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diff --git a/old/50364-0.txt b/old/50364-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 87524dc..0000000 --- a/old/50364-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,15551 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Roman Wall, by Rev. John Collingwood Bruce - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Roman Wall - -Author: Rev. John Collingwood Bruce - -Release Date: November 1, 2015 [EBook #50364] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROMAN WALL *** - - - - -Produced by KD Weeks, deaurider, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - Transcriber’s Note: - -This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects. -Italics are delimited with the ‘_’ character as _italic_. The frequent -appearance of blackletter font is noted here by enclosing the text in -‘~’ as ‘~blackletter text~’. Superscripted characters are preceded by -‘^’. - -Minor errors in punctuation and formatting have been silently corrected. -Please see the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details -regarding the handling of any textual issues encountered during its -preparation. - -Page headers signalled changes of topic, and have been retained as -paragraph descriptions (‘sidenotes’). Where the headers persist across -multiple pages, they were removed. On occasion, the headers on facing -pages are interleaved during an extended discussion of a topic. Only the -first of each were retained. - -The position of illustrations may have been adjusted slightly. Those -which appeared within a paragraph are indicated in-line as -[Illustration: <caption>]. Most were grayscale in the original, and have -been brightened to counteract the effects of age. Those few which were -colorized have been retained as they now appear. - -Captions for the Plates which appear within the images have been -repeated as text to facilitate searches. Where no captions were given, -or the images are composites (e.g. Plate III), the descriptions used in -the Table of Contents were used. - -The alphabetic footnotes in the original restarted with ‘a’ and cycled -through the alphabet multiple times. Several notes to tables used the -typical asterisk and dagger symbols. All footnotes have been -re-sequenced numerically for uniqueness. - -Footnotes, some of which are quite lengthy digressions, have been moved -to the end of each chapter to facilitate reading. - -[Illustration: - - G. Bouchier Richardson, Delt. John Storey, Lith. - PONS-ÆLII, RESTORED. -] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - THE - ROMAN WALL - - A - HISTORICAL, TOPOGRAPHICAL, AND DESCRIPTIVE - ACCOUNT OF THE - - ~Barrier of the Lower Isthmus,~ - - EXTENDING FROM THE TYNE TO THE SOLWAY, - - DEDUCED FROM NUMEROUS PERSONAL SURVEYS, - - BY THE - - REV. JOHN COLLINGWOOD BRUCE, M. A. - -[Illustration] - - LONDON: JOHN RUSSELL SMITH, 4, OLD-COMPTON-STREET, SOHO SQUARE. - - NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE; WILLIAM SANG, 61, GREY STREET; - - G. BOUCHIER RICHARDSON, 38, CLAYTON-STREET-WEST. - - M.DCCC.LI. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE: - IMPRINTED BY GEORGE BOUCHIER RICHARDSON, CLAYTON-STREET-WEST; PRINTER - TO THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES, AND TO THE TYPOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, - BOTH OF NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - TO - JOHN CLAYTON, ESQUIRE, - THE PROPRIETOR - OF THE - MOST SPLENDID REMAINS OF THE ROMAN BARRIER - IN NORTHUMBERLAND - WHOSE - ANTIQUARIAN INTELLIGENCE AND CLASSICAL LEARNING - HAVE BEEN MOST PROFUSELY AND KINDLY - AFFORDED TO THE AUTHOR - THIS WORK - ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE MILITARY CHARACTER AND USAGES - OF A GREAT PEOPLE - IS MOST GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - PREFACE. - -The famous Roman Wall, which, in former times, protected southern -Britain from the ravages of the northern tribes, exhibits, at this day, -remains more entire, and forms a subject of study more interesting than -is generally supposed. - -Two authors of great learning have treated of this renowned -structure—Horsley, in the Britannia Romana, and Hodgson, in the last -volume of his History of Northumberland. Both are treatises of -considerable size, and both are, to a certain extent, rare. The -Britannia Romana, moreover, describes the Wall, not as it is, but as it -was more than a century ago. Hodgson’s work is of recent date, and forms -a valuable storehouse of nearly all that is known upon the subject. The -mind, however, of that amiable man and zealous antiquary was, at the -time of its preparation, bending under the weight of his ill-requited -labours, and he has failed to present his ample materials to the reader -in that condensed and well-arranged form which distinguishes his -previous volumes, and without which a book on antiquities will not -arrest the attention of the general reader. - -The following work may be regarded as introductory to the elaborate -productions of Horsley and Hodgson. The reader is not assumed to be -acquainted with the technicalities of archæology; and, at each advancing -step the information is supplied which may render his course easy. I -have not attempted, in the last part of the work, to enumerate all the -altars and inscribed stones which have been found upon the line of the -Wall, but have made a selection of those which are most likely to -interest the general reader, and to give him a correct idea of the -nature and value of these remains. - -In the body of the work I have endeavoured to furnish a correct -delineation of the present condition of the Wall and its outworks. All -my descriptions are the result of personal observation. To secure as -great accuracy as possible, I have read over many of my proof sheets on -the spot which they describe. - -The pictorial illustrations have been prepared with care, and will give -the reader, who is not disposed to traverse the ground, a correct idea -of the state of the Barrier. The wood-cuts and plates, illustrative of -the antiquities found on the line, have, with the exception of a few -coins introduced into the first Part of the volume, and copied from the -MONUMENTA HISTORICA, been prepared from original drawings, taken for -this work from the objects themselves. I am not without hope that the -well-read antiquary will value these delineations for their beauty and -accuracy. - -The inhabitants of the isthmus are proud of the Wall and its -associations; and whatever may have been the case with their -forefathers, will not needlessly destroy it. Most kind has been the -reception I have met with in my peregrinations, and most valuable the -assistance I have received from the gentry and yeomen of the line, and -others interested in my labours! Gladly would I enumerate all to whom I -am indebted, had it been possible. Some names, however, must be -mentioned. His Grace the Duke of Northumberland has not only given me -free access to all his antiquarian stores, but directed me to prepare at -his expense engravings on wood of all that I thought suitable to my -purpose. Would that his Grace knew how much I have been cheered in my -course by his notice of my humble labours! To John Clayton, esq., I am -obliged for the gift of the wood-cuts illustrative of the numerous and -interesting antiquities preserved at CILURNUM, the produce of that -station and BORCOVICUS. To Albert Way, esq., the accomplished and -honorary secretary of the Archæological Institute, with whom I had last -year the pleasure and advantage of spending a day upon the Wall, I am -indebted for the cuts representing the altar and slab discovered at -Tynemouth. The suite of wood-cuts illustrative of the hoard of coins -found in the ancient quarry on Barcombe-hill, have been engraved at the -expense of my tried and valued friend, John Fenwick, esq., of -Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and to William Kell, esq., town-clerk of Gateshead, -with whom I have traversed the Wall from sea to sea, and some portions -of it repeatedly, I am indebted for the beautiful representation of the -ancient PONS ÆLII fronting the title-page. My former school-fellow, -William Woodman, esq., town-clerk of Morpeth, besides otherwise -assisting me, has caused surveys to be made for my use of not fewer than -eighty of the strongholds of the Britons still existing on the heights -north of the Wall. To trace the movements of the brave people whom the -Romans drove to the more inaccessible portions of the island, would have -been an interesting sequel to the account of the Roman Wall, but I found -the undertaking too great for me. - -It is with no ordinary emotion that I write the last lines of a work to -the preparation of which I have devoted the leisure of three years. The -Wall and I must now part company. Gladly would I have withheld the -publication of this work for the Horatian period, and have spent the -interval in renewed investigations; though even then I should have felt -that I had fallen short of - - ‘The height of this great argument;’ - -other cares, however, now demand my attention. - -_Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1 January, 1851._ - - LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. - - THE MOST NOBLE ALGERNON DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND, - Patron of the Society of Antiquaries of - Newcastle-upon-Tyne. _Quarto and octavo._ - - THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL GREY, Lord Lieutenant of the County of - Northumberland. - - THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF CARLISLE. - - THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD LONDESBOROUGH. _Quarto and Octavo._ - - THE RIGHT REVEREND THE LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM. - - THE HONOURABLE HENRY THOMAS LIDDELL, ESLINGTON, - NORTHUMBERLAND. _Quarto and octavo._ - - THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR GEORGE GREY, BART. - - SIR JOHN EDWARD SWINBURNE, BART., Capheaton, Northumberland, President - of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - SIR JOHN P. BOILEAU BART., F.R.S., Ketteringham, Norfolk, and Upper - Brook-street, London. - - SIR WALTER CALVERLEY TREVELYAN, BART., Wallington, High Sheriff of - Northumberland. - - SIR WILLIAM LAWSON, BART., Brough Hall. - - SIR FRANCIS PALGRAVE, K.H., F.R.S. Deputy Keeper of the Public Records, - London. - - WILLIAM ARMSTRONG, ESQ., MAYOR OF NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE. - - THE REV. R. C. COXE, M.A., VICAR OF NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE. - - The University of Edinburgh. _Quarto._ - - The British Archæological Association. - - The Archæological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. - - The Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. - - The Society of Writers to her Majesty’s Signet, Edinburgh. - - The Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - The Literary and Philosophical Society, North - Shields. - - The Mechanics’ Institute, Gateshead. - - The Mechanics’ Institute, South Shields. - - The Scientific and Mechanical Institution, - Alnwick. - - The Edinburgh Select Library. - - The Wansbeck Book Club. - - Richard Abbatt, esq., Stoke Newington, London. - - John Adamson, esq., one of the Secretaries of the Society of - Antiquaries, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and one of the Secretaries of the - Literary and Philosophical Soc., of the same town. - - R. Addison, esq., The Friary, Appleby. - - Joshua Alder, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - John Anderson, esq., Coxlodge, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Thomas Annandale, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Arthur Ashpitel, esq., F.S.A., 5, Crown-court, City, London. - - George Clayton Atkinson, esq., Denton, - Northumberland. - - Charles Austin, esq., Brandeston Hall, Suffolk. - - William Austin, esq., Egerton House, - Berkhampstead. - - J. C. Backhouse, esq., Blackwell, Darlington. - - Charles Baily, esq., F.S.A., one of the Honorary Secretaries of the - British Archæological Association, Gracechurch-street, London. - - J. Bailey, esq., Wood-street, Cheapside, London. - - The Rev. Thomas Baker, M.A., Rector of Whitburn, Durham. - - Thomas Baker, esq., Official Assignee of the Court of Bankruptcy, - Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - The Rev. E. A. Barker, Ludlow. - - Thomas Barnes, esq., M.D., Bunker’s-hill, - Carlisle. - - Thomas Bateman, esq., M.D., Yolgrave, Bakewell. - - Nathaniel Bates, esq., Milbourne Hall, - Northumberland. - - William Beamont, esq., Warrington. - - William Beamont, junior, esq., Trin. Coll. Camb. - - Matthew Bell, esq., M.P., Wolsington, - Northumberland. - - The Rev. Meyrick Beebee, Simonburn. - - George Bell, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - John Lee Bell, esq., Brampton. - - Robert Bell, esq., Nook, Irthington. - - Mr. Robert Bell, Dean-street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Thomas Bell, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - James Beman, esq., Cheltenham. - - William Bennett, esq., Newport, Salop. - - John Brodribb Bergne, esq., F.S.A., Treasurer of the Numismatic - Society, London. - - The Rev. John Besly, D.C.L., Vicar of Long Benton, Northumberland, and - Rector of Aston-sub-edge, Gloucestershire. - - The Rev. Frederick