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The History of Northumberland before AD 440
Roman attempts to subjugate the tribes in Scotland proved futile. After abandoning the more northerly Antonine Wall, Hadrian’s Wall was built in the years after AD 121 to keep out the Picts and the Scots. This feat of military engineering spanned 73 miles from Wallsend (Wall's End) in the east to just beyond Carlisle in the west, and featured small forts or milecastles at intervals of one mile along its entire length. Today, only ten miles of the Wall remain. One of the best sites to visit is Housestead's Roman Fort near Hexham. This was one of the larger garrison forts along the Wall and the excavations cover some five acres. Another garrison fort is Vindolanda, just a few miles farther west, where there are remains of eight successive forts. Other Roman sites include Chester's Fort, where the military bathhouse is the best preserved in Britian, and Corstopitum Fort, which was sited at the junction of the east-west and north-south Roman roads, Stanegate and Dere Street. All four sites feature interpretative museums. When the Romans abandoned Britain, many aspects of their culture lingered on, but by the early 5th century the pottery industry had disappeared, coinage had become a rarity, and the Dark Ages were beckoning ... |
Sunday 5 September 2010 |