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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