Betham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Charles William Bigge, esq., Linden, Northumberland. - - Matthew R. Bigge, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. _Quarto._ - - The Rev. John Frederic Bigge, Stamfordham, Northumberland. - - The Rev. H. J. Bigge, Rockingham, North Hants. - - John Cass Birkinshaw, esq., Whickham, Durham. - - William Bolam, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Whitburn. - - James Bogle, esq., Glasgow. _Quarto._ - - William Henry Brockett, esq., Gateshead. - - Stamp Brooksbank, esq., The Hermitage, Hexham. - - E. J. J. Browell, esq., East Boldon. - - Mrs. Bruce, senior, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. _Two copies._ - - Mrs. Bruce, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. _Quarto._ - - Miss Williamina Bennett Brace, - Newcastle-upon-Tyne. _Quarto._ - - George Barclay Bruce, esq., M. Inst. C.E., Alston. - - Mr. Gainsford Bruce, University, Glasgow. _Quarto._ - - Mr. Thomas Bruce, Leghorn. - - John Buchanan, esq., Western Bank of Scotland, Glasgow. - - James Buckman, esq., F.L.S., F.G.S., Cirencester. - - Thomas Burnet, esq., Summerhill-terrace. _Quarto._ - - Robert Busby, esq., Alnwick. - - Richard Cail, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Duncan Campbell, esq., Lesmahago, Lanarkshire. - - Ralph Carr, esq., Dunston-hill, Durham. _Quarto._ - - John Lowry Carrick, esq., Sandysike, Cumberland. - - William Chaffers, jun., esq., F.S.A., London. - - Edward Charlton, esq., M.D., one of the Secretaries of the Society of - Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - William Henry Charlton, esq., Hesleyside. - - Mr. Emerson Charnley, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - William Chartres, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - The Rev. Henry Christopherson, Bowdon, near Manchester. - - Miss Anne Clayton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - John Clayton, esq., Town-clerk of _Six copies, - Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Quarto._ - - Matthew Clayton, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. _Quarto._ - - Miss Clayton, Chesters, Northumberland. - - Nathaniel Clayton, esq., Chesters, Northumberland. _Quarto and octavo._ - - The Rev. Richard Clayton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - William Clayton Clayton, Esq., Lincoln’s Inn, - London. _Quarto._ - - Mr. Thomas L. Colbeck, Denton, Northumberland. - - The Rev. John Collinson, Rector of Boldon, Durham. - - Ralph Compton, esq., Church-court, Old Jewry, London. - - John Coppin, esq., North Shields. - - Capt. Gustavus Hamilton Coulson, R.N., Newbrough, Northumberland. - - John Blenkinsop Coulson, esq., Ochtertyre, Crieff. - - John Ross Coulthart, esq., Croft House, - Ashton-under-Lyne. - - Robert Cowen, esq., Carlisle. - - George Cowen, esq., Dalston, Carlisle. - - Joseph Crawhall, esq., Stagshaw. - - William Crighton, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - James Crosby, esq., Church Court, Old Jewry, - London. - - William Daggett, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Mr. John Daglish, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Mrs. Daglish, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - The Rev. William Nicholas Darnell, Rector of Stanhope, Durham. - - Matthew Dawes, esq., F.G.S., Westbrooke, Bolton. - - James Dearden, esq., F.S.A., The Manor, Rochdale. - - Robert Richardson Dees, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - William Dickson, esq., F.S.A., Clerk of the Peace for Northumberland, - Alnwick. - - Dixon Dixon, esq., Unthank, Northumberland. _Quarto._ - - J. P. Dodd, esq., LL.D., North Shields. - - Mrs. Dodd, Greenwood Manse, Wigton. - - The Rev. Isaac Dodgson, Incumbent of Lanercost. - - James Menteith Douglas, esq., Stonebyers, - Lanarkshire. _Quarto._ - - The Rev. G. J. Duncan, North Shields, Northumberland. - - Alfred John Dunkin, esq., Dartford, Kent. - - Samuel Edgar, esq., M.D., Berwick. - - Robert Elliot, esq., M.D., Carlisle. - - Miss Ellis, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Nathaniel Ellison, esq., Commissioner of the Court of Bankruptcy, - Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Mr. John Ellison, Manchester. - - Dennis Embleton, esq., M.D., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - John Errington, esq., High Warden. _Two copies._ - - The Very Rev. Monsignor Charles Eyre, Haggerston - Castle. - - Joseph Walter King Eyton, esq., F.S.A., Lond. and - Scot. _Quarto._ - - Frederick William Fairholt, esq., F.S.A., - Brompton, London. - - John Brunton Falconar, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Thomas Faulkner, esq., Chelsea. - - R. M. Fawcett, esq., Cambridge. - - The Rev. John Fell, M.A., Huntingdon. - - John Fenwick, esq., Campville, North Shields. - (_deceased_) - - John Fenwick, esq., one of the Secretaries of the - Literary and Philosophical Society, - Newcastle-upon-Tyne. _Quarto._ - - John Clerevaulx Fenwick, esq., - Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Miss Fergus, Hereford-street, Park-lane, London. - - William Ferguson, esq., Hill-street, Glasgow. - - Robert Ferguson, esq., Shadwell Lodge, Carlisle. - - Mr. John Forrest, Ellison-terrace, - Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - William Finley, esq., Durham. - - William John Forster, esq., Tynemouth. _Quarto._ - - Messrs. Finlay and Charlton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Hugh Watson Friend, esq., Harbut Lodge, Alston. - - J. H. Fryer, esq., Whitley House. - - John Gainsford, esq., Brighton. - - Mrs. Gainsford, Cheltenham. - - Joseph Garnett, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Mr. Garrett, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Benjamin Gilpin, esq. - - Robert Mortimer Glover, esq., M.D., F.R.S.E., - Newcastle. - - William Glover, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - T. H. Graham, esq., Edmond Castle. - - John Graham, esq., M.D., Brampton. - - Richard Grainger, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Thomas Gray, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Benjamin Green, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - John Grey, esq., Dilston, Northumberland. _Three copies._ - - Henry Guy, esq., Gateshead. - - M. E. Hadfield, esq., Sheffield. - - Charles Hall, esq., Ansty, Blandford, Dorset. - - Mr. William Hall, Milton Station, Cumberland. - - Mr. George Hardcastle, Sunderland. _Quarto._ - - Mr. Anthony Harrison, Hexham. - - Thomas Emerson Headlam, esq., M.P. - - Thomas Hedley, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Ions Hewison, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - S. Heywood, esq., Walshaw-hall, Bury, Lancashire. - - William Hill, esq., Edinburgh. - - John Hodgson Hinde, esq., Acton House, - Northumberland. _Quarto._ - - Robert Hodgson, esq., Salkeld Hall, near Penrith. - - Joseph Hope, esq., Carlisle. - - John Houseman, esq., M.D., M.R.C.S. L. and E., - Newcastle. - - Richard Hoyle, esq., Denton Hall, Northumberland. - - The Rev. J. Hudson, Incumbent of Hexham. - - The Rev. Abraham Hume, LL.D., Liverpool. - - Henry Hunt, esq., Birtley, Durham. - - Mr. W. S. Irving, B.A., Blencow Grammar School, Cumberland. - Robert Ingham, esq., Westoe, Durham. - - Henry Ingledew, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Thomas Ions, esq., Mus. Bac., Oxon., - Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Henry Jackson, esq., Sheffield. _Quarto._ - - J. M. Jessop, esq., King’s College, London. _Quarto._ - - George Johnson, esq., Willington, Northumberland. _Quarto._ - - John Johnson, esq., Killingworth, Northumberland. - - Robert Johnson, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. _Quarto._ - - - William Kell, esq., Town Clerk of Gateshead. _Quarto and octavo._ - - Miss Kemp, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Rev. John Kenrick, York. - - Miss Lamb, Kylesike Hill, Brampton. - - Richard Lambert, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Messrs. M. and M. W. Lambert, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Richard Holland Law, esq., Brunswick-square, - London. - - Robert Leadbitter, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. _Quarto._ - - John Leathead, esq., Gallowgate. - - Thomas Carr Lietch, esq., Town Clerk of North - Shields. - - Charles J. Lamb, esq., Ryton, Durham. - - William Hylton Longstaffe, esq., Gateshead. _Quarto._ - - M. A. Lower, esq., Lewes. - - Nicholas Lowes, esq., Allansgreen, Northumberland. - - David Mackinlay, esq., North Shields. _Quarto and octavo._ - - John Mackinlay, esq., Comptroller of Customs, - Whitehaven. - - Henry Mac Lauchlan, esq., Printing-house-square, - Blackfriars. - - J. M'Intosh, esq., Milton Abbey, near Blandford, Dorsetshire. - John M'Intosh, esq., Lansdowne Crescent, Glasgow. - - Mr. Luke Mackey, 67, King-street, South Shields. - - The Rev. W. H. Massie, Rector of St. - Mary-on-the-Hill, Chester. - - Joseph Mayer, esq., F.S.A., Liverpool. - - Michael Meredith, esq., Finsbury, London. - - Samuel Mitchell, esq., The Mount, near Sheffield. - - John Moore, esq., West Coker, Yeovil, Somerset. - - George Gill Mounsey, esq., Castletown, Carlisle. - - J. B. Musgrave, esq., London. - - The Rev. G. M. Nelson, Bodicot Grange, Banbury. - - Joseph Nelson, esq., Waterloo, Oldham. - - The Rev. Robert Nelson, Edinburgh. - - George Nelson, esq., Fernhill, Pendleton, - Manchester. - - Charles H. Newmarch, esq., Cirencester. - - The Rev. William Nichol, Jedburgh. _Quarto._ - - M. O'Connor, esq., 4, Berners street, Oxford-street, London. - - Messrs. Ogle and Son, Glasgow. - - Mr. George A. Oliver, Rye-hill, - Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Mrs. W. H. Ord, Riding, Gateshead. - - Robert Ormston, esq., Saville-row, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - The Rev. Lewis Paige, M.A., Newcastle. - - Mr. Joseph Parker, Brampton. - - George Paton, esq., A.R.A., London. - - Hugh Lee Pattinson, esq., Scots House, near - Boldon. - - William Pattinson, esq., Wigton. - - Mrs. Peart, North Shields. - - George Hare Philipson, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Robert Plummer, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - The Rev. James Pringle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Mr. Edward Pruddah, Hexham. - - Mr. William Pruddah, Hexham. - - Henry Glasford Potter, esq., F.L.S., F.G.S., etc., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Jonathan Priestman, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - William Ramsay, esq., M,A., F.S.S., F.P.S., Professor of Humanity in - the University of Glasgow; Corresponding Member of the - Archæological Society of Athens. - - Thomas Ramshaw, esq., Brampton. - - Robert Rawlinson, esq., Superintending Inspector - of the General Board of Health, Gwydyr House, - Whitehall. _Quarto._ - - The Rev. Wm. Rees, M.A., Carlisle. - - Mr. C. F. Reid, Grey-street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Mr. Christian Bruce Reid, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Mr. Edw. Richardson, Summerhill Grove, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Thos. Riddell, esq., Felton Park. _Quarto._ - - Mr. George Bouchier Richardson, - Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Jonathan Richardson, esq., Benwell House. - - Thomas Richardson, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - George Rippon, esq., North Shields. - - Thomas Robertson, esq., Alnwick. - - Mr. Thomas Robinson, Collingwood-street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Mr. Robert Robinson, Pilgrim street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - William Robson, esq., Paradise, - Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - - Mr. Robert Stephen Salmon, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Richard Burdon Sanderson, jun., esq., West Jesmond, Newcastle. - - Mr. William Sang, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - John Sang, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Master John Fenwick Schofield, 11, Ellison-place, Newcastle. - - Miss Agnes Percy Schofield, 11, Ellison-place, Newcastle. - - The Rev. T. H. Scott, Canon of Durham, Rector of Whitfield. - - Mr. Hudson Scott, Carlisle. - - J. S. Donaldson Selby, esq., Cheswick House, Northumberland. - - George Selby, esq., Belle Vue, Alnwick. - - Isaac Sheffield, esq., London. - - John Sheffield, esq., Carlisle. - - Thomas Sheffield, esq., Exeter. - - Mr. George Robertson Shield, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Charles Roach Smith, esq., F.S.A., Lond., and Scot., Honorary - Secretary of the Numismatic Society, Liverpool-street, City. - - William George Smith, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - The Rev. George Hunt Smyttan, Charlton Hall, - Alnwick. - - S. Reynolds Solly, esq., M.A., F.R.S., F.S.A., Serge Hill, Herts. - - Thomas Sopwith, esq., F.R.S., F.L.S., Allenheads, - Northd. _Quarto._ - - Philip Holmes Stanton, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Thomas Stephens, esq., North Shields. - - Robert Stephenson, esq., M.P., F.R.S., London. _Quarto._ - - James Cochrane Stevenson, esq., South Shields. - - George Waugh Stable, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. _Quarto._ - - John George Stoker, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Robert Stokoe, esq., Hexham. - - John Storey, esq., F.B.S.E., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. _Quarto._ - - Mr. John