With the rivers
Eamont and
Lowther flowing nearby and meeting to the west, the site had natural defences. As well as two rivers, three Roman roads intersected at the fort: the York - Scotch Corner - Stainmore Pass -
Brough under Stainmore -
Kirkby Thore - Brougham route (along the present A66); the Manchester/Lancaster - Burrow-in-Lonsdale - Middleton - Low Borrow Bridge (Tebay) - Brougham route (along the present West Coast rail line); and the
Glannaventa (Ravenglass) Roman port -
Hardknott -
Galava (Ambleside) -
High Street - Brougham route. From Brocavum (Brougham), the road went north to
Luguvallium (Carlisle) via Old Penrith (along the present A6). From late Flavian times (80sAD) onwards, there may also have been a road from Old Penrith and/or Brocavum westwards to
Troutbeck, to an undiscovered fort at
Keswick, to the fort at
Papcastle, and on to
Alauna (Maryport). There was also a
civilian settlement (part of which was excavated in 2008 during construction of a pipeline from
Hackthorpe to Penrith), and a cemetery (excavated in the 1960s), the evidence from the latter suggesting that an East European (Danubian) contingent of people lived there. Six dedications to the local deity
Belatucadrus were discovered at Brougham, suggesting perhaps "that his worship was centred there". It has been suggested that the focus of the
Carvetii, a pre-Roman and Roman 'tribe' may have been nearby at
Clifton Dykes. This may have been an additional factor, to the road and river ones mentioned above, in the positioning of the fort after the Roman conquest. The dating of the fort is uncertain, but an important role from an early date is thought to be likely. The foundation date may be just after the revolt of
Venutius in the early A.D.70s. An early-
Flavian occupation is probable, even though the artefacts found in the excavation of the cemetery were from the second and third centuries A.D. ==Access and conservation==