Bignor Roman Villa

Bignor Roman Villa is located in West Susssex, not far from Arundel and Chichester. It was discovered by accident in July 1811, and only three years later (October 1814) the site was turned into a private museum with public access. Since then, the remains of the villa have been covered by several modern buildings to protect them against bad weather.

This ancient Roman villa is the subject of a short, but excellent guidebook published by the Bignor Museum. For some reason the date of publication is not mentioned anywhere. Perhaps it was published around 1995.

In a foreword, Thomas R. Tupper explains how the villa was discovered by one of his ancestors in 1811. The villa is still owned by his family, and by now it has been open to the public for almost two hundred years. About 35,000 people from all over the world visit the villa every year.

The guidebook is written and illustrated by Fred Aldsworth of Chichester. The main text (20 pages) is divided into four parts:

(1) The location of the Villa

(2) Excavations of the Villa

(3) The History of the Villa, which is divided into three phases

(4) A Tour of the Villa, which is divided into several short sections:

** The Ganymede Room

** Geometric mosaics (in room # 6)

** Venus and the Gladiators (in room # 3)

** Winter (a mosaic)

** Dolphin and Signature (a mosaic)

** Four Seasons (a mosaic)

** The North Corridor

** Building Materials

** The Baths

The text is illustrated by numerous maps, drawings, and photos. All illustrations are in colour, except a few old photos which are in black-and-white. All illustrations are helpful and instructive. Here are two examples:

(a) A beautiful reconstruction painting of the fourth-century villa seen from the air (made by Neil Holland) appears on pp. 10-11.

(b) An elegant drawing of the Venus room (made by Richard Smirke in 1812) is placed on the front cover of the guidebook.

At the end of the book there is a list of references (further reading) as well as some practical information about the site and how to get there.

Since 2009 the villa has an official website on the internet where you can find information about current events at the site.

Bignor Roman Villa is an interesting place. It is worth a visit. The guidebook about the site – written by Fred Aldsworth and published by the Bignor Museum - is short, but excellent. Read it before you go. It will help you understand and appreciate what you see. Bring it with you, when you go. It will help you navigate the site, while you are there.

PS. Other Roman villas in England are also worth a visit, for instance Lullingstone Roman Villa in Kent and Chedworth Roman Villa in the Cotswolds.

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 Fred Aldsworth, 
Bignor Roman Villa,
The official guide book, published ca. 1995, 20 pages

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Lullingstone Roman Villa

Lullingstone Roman Villa is located in Kent, close to the River Darent. The villa was discovered in 1939. Excavations began in 1949 and lasted until 1961. Today the remains of the villa are covered by a modern building to protect them against bad weather, and the site is a museum which is open to the public.

This ancient Roman villa is the subject of a guidebook written by Michael Fulford and published by English Heritage. The book is divided into two parts:

** Part one – “A Tour of the Villa” – is divided into fourteen short sections. Each section presents a room or a part of the villa.

** Part two – “The History of the Villa” – is divided into eight short sections. Archaeologists have identified four phases in the development of the villa, starting with the early villa (AD 75-150) and ending with the Christian villa (AD 350-425).

The text is illustrated by numerous maps, drawings, and photos. All illustrations are in colour, except a few old photos which are in black-and-white. All illustrations are helpful and instructive; in particular some reconstruction drawings which show us what the villa (probably) looked like in antiquity. Two of these drawings give a partial view of the exterior and the interior at the same time; some of the walls are cut away, so you can look inside some of the rooms (pp. 6 and 26).

One of the most striking features of the villa is a huge floor mosaic which covered the dining room as well as the audience chamber. The mosaic is shown several times in the book:

** On page 15 we have a total view of the mosaic. The caption to the picture says:

 

“The magnificent mosaics that adorned the main reception rooms of the house. They depict mythological scenes, with roundels of the seasons, and elaborate geometric borders.”

** On page 28 we have the mosaic in the dining room (a semi-circle). The caption to the picture says:

 

“The abduction of the princess Europe by Jupiter disguised as a bull is shown in the mosaic in the apsed dining room.”

** On page 31 we have the mosaic in the audience chamber (a square). The caption to the picture says:

 

“The mosaic of Bellerophon slaying the Chimera may be a Christian allegory of the triumph of good over evil.”

