"Recent excavations on a monumental bath-house at Carlisle Cricket Club" with Frank Giecco

Between 2017 and 2024 nine phases of excavation were undertaken as part of a large community archaeology project at Carlisle Cricket Ground. The site is adjacent to the river Eden and close to Stanwix Roman fort. At least five main phases of Romano-British occupation have recorded on the site dating from the Hadrianic period to the early fifth century. The Hadrianic phase of a bathhouse is heavily truncated a monumental Severan building of the same function, measuring over 50m by 55m, which replaced it. This building is the largest of its kind on the Northern frontier. It has a very unusual plan, with no obvious comparisons in the province of Britannia. The building is constructed using vaulting tubes and has produced forty hypocaust tiles stamped ‘IMP’. The high status of the building is highlighted by its painted wall plaster, sculpture and finds assemblage. The latter includes a large and internationally important group of carved gemstones, mostly recovered from sieving the fills of subterranean drains.

The Severan period was highly significant for the northern frontier zone and particularly important in the development of Luguvalium, which was given civitas status. Stanwix fort was rebuilt in stone and the town was reorganised with several new monumental buildings. We believe that this period of intense activity may have been linked to the presence of the Severan court at York. An imperial visit to Carlisle is documented in the Historia Augusta. Could this building have been connected in some way to this imperial visit to the northern-most town of the Roman Empire?

Frank Giecco is Technical Director for Wardell Armstrong at their Carlisle office. A highly experienced archaeologist with over 25 years’ experience in running and managing field archaeology projects throughout the UK and overseas, Frank has built up significant expertise in the archaeology of Roman Britain as well as in applications and support for Heritage Lottery Funded projects.