Corbridge Roman Site

Corbridge Roman Site is one of several forts built along or near Hadrian’s Wall in the north of England. The ancient (or Latin) name is Coriosopitum. It is located ten km east of Chesters Roman Fort and five km south of the wall.

As early as AD 80, long before Hadrian’s Wall, the Romans built a fort here, but around AD 160 it was turned into a civilian town which covered an area of twelve hectares. Two main roads crossed each other: Stanegate ran west towards Carlisle, while Dere Street ran north towards Scotland and south to London.

[For more information about this topic, see Roman Roads in Britain.]

Stanegate crosses the archaeological zone from east to west. North of the street you can see the foundations of two granaries (horrea) and a fountain house. There is also a large area (87 x 93 m) which is known as “Site 11.” The construction was never completed here. The archaeologists do not know what the purpose of this area was. Perhaps the beginning of a new forum?

South of the street you can see the foundations of four temples, but it is not so easy to see the outline of these monuments. In the south west corner of the archaeological zone you can see the foundations of the military headquarters (principium). A flight of stairs leads to an underground room where the strong box (aerarium) was kept.

This Roman site is the subject of an excellent booklet written by J. N. Dore and published by English Heritage. The booklet is divided into three parts. The first part presents a tour of the site. The second part presents the history of the site. The last part presents the local museum.

The text is illustrated by photos, drawings and maps. Unfortunately, all illustrations (except the pictures on the front cover and the back cover) are in black-and-white. Fortunately, all illustrations are helpful and instructive.

The photos show the current situation. They show what is visible today. The drawings are modern reconstructions which show what a particular building (probably) looked like when it was new. On page 9 we have a drawing of the fountain house. The maps give us orientation: there is a map of the site and the surrounding area on page 19; and a map of the site on pp. 20-21.

The first part of the booklet – a tour of the site – is divided into several short sections, including the following:

* The main street

* The granaries

* The fountain house

* The east compound

* The west compound

* Site 11

In the local museum, which dates from 1983, you can see some of the objects found on the site or in the surrounding area. One remarkable object is a tombstone for a man called Barathes, who “lived to be 68 years old.” The inscription on the stone says “VIXIT LXVIII AN.” The last two letters (AN) stand for the word “ANNOS.”

Barathes was a silk trader from the Syrian town Palmyra, in the south eastern corner of the Roman Empire. Silk from China entered the Roman Empire via his home town. He travelled to Britannia, the north western corner of the empire. In the south of England, home of the Catuvellauni tribe, he bought a female slave called Regina. He liberated her and married her, and together they moved to the north of England. When she died, only 30 years old, he set up a beautiful tombstone in memory of her. Today this stone is placed in the small museum next to South Shields Roman Fort (Arbeia) in Newcastle.

Another tombstone in the Corbridge museum is for a girl called Vellibia - with the nickname Ertola - who died before she was five years old. Her father Sudrenus set up the stone in memory of her. Here is an English translation of the Latin text:

“Sudrenus [set up this tombstone] to Ertola properly called Vellibia [who] lived most happily for four years and 60 days.”

Source: Roman Inscriptions of Britain, 1965, # 1181.

The relief on the tombstone shows a child holding a ball as if in play.

Corbridge Roman Site is an important and interesting historical monument. It is worth a visit. J. N. Dore has written an excellent guidebook about this site. Read it before you go there. It will help you understand and appreciate what you see. Bring it with you when you go there. The maps will help you navigate the ancient site.

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J. N. Dore,

Corbridge Roman Site,

English Heritage, London,

First published 1989, reprinted 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 39 pages

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