Mighty western curtain wall and towers of the Roman fort of Anderitum, robbed of its outer facing stones but still up to metres (27 ft) high, now encloses the Norman keep and inner walls of Pevensey Castle in East Sussex, England, UK.
Pevensey, East Sussex, England, UK: the ramparts and towers of the west curtain wall of the Roman fort of Anderitum, built between 290 and 340 AD, still stand up to metres (27 ft) high. The wall, about m (14 ft) thick at its base, was built on strong foundations of rubble-packed oak piles and beams. Most of the wall’s original ironstone and sandstone facing blocks have been robbed over the centuries, and the structure now visible is mainly its rubble and sandstone core, bound together with mortar and with horizontal bonding tile courses. The ten surviving towers lining stretches of the wall were probably built as platforms for Roman artillery weapons and heavy crossbows. Anderitum, originally washed on three sides by the waters of Pevensey Bay, was probably built as one of 11 forts on the British side of the Saxon Shore, a military command of the late Roman Empire, to defend the province of Britannia against barbarian attacks. The fort, now bordered by Pevensey Marshes, fell into ruin after the Romans left Britain, but after William the Conqueror’s army landed at Pevensey Bay, the Normans saw it as a key strategic stronghold. Robert de Mortain, William’s half-brother, repaired the Roman walls and built a moated inner bailey within them, centred on a strong stone keep. Pevensey Castle was besieged several times in the Norman and later medieval eras and although its garrison was twice starved into surrender, it was never successfully stormed. The fortress was abandoned in the 1500s and remained a crumbling, overgrown ruin until it was acquired by the state in 1925. During World War Two, the fortress was garrisoned by the British, Canadians and Americans and machine-gun posts were built into both the Roman and medieval walls. Pevensey Castle is now in the care of English Heritage.
Size: 4256px × 2832px
Location: Pevensey Castle, Pevensey, East Sussex, England, UK.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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