The ancient villa is also famous because there is some evidence of the early Christian religion in Britain. The evidence is presented in text and illustrations. The illustration on page 10 shows six Christian men who are praying. The caption explains:

“This image of six early Christians praying is a modern reconstruction of the wall painting from the west wall of the house church, or chapel. It has been painstakingly pieced together from the fragments of painted plaster which had fallen into the cult room below.”

Lullingstone Roman Villa is an interesting place. It is worth a visit. The guidebook about the site – written by Michael Fulford and published by English Heritage - is excellent. Read it before you go. It will help you understand and appreciate what you see. Bring it with you, when you go. The maps will help you navigate the site.

PS. Other Roman villas in England are also worth a visit, for instance Bignor Roman Villa in West Sussex and Chedworth Roman Villa in the Cotswolds.

 

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Michael Fulford,

Lullingstone Roman Villa,

English Heritage, London, 2003, 32 pages

 

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A new edition of the guidebook for Lullingstone, written by Pete Wilson,

was published by English Heritage in 2009. Here is the cover:

 

 

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Wroxeter Roman City

Wroxeter Roman City is located in Shropshire, ca. 125 km north of Caerleon Roman Fortress in Wales. In Roman times it was called Viroconium Cornoviorum. This area was the home of the Celtic tribe the Cornovii.

In AD 58 the Roman governor Gajus Svetonius Paullinus established a fortress here which became the base of a Roman legion, Legio XIV Gemina. Eight years later, in AD 66, this legion was transferred out of the province and replaced by the 20th legion, Legio XX Valeria Victrix. In AD 90, when this legion was moved to its new base in Chester, the fort was demolished and the site was turned into the capital of the local tribe.  It is very likely that Emperor Hadrian was here during his visit to Britannia in 122. Eight years later, in AD 130, the forum was dedicated to him. At the time this was the fourth largest town in Roman Britain.

Today most of the ancient town has disappeared. But archaeologists have identified several buildings, and they have uncovered the great bath complex from AD 150.

Here is a brief description of the Roman remains:

A covered exercise hall (a basilica) which measured 20 x 75 meters was located in the north. A part of the wall on the south aisle is still standing. It is known as “The Old Work.”

The main bath halls were located in the south: frigidarium (the cold room), tepidarium (the tepid room), calidarium (the hot room), and praefurnium (the furnace).

The local market (macellum) was located in the south west corner of the site. It was a square enclosed by twelve small shops (tabernae).

Between the market and the bath halls, there was an open air sports area (palaestra) and a swimming pool (piscina).

This ancient site is the subject of an excellent guidebook written by Roger White and published by English Heritage. The book is divided into two parts. The first part presents a tour of the site, including the local museum. The second part presents the history of the site. The book ends with a bibliography and a timeline with two columns: (a) key dates in history and (b) key dates in Wroxeter’s history. The text is illustrated by numerous photos, drawings and maps. All illustrations (except two old photos and two old drawings) are in colour. All illustrations are helpful and instructive.

The photos show the current condition. They show what is visible today. The drawings are modern reconstructions. They show what a particular building (probably) looked like when it was new. The maps give us orientation: there is a map of Roman Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) in the second century AD on page 26, and there is a plan of the site on the inside of the back cover.

The first part of the book – “A Tour of Wroxeter” – is divided into several short sections including the following:

* The Basilica

* The Bath Halls

* The Latrine and the Shops

* The Market Hall

* The Forum

* The Site Museum

In the local museum you can see a short exhibition on the history of the town and some of the objects found on the site. You can also see a cast of a marble plaque with the fine inscription from AD 130 which dedicates the forum to Emperor Hadrian. Today the original is placed in Rowley’s House Museum in Shrewsbury. A picture of the plaque appears on page 24, but the author does not give us the Latin text or an English translation.

Let me make up for this omission. Here is the Latin text:

IMP CAES DIVI TRAIANI PARTHICI FIL DIVI NERVAE NEPOTI

TRAIANO HADRIANO AUG PONTIFICO MAXIMO TRIB POT XIIII

COS III PP CIVITAS CORNOVIORUM

And here is an English translation:

“The council of the Cornovii [erected this monument] to Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, the son of the divine Traianus Parthicus, the grandson of the divine Nerva, Pontifex Maximus, holding tribunician power for the 14th time, consul three times, [and] father of the fatherland.”

