Magnis (Carvoran)

Magnis (or Carvoran Roman Fort) is a fort on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, England. It was in the Roman province of Britannia.

Roman fort
Magnis was originally built to guard the junction of the northbound Maiden Way with the Stanegate, the key supply route linking Coria (Corbridge)] in the east to Luguvalium (Carlisle) in the west. As such it pre-dates Hadrian's Wall. Its ruins are located at Carvoran in the civil parish of Greenhead in the English county of Northumberland. Magnis is one of 16 Roman forts along Hadrian's Wall; there are also 80 smaller milecastle forts and 158 turrets along its length. The Maiden Way Roman road runs south from Magnis to Kirkby Thore near Penrith.

Archaeology
Artifacts recovered at Magnis include a 2 ft iron spearhead, found at a depth of 36 ft in a well, and the well-known modius, a bronze grain-measure.

Roman Army Museum
Magnis is the location of the Roman Army Museum run by the Vindolanda Trust. Like the museum at Vindolanda, the Roman Army Museum was modernised and reopened in 2011. The museum illustrates frontier life on the northern edge of the Roman empire. The museum displays genuine Roman artefacts including weapons and tools; life size replicas; films, a large timeline of Hadrian's Wall. There is a gallery devoted to the emperor Hadrian himself. A large gallery describes daily life in the Roman army as seen through the eyes of a team of eight auxiliary soldiers, complete with a film showing their activities. Notable exhibits include a rare surviving helmet crest.

Directions can be found on the Vindolanda website Vindolanda and Roman Army Museum