Hunnum
Onnum (Halton Chesters) | ||
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Grid reference NY998685 | |
Hunnum (also known as Onnum, and with the modern name of Halton Chesters) was a
The fort may also have guarded Dere Street which crosses the Roman Wall through the valley immediately to the west, but its distance from Dere Street and that Milecastle 22 was also displaced from Dere Street implies that this was not a priority and may have been expected to be disused north of the Wall after Hadrian's Wall was built.[1]
The Latinised
Description
The original fort was built between 122 and 126 AD with a rectangular plan measuring 460 feet (140 m) north to south by 410 feet (120 m) east to west. It projected partly north of the wall as did other cavalry wall forts to allow rapid access to the north. There were four main gates, at the main points of the compass, with double portals with guard chambers. At various times some of the portals have been blocked up and both portals of the west gate were blocked almost at once. There were towers at each corner of the fort, and also on either side of the main gates.
The Vallum passed some short distance south of the fort, and was crossed by a road leading from the south gate to the vicus just south of the Vallum.
In the
The fort was run down from the 270’s to the 370’s when it was abandoned, like
An unusual discovery when the fields were first plowed in 1827 was that the baths were inside the fort in the northern section, and rare inside forts. They are believed to be of the late fourth century.[5] An aqueduct for the fort and baths has been traced north of the fort.
Garrison
A dedicatory slab from the west gate of the fort tells us that the Legio VI Victrix were responsible for the initial building work. The fort was initially garrisoned, probably, by a cohort of 500 partly mounted troops. In the third century it held a regiment of cavalry transferred from Arbeia fort, the Ala I Pannoniorum Sabiniana,[6] also called Ala Sabiniana, and named after Sabinus who first raised it.
Excavations
The field north of the Military Road containing the northern section of the fort was first ploughed in 1827, and a fine bath-house was found. This contained dry and moist hot rooms, a warm room and cold rooms, and a dressing room. Such a large bath-house is a rarity on the Wall.
References
- ^ Page V Harlow Hill to Portgate, Milecastle 16 to 22 https://www.northofthetyne.co.uk/HWC5.html
- ^ Rivet, A.L.F., Smith, Colin, The Place-names of Roman Britain, B.T. Batsford, London, 1979, pp. 431-433.
- ^ Hadrian's Wall - Fort - Halton Chesters (Hunnum / Onnum) https://www.roman-britain.co.uk/places/onnum/
- ^ Onnum ~ Salve ad Onnum ( Halton Chesters ) https://web.archive.org/web/20070915113454/http://hadrians-wall.info/hadrianswall/onnum/onnum.htm
- ^ Page V Harlow Hill to Portgate, Milecastle 16 to 22 https://www.northofthetyne.co.uk/HWC5.html
- ^ Notitia Dignitatum xl.37
Sources
- J. Collingwood Bruce, Roman Wall (1863), Harold Hill & Son, ISBN 0-900463-32-5
- Frank Graham, The Roman Wall, Comprehensive History and Guide (1979), Frank Graham, ISBN 0-85983-140-X
- HUNNUM FORT (ONNUM) Roman-Britain.co.uk
- https://web.archive.org/web/20070915113454/http://hadrians-wall.info/hadrianswall/onnum/onnum.htm