Regulbium

Regulbium
Remains of Regulbium Roman Fort
Regulbium shown within Kent
Coordinates	51°22′44″N 1°12′00″E / 51.379°N 1.200°E / 51.379; 1.200
Town	Reculver
County	Kent
Country	England
UK-OSNG reference	TR228693

Regulbium was the name of an ancient Roman fort of the Saxon Shore in the vicinity of the modern English resort of Reculver in Kent. Its name derives from the local Celtic language, meaning "great headland".

The first Roman military installation in the area was a small fort built directly after the invasion of Britain in the reign of Claudius, protected by earthworks. It was connected to Durovernum (Canterbury) by a road. The fort, strategically located at the entrance of the Wantsum Channel, possibly housed a signal tower, perhaps a lighthouse, and continued in operation at least until the late 60s, since coins dating to the reign of Nero were found on site. This structure lay within the bounds of the later, larger stone fort, which was built in the early 3rd century, probably in c. 210, since the sole stone inscription found at the fort (in 1960) mentions the then governor of Britain, Aulus Triarius Rufinus. This construction occurred at a time when cities and strategic sites all over Western Europe were fortified in response to the greater threat posed by barbarian raids. The archaeological remains display another period of great activity towards the end of the century, the time of the Carausian Revolt, and again in the first half of the 4th century. However, it appears that after 360, the fort was abandoned by the Roman military.

The masonry castrum at Reculver is unusually early for its location and type, but it can be compared in both age and design with the forts at Brancaster and Caister-on-Sea, both in Norfolk, and it may be that "the east coast was in need of protection before the south coast, which was patrolled by the Roman navy, the Classis Britannica." The design of the fort at Reculver can also be compared with those along Hadrian's Wall, in northern England. The Notitia Dignitatum (whose western records date from the early 5th century but probably describe the situation at a slightly earlier date), reports the garrison at Reculver as the Cohors I Baetasiorum, and this is reflected in the discovery there of tiles stamped with the initials "CIB". The Cohors I Baetasiorum were previously stationed at Maryport, in Cumbria, and, since they probably built the fort at Reculver, this may explain the similarity between it and the forts along Hadrian's Wall.