The Stainmore road, its unique Roman camps, and Venutius's war by Mike Haken

For centuries, a series of enigmatic camps that line the road between Scotch Corner and Carlisle have fascinated antiquarians and archaeologists. Four of these camps are now known, each having substantial defences and an extraordinary number of entrances (Rey Cross has eleven), and they have long been suspected to have played some part in Rome’s actions against Venutius and the Brigantes in the early Flavian period. But what exactly was their role, why were they built in such a non-standard form, and who built them?