Conflict in the Lake District: the attack on Ambleside Roman Fort

Journal article

Abstract:: Lead sling bullets (glandes) have been found for over a century at and around the Roman fort in Ambleside (Lake District). The glandes, together with the discovery of a remarkable inscription on a tombstone from the site, suggest the possibility of a conflict scenario. This article summarises the previous evidence and presents the results from a new research project that comprised two fieldwork campaigns (2021 and 2023) in the environs of the fort. The results confirm the hypothesis of a scatter of glandes to the north and east, which can be plausibly interpreted as the fort undergoing an external attack, during which the garrison troops defended themselves by shooting missiles outwards.

Files:: Fernandez-Gotz_et_al_2026_Conflict_in_the.pdf

(Preview, Accepted manuscript, pdf, 100.8KB, Terms of use)

Publisher:: Cambridge University Press
Journal:: Britannia: A Journal of Romano-British and Kindred Studies More from this journal
Acceptance date:: 2026-04-27
EISSN:: 1753-5352
ISSN:: 0068-113X

Language:: English
Keywords:: Ambleside Fort

Roman Britain

conflict archaeology

metal detecting

sling bullets
Pubs id:: 2423438
Local pid:: pubs:2423438
Deposit date:: 2026-05-25
ARK identifier:: ark:/29072/ora_a338aa22340c4d7880526f7d0313838b

Notes:: The author accepted manuscript (AAM) of this paper has been made available under the University of Oxford's Open Access Publications Policy, and a CC BY public copyright licence has been applied.

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