Saxon Shore Forts Spotter’s Field Guide

A field guide to the Roman forts of the Saxon Shore for adult history fans and travellers: how to read a fort wall, early and later fort shapes, the way in, what came after the Romans and who lived in the forts, then 12 places from Portchester, Pevensey and Richborough to Brancaster, Walton Castle and the two forts across the Channel, a timeline and the open questions.

What’s inside:

- How to use the guide (no travel advice is given)

- Recognise it: a fort wall, and early and later fort shapes (our own drawings)

- The way in: gates set back from the wall

- Before, during and after: how the forts were reused and rediscovered

- Who lived in the forts?

- 12 places, from Portchester, Pevensey and Richborough to Brancaster, Walton Castle and the two forts across the Channel, each with facts from English Heritage and notes space

- Timeline

- Open questions: questions without one answer

- Checklist of the 12 places

- Credits, licence and sources

Pages: 18 (including cover and credits). Sizes: A4 (210 × 297 mm) and US Letter (8.5 × 11 in), both PDFs included in one zip.

Printing: Print at 100% / actual size on A4 or US Letter. Inside pages use light backgrounds and print well in black and white; covers are dark, so start from page 2 to save ink.

Every fact is checked against named source pages from English Heritage (checked 3 Nov 2026), and the sources are listed on the pack’s credits page. Where the evidence gives no single answer, what each source says is shown with its source.

There are no photos in this pack: all drawings, puzzles and layouts are REALLYBYTE’s own work. Drawings are simplified impressions: not photographs, not reconstructions of any real fort, not to scale, and not copied from any site plan, map, guidebook, print, photo or book. Not affiliated with English Heritage, Norfolk Archaeological Trust, the UK government, any other government or any museum. Their names, and the names of the places they look after, are used only to identify the places and sources we quote.

Licence: personal use. Print as many copies as you need for yourself and your household. Please don’t resell, re-upload or share it publicly. For club, school or commercial use, please email info@reallybyte.com.

Made by REALLYBYTE, the team behind shore.forts.im. Questions: info@reallybyte.com

This is a digital download: no physical item will be shipped.