Storey, jun., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - R. W. Swan, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - George Tate, esq., F.G.S., Alnwick. - - John Taylor, esq., M.A., Edinburgh. - - Mr. John Thompson, Bloomfield-terrace, Gateshead. - - Thomas Thorp, esq., Alnwick, Northumberland. - - John Thurnam, esq., M.D., London. - - Mr. Charles Thurnam, Carlisle. - - Arthur Trollope, esq., Lincoln. - - Charles Tucker, esq., F.S.A., one of Honorary Secretaries of the - Archæological Institute, 26, Suffolk-street, London. - - W. B. D. D. Turnbull, esq., Sec. Society of Antiquaries, Scotland. - - Mr. Robert Turner, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Mr. John Ventress, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. _Quarto._ - - Mr. Robert Vint, Sunderland. - - John Waldie, esq., Hendersyde Park, Kelso. - - Ralph Walters, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Robert Walters, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - James Wardell, esq., Leeds. - - Charles Warne, esq., Milbourne St. Andrews, Blandford, Dorset. - - Mr. Christopher Watson, Marsh House, Easton, Cumberland. - - Joseph Watson, esq., Gresham-place, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Albert Way, esq., M.A., F.S.A., one of the Hon. Secretaries of the - Archæological Institute, 26, Suffolk-street, Pall-Mall-East. - - Captain James Dent Weatherley, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Thomas Weddell, esq., F.R.A.S., Addiscombe. - - Robert M. Weeks, esq., Ryton, Durham. - - Matthew Wheatley, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Mr. Richard Cuthbertson Whinfield, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Mr. G. H. Whinfield, Pilgrim-street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Alfred White, esq., Curator and Registrar of the British Archæological - Association, Tyndale-place, Islington. - - Robert White, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - The Rev. Robt. Hopper Williamson, Rector of - Hurworth. _Quarto._ - - John Williamson, esq., Glasgow. - - Mr. John Heron Wilson, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - Daniel Wilson, esq., Hon. Sec. Soc. of Antiquaries, Scotland. - - Mr. David Hamilton Wilson, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. _Quarto._ - - Charles Winn, esq., Nostell, Wakefield. _Quarto._ - - William Woodman, esq., Town-clerk, Morpeth. - - M. Wright, esq., Trinity House, London. - - Thomas Wright, esq., M.A., F.S.A., Corresponding Member of the National - Institute of France, etc. 24, Sydney-street, Brompton. - - Edgar Garston, K.S., Liverpool. - - Mrs. Grey, Dilston House, Northumberland. - - George Patten, esq., A.R.A., London. - - Mr. William Richardson, 71, Percy-street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - - CONTENTS - AND - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - _Page._ - - 1. FRONTISPIECE—PONS ÆLII restored. - - The site of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the PONS ÆLII of - the Romans, is here shewn. The ground on which it - stands, rising abruptly from the bed of the river - Tyne, to the height of about an hundred feet, is - cut into three very remarkable tongues of land by - four ravines, permeated by as many streams, which - all disembogue in the Tyne. The easternmost and - largest of these tongues of land is that formed by - the Ouseburn and Pandon-dean; the smallest by - Pandon-dean and the Lort-burn; and the - westernmost, wheron stands the castle, and - formerly the Roman station, by the Lort-burn and - Skinner-burn. Extensive suburbs probably occupied - all these eminences. - - 2. TITLE—Modern Buildings on the site of PONS ÆLII. - - The Norman keep of the Castle of - Newcastle-upon-Tyne; the Church of St. Nicholas; - and the court-house for the county of - Northumberland, built upon the site of the - south-east corner of the station of PONS ÆLII. - - 3. Plan of the course of the Roman Wall _facing_ 1 - - PART I.—AN EPITOME OF THE HISTORY OF ROMAN 1 - OCCUPATION IN BRITAIN. - - 4. Initial letter—altar from Corbridge 1 - - 5. Coin of Claudius—DE BRITANNIS 4 - - 6. Coin of Vespasian—ROMA RESURGES 6 - - 7. Coin of Hadrian—ADVENTUS BRITANNIÆ 11 - - 8. Coin of Hadrian—BRITANNIA 12 - - 9. Coin of Severus—VICTORIÆ BRITTANICÆ 19 - - 10. Coin of Carausius—reverse, a galley 22 - - 11. Coin of Carausius—reverse, a lion 22 - - 12. Coin of Magnentius—reverse, Christian monogram 24 - - 13. Base of column—Housesteads 24 - - - PART II.—A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE LINE OF THE 43 - WALL. - - 14. Initial Letter—Roman Nails 43 - - 15. Plan of Barrier between CILURNUM and MAGNA—Plan of _facing_ - CILURNUM[1] and contiguous Works—Plans of 45 - individual Stations - - 16. Section of Works, near eighteenth mile-stone 52 - - 17. Section of Works, west of Carraw 52 - - 18. Mural Slab—ALA II. ASTURUM 61 - - 19. Altar to Fortune—COH. I. BATAVORUM 62 - - 20. Altar to Jupiter—COH. I. TUNGRORUM 63 - - 21. Written-Rock, on the river Gelt _facing_ - 81 - - 22. Letters on the Written-Rock 82 - - 23. Form of Wall-Stone 83 - - 24. Junction of the west wall of Birdoswald with the 84 - Wall - - 25-27. Broaching of the Wall Stones 85 - - 28-31. Marks on the Stones 86 - - 32. Sections and Elevations of the Masonry of the Wall _facing_ - 89 - - 33. Herring-bone Masonry 91 - - 34. Written-Rock at Fallow-field-fell 102 - - PART III.-LOCAL DESCRIPTION OF THE WORKS. 103 - - 35. Initial Letters—Balusters from the Wall 103 - - 36. Altar to Jupiter—COH. IV. LINGONUM 109 - - 37. Plan of Wallsend, SEGEDUNUM; Section of Mountain _facing_ - and Works at Bradley 113 - - 38. Wallsend, looking East _facing_ - 115 - - 39. Plan of PONS ÆLII _facing_ - 126 - - 40. Mercury, PONS ÆLII 129 - - 41-44. Coins of Hadrian found in the Bridge, PONS ÆLII 131 - - 45. Coin of Severus found in Bridge, PONS ÆLII 131 - - 46. Slab to the Campestral Mothers 140 - - 47. Altar to Mars 142 - - 48. Altar to Mars 143 - - 49. Fragment of the Wall, near Denton 145 - - 50. The Works at Heddon-on-the Wall _facing_ - 149 - - 51. The Works near Carr-hill _facing_ - 156 - - 52. Mural Slab—LEG. II. AUG. 163 - - 53. Slab—FULGUR DIVOM 164 - - 54. The Wall at Brunton _facing_ - 169 - - 55. Remains of Roman Bridge over North Tyne _facing_ - 170 - - 56. Miscellaneous Antiquities, Chesters, CILURNUM _facing_ - 170 - - 57. Vault at CILURNUM 173 - - 58. Hypocausts at CILURNUM 174 - - 59. Ground Plan of Hypocausts, CILURNUM 175 - - 60. River God, CILURNUM 178 - - 61. Hypocaust, CILURNUM _facing_ - 178 - - 62. Funereal Slab, CILURNUM 184 - - 63. Funereal Slab of Horse Soldier, CILURNUM 185 - - 64. Slab—ALA II. ASTURUM 186 - - 65. Statue of Cybele, CILURNUM 189 - - 66. Group of Carved Stones, CILURNUM 190 - - 67. Miscellaneous Antiquities, CILURNUM _facing_ - 191 - - 68. Samian Ware _facing_ - 192 - - 69. Roman Spears, etc. _facing_ - 192 - - 70. The Works, Tepper-moor _facing_ - 197 - - 71. Slab—COH. I. BATAVORUM 198 - - 72. Approach to Sewingshields _facing_ - 200 - - 73. Busy Gap 208 - - 74. Junction of West Wall of Housesteads, BORCOVICUS, 216 - with the Wall - - 75. Ground Plan of Gateway, Housesteads 216 - - 76. Outside View of the West Portal, Housesteads 217 - - 77. Inside View of West Portal, Housesteads 217 - - 78. Housesteads, BORCOVICUS, from the East _facing_ - 220 - - 79. Broken Columns, BORCOVICUS _facing_ - 225 - - 80. Sculptured Figures, BORCOVICUS _facing_ - 225 - - 81. Sculptured Figures, etc. _facing_ - 225 - - 82. Figure of Victory 226 - - 83. Sepulchral Slab to a young Physician 227 - - 84. Slab to Hadrian, Bradley 232 - - 85. Slab to Hadrian, Milking-gap 234 - - 86. Altar to Fortune, Chesterholm 237 - - 87. Hypocaust Pillar 238 - - 88. Milestone at Chesterholm, VINDOLANA _facing_ - 239 - - 89. Altar to Genius of the Pretorium 240 - - 90. Symbol, LEG. XX. 241 - - 91. Part of Slab to Hadrian 241 - - 92. Coping-stone, Roman ‘broaching’ 242 - - 93. The Crags, West of Craglough _facing_ - 243 - - 94. The Wall at Steel-rig _facing_ - 244 - - 95. Mural Stone, LEG. XX. V.V. 247 - - 96. Mile-castle at Cawfield _facing_ - 248 - - 97. Part of Slab to Hadrian 251 - - 98. Tablet to Hadrian 256 - - 99. Plan of ancient Water-course, Great Chesters, _facing_ - ÆSICA 257 - - 100. Nine-nicks of Thirlwall 265 - - 101. Lamp, Fibula, Shears, and Compasses _facing_ - 268 - - 102. Stone Effigy 272 - - 103. Section of Works near Wallend 273 - - 104. Slab to Hadrian, by LEG. XX. V. V. 274 - - 105. Altar to Jupiter, by COH. I. AEL. DAC. 278 - - 106. West Gateway, Birdoswald, AMBOGLANNA 280 - - 107. Mural Stone, LEG. VI. V. F. 281 - - 108. Birdoswald, western Rampart _facing_ - 282 - - 109. Section of Works, Wallbours 283 - - 110. Coin of Severus, JULIA 289 - - 111. Coin of Caracalla 289 - - 112. Coin of Geta 289 - - 113. Altar to Jupiter, COH. II. TUNGR. 290 - - 114. View of Pigeon Crag 292 - - 115. Mural Stone, LEG. II. AUG. 294 - - 116. Altar—_ob res trans vallum prospere gestas_ 302 - - 117. Bowness _facing_ - 313 - - 118. Monument to Edward I. 314 - - PART IV.—THE SUPPORTING STATIONS OF THE WALL. 315 - - 119. Initial A, and Mural Slab, Risingham 315 - - 120. Tablet, GYRUM CUMBAS 319 - - 121. Tablet found at Jarrow 323 - - 122. Corbridge Lanx 335 - - 123. Altar to Astarte 338 - - 124. Crypt of Hexham Abbey Church 339 - - 125. Slab to Severus at Hexham 340 - - 126. Genius of the Wall 353 - - 127. Altar to Jupiter for the safety of Severus 360 - - 128. Altar to Jupiter, Maryport 363 - - 129. Slab to Hadrian, Moresby 367 - - 130. Symbol of LEG. XX. 368 - - PART V.—THE QUESTION—WHO BUILT THE 369 - WALL?—DISCUSSED. - - 131. Initial O, bronze ornament found at BORCOVICUS 369 - - 132. Slab, LEG. II. and LEG. XX. 392 - - PART VI.—MISCELLANEOUS ANTIQUITIES FOUND ON THE 393 - LINE OF THE WALL. - - 133. Initial M, bronze ornament, an Eagle, found at 393 - MAGNA - - 134. Altar, DEO VETRI 395 - - 135. Large Altar to Jupiter 397 - - 136. Altar, GENIO LOCI, etc. 399 - - 137. Altar, DEO COCIDIO 401 - - 138. Altar, DEO BELATUCADRO 401 - - 139. Altar to Minerva 402 - - 140. Altar to Fortune 403 - - 141. Altar to Mithras 404 - - 142. Altar to the Sun 405 - - 143. Attendant of Mithras 406 - - 144. Altar to Mithras 407 - - 145. Zodiacal Tablet, BORCOVICUS 409 - - 146. Pine-apple Ornament, etc., CILURNUM 410 - - 147. Presumed Mithraic Sculpture, CILURNUM 410 - - 148. Altar to Apollo, Cawfield mile-castle 411 - - 149. Inscription to the Syrian Goddess, MAGNA 412 - - 150. Altar to Silvanus, AMBOGLANNA 413 - - 151. Altar to the Nymphs, HABITANCUM 414 - - 152. Altar to the Gods of the Mountains, VINDOBALA 415 - - 153. Altar to Epona, MAGNA 415 - - 154. Altar, sculptured with a Toad, CILURNUM 416 - - 155. Altar to Viteres, Thirlwall-castle 416 - - 156. Altar to Viteres, CONDERCUM 417 - - 157. Altar to the Dea Hamia, Thirlwall-castle 417 - - 158. Altar to the Three Lamiæ, CONDERCUM 418 - - 159-60. Egyptian Idols 418 - - 161. Altar to the Transmarine Mothers, HABITANCUM 419 - - 162. Sculpture to the Deæ Matres, at Netherby 420 - - 163. Sculpture to the Deæ Matres, at Netherby 420 - - 164. Sculpture to the Deæ Matres, at Netherby 420 - - 165. Sculpture to the Deæ Matres, at Nether-hall 421 - - 166. Sepulchral Altar to the Manes of Fabia Honorata, 426 - CILURNUM - - 167. Sepulchral Slab to the Manes of Aurelia Faia, 428 - MAGNA - - 168. Sepulchral Slab to the Memory of Cornelius Victor, 429 - VINDOLANA - - 169. Centurial Stone, COH. V. CÆCILII PROCULI, CILURNUM 430 - - 170. Centurial Stone, CILURNUM 430 - - 171. Vessel, in which the Thorngrafton Coins were found 434 - - 172-224. The Thorngrafton Coins, imperial, consular, and 435-441 - others - - 225. Samian Ware, from Wallsend and Lanchester _facing_ - 445 - - 226. Bronze Vessels _facing_ 445 - - 227. Iron Pot, Bronze Vessel, Tongs, etc. _facing_ - 445 - - 228. Soles of Sandals, etc. _facing_ 445 - - 229. Tail piece—ROMÆ ÆTERNÆ FORTUNÆ REDUCI 450 - ------ - -Footnote 1: - - The Plan represents the position of each stone now remaining in the - river. It is the result of a series of observations made during the - summer of 1850, by Mr. Robert Elliot, of Wall. Most of the stones have - luis-holes. - ------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - _PLATE I_ - -[Illustration: - - _A. Reid, Sc 117, Pilgrim S^t. Newcastle._ - ~Plan~ - _OF THE COURSE OF THE_ - ROMAN WALL - _FROM THE_ - TYNE TO THE SOLWAY. -] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - ~The Roman Barrier of the - Lower Isthmus.