55°00′47″N2°19′52″W / 55.013°N 2.331°W /55.013; -2.331
| 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 anauxiliaryfort onHadrian's Wall,[1] at Housesteads, Northumberland, England. It is dramatically positioned on the end of the 1-mile (1.6 km)-long crag of theWhin Sill over which the Wall runs, overlooking sparsely populated hills.
It was called the "grandest station" on the Wall and is one of the best-preserved and extensively displayed forts.[2] It was occupied for almost 300 years. It was located 5.3 miles (8.5 km) west fromCarrawburgh fort, 6 miles (9.7 km) east ofGreat Chesters fort and about 2-mile (3.2 km) north east of the existing fort atVindolanda on theStanegate road.
The site is now owned by theNational Trust and is currently in the care ofEnglish Heritage. Finds from the fort can be seen in the site museum, in the museum atChesters, and in theGreat North Museum: Hancock inNewcastle upon Tyne.
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.[citation needed]
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.[10] 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 hugehorreum (warehouse) and new barracks.
A substantial civil settlement (vicus) existed to the south, outside the fort, and some of the stone foundations can still be seen, including the so-called "Murder House", where two skeletons were found beneath an apparently newly-laid floor when excavated.[11] The vicus was abandoned in about 270 before the rebuilding of the fort.
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 stonelatrines inRoman Britain.
In the 2nd century AD, the garrison consisted of an unknown double-sized auxiliary infantrycohort and a detachment oflegionaries fromLegio II Augusta.[12] From 205/208[13] it comprisedCohors I Tungrorum (nominally 1000 strong) augmented by thenumerus Hnaudifridi and theCuneus Frisionum, a Frisian cavalry unit,cuneus referring to a wedge formation. TheTungrians were still there in the 4th century, according to theNotitia Dignitatum. By 409 AD the Romans had withdrawn.[14]
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 historianJohn Clayton in 1838, to add to his collection of Roman Wall farms. The Roman site was cleared of later buildings by Clayton, and the present farmhouse built about 1860. John Maurice Clayton attempted to auction the fort in 1929. It did not reach its reserve and was donated to theNational Trust in 1930. The farm was later owned by the Trevelyans who gave the land for the site museum.[citation needed]
Forts and structures ofHadrian's Wall | ||
|---|---|---|
| Wall Forts (East to West) |   | |
| Outpost Forts | ||
| Stanegate Forts |
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| Supply Forts | ||
| Cumbrian Coast Forts (North to South) |
| |
| Milecastles | ||
| Milefortlets | ||
| Other structures on Hadrian's Wall | ||
| Regular and linear features | ||
Locations ofbastle houses in theUnited Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cumbria |  | |
| Durham | ||
| Northumberland | ||
| Scotland | ||
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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