Trifter

NORTHUMBERLAND is renowned for its defensive works ranging from Iron Age hillforts to Second World War pillboxes and beyond. The jewel in the crown of these military establishments is Hadrian’s wall. The highlight of any visit to the Wall has to be Housesteads, the large central infantry fort. It has scenery, history, bracing fresh air and a 1,700 year old unsolved murder mystery.

Housesteads straddles the mighty Whin Sill escarpment, high above the countryside to the North. The fort, like the Wall was built by the Roman Legions and garrisoned by the auxiliary units of the Roman Army.

The fort had everything that the Roman Army thought that its soldiers needed. There was the commander’s house and the headquarters building with its Chapel of the Standards. It had barrack blocks, hospital, granaries, bakehouse and latrines sited at the bottom corner of the five acre site.

Outside of the fort, a vicus or civilian settlement grew in size. Here would be the inns, shops and brothels that the soldiers wanted.

A temple dedicated to Mithras, the Persian God of the Legions stood near to the bath-house on the banks of the Knag Burn, east of the fort.

The fort is laid out in the standard form demanded by the Roman Arm. Playing card in shape, it has one gate in each wall with roads running through it. The barrack blocks remained the same with one continuous roof running the full length of the building until the Third Century.

Each of the barrack rooms built during the last hundred years of the Roman occupation had its own roof, instead of the one continuous roof.  It is believed that there were narrow alleyways between each room, which had different features according to the taste of the occupants. Some experts consider that the barrack blocks had become chalets in which the soldiers housed their families in more dangerous times.

Roman control broke down and all the garrisons in Britain were withdrawn to the continent. Civilian settlements struggled along for a while, then withered on the vine.

The latrines are one of the major attractions at Housesteads. Archaeologists have discovered that there were a continuous row of lavatory seats above a deep sewer that flowed in an anti-clockwise direction.

They were sited at the lowest corner of the fort to make use of surface and drainage water to clean the gutters. A sandstone cistern holding 2,800 gallons was built on a nearby tower roof to collect water for flushing the latrines out.

Merchants and traders flocked to the fort where 1,000 soldier, paid in coin lived. This vicus supplied everything that the soldiers needed during their off-duty time

One of the houses, called the Murder House, in the vicus was being excavated when two skeletons were discovered under a layer of clay. One skeleton was that of a tall man with the point of a knife still in his ribs. The other skeleton was a woman’s. It appears that the skeletons are those of two murder victims and that the murderer had successfully concealed his crimes for 1,700 years.

Housesteads was originally garrisoned by Tungrians, a Germanic tribe that lived in Southern Belgium and Holland, a later garrison were Frisians from Eastern Holland and Germany.

This was one of the first forts of the Roman Empire to be completely excavated, digging having began in 1822.

Housesteads looks east and west along the Whin Sill with spectacular views of the Tyne Valley to the south. The wastes and forests, still remaining to the north give the visitor an idea of how isolated these long-gone Roman soldiers must have felt.

A farmhouse, lying to the south west of the fort, is a small museum with displays of artefacts which have been found in and around Housesteads.

Opening times are from 10:00 to 18:00 between April and September and 10:00 to 16:00 from October until March.

Housesteads lies above the B6318 road, commonly known as the Military Road in this area. More details can be obtained from 01434 344363.