Housesteads Roman Fort
55°00′47″N 2°19′52″W / 55.013°N 2.331°W
Housesteads Roman Fort | |
---|---|
Alternative name(s) | Vercovicium, Borcovicium |
Abandoned | c. 400 AD |
Attested by | Notitia Dignitatum |
Place in the Roman world | |
Province | Britannia |
Structure | |
— Stone structure — | |
Built | c. 124 AD |
Stationed military units | |
— Legions — | |
Legio II Augusta | |
— Cohorts — | |
Cohors I Tungrorum | |
Location | |
Town | Hexham |
County | Northumberland |
Country | England |
Reference | |
UK-OSNG reference | NY789687 |
Website | Housesteads Roman Fort |
Housesteads Roman Fort was an
The site is now owned by the
Name
The name of the fort has been given as Vercovicium, Borcovicus,[3] Borcovicium,[4] and Velurtion.[5] An inscription found at Housesteads with the letters VER, is believed to be short for Ver(covicianorum), the letters ver being interchangeable with bor in later Latin.[6][7]
The 18th-century farmhouse of Housesteads provides the modern name.[8]
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2016) |
Hadrian's Wall was begun in AD 122 and included no forts but smaller milecastles but before it was finished there was a change of plan to include forts. Turret 36B on the site was therefore demolished to make way for the fort built in stone around AD 124 with its northern wall overlying the original Broad Wall foundation.[11] The fort was repaired and rebuilt several times. A major rebuilding in the late 3rd/early 4th century included interval towers on the walls, a huge horreum (warehouse) and new barracks.
A substantial civil settlement (
It is unusual for Britain in that it had no running water supply and was dependent upon rainwater collection for which purpose there is a series of large stone-lined cisterns around the periphery of the defences). It also has one of the best-preserved stone latrines in Roman Britain.
Garrison
In the 2nd century AD, the garrison consisted of an unknown double-sized auxiliary infantry
Housesteads farm
This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2016) |
Housesteads is a former farm whose ruins remain built up against the south gate of the Roman fort. The farm was purchased by the amateur historian
See also
References
- ^ J.G. Crow, Housesteads Roman Fort, London: English Heritage (1989)
- ^ Alan Rushworth (15 February 2014). Housesteads Roman Fort - the Grandest Station. English Heritage Publishing. p. ix. ISBN 9781848021655.
- ISBN 9780486164342.
- ISBN 9781844153589. (1st ed. 1955; 2nd ed. 1966)
- ISBN 9780946098422.
- ISBN 9781848021655.
- ^ John Collingwood Bruce (1966). Handbook to the Roman Wall. Hindson & A. Reid. p. 111.
- ^ "Hadrian's Wall". northofthetyne.co.uk.
- ^ James Crow (2004), Housesteads. A Fort And Garrison on Hadrian's Wall, Stroud: Tempus, p. 56
- ^ J. G. Crow (1989), Housesteads Roman Fort, English Heritage, p.8.
- ^ "Housesteads (Vercovicivm) Roman Fort". Roman-Britain.co.uk.
- JSTOR 43936348.
- ^ "Housesteads (Vercovicivm) Roman Fort". Roman-Britain.co.uk.
- ^ RIB 1631b
- ISBN 1-55212-585-8
- Sources
- Crow, J. Housesteads Roman Fort and its Environs, Univ. of Newcastle 1994
- Crow, J. Housesteads, London: Batsford (1995) (second edition, Stroud: Tempus 2004)
Further reading
- Birley, Eric (1952). Housesteads Roman Fort. London: English Heritage.
- Dodds, Glen Lyndon, (2002) Historic Sites of Northumberland & Newcastle upon Tyne pp 96–103
- Hickey, Julia. "Carlisle and the Border Reivers". TimeTravel-Britain.com. Retrieved 8 February 2006.
- Gibson papers, Northumberland Record Office(NRO)
- John Hodgson, History of Northumberland vol III part II page 288
- Rivet, A. L. F. The Place-Names of Roman Britain, London: Batsford (1979)