Housesteads Roman Fort

Housesteads Roman Fort is one of several forts built along Hadrian’s Wall in the north of England. The Roman (or Latin) name is Vercovicium. Today it is one of the most visited (and most photographed) forts along the wall, partly because it is quite well preserved, and partly because it is located on the top of a hill in a very picturesque landscape.

Hadrian’s Wall was a huge construction project which comprised several elements:

(1) The wall itself, running 80 Roman miles (118 km) from coast to coast.

(2) Milecastles with short and regular intervals. As the modern name says, the distance from one milecastle to the next was one Roman mile, i.e. 1.5 km.

(3) Watchtowers with short and regular intervals. Between two Milecastles there were two towers. The distance between the towers was around 500 meters.

(4) Fifteen forts along the wall.

(5) Additional forts in the area, south of the wall four, north of the wall three. Finally, there was one fort by the coast and on the south bank of the river Tyne: South Shields Roman Fort (Arbeia).

Construction began in AD 122 during Hadrian’s visit to the province. The work was (more or less) completed in six years, i.e. by AD 128.

[Read about Hadrian’s Wall in The Wall: Rome's Greatest Frontier.]

The typical Roman fort is shaped like a playing card, i.e. a rectangle with round corners. The Romans had standard regulations for the orientation of a fort and for the different buildings inside it, but there was always room for local variations. No two forts are exactly alike.

The standard regulations say a fort must follow a north-south line, so that the short ends face north and south, while the long sides face east and west. But this fort has been turned 90 degrees, so that it follows an east-west line. When you look at the place, it is easy to understand why. This east-west orientation is demanded by the local landscape.

In Housesteads you can see the foundations of the four major gates. Inside the fort you can see the foundations of several buildings: the commandant’s house (praetorium), the military headquarters (principium), the hospital (valetudinarium), two granaries (horrea), two barracks, and (in the south-west corner) the latrines.

South of the fort there was a small village (vicus) with small houses (canabae). You can still see the foundations of six houses below the southern gate, but in Roman times there were more than six houses here. The civilian population provided goods and services which the soldiers could not produce or get hold of by themselves.

This ancient site is the subject of an excellent booklet written by J. G. Crow and published by English Heritage. The booklet is divided into four parts. The first part presents a tour of the fort, including the local museum. The second part gives information about the surrounding area, including the local village. The third part gives information about northern Britain under the Romans, including the construction of Hadrian’s Wall. The last part presents the history of the fort.

The text is illustrated by a large number of 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. They show what a particular building (probably) looked like when it was new. A case in point is the colour drawing printed on the back cover which shows the interior courtyard of the commandant’s house. The maps give us orientation: there is a map of the fort and the surrounding area on pp. 30-31; there is a map of the fort itself on pp. 26-27. Other maps show the layout of particular buildings: we have the headquarters on page 20, and the hospital on page 22.

The first part of the booklet – “A Tour of the Fort” – is divided into several short sections, including the following:

* The south gate

* The east gate

* The north gate

* The west gate

* The hospital

* The headquarters

The local museum is located in a small modern building south west of the fort. Here you can see some of the objects found inside the fort and in the surrounding area.

My favourite is a small relief of three hooded deities (Genii Cucullati) found in a shrine in the local village and datable to around AD 230. They wear the hooded capes (byrrus Britannicus), which were famous as exports from Britain. There is a picture of this relief on page 3. Even as a small-size photo in black-and-white, it is very vivid.

Housesteads Roman Fort is an important and interesting historical monument. It is worth a visit. J. G. Crow 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 fort and the surrounding area.

PS. Be sure to set aside some time to take a walk along the wall towards the east and/or the west to get a feel for the landscape and the local conditions in this northern corner of the Roman Empire.

* * *

J. G. Crow,

Housesteads Roman Fort,

English Heritage, London, first published 1989,

Reprinted 1992, 1995, and 1998, 52 pages

* * *

 

A new guidebook for Housesteads Roman Fort, also written by J. G. Crow,

was published by English Heritage in 2012. Here is the cover:

 

 

* * *