[Source: Roman Inscriptions of Britain, Vol. I (1965), # 288.]

In Roman times the plaque was placed over the entrance to the forum. The size of the plaque (370 x 123 cm) and the height of the letters (between 14 and 24 cm) made it highly visible to those entering the site.

[Louise Revell makes this important point in her book Roman Imperialism and Local Identities, published in 2008, page 180.]

Wroxeter Roman City is an interesting historical monument. It is worth a visit. Roger White has written an excellent guidebook about it. Read it before you go. It will help you understand and appreciate what you see. Bring it with you when you go. The plan of the site will help you identify each building and each room as you tour the ancient site.

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Roger White,

Wroxeter Roman City,

English Heritage, London, 1999, 36 pages

 

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A new edition of the guidebook for Wroxeter (48 pages), also written by Roger White,

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

 

 

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Caerleon Roman Fortress

Caerleon Roman Fortress is in the south of Wales, some 20 km northeast of Cardiff. In Roman times it was called Isca, after the river Usk. This area was the home of the Celtic tribe the Silures. At first they fought the Romans, but later they became the most Romanized tribe in Wales.

In AD 74 or 75 the Roman governor Sextus Julius Frontinus built a fortress, which was the base of a Roman legion, Legio II Augusta, until the fourth century. The fortress covered an area of 20 hectares and had the typical shape of a playing card, i.e. a rectangle with round corners. The Romans had standard rules for the orientation of a fortress and for the different buildings inside it, but there was always room for local variations. No two fortresses are exactly alike.

The modern town is built on top of the ancient fortress. Accordingly, it is not so easy for archaeologists to work there. But the outline of the fortress is visible. Several buildings have been identified, and some of them have been uncovered. The foundations of these buildings are visible today.

This ancient site is the subject of an excellent guidebook written by Jeremy Knight and published by Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments. The book is divided into two parts. The first part presents the history of the site. The second part presents what you can see today. The text is illustrated by a large number of photos, drawings, and maps. All illustrations are in colour. 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. The maps give us orientation: we have the Roman Empire on page 7, and Wales on page 10. A fold out map printed on the inside of the back cover shows the whole fortress in black-and-white, with the modern town superimposed in red colour. Other maps show a minor detail of the site: we have the amphitheatre on page 35, and the Prysg Field Barracks on page 45.

The second part of the booklet - “A Tour of Roman Isca” – is divided into four parts:

* The Fortress Baths

* The Amphitheatre

* The South-West Fortress Defences

* The Prysg Field Barracks

Caerleon’s amphitheatre is one of the best preserved Roman amphitheatres in Britain. The auditorium (cavea) could seat around 6,000 spectators, slightly more than the number of soldiers in a legion.

[For more information about this topic see The Roman Amphitheatre in Britain by Tony Wilmott.]

The text is well written. The author is careful with the details. Let me give you two examples:

(1) When he mentions the Roman governor Sextus Julius Frontinus (on page 9), he adds the following words:

“an experienced soldier and in later life a writer of important books on military tactics and on the water supply of Rome (he became the director of the city’s water supply).”

If the author only gave us the name of the governor, he would remain rather anonymous. By adding a few details about the governor, the author makes sure that we can remember him.

(2) When he mentions the smallest unit of the Roman army, the century (centuria) (on page 43), he explains the meaning of the word:

“As its name implies, each century at one time comprised 100 men, but at the time Isca was established, the complement had become 80.”

Even though this is a rather brief account, there are several cross-references, which are very helpful. On pp. 16-17 there is a drawing with the following caption:

“An artist’s reconstruction of the defences in the north-western corner of the fortress, as they may have appeared in the late first century. The defences and barracks are shown in timber, but there is no certain evidence for the towers.”

On pp. 40-41 there is an almost similar drawing. This time the caption contains two cross-references:

“An artist’s impression of the north-western corner of the fortress as it may have appeared in the early second century (compare with illustration on pp. 16-17). A stone wall and turrets have now been added to the front of the eastern rampart. The barracks within the Prysg Field (pp. 42-46) are shown as stone constructions.”

The text and the illustrations support and complement each other very well. Let me give you just one example: when the author mentions the covered exercise hall (the Basilica) in the section about the Fortress Baths (pp. 20-21), he adds the following:

“There was room for architects end engineers to experiment, and the superstructure and vault of the Fortress Baths may have resembled the surviving frigidarium of the Cluny Baths in Paris.”

Next to this passage there is a photo which shows the cold room (frigidarium) of the Cluny Baths in Paris. Just what we need, and just where we need it.

Caerleon Roman Fortress is an important and interesting historical monument. It is worth a visit. The guidebook about the site – written by Jeremy Knight – is excellent. Read it before you go. It will help you understand and appreciate what you see. Bring it with you when you go. The maps will help you find the way, and make sure you won’t get lost in this charming Welsh village.

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Jeremy K. Knight,

Caerleon Roman Fortress,

Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments,

First published 1988, second revised edition 1994, 48 pages

 

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A third revised  edition of the guidebook for Caerleon, also written by Jeremy Knight,

was published Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments in 2003. Here is the cover:

 

 

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South Shields Roman Fort

The Roman Fort in South Shields is located on the south side of the River Tyne, close to the river mouth, ca. ten km east of Newcastle. The Roman (or Latin) name of the fort is Arbeia. A short, but excellent guidebook about the place was published by the Tyne & Wear Museums a few years ago (ca. 2004). For some reason the name of the author is not mentioned anywhere.

The text is divided into three sections:

** Part one: The History of the Fort – 9 pages

** Part two: Excavation and Discovery – 4 pages

** Part three: Reconstructing Arbeia – 3 pages

The text is illustrated with several maps and photos. All illustrations are in colour except an old photo from 1875 which is in black-and-white. All illustrations are helpful and instructive.

Four maps show the development of the fort:

Map # 1 (around AD 160): the fort covered an area of 1.67 ha and was home to a unit consisting of 480 foot soldiers and 120 cavalry.

Map # 2 (around 208): the fort was extended to the south, increasing the size of the fort to 2.1 ha, and it functioned as a supply base for the campaigns of Emperor Septimius Severus in Scotland (208-211).

Map # 3 (AD 222-235): the fort functioned as a supply base. Seven granaries were added to the existing; new headquarters and barracks were built.

Map # 4 (the late third or early fourth century): the number of granaries was reduced and a larger area was given over to accommodation for the garrison.

During this phase a unit of bargemen from Tigris (numerus barcariorum Tigriensium) arrived. This is probably the reason for the Latin name of the fort, Arbeia, which means “the place of the Arabs.”

Today the most striking features of the fort are the full-scale reconstructions: the west gate, a barrack, and a part of a late-Roman courtyard house. These reconstructions are described in the text and shown with illustrations.

The local museum, which opened in 1953, consists of two galleries. Among the numerous objects presented in the book I will mention two:

(1) The tombstone of Regina, the wife and former slave of Barates. The caption to the photo of the tombstone adds the following details:

“She was from the tribe of the Catuvellauni, which was centred around what is now St Albans. Her husband was from the great desert city of Palmyra in Syria; his first language would have been Aramaic, similar to modern Hebrew, and he added a brief message of mourning in that language to the Latin text.”

(2) A sandstone inscription describing the installation of a water supply for the Fifth Cohort of Gauls under the governor of Lower Britain, Marius Valerianus, in AD 222. The caption to the photo of the inscription adds the following details:

“The first five lines are occupied by the names and titles of the emperor Alexander Severus. Following his murder, his memory was condemned across the Empire, and part of his name was erased on this inscription.”

South Shields Roman Fort is an interesting place. It is worth a visit. The guidebook about the site – published by Tyne & Wear Museums - is short, but excellent. Read it before you go. It will help you understand and appreciate what you see. Bring it with you, when you go. The maps will help you navigate the fort.

PS. Several other Roman sites in the north of England are worth a visit, including the following:

** Birdoswald – see Birdoswald Roman Fort (2001) as well as Birdoswald Roman Fort (2005)

** Chesters – see Chesters Roman Fort (1999)

** Corbridge – see Corbridge Roman Site (1989)

** Housesteads – see Housesteads Roman Fort (1999)

** Vindolanda – see Vindolanda: A Roman Frontier Fort on Hadrian's Wall (2009) as well as Life and Letters on the Roman Frontier: Vindolanda and its People (2004)

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Arbeia Society,

Arbeia: Roman Fort and Museum, South Shields,

Tyne & Wear Museums, published ca. 2004, 16 pages

 

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Segedunum Roman Fort

Wallsend is one of several Roman forts built along or near Hadrian’s Wall in the north of England. This fort was built at the eastern end of the wall, as the modern name explains. The Romans called it Segedunum, which probably means something like “strong” or “victorious.” It is located in today’s Newcastle.

