Restoring the Lunt Roman Fort in Baginton

[Crispvs]

The Reconstructions at the Lunt were built in the early to mid 1970s siting foundation posts in the original post holes and contructing superstructure using methods as closely following the original as possible. Given that it has now lasted for thirty years it has done remarkably well. There is a school of thought which considers that the Lunt reconstructions were done as an experiment in the durability of turf and timber fortifications and many who are of this school sit on Coventry City Council and its associated bodies, including the one which overseas the upkeep of the Lunt fort. These people have been reported as being very pleased with the ramparts at the Lunt as they have fulfilled their purpose and demonstrated that the life expectancy of a turf rampart is about 25 years. So they say at any rate! For a number of years I have been countering this view with the statement that ramparts, whether of turf, stone or steel, last for as long as you maintain them! I do not believe that the so-called experiment with the ramparts is at all valid. I refuse to believe that the Romans would have sat around and watched their defences crumbling away. Where a floorboard in a wall-walk rotted or gave way, the Romans would have replaced it rather than fencing it off and wittering on about experimental archaeology as CCC have done. The reality is that Coventry City Council does not really care about the Lunt, despite it qualifying as one of the best Roman sites in Britain and being a potential money spinner for the council. It should be remembered that the current council is descended from the same council which in the 1930s began the wholesale destruction of what until then had been regarded as the most beautiful city in England. The German Luftwaffe helped the council out in the 1940s by dropping hundreds of tons of incenduary bombs on Coventry and destroying (amongst other things) the cathedral, and then the council returned to destroy most of what was left in the 1960s, with the result that Coventry today is one of the least attractive cities in Britain. With a pedigree like this in the sidelining of history, it is hardly surprising that Coventry City Council have never even attempted to put the funding into the Lunt which was required. It is somewhat telling that the funds which were temporarily secured to rebuild the principia came not from council funds but from lottery grant funds (which were then withdrawn in order to fund yet more football teams).<br>
As the RMRS uses the Lunt as its training base and also does at least two public shows there each year we feel quite strongly about the maintenance and promotion of the site. Over the past three years my good friend John Waite has been running a campaign to get the council to take positive action over the Lunt and gradually he has forced some individuals to see the value of saving it. This has resulted in an Action Plan, developed in conjuction with English Heritage, to be enacted over the next four to five years. We are told that this is to result in the rebuilding of the gate and rampart section, the reconstruction of the principia and the reconstruction of one of the barrack blocks. The only problem has been that, true to form, the council did not put enough money in the budget for the project. Our mystery doner agreed that the Lunt was too good to waste and decided that unless something was put in to kick-start the project the council would never get up off its haunches to do anything. We are, and will remain, extremely grateful for the generosity of the doner (who cannot be named).<br>
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Crispvs <p></p><i></i>