Birdoswald

Birdoswald has the best preserved defences of any of the 16 major forts which supported Hadrian’s frontier system. Known to the Romans as ‘Banna’, from the early 3rd century its garrison was a thousand-strong infantry unit.

Towards the western end of Hadrian’s Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia, today the site is occupied by a former farm called Birdoswald. The fort is situated in a commanding position on a triangular spur of land bounded by cliffs to the south and east overlooking a broad meander of the River Irthing in Cumbria.

Winner of Sandford Award 2008.