In the third and fourth centuries AD the garrison at Segedunum was the fourth cohort of Lingones, a mixed unit of 120 cavalry and 480 infantry.

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.

Segedunum was built on the north bank of the river Tyne. The wall joined the fort at the western gate and continued from the south eastern corner to the water’s edge. Perhaps the end of the wall was marked by a statue of Emperor Hadrian.

In Segedunum you can see the foundations of several buildings: the military headquarters (principium), the commandant’s house (praetorium), a double granary (horreum), the hospital (valetudinarium) and some barracks. Recent investigations seem to indicate that the six barracks in the northern sector (praetentura) was allocated to the infantry, while the four barracks in the southern sector (retentura) was allocated to the riders and their horses. The northern barracks are partially hidden by a modern road (Buddle Street).

West of the fort there is a full-scale reconstruction of a short section of the wall. It is 5 m high on the front (facing north) and 3.5 m high on the back (facing south). This means there is a parapet of 1.5 m. The experts do not agree about the height of the wall. Perhaps it was higher. It is not known if there was a parapet, but many experts believe there was one, and this is why it was decided to build one here.

On the back of the wall the natural stones are covered with plaster in different ways to remind us that the Romans often covered the raw stones with plaster. Sometimes they would draw red horizontal and vertical lines on the white plaster. Viewed from a distance the wall would seem to be built by white rectangular blocks.

South of the fort there is a full-scale reconstruction of a Roman bath house. It is based on the impressive surviving remains of the bath house at Chesters, but has been laid out in mirror image in order to fit the space available for it here.

For more information about Chesters see my blog: Chesters Roman Fort.

Other Roman sites in the north of England include the following:

** Birdoswald

** Corbridge

** Housesteads

** Vindolanda

The modern reconstruction in Newcastle includes all the major rooms of a Roman bath house: the entrance room (vestibulum), the changing room (apodyterium), the cold room (frigidarium), the tepid room (tepidarium), the hot room (calidarium), the furnace (praefurnium), and the latrines (latrinae).

Segedunum Roman Fort is the subject of an excellent booklet written by W. B. Griffiths and published by Tyne & Wear Museums. The booklet is divided into three parts. The first part is called “History.”. The second part is called “Archaeology.” The third part is called “Present Day.”

The text is illustrated by a large number of photos, drawings and maps. All illustrations are in colour, except for a few old photos, which are in black-and-white. All illustrations are helpful and instructive.

The photos show us what is visible today. The drawings are modern reconstructions. They show us what a particular building (probably) looked like when it was new. The drawing on page 4 gives us an idea of how the fort may have looked in Roman times. The maps give us orientation: there is a map of Hadrian’s Wall on page 3; there is a map of the eastern end of the wall on page 5, and a map of the layout of the fort during the second century AD on page 13.

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

* The building of Hadrian’s Wall

* Buildings within the fort
* Outside the fort
* After the Romans

The third part of the booklet – “Present Day” – is divided into several short sections, including the following:

* Museum

* Viewing tower
* Bath-house
* Hadrian’s Wall: the reconstruction

The local museum is housed in a new building east of the fort. It presents the history of the town from antiquity until today. The museum includes a 34 m high tower with an observation platform. The tower looks like the bridge on a ship. This is no coincidence, because the fort’s neighbour is the Swan Hunter Shipyard. From the observation platform you can have a bird’s eye view of the ancient Roman fort and the surrounding area.

The reconstructed bath-house is presented on pp. 52-54. The reconstruction of Hadrian’s Wall is presented on pp. 56-57.

W. B. Griffiths has written an excellent guidebook about this fort. Read the book, it is highly recommended; visit the site, if you can, it is a very interesting place.

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W. B. Griffiths,

Segedunum: Roman Fort, Baths, & Museum,

Tyne & Wear Museums, Newcastle, 2000, 60 pages

PS. A second edition of this guidebook (with 76 pages) was published in 2008

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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.

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J. G. Crow,

Housesteads Roman Fort,

English Heritage, London, first published 1989,

Reprinted 1992, 1995, and 1998, 52 pages

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

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

 

 

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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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