Stanwix

  • Stanwix is a suburb of Carlisle, north of the River Eden in the County of Cumbria.
  • It was a Roman fort known either as Petrianum or Uxelodunum, and was on Hadrian's Wall.

Auxiliary Regiment

  • Ala Petriana Milliaria
    • This was an Auxiliary Cavalry Regiment of 1,000 horse from Gaul.

History

  • The Ala Petriana Milliaria was the only Ala with 1,000 horse on Hadrian's Wall, making its Prefect the most senior Officer on the entire Wall.
  • Stanwix was the Command Headquarters for the whole of Hadrian’s Wall. Signals were sent from all the other castles on the Wall to Stanwix via a relay system. It is not known whether this system used light signals or messengers on horseback.
  • A Signalling system using either lights or semaphore also lay alongside the Roman Road from Carlisle to York. The Prefect at Stanwix would have been able to send and receive messages from the Legionary Legate at York in minutes.

Roman Sites

  • Very little of the fort is visible today.
    • A small section of the north-western rampart masonry footings of the Fort are displayed in the Car Park of the Cumbria Park Hotel.
    • The remains of the Fort are under St. Michael’s Church, with the Fort wall showing as an Embankment in the Graveyard.

Roman Roads

Nearby Sites

 

St. Michael’s Church, Stanwix

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