by one Aufidius Pantera Prefectus Classis Britannicae. These fragments hint at the
existence of an early naval base in the vicinity. The fort
now visible was built towards the end of the 3d c. and
remained in use until the late 4th c. when it appears to
have been abandoned, possibly as part of the reorganizations carried out by Count Theodosius.
The walls are now distorted by landslips, but in their
original form they enclosed an irregular area of 4-4.4 ha.
They were 3.6 m thick, 6 m high, built of rubble with
a limestone facing bonded at intervals with tiles, and
had a series of external D-shaped bastions. One gate, in
the E wall, has been excavated: a simple opening 3.3 m
wide, flanked by two solid bastions. The W wall was
pierced by a narrow postern gate.
Internally, two buildings have been identified, a principia set back in the N part of the fort, and a small
bath suite close to the E gate.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
C. Roach Smith,
Richborough, Reculver
and Lymne (1850); id.,
The Roman Castrum at Lymne
(1852).
B. W. CUNLIFFE
