Portus Lemanis
| Portus Lemanis | |
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Remains of Portus Lemanis
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 Portus Lemanis
 Portus Lemanis shown within Kent |
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| OS grid reference | TR117342 |
| Coordinates | 51°4′12″N 1°1′8″E / 51.07000°N 1.01889°ECoordinates: 51°4′12″N 1°1′8″E / 51.07000°N 1.01889°E |
Portus Lemanis, also known as Lemanae, was the Latin name of an ancient Roman fort, settlement and port in southern Kent. The modern village of Lympne derives its name from the ancient port.
The first documentary mention of the site is found in the late 3rd century Antonine Itinerary, where it is mentioned as lying 68,000 paces (68 Roman miles) from Londinium (London) and 16,000 paces from the cantonal capital Durovernum Cantiacorum (Canterbury). However, there is archaeological evidence of much earlier use as a naval base: tiles stamped CL BR have been found indicating that sailors or marines of the fleet, the Classis Britannica, were involved in its construction, as well as an inscription dated to the first third of the 2nd century (RIB 66) on an altar stone, dedicated to the god Neptune by a Lucius Aufidius Pantera, prefect of the Classis Britannica. According to the 5th century Notitia Dignitatum (probably recording the situation in the late 4th century), the fort was garrisoned by a regiment raised in Tournai (numerus Turnacensium) and formed part of a defence system known as the Saxon Shore under the command of a Count. The last mention of Lemanis in Latin sources is in the late 7th century Ravenna Cosmography, by which time the site, along with the rest of Britain, had long been severed from the Roman Empire.
The fort stood on a hill overlooking a reach of sea which has since been drained to form the Romney Marsh. A harbour lay to the south and east. A vicus (civilian settlement) had also sprung up in its proximity, situated astride the road that led to Canterbury.
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