GREENSFORGE
Staffordshire, England.
A
site on the Smestow brook, 8 km SW of Wolverhampton,
with a sequence of military establishments. There are
two permanent forts on adjacent sites, and indications
of marching camps and other works. Excavations have
produced coins and pottery of Claudio-Flavian date, but
little is known as yet about the two forts. The fact that
there are two sites may indicate a break in occupation,
or a change of unit during the advance towards Wales
and the subsequent withdrawal during the revolt of A.D.
60. Fort A, farther N, is the larger (1.7 ha), and has a
turf-fronted rampart. Fort B is ca. 1.2 ha and occupies
a somewhat stronger position overlooking the brook. The
size suggests an infantry cohort, but excavations have
produced items of cavalry equipment. It is not known
which fort was the earlier.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
William Salt Arch. Soc. (1927) 185;
JRS 48 (1958) 95; 53 (1963)
I; 63 (1973) 233;
Trans.
Birmingham Arch. Soc. 80 (1965) 82-83;
Antiquity 40
(1966) 300-4.
G. WEBSTER