~ - - PART I. - AN EPITOME OF THE HISTORY OF ROMAN OCCUPATION IN BRITAIN. - -IN no country of the world are there such evident traces of the march of -Roman legions as in Britain. In the northern parts of England -especially, the footprints of the Empire are very distinct. -Northumberland, as Wallis long ago remarked, is Roman ground. Every -other monument in Britain yields in importance to THE WALL. As this -work, in grandeur of conception, is worthy of the Mistress of Nations, -so, in durability of structure, is it the becoming offspring of the -Eternal City. - -A dead wall may seem to most a very unpromising subject. The stones are -indeed inanimate, but he who has a head to think, and a heart to feel, -will find them suggestive of bright ideas and melting sympathies; though -dead themselves, they will be the cause of mental life in him. A large -part of the knowledge which we possess of the early history of our -country has been dug out of the ground. The spade and the plough of the -rustic have often exposed documents, which have revealed the movements, -as well as the modes of thought and feeling, of those who have slept in -the dust for centuries. The casual wanderer by the relics of the Vallum -and the Wall, may not succeed in culling facts that are new to the -Historian, but he will probably get those vivid glances into Roman -character, and acquire that personal interest in Roman story, which will -give to the prosaic records of chroniclers, a reality, and a charm, -which they did not before possess. - -As a natural introduction to the subject, and as a means of preparing -for some discussions which are to follow, it may be well briefly to -trace the progress of the Roman arms in Britain, from the arrival of -Cæsar on our shores, to the eventual abandonment of the island. - -[Sidenote: EARLIEST NOTICES OF THE BRITISH ISLES.] - -It is curious to observe, that the curtain of British history is raised -by some of the earliest and greatest of profane writers. Herodotus, who -wrote about the year B.C. 450, mentions the "Cassiterides, from which -tin is procured"; Aristotle, about the year B.C. 340, expressly names -the islands of Albion and Ierne; and Polybius, about the year B.C. 160, -makes a distinct reference to the "Britannic Isles." To Julius Cæsar, -however, we are indebted, for the first detailed account of Britain and -its inhabitants. On 26 Aug. B.C. 55, that renowned conqueror landed in -Britain, with a force of about ten thousand men. Both on that occasion, -and on a second attempt, which, with a larger force, he made the year -following, he met with a warm reception from the savage islanders. Tides -and tempests seconded the efforts of the natives, and great Julius bade -Britain a final farewell, without erecting any fortress in it, or -leaving any troops to secure his conquest. Tacitus says, that he did not -conquer Britain, but only shewed it to the Romans. Horace, calling upon -Augustus to achieve the conquest, denominates it 'untouched'— - - Intactus aut Britannus ut descenderet - Sacra catenatus via. - -and Propertius, in the same spirit, describes it as ‘unconquered,’ -_invictus_. There is, therefore, little exaggeration in the lines of -Shakspere— - - ... A kind of conquest - Cæsar made here; but made not here his brag - Of, came, and saw, and overcame: with shame - (The first that ever touched him) he was carried - From off our coast, twice beaten; and his shipping - (Poor ignorant baubles!) on our terrible seas, - Like egg-shells moved upon their surges, cracked - As easily 'gainst our rocks. - -[Sidenote: PLAUTIUS AND CLAUDIUS VISIT BRITAIN.] - -During the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and Caligula, Britain was -unmolested by foreign invasion. - -At the invitation of a discontented Briton, Claudius resolved to attempt -the reduction of the island. In the year of our Lord 43, he sent Aulus -Plautius, with four legions and their auxiliaries, amounting in all to -about fifty thousand men, into Britain. It was with difficulty that the -troops could be induced to engage in the undertaking. They were -unwilling, as Dion Cassius informs us, "to engage in a war, as it were, -_out of the world_." The fears of the soldiery were not without -foundation. The Britons, though their inferiors in discipline and arms, -were not behind them in valour and spirit, whilst, in a knowledge of the -country they had an important advantage. - -[Illustration] - -The year following, Claudius personally engaged in the war. He advanced -into the country, as far as Camelodunum (Colchester), and after some -sanguinary contests, received the submission of the natives in that -vicinity. The estimation in which Britain, even at this time, was held, -was such, that the Senate, on learning what he had achieved, surnamed -him BRITANNICUS, granted him a triumph, and voted him annual games. The -event was of sufficient importance, to be celebrated on the current coin -of the day. Several gold and silver pieces have come down to our times, -bearing on the reverse, a triumphal arch, on which is inscribed the -words DE BRITANN_is_—Over the Britons. This is the first occasion on -which allusion is made to Britain, on the coinage of Rome. - -[Sidenote: ITS PARTIAL SUBJUGATION. BOADICEA.] - -On the return of Claudius, the supreme command again devolved upon his -lieutenant, Aulus Plautius, who succeeded in bringing into complete -subjection, the tribes occupying the southern portion of the island. In -this expedition, Vespasian, afterwards emperor, acted as second in -command to Plautius. Titus, the son of Vespasian, accompanied his -father. Thus was it, in Britain, that the destroyers of Jerusalem were -unconsciously trained for inflicting upon God’s chosen, but sinful -people, the chastisements of His displeasure. - -Ostorius Scapula, A.D. 50, succeeded to the command in Britain. The -brave Silures, headed by Caractacus, rendered his progress slow and -bloody. Ostorius at length sank under the harassing nature of his -duties. - -In the reign of Nero, Roman affairs in Britain received a severe check. -The Iceni, led on by their enraged queen Boadicea, threw off the yoke -and attacked the principal stations of the enemy. London, which was then -an important commercial city, fell, upon the first assault, and Verulam -(near the modern St. Albans) shared the same fate. The British -warrior-queen sullied the splendour of her exploits by her cruelty; -seventy thousand Romans, or adherents of the government of Rome, fell -under her hands. Suetonius, the Roman governor, collecting his forces, -gave battle to the queen and routed her. A frightful carnage ensued; of -the amazing number of two hundred and thirty thousand men of which the -British forces are said to have consisted, not less than eighty thousand -fell. - -During the remainder of the reign of Nero, and the short rule of his -three successors, Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, no advance was made in the -conquest of Britain. In the strifes of the rival emperors, it was -however destined to bear its part. Eight thousand soldiers were drafted -from it to fight under the banners of Vitellius. Thus early, as Dr. -Giles well observes, was this island, whose position in the bosom of the -ocean indicates a peaceful policy, induced to bear the brunt of -continental quarrels. - -[Illustration] - -[Sidenote: VESPASIAN ASSUMES THE PURPLE.] - -When Vespasian assumed the purple, a new era dawned upon the empire. -This fact is well indicated upon a coin struck at this period. In the -engraving, taken from a specimen found on the Wall, the emperor is -observed raising a prostrate female from the ground (doubtless Rome), -whilst Mars looks approvingly on; the inspiring motto “ROMA -RESURGES”—_Rome thou shalt rise again_,—encircles the group.[2] -Vespasian appointed Petilius Cerealis his proprætor in Britain, who in -five years succeeded in adding the Brigantes, a powerful tribe, to the -subjects of the empire. Julius Frontinus was his successor, who, in the -three years of his government, nearly subdued the warlike nation of the -Silures. - -[Sidenote: HIS PROPRÆTORS SUBJUGATE THE ISLAND.] - -One hundred and thirty-three years had now elapsed since the first -descent of Cæsar, and thirty-five years, since Claudius had claimed the -honour of conquering Britain, and yet but a fraction of the island was -in subjection to Roman power. Nothing, as Dr. Giles well remarks, can -more strongly shew the stubborn spirit of the natives, than their -protracted resistance to the invaders. Battle after battle had been -lost; but many of these tribes were still unsubdued, and several even -undiscovered. - -[Sidenote: THE OPERATIONS OF AGRICOLA.] - -But the reputation of all preceding governors, was obscured by a greater -man than they. Cnæus Julius Agricola had served in Britain under some -preceding commanders; so that when he landed as governor in the year 78 -he was prepared to act with all the promptitude which a knowledge of the -country and the people could give him. During the eight years of his -rule, he subjugated the remaining tribes of southern Britain, carried -his arms into the northern section of the island, and drove, in -successive campaigns, the natives before him, until at length, in the -battle of the Grampians, he paralyzed their strength for a while. He -circumnavigated the whole island, and planted the Roman standard upon -the Orkneys. He built walls and fortresses in all places where they were -required, and softened the fierceness of the barbarians, by fostering a -taste for letters and the luxuries of the Eternal City. But it is -necessary to trace the movements of Agricola, with some of the detail -with which they are given in the pages of Tacitus. - - The summer of A.D. 78 was far spent when he arrived; yet before going - into winter quarters, he attacked and subdued the Ordovices, and - brought the sacred isle of Anglesea a second time to obedience. The - respite from arms which the following winter afforded, was employed by - the general in the most useful and necessary purposes. Being well - acquainted with the temper of the inhabitants of the province, and - having learnt from the conduct and experience of others, that what is - gained by force avails little, where oppressions and grievances - follow, he determined to put an immediate end to all the causes of the - war. He began by checking and regulating the affairs of his own - household, correcting the abuses that had crept into the army, - promoting impartially those who deserved it; while at the same time he - redressed the grievances of the inhabitants, made an equitable - distribution of the public burthens, and abolished all hurtful - monopolies. By the prosecution of measures so salutary as these, six - months had scarcely elapsed, when affairs in Britain were entirely - changed, and assumed a bright and settled aspect. - -His second campaign, that of the year 79, was probably occupied in -subduing the ancient tenants of the LOWER ISTHMUS of the island. - - On the approach of summer, he re-assembled his army, and in advancing, - failed not to excite a proper spirit of emulation among the troops, - praising those who best observed their several duties, and checking - such as were remiss. He himself chose the ground for encamping; the - marshes, firths, and difficult places, he always examined first; and, - allowing the enemy no respite, he continually harassed them with - sudden incursions and ravages. Having alarmed and terrified them - sufficiently, he next tried the effect of good usage and the - allurements of peace. By this wise and prudent conduct, several - communities, which till then had maintained their independence, - submitted to the Romans, gave hostages, and suffered garrisons and - fortresses to be placed among them. These strongholds he established - with such judgment, as effectually secured all those parts of Britain - which had then been visited by the Romans. - - The following winter was employed in civilizing and polishing the rude - inhabitants, who, living wild and dispersed over the country, were - thence ever restless and easily instigated to war. At first, they were - prevailed upon to associate more together, and for this end were - instructed in the art of building houses, temples, and places of - public resort. The sons of their chiefs were taught the liberal - sciences; hence it was no unusual thing to see those who lately - scorned the Roman language, become admirers of its eloquence. By - degrees, the customs, manners, and dress of their conquerors, became - familiar to them, they acquired a taste for a life of inactivity and - ease, and at length were caught by the charms and incitements of - luxury and vice. By such as judged of things from their external - appearance only, all this was styled politeness and humanity, while, - in reality, Agricola was effectually enslaving them, and imperceptibly - rivetting their chains. - - During the third year of his command, he pushed his conquests - northwards, and carried his devastations as far as the mouth of the - Tay (_Taus_.) Here, the enemy were struck with so much terror, that - they durst not attack the Roman army, though it was greatly distressed - by the severities of the climate. Agricola, in order to secure - possession of these advanced conquests, again erected forts in the - most commodious situations; and so judiciously was this done, that - none of them were ever taken by force, abandoned through fear, or - given up on terms of capitulation. Each fort defended itself, and, - against any long siege, was constantly supplied with provisions for a - year. Thus the several garrisons not only passed the winter in perfect - security, but were likewise enabled, from these strongholds, to make - frequent excursions against the enemy, who could not, as heretofore, - repair the losses they had sustained in summer, by the successes - usually attending their winter expeditions. - -The forts here referred to, are probably those, which were drawn along -the UPPER ISTHMUS of the island, extending from the Firth of Forth to -the Firth of Clyde, and which were afterwards connected by the wall of -Antoninus Pius. - -This is rendered apparent from what follows:— - - Agricola employed the fourth summer (A.D. 81) in settling and further - securing the country he had subdued. Here, had it been compatible with - the bravery of the army, or if the glory of the Roman name would have - permitted it, there had been found a boundary to their conquests in - Britain; for the tide, entering from opposite seas, and flowing far - into the country by the rivers Glotta and Bodotria, their heads are - only separated by a narrow neck of land, which was occupied by - garrisons. Of all on this side, the Romans were already masters, the - enemy being driven, as it were, into another island. - -[Sidenote: AGRICOLA IS RECALLED.] - -It is not necessary to pursue the operations of Agricola further. In the -seventh summer he defeated Galgacus on the flanks of the Grampians. The -Roman power was now at its height. Agricola, probably from motives of -jealousy, was recalled by the emperor Domitian, and as his successors -were not men of the same vigour as himself, the barbarians were in a -condition, at least to dispute the pretensions of their conquerors. - -[Sidenote: HADRIAN ARRIVES IN BRITAIN.] - -In the year 120—thirty-five years after the recall of Agricola—affairs -in Britain had fallen into such confusion, as to require the presence of -the emperor HADRIAN, who had assumed the imperial purple three years -before. He did not attempt to regain the conquests which Agricola had -made in Scotland, but prudently sought to make the line of forts, which -that general had constructed in his second campaign, the limit of his -empire. With this object in view, he drew a wall across the island—the -BARRIER of the LOWER ISTHMUS. The testimony of Spartian, the historian -of his reign, though brief, is decisive. Hadrian, says he, visited -Britain, when he corrected many things, and first drew a wall (_murus_) -eighty miles in length, to divide the barbarians from the Romans. - -The arrival in Britain, of Hadrian, one of Rome’s greatest generals, was -thought an event of sufficient importance to be commemorated in the -currency of the empire. The large brass coin, here represented, was -struck by decree of the Senate in the year 121.[3] - -[Illustration] - -[Sidenote: THE BARRIER OF THE UPPER ISTHMUS.] - -The plans and the prowess of the emperor were thought to have -effectually secured those portions of the island, which it was prudent -to retain in the grasp of Rome. This circumstance was announced to the -world in another coin, bearing, on the reverse, a name destined to sound -through regions Hadrian never knew—BRITANNIA—and representing a female -figure seated on a rock, having a spear in her left hand, and a shield -by her side.[4] - -[Illustration] - -About twenty years after Hadrian’s expedition, Lollius Urbicus took the -command in Britain. He was not satisfied with the limits which Hadrian -had prudently assigned to the empire in Britain. Forcing back the -Britons, he raised an earthen rampart across the isthmus between the -Forth and the Clyde. Graham’s Dike, in Scotland, is the wall which was -built by Lollius Urbicus. This is proved by the numerous sculptures -which have, at different times, been discovered among its ruins. - -[Sidenote: DECLINE OF THE ROMAN POWER.] - -The remaining history of the Romans, on the northern frontier of -England, is fraught with disaster. The tide of war sometimes broke upon -the northern, and sometimes on the southern boundary; but its roar and -its devastation ceased not, until the Roman intruder had been driven -altogether from the island—or, rather, until the successive strifes of -Romans and Picts, Normans and Saxons, Border reavers and Scottish -troopers, had been hushed, under the vigorous rule of the last of the -Tudors. What Hadrian could not do, for the inhabitants of the North of -England; what Severus failed to accomplish; what the great Alfred—the -Norman oppressor—the Plantagenets—the despotic Henry VIII., attempted in -vain, was accomplished under what John Knox calls ‘the monstrous -regiment of a woman.’ Then, a ‘bright occidental star’ beamed upon these -Northern Parts, and Law began to assert its supremacy. - -Marcus Antoninus, who succeeded Antoninus Pius, was far from enjoying -the tranquillity which the northern rampart was expected to give. He was -obliged to carry on very troublesome wars with the Britons, and with -much difficulty kept them in check. - -[Sidenote: THE BRITONS PREVAIL.] - -In the reign of Commodus, who became sole emperor A.D. 180, the Britons, -as we are told by Xiphiline, who abridged the history of Dion, broke -through the wall which separated them from the Roman province, killed -the general, ruined the army, and, in their ravages, carried everything -before them. The wall referred to, was probably that of the Lower -Isthmus; for, as Horsley conjectures, "the Caledonians had broken -through the wall of Antoninus Pius not long after it was erected," and -certain it is, "that we meet with no inscriptions on the wall of -Antoninus but what belong to his reign." - -The circumstance, that the loathsome and ferocious Commodus assumed the -title of BRITANNICUS, is no proof that success attended his arms. He was -the first person who had ascribed to him the conjoined titles of _Pius_ -and _Felix_; but, as Lampridius satirically observes, "When he had -appointed the adulterer of his mother a consul, he was called _Pius_; -when he had slain Perennis, he was called _Felix_; and when the Britons -were ready to choose another emperor, he was flattered with the title of -BRITANNICUS." - -During the time that Septimius Severus, Pescennius Niger, and Clodius -Albinus contended with each other for the empire, the northern Britons -were held feebly in check. At length, A.D. 197, Severus prevailed, and -became sole master of the world. Virius Lupus became his proprætor in -Britain. Unable to resist the attacks of the Caledonians in the field, -and having in vain attempted to purchase their submission with money, -his lieutenant sent hasty letters to the emperor, entreating succour, -and, if possible, his presence. - -It is stated by Richard of Cirencester, that about this time the PICTS, -a tribe to which reference will presently be made, first landed in -Scotland. The extraordinary successes, as Dr. Giles remarks, which the -Caledonians gained, prior to the arrival of Severus, confirm the -supposition that they received considerable reinforcements from abroad. - -[Sidenote: THE ARRIVAL OF SEVERUS.] - -SEVERUS came at the call of his lieutenant. Both Herodian and Xiphiline -give us an account of the proceedings of this renowned emperor in -Britain, and as their narratives are not only interesting in themselves, -but important in the investigation of some subsequent questions, it will -be well to avail ourselves of their statements. Herodian says— - - Whilst Severus was under a mighty concern about the conduct of his two - sons, he received letters from the governor of Britain, informing him - of the insurrections and inroads of the barbarians, and the havoc they - made far and near, and begging, either a greater force, or that the - emperor would come over himself. Severus, for several reasons, was - pleased with the news, and, notwithstanding his age and infirmity, - resolved to go over in person. And though, by reason of the gout upon - him, he was forced to be carried in a litter, yet, he entered upon the - journey with a juvenile briskness and courage, and performed it with - great expedition. He quickly crossed the sea, and as soon as he came - upon the island, having gathered a very great force together, he made - ready for war. The Britons, being alarmed and terrified, would fain - have excused themselves, and treated about peace. But Severus, - unwilling to lose his labour, or to miss the glory of being called - BRITANNICUS, dismissed their ambassadors, and carried on his military - preparations. Particularly, he took care to make bridges or causeys - through the marshes, that the soldiers might travel and fight upon dry - ground. - -Herodian next gives a short description of the inhabitants, and says -that— - - Many parts of Britain were become fenny, by the frequent inundations - of the sea. The natives swim through those fens, or run through them - up to the waist in mud; for, the greatest part of their bodies being - naked, they regard not the dirt. They wear iron about their necks and - bellies, esteeming this as fine and rich an ornament as others do - gold. They make upon their bodies the figures of divers animals, and - use no clothing, that they may be exposed to view. They are a very - bloody and warlike people, using a little shield or target, and a - spear. Their sword hangs on their naked bodies. They know not the use - of a breastplate and helmet, and imagine these would be an impediment - to them in passing the fens. The air is always thick with the vapours - that ascend from these marshes. - -[Sidenote: THE OPERATIONS OF SEVERUS.] - -The historian proceeds with his story— - - Severus provided everything which might be of service to his own - people, and distress the enemy. And when all things were in sufficient - readiness, he left Geta, in that part of the island which was subject - to the Romans, to administer justice and manage civil affairs, - appointing some elderly friends to be his assistants. His son - Antoninus, better known by the name of Caracalla, he took with him - when he marched against the barbarians. The Roman army passing the - rivers and trenches, which were the boundaries of the empire, - skirmished often in a tumultuous manner with the barbarians, and as - often put them to flight. But it was easy for them to escape and to - hide themselves in the woods and fens, being well acquainted with the - country, whereas the Romans laboured under the opposite disadvantages. - By these means the war was prolonged. Severus, being old and infirm, - and confined at home, would have committed the management of the war - to his son Antoninus. But he, neglecting the barbarians, endeavoured - to gain the Roman army, with a view to the empire. During his father’s - lingering sickness he endeavoured to prevail with the physicians and - servants to despatch him. At last Severus died, worn out with sorrow, - more than disease. - -It will be observed, that in this detailed account of the proceedings of -Severus in Britain, not the least allusion is made to the construction -of a wall. - -[Sidenote: THE NARRATIVE OF DION CASSIUS.] - -Dion Cassius was contemporary with Severus. That portion of his work -which narrates the transactions of this emperor in Britain, is -unfortunately lost, but an epitome of it, prepared by Xiphiline, -remains. From this abridgment the following extracts are taken. - - Severus, observing that his two sons were abandoned to their - pleasures, and that the soldiers neglected their exercises, undertook - an expedition against Britain, though he was persuaded, from his - horoscope, that he never should return from thence to Italy. Nor did - he ever return from this expedition, but died three years after he - first set out from Rome. He got a prodigious mass of riches in - Britain. The two most considerable bodies of the people in that - island, and to which almost all the rest relate, are the Caledonians - and the Mæatæ. The latter dwell near the barrier wall which separates - the island into two parts; the others live beyond them. Both of them - inhabit barren uncultivated mountains, or desert marshy plains, where - they have neither walls nor towns, nor manured lands, but feed upon - the milk of their flocks, upon what they get by hunting, and some wild - fruits. - -The mode in which he speaks of the Wall, in this passage, implies its -existence at the time of the arrival of Severus. The historian, after -giving an interesting account of the manners of the inhabitants, -proceeds:— - - We are masters of little less than half the island. Severus, having - undertaken to reduce the whole under his subjection, entered into - Caledonia, where he had endless fatigues to sustain, forests to cut - down, mountains to level, morasses to dry up, and bridges to build. He - had no battle to fight, and saw no enemies in a body; instead of - appearing, they exposed their flocks of sheep and oxen, with design to - surprise our soldiers that should straggle from the army for the sake - of plunder. The waters, too, extremely incommoded our troops, insomuch - that some of our soldiers being able to march no farther, begged of - their companions to kill them, that they might not fall alive into - their enemies’ hands. In a word, Severus lost fifty thousand men - there, and yet quitted not his enterprise. He went to the extremity of - the island, where he observed very exactly the course of the sun in - those parts, and the length of the days and nights both in summer and - winter. He was carried all over the island in a close chair, by reason - of his infirmities, and made a treaty with the inhabitants, by which - he obliged them to relinquish part of their country to him. - -The peace thus purchased, by the cession of the northern portion of the -island, was badly observed. The inhabitants having taken up arms, -contrary to the faith of treaties, Severus commanded his soldiers to -enter their country, and to put all they met to the sword. He is said to -have signified his savage intention, by quoting, from Homer, the lines -which Cowper thus translates: - - .... Die the race! - May none escape us! neither he who flies, - Nor even the infant in the mother’s womb - Unconscious. - -[Sidenote: THE DEATH OF SEVERUS.] - -But in the midst of his enterprise he was taken off by a distemper, to -which, it was said, Antoninus, by his undutiful conduct, had very much -contributed. He died at York, Feb. 4th, A.D. 211. - -[Sidenote: THE RECORDS OF HIS VICTORIES.] - -[Illustration] - -The coins of Severus record his victories. One of them is represented -beneath. On the obverse is the laureated head of the ferocious -African—on the reverse are two winged victories, attaching a buckler to -a palm tree, at the foot of which two captives mournfully sit. The -legend, VICTORIAE BRITTANNICAE, declares who these captives are. Times -are changed! wide as ocean rolls, the burden of Britannia’s song -exultingly declares, 'Britons never will be slaves,'—and, better still, -Britain has long been actively engaged in rescuing from chains the sable -sons of that continent in which Severus first drew breath. - -Another curious record of the wars of Severus is found in the poems of -Ossian. The CARACUL, son of the ‘King of the World,’ in the dramatic -piece ‘Comala,’ is supposed to be Caracalla. - - DERSAGRENA. These are the signs of Fingal’s death. The King of shields - is fallen! and CARACUL prevails. - - COMALA. Ruin overtake thee, THOU KING OF THE WORLD! Few be thy steps - to the grave; and let one virgin mourn thee! - - MELICOMA. What sound is that on Ardven? Who comes like the strength of - rivers, when their crowded waters glitter to the moon? - - COMALA. Who is it but the foe of Comala, THE SON OF THE KING OF THE - WORLD! Ghost of Fingal! do thou from thy cloud, direct Comala’s - bow.... - - FINGAL. Raise ye bards, the song! CARACUL has fled from our arms along - the fields of his pride. - -After the death of Severus, a long period elapsed, in which the Roman -historians observe a profound silence respecting the affairs of Britain. -Local records and native historians supply but feebly the deficiency. -During the reign of Gallienus, which extended from A.D. 260 to 268, a -large number of usurpers arose, who are commonly denominated the Thirty -Tyrants. Of these Lollianus, Victorianus, Postumus, the two Tetrici, and -Marius, are supposed to have assumed the sovereignty in this island; for -their coins have been dug up more abundantly here than elsewhere. - -[Sidenote: BRITAIN REVOLTS.] - -Diocletian commenced his reign in the year 284. Though he was a man of -energy and ability, the care of a crumbling empire was too much for him, -and he divided his honours and anxieties with Maximian. Increasing -perplexities a few years afterwards induced the emperors to appoint two -Cæsars. Diocletian chose Galerius Maximianus, and Maximian nominated -Constantius Chlorus. To Constantius was assigned the charge of Britain, -where he eventually found a grave. He was the father of Constantine the -Great. - -[Sidenote: CARAUSIUS ATTAINS THE SOVEREIGNTY.] - -During a portion of the united reign of Diocletian and Maximian, Britain -assumed an independent position. In order to repress, in the northern -seas, the ravages of the Franks and Saxons, who about this period began -to demand a place in the world’s history, Carausius was appointed to the -command of ‘the channel fleet.’ Gesoriacum, the modern Boulogne, was his -place of rendezvous. Carausius, who was an expert seaman, exerted -himself, at first, with extraordinary success, against the pirates. -Afterwards, it was observed that he consulted his own interest, rather -than the public service. The emperors resolved upon his destruction. -Carausius, stimulated by self-preservation, as well as ambition, entered -into an alliance with his former foes, the Franks and Saxons, and -declared himself emperor of Britain. He was favourably received by the -natives of the island, and for seven years wielded the sovereignty of -his empire with vigour and ability. He repelled the Mæatæ and the -Caledonians, and having subdued these tribes, attached them to his -interest. Nothing, observes Mr. Thackeray, can more fully prove the -maritime strength and resources of Great Britain, under an able ruler, -than the fact, that Carausius for seven years bade defiance to the Roman -power; and at the end of that time fell, not overcome by the imperial -forces, but by private treachery. Never before, nor until several -hundred years after this period, was the country firmly united under the -government of one sovereign. - -Constantius was preparing to invade Britain with a fleet of a thousand -ships, when Carausius was murdered by Allectus, whom he had trusted as -his dearest friend. For about three years the assassin held, though with -a less firm grasp, the power formerly possessed by his victim. - -[Illustration] - -[Sidenote: THE SUCCESSES OF CARAUSIUS.] - -A very numerous suite of coins commemorates the successes of Carausius, -and vindicates his claim to a share in the empire of the world. Two -coins are represented here. On the reverse of one is a galley, which -indicates the chief source of his strength, and on the reverse of the -other is a lion with a thunderbolt in its mouth, significative, not only -of the bold bearing which the ancient sea-king assumed, but of that -which his successors in modern times have maintained. - -Carausius, according to Macpherson, is the CAROS of Ossian. The -following extract, upon this supposition, contains a remarkable allusion -to the Wall. - - Who comes towards my son, with the murmur of a song! His staff is in - his hand, his grey hair loose on the wind. Surly joy lightens his - face. He often looks back to CAROS. - - It is Ryno of Songs, he that went to view the foe. "What does CAROS, - KING OF SHIPS?" said the son of the now mournful Ossian; "spreads he - the wings of his pride,[5] bard of the times of old?" - - "He spreads them, Oscar," replied the bard, "but it is behind his - GATHERED HEAP. He looks over his STONES with fear. He beholds thee - terrible, as the ghost of night, that rolls the wave to his ships!" - -[Sidenote: BRITAIN UNDER DIOCLETIAN AND SUCCESSORS.] - -It would be improper to leave the reign of Diocletian without remarking, -that under it, the church of Christ endured the last and most terrible -of the ten persecutions, which pagan Rome inflicted upon the followers -of the cross. Britain did not escape. Alban and many others, as Gildas -and Bede inform us, were martyrs for the faith. - -On the withdrawal, in the year 305, of Diocletian and Maximian from the -cares of empire, Galerius and Constantius became the rulers of the -world. - -Constantine, afterwards surnamed the Great, was proclaimed emperor, on -the death of his father Constantius, at York. After a protracted -struggle with several rivals, he became, A.D. 313, sole possessor of the -imperial power. He was the first Christian Emperor, and, in token of his -faith, inscribed the monogram of the Redeemer upon his banner, and his -coin. The circumstances under which he adopted this step are thus -detailed— - - Constantine was in Gaul, and having heard of the opposition of his - rival, who was in possession of Rome, he immediately crossed the Alps, - and proceeded against him. When near Verona, on his march, and - meditating the difficulties of his situation, he was roused from deep - thought by a bright light, which suddenly illumined the sky, and, - looking up, he saw the sun, which was in its meridian, surmounted by a - cross of fire, and beneath it this inscription, τουτῳ νικα—"IN THIS - CONQUER." He immediately adopted the cross as his ensign, and formed - on the spot the celebrated Labarum, or Christian standard, which was - ever after substituted for the Roman eagle. This, as Eusebius - describes it, was a spear crossed by an arrow, on which was suspended - a velum, having inscribed on it the monogram, ☧ formed by the Greek - letters _Chi_ and _Rho_, the initials of the name of Christ. Under - this he marched forward, and rapidly triumphed over all his enemies; - and, struck with the preternatural warning he had received, and its - consequences, he now publicly embraced the doctrines of that religion - under whose banner he had conquered.[6] - -[Illustration] - -The monogram is well displayed on the reverse of a coin of -Magnentius,[7] which is here represented. The Alpha and Omega, which -accompany the symbol, indicate the faith of the emperor in the divinity -of Christ—‘the beginning and the ending, which is, and which was, and -which is to come, the Almighty.’ - -Constantine removed the imperial seat from Rome to Constantinople. - -[Sidenote: BRITAIN OVER-RUN BY THE PICTS.] - -During the life-time of Constantine, Britain partook of the civil -tranquillity of the rest of the world; but in the reign of his immediate -successors, the Picts and Scots renewed their incursions into the lower -province. This was not the only evil which Roman Britain had to endure. -Magnentius, a native of the isle, entered into a contest with -Constantius II. for the empire of the world, and in support of his -claims, collected an army, (chiefly drawn from Britain) with which he -three times met his foe. On the death of Magnentius, by his own hands, -in the year 353, his successful rival inflicted a bloody revenge upon -the Britons for having supported their countryman: meanwhile the Picts -and Scots harassed them, on the north, with redoubled fury. - -[Sidenote: THEODOSIUS REPAIRS THE WALL.] - -Little is recorded of Britain in the reign of Julian the Apostate. In -the time of Jovian his successor, the Picts, Saxons, and Scots, vexed it -by increasing calamities. Valentinian obtained the purple A.D. 364, when -the state of the country was so alarming as to require immediate -attention. Even London seems to have been menaced by the enemy, if it -was not actually in their hands. Theodosius, the ablest general of his -time, went to the assistance of the Britons, drove the enemy before him, -and recovered the provincial cities and forts. He then repaired the -cities and _prætenturæ_ and erected some new forts. Horsley thinks that -the Wall in the North of England, and the stations upon it, are the -_prætenturæ_ referred to. - -Valentinian, having, in 367, united with himself in the government of -the empire, Gratian his son, died, A.D. 375. Six days afterwards, his -second son, Valentinian II. was proclaimed his successor. The two -brothers reigned together, Theodosius the Great presiding at the same -time in the Eastern provinces, until Gratian was killed A.D. 383. Four -years afterwards, Valentinian was robbed of the purple by Maximus, but -applied for assistance to his eastern colleague, Theodosius, and once -more entered Rome with imperial dignity. The sovereignty of Britain, -Gaul, and Spain was, however, still conceded, for the present, to -Maximus, who adopted Treves as the seat of his government. - -[Sidenote: THE ISLAND DRAINED OF ITS YOUTH.] - -In this struggle Britain suffered severely. Maximus, having served in -the island under the elder Theodosius, was a favourite with the -Romanized Britons. They flocked to his standard in such numbers that the -island seemed drained of its youth. More than a hundred thousand persons -are said to have accompanied him from Britain to the continent. - -The loss of the native soldiery was severely felt in the North of -England, where the ruthless barbarians renewed their ravages without -molestation. The whole island, in the querulous language of its first -historian, Gildas,[8] "Deprived of all her armed soldiers and military -bands, was left to her cruel tyrants, deprived of the assistance of all -her youth who went with Maximus, and ignorant of the art of war, she -groaned in amazement for many years under the cruelty of the Picts and -Scots." - -Theodosius died A.D. 395. He left his dominions to his sons Arcadius and -Honorius, who permanently divided them into the empires of the East and -West. In the early part of the reign of Honorius, the province of -Britain, by the prudence of the emperor’s minister Stilicho, had -comparative rest from the incursions of the enemy. But when the Gothic -war diverted the attention of the government from so remote a province, -and the legions of Britain were called away to defend the seat of the -empire from the attacks of Alaric, the troubles which before distracted -the province, were again called into fearful operation. A spirit of -disaffection and revolt increased the evil. Marcus and Gratian were -successively declared emperors by the islanders, but were both speedily -murdered. Constantine was next raised to the sovereignty, an honour for -which he was indebted to his name, not his rank or fitness for the -office. Instead of endeavouring to secure the peace of Britain, he -transported his army to Gaul and made a successful stand against -Honorius. He was assassinated in the year 411. - -[Sidenote: BRITAIN BECOMES INDEPENDENT.] - -Whilst Honorius was struggling with the usurper Constantine, he wrote -letters to the cities of Britain, conceding the independence of the -island, and urging them to adopt measures for their own government and -protection. The gift of liberty was to them a fatal boon. Their -implacable enemies, finding that the military science of the Romans no -longer protected the south, rushed forth to invade the undefended -province. The natives, in despair, turned to the still powerful name of -Rome, and dispatched messengers to entreat help from the emperor.—But -let Gildas ‘the wise,’ depict the closing scene of ancient Britain’s -history— - -[Sidenote: THE NARRATIVE OF GILDAS.] - - The Britons, impatient at the assaults of their enemies, send - ambassadors to Rome, entreating, in piteous terms, the assistance of - an armed band to protect them. A legion is immediately sent, provided - sufficiently with arms. When they had crossed over the sea, and - landed, they came at once to close conflict with their enemies, and - slew great numbers of them. All of them were driven beyond the - borders, and the humiliated natives rescued from the bloody slavery - which awaited them. By the advice of their protectors, they now built - a wall across the island, from one sea to the other, which, being - manned with a proper force, might be a terror to the foes whom it was - intended to repel, and a protection to their friends whom it covered. - But this wall being made of turf, instead of stone, was of no use to - that foolish people, who had no head to guide them. - - The Roman legion had no sooner returned home in joy and triumph, than - their former foes, like hungry and ravening wolves, rushing with - greedy jaws upon the fold, which is left without a shepherd, are - wafted, both by the strength of oarsmen and the blowing wind, break - through the boundaries, and spread slaughter on every side. - - And now again they send suppliant ambassadors, with their garments - rent, and their heads covered with ashes, imploring assistance from - the Romans, like timorous chickens crowding under the protecting wings - of their parents. Upon this, the Romans, moved with compassion, send - forward, like eagles in their flight, their bands of cavalry and - mariners, and planting their terrible swords upon the shoulders of - their enemies, mow them down like leaves which fall at their destined - period. Having driven their enemies beyond the sea, the Romans left - the country, giving them notice, that they could no longer be harassed - by such laborious expeditions, but that the islanders, inuring - themselves to warlike weapons, should valiantly protect their country, - their property, their wives, and children; that they should not suffer - their hands to be tied behind their backs, by a nation, which, unless - they were enervated by idleness and sloth, was not more powerful than - themselves, but that they should arm those hands with buckler, sword, - and spear, ready for the field of battle; and, because they thought - this also of advantage to the people they were about to leave, they, - with the help of the miserable natives, built a wall, different from - the former, by public and private contributions, and of the same - structure as walls generally are, extending in a straight line from - sea to sea, between some cities, which, from fear of their enemies, - had then by chance been built. - -[Sidenote: THE DISTRESSES OF THE BRITONS.] - - No sooner were they gone, than the Picts and Scots, like worms, which - in the heat of mid-day, come forth from their holes, hastily land from - their canoes, differing one from another in manners, but inspired with - the same avidity for blood, and all, more eager to shroud their - villainous faces in bushy hair, than to cover with decent clothing - those parts of their body which required it. Moreover, having heard of - the departure of our friends, and their resolution never to return, - they seized, with greater boldness than before, on all the country - towards the extreme north, as far as the Wall. To oppose them, there - was placed on the heights, a garrison, equally slow to fight, and ill - adapted to run away, a useless and panic-struck company, which - slumbered away days and nights on their unprofitable watch. Meanwhile - the hooked weapons of their enemies were not idle, and our wretched - countrymen were dragged from the Wall, and dashed against the ground. - Such premature death, however, painful as it was, saved them from - seeing the miserable sufferings of their brothers and children. But - why should I say more? They left their cities, abandoned the - protection of the Wall, and dispersed themselves in flight more - desperately than before. - -Whilst the enemy butchered them like sheep, they increased their own -miseries by domestic feuds— - - They turned their arms upon each other, and for the sake of a little - sustenance, imbrued their hands in the blood of their fellow - countrymen. - -Again, in their distress, they applied to the Romans. In the address, -entitled ‘The Groans of the Britons,’ our author represents them as -saying:— - - The barbarians drive us to the sea, the sea throws us back on the - barbarians: thus two modes of death await us, we are either slain or - drowned. - -The Romans could not assist them, and, unwilling to assist themselves, -they sought and obtained the help of those ‘wolves’, as Gildas calls -them, the fierce and impious Saxons. The result is known to all—Celtic -Britain became Saxon England—and England, with all its faults,—has it -not been a blessing to the world? - -The picture drawn by Gildas of the misery of the southern Britons, and -of the ravages of the northern barbarians, is doubtless correct; but, in -ascribing the erection of the earthen rampart, and the stone wall of the -LOWER BARRIER to the period of the departure of the Romans, he probably -leans upon the erring traditions of his own times. His statement is -devoid of probability. A work so bold in its design, so skilfully -planned, and involving so much labour in its execution, cannot have been -the result of the expiring energies of Rome in Britain. Its very ruins -bespeak the masculine vigour of Rome’s maturity. - -Besides, if we receive the testimony of Gildas upon this point, we must -either suppose that several walls have been drawn across the island, or -we must reject the assertions of those classical writers who ascribe the -works to Hadrian or Severus. The former supposition cannot be -maintained, for we meet with no traces of more than one earthen vallum, -and one stone wall, in the region in question; and with reference to the -latter alternative, it is more likely that Gildas should err in his -dates, than that Dion Cassius, and Herodian, and Spartian, should -describe, as existing in their day, that which was not to be for -centuries. - -[Sidenote: THE BRITONS SUPINE IN YIELDING TO THE PICTS.] - -Another question will arise in the mind of the thoughtful reader;—how -was it that the Britons suffered themselves to become so easy a prey to -the Picts and Scots? Roman civilization could not, greatly at least, -have enervated them. The cultivation of the liberal arts removes from -the minds and manners of men their unsightly asperities, but it brings -out in bolder relief their more valuable qualities. The vices of the -Romans, when grafted upon the previously polluted life of the Britons, -would indeed have a tendency to unman them, but why should it have sunk -them beneath the level of the Romans themselves? We do not find, -moreover, that the Britons who fought in foreign parts were deficient in -courage. - -[Sidenote: THE BRITONS HAD BREATHING-TIME.] - -An acquaintance with Roman discipline, a knowledge of the Roman art of -war, ought to have given them great advantages over their less civilized -neighbours on the north of the Wall, and enabled them easily to have -retained that great structure as a boundary fence.[9] It is true that -great numbers of their youth had from time to time been drafted off by -successive emperors, to engage in foreign quarrels, and that thus the -land was deprived of its natural defenders. This accounts for a part of -their distress, but not all. In a rude state of society, every man is a -soldier, and it was an essential part of the policy of Rome to inure -every citizen to the practice of arms. There surely would be men enough -left to defend their homes, their liberties, and lives! Besides, half a -century elapsed between the time when the Romans began to leave Britain -to its own resources, and their final refusal of all succour. There was -thus time enough to have nurtured a whole generation of veterans; and -there was time enough—if the energy had been in them—to have shaken off -those feelings of dependence upon Rome, which the presence of their -conquerors had fostered. The opportunity, however, was lost; they -entreated, and wept, and groaned—and passed off the stage of this -world’s history. How are we adequately to account for this circumstance? -[Sidenote: THE GENEALOGY OF THE PICTS AND SCOTS.]This is not the place -to discuss the genealogy of the Picts, but if we adopt the theory of -their Germanic origin,[10] the enigma, if not made quite plain, will -appear less difficult than before. However great the valour, and however -estimable the other qualities of the Celtic race, they did not possess -the patience, the perseverance, the capacity for united action, and the -power of command, which characterized the Teutonic tribes; hence they -would fall before them in any contest which required sustained exertion. -[Sidenote: THE TEUTONES SUPPLANT THE CELTS.]Gibbon’s estimate of the -character of the ancient Britons is probably correct—‘The various tribes -possessed valour without conduct, and the love of freedom without the -spirit of union. They took up arms with savage fierceness, they laid -them down, or turned them against each other with wild inconstancy; and, -while they fought singly, they were successively subdued.’ - -[Sidenote: ANTAGONISM OF THE RACES.] - -The Picts, without the artificial advantages which the Romanized Britons -possessed, doubtless had the usual characteristics of the Gothic tribes. -By these they were enabled, in defiance of the desultory attempts of the -previous occupants of the soil, to ravage the land, until, through the -efforts of Vortigern, they were confronted with foes of their own kith -and kin. In our sister island, we unhappily witness, though in a subdued -form, much of that animosity of race which led to the devastation and -bloodshed that Gildas deplores. When will Saxon and Celt lay aside their -differences, and unite for the common weal of Britain! Why should they -regard each other with mutual suspicion? Why should the one triumph, and -the other sink into hopeless, helpless despair? Creation groans—a -prostrate world looks to united Britain and its offshoots, for that balm -which may heal its woes—let it, strong in the confidence and love of its -various constituent parts, faithfully fulfil its duty! - - -[Sidenote: THE ROMAN ESTIMATION OF BRITAIN.] - -On reviewing this sketch of the proceedings of Rome, in relation to this -distant portion of her great empire, the reader will perhaps be struck -with the amount of attention which the Imperial City bestowed upon it. - -The classic authors speak most disparagingly of the land, and its -inhabitants— - - Et penitus toto divisos orbe Britannos. - _Virg. Ec._ I. - Serves iturum Cæsarem in ultimos - Orbis Britannos. - _Hor. Od._ I. 35. - Visam Britannos, hospitibus feros. - _Hor. Od._ III. 4. - Te belluosus qui remotis - Obstrepit oceanus Britannis. - _Hor. Od._ IV. 14. - -—and yet Britain, which, according to these authorities, scarcely formed -a portion of the habitable earth, which was perpetually lashed by a -stormy ocean, and whose inhabitants, unlike many barbaric tribes, were -inhospitable to strangers, was the resort, not only of numerous -legionary and auxiliary troops, but of very many of the emperors -themselves. Great Julius came. Claudius fought upon our soil. Vespasian -entered into conflict thirty-two times with the southern Britons. Titus -shared in his toils and triumphs. Hadrian was here, and left the impress -of his mighty mind behind him. Septimius Severus ended his days in -Britain; his sons Geta and Caracalla first assumed the purple in -Britain. The emperor Maximinus breathed, sixteen centuries ago, the -sea-borne gales of Tynemouth. Britain, with its seas, was the chief -scene of the exploits of the emperor Carausius. Allectus reigned three -years over it. Constantius was long in the island, and his son, -Constantine the Great is said to have first drawn breath upon our soil. -Both Constans and Magnentius were here. Theodosius the Emperor fought -under his father in Britain. Maximus, who had previously married a -British lady, was invested by his soldiers with the purple at York—How -comes it that so many of those who boasted of the mastery of this wide -world, were induced personally to visit this little isle?—how was it, -but that - - Coming events cast their shadows before. - -[Sidenote: ROME FORESHADOWS BRITAIN’S DESTINY.] - -It seems as though there was an affinity between England and Earth’s -rulers—and that thus early it was pointed out as the spot in which, of -all others, save one—Jerusalem—mankind had the greatest interest. - -The importance of Britain, in the estimation of the Romans, is further -shewn by the fact, that, of the different coins struck by the imperial -government in the short period extending from the reign of Claudius to -that of Caracalla, at least fifty-six relate to this country. Of these, -two were struck in the reign of Claudius, five in that of Hadrian, -seventeen bear the impress of Antonine, ten of Severus, twelve of -Caracalla, and ten of his brother Geta.[11] - -[Sidenote: CAUSE OF THE ROMAN OCCUPATION.] - -Whilst however we maintain that Rome was led to Britain by the impulse -of a power of which she was not conscious, and whilst we willingly -acknowledge that the conquest of Britain by the Romans was the first of -that series of signal providential arrangements, by which, from the dawn -of history to the present hour, ‘the Governor among the nations’ has -prepared this island for performing that important part in the drama of -history, which she now sustains,—the enquiry yet remains, by what motive -were the conquerors more immediately impelled to settle in so remote an -island? Such toils would not have been endured, such sacrifices would -not have been made, victories over tribes so savage would not thus have -been gloried in, except the question ‘cui bono?’ could have been -satisfactorily answered. ‘I confess,’ says Horsley, 'that when I view -some part of the country in the north of England, where the Romans had -their military ways and stations, that question naturally arises, which -has been often proposed: What could move them to march so far to conquer -such a country? It appears wild and desolate enough at present, but must -have been more so at that time, from the accounts the Roman historians -have given us of it. I shall leave the Caledonian Galgacus, or Tacitus -for him, to return the answer—If the enemy was rich, their covetousness -moved them; if poor, their ambition. And when they added further -desolation to a desolate country, this was their peace.' Ambition was -doubtless the leading motive. From the earliest periods of Roman history -we find her bent upon conquest. Incessant wars engendered a thirst for -victory, and military glory became the ruling passion of the people. The -wide grasp of their ambition gave to the features of Roman character -harder, but grander lineaments than those which their more polished -neighbours of Greece possessed. Flattered, as the lords of the world, by -their favourite poets and historians, they gloried in their proud -pre-eminence, and thought that they were but fulfilling their destiny in -asserting a claim to universal dominion. Candidates for public favour -knew well that to fan the popular passion was the readiest way to -succeed in their aims. None understood this better than Julius Cæsar; -and the later emperors, who possessed not the power to strike an -energetic blow, found it necessary to maintain the show at least of -conquest and of triumph. - -[Sidenote: WEALTH OF ANCIENT BRITAIN.] - -Less worthy inducements were, however, not wanting. There are few evils -in the fibres of whose roots the love of money will not be found. Gold -was another secret but powerful cause of the hardships which the Romans -themselves underwent, and of the countless ills which they mercilessly -inflicted upon the miserable islanders. The British chiefs in general -appear to have had considerable riches among them. Cæsar, according to -Strabo, acquired a large booty in his two descents upon our shore. -Prasutagus, the king of the Iceni, died possessed of very great wealth. -To a few states in the south, and within a few years after their first -subjection, the philosophical Seneca lent more than four hundred and -eighty thousand pounds of our money upon good security, and at -exorbitant interest.[12] Severus got a prodigious mass of riches in this -land. Gold is not now an article of mineral wealth in Britain. We are -not from this to infer that it was not so when it was first invaded. The -precious metal is not met with in veins or strata, but is diffused over -the alluvial soil, or mixed with the sand of rivers in grains or lumps. -When the commercial value of the glittering dust is discovered, it is -speedily picked up, and a country, once rich in it, becomes, in the -course of ages, impoverished. The number of massive golden torques and -armillæ of the ancient Britons, which even yet are from time to time -being brought to light, favours the idea that the metal was, in ancient -days, tolerably abundant. Whatever the secret motives, Cæsar came and -conquered— - - The Roman taught thy stubborn knee to bow, - Though twice a Cæsar could not bend it now. - -[Sidenote: THE FATE OF ROME.] - -In passing from the contemplation of the Roman occupation of Britain to -our examination of the remains of the chief monument of imperial power -which time has left us, the mind will experience a great transition. In -the Wall, we have evident traces of the might of Rome, but it is the -might of a giant laid prostrate— - - . . . . . Her haughty carcass spread, - Still awes in ruins, and commands when dead. - -Centuries have elapsed since the vast fabric was upreared, but they have -been centuries rife with the fate of empires. - -The most ardent lover of the olden time cannot but startle, as he treads -the deserted streets, or enters the unbarred portals of BORCOVICUS, and -other cities of the Wall, at the thought that the Mistress of Nations is -now no more,[13] and that the Eternal City is buried in her own debris. -The broken column, the prostrate altar, ever and anon obtrude the fact -upon him. Another empire has sprung into being of which Rome dreamt not. -In a sense different from that which Virgil intended, the words in his -third Georgic are peculiarly striking— - - Vel scena ut versis discedat frontibus, utque - Purpurea intexti tollant aulæa Britanni. - - Or see how on the stage the shifting scenes - In order pass, and pictured Britons rise - Out of the earth, and raise the purple curtain. - -[Sidenote: PROSPECTIVE FATE OF BRITAIN.] - -In that island, where, in Roman days, the painted savage shared the -forest with the beast of prey—a lady sits upon her throne of state, -wielding a sceptre more potent than Julius or Hadrian ever grasped! Her -empire is threefold that of Rome in the hour of its prime. But power is -not her brightest diadem. The holiness of the domestic circle irradiates -her. Literature, and all the arts of peace, flourish under her sway. Her -people bless her. - -Will Britain always thus occupy so prominent a position in the scene of -this world’s history? - - ... Valet ima summis - Mutare, et insignem attenuat Deus - Obscura promens. - - The power that did create, can change the scene - Of things; make mean of great, and great of mean. - -[Sidenote: LESSON INCULCATED.] - -Is the fate of Persia, Macedon, and Rome, never to be hers? ‘O Thou, -that didst build up this Britannic empire to a glorious and enviable -height, with all her daughter islands about her; stay us in this -felicity!’ What would Britain at this moment be without the Bible? Let -the seven-hilled city say! If Britain herself obey the inspired word, -and give it to the nations, then she needs not fear the shock of -empires. If not, at a future day the native of a distant isle, or -obscure nation, then newly risen into greatness, moralizing over the -reedy docks and grass-grown streets of London, may exclaim—How true the -words of their own Milton! 'But if ... as you have been valiant in war, -you should grow debauched in peace, you that have had such visible -demonstrations of the goodness of God to yourselves, and his wrath -against your enemies ... you will find that God’s displeasure against -you, will be greater than it has been against your adversaries, greater -than his grace and favour has been to yourselves, which you have had -larger experience of than any other nation under heaven.' - -[Illustration: Base of Column at BORCOVICUS.] - ------ - -Footnote 2: - - This coin is in the possession of Mr. Bell, of the Nook, Irthington, - to whose cabinet of coins, chiefly procured from the line of the wall, - the author has kindly been allowed free access. - -Footnote 3: - - This interesting coin is thus described by - Akerman:—_OBVERSE_—HADRIANUS · AVG_ustus_, CO_nsul_ III. [tertium] - P_ater_ P_atriæ_. Laureated bust of Hadrian, with the chlamys buckled - over his right shoulder. _REVERSE_—ADVENTVS AVG_usti_ BRITANNIAE. In - the exergue—S_enatus_ C_onsulto_. An altar, with the fire kindled, - placed between the emperor in his toga, who holds a patera, and a - female figure, a victim lying at her feet. - -Footnote 4: - - Numismatists differ as to the appropriation of the female. The same - figure in other coins of this reign being used to personify Rome, it - probably does so in this case; and represents the secure possession - obtained by the Eternal City, of Albion’s rocky shore. However this - may be, the same figure has been placed by many successive generations - of mint-masters on the reverse of the copper coinage of Great Britain. - Britain in this still bows to Rome! - -Footnote 5: - - The Roman Eagle. - -Footnote 6: - - Walsh on Coins. - -Footnote 7: - - In the collection of Geo. Rippon, Esq., North Shields. - -Footnote 8: - - Historians differ as to the degree of credibility due to this author. - Mr. Wright, in his Biographia Britannica Literaria, says that his is - ‘a name of very doubtful authority.’ Sharon Turner thinks that ‘as far - as he can be supported, and made intelligible, by others, he is an - acceptable companion, but that he cannot be trusted alone;’ and Mr. - Stevenson, in the preface to his edition of the original Latin of - Gildas, writes ‘We are unable to speak with certainty as to his - parentage, his country, or even his name, the period when he lived, or - the works of which he was the author.’ Thus much, however, is certain, - that he lived before the time of Bede, and is quoted by him. - -Footnote 9: - - This point is well put by Sir Francis Palgrave, in his History of the - Anglo-Saxons. ‘The walls of the cities fortified by the Romans were - yet strong and firm. The tactics of the legions were not forgotten. - Bright armour was piled in the storehouses, and the serried line of - spears might have been presented to the half-naked Scots and Picts, - who could never have prevailed against their opponents.’ - -Footnote 10: - - The supposition is not destitute of support. The migratory tendencies - of the Gothic tribes have always been conspicuous. From the earliest - periods of our history, the inhabitants of Jutland and its - neighbouring provinces were in the habit of making descents upon the - coasts of Britain. After the departure of the Romans, their attempts - were probably more bold and frequent, but they did not then, for the - first time, commence. The Norfolk and Suffolk coast was, from its - position, peculiarly exposed to these incursions, and as early as the - close of the third century, was placed under the command of a military - Count called _Comes litoris Saxonici_. This district was called ‘the - Saxon shore,’ as Sir Francis Palgrave observes, not merely because it - was open to the incursion of the Saxons, but, most probably, because - they had succeeded in fixing themselves in some portion of it. The - weak hold which the Romans, at all times, had of Scotland, would - render it an easier prey than England to the Franks and Saxons. - Tacitus informs us, that the ruddy hair and lusty limbs of the - Caledonians indicate a Germanic extraction. Richard of Cirencester - tells us, that a little before the coming of Severus, the Picts landed - in Scotland; from which we are at least entitled to infer, that the - Picts were not the original inhabitants of North Britain; and probably - the statement is substantially correct, inasmuch as large - reinforcements landed in Scotland at this period, as previously - observed. The Scots—the other branch of the people classed under the - general term Caledonians—are confessedly of Irish origin. When St. - Columba, whose mother tongue was Irish Gaelic, preached to the Picts, - he used an interpreter. Fordun, the Father of Scottish History, tells - us, ‘The manners of the Scots are various as to their languages; for - they use two tongues, the Scottish and the Teutonic. The last is - spoken by those on the sea-coasts and in the low countries, while the - Scottish is the speech of the mountaineers and the remote islanders.’ - The proper Scots, Camden describes as those commonly called - Highlandmen; ‘for the rest,’ he adds, ‘more civilized, and inhabiting - the eastern part, though comprehended under the name of Scots, are the - farthest in the world from being Scots, but are of the same German - origin with us English.’ Dr. Jamieson, whose researches in philology - are well known, is decidedly of opinion that the Picts and Saxons had - a common origin. Upon what other theory, he argues, can the prevalence - of the Saxon tongue in the Lowlands of Scotland be accounted for? - William the Conqueror could not change the language of South - Britain—was it likely that a few Saxon fugitives at the Scottish court - could supplant that of their benefactors? - - The theory of the Germanic origin of the Picts removes another - difficulty. How is the disappearance of the Celtic tongue from England - to be accounted for? The Saxons, on seizing the soil, would not - exterminate the inhabitants, but retain them as bondsmen. Had the - majority of the occupants of England been the original Britons or - Romanized Celts, we should have found in our daily speech, and in the - names of our towns and villages, a large intermixture of Gaelic and - Latin; but such is not the case. Grant that the Picts were a branch of - the great Gothic family—and that successive waves of them had, long - before the time of Cerdic, poured from the lowlands of Scotland over - the plains of England, and the almost entire extermination of the - ancient British is easily accounted for. - - If the theory here advocated, cannot be sustained, it must at least be - allowed, that the population of North Britain was largely leavened - with individuals of the Saxon race. These strangers would doubtless - obtain that supremacy over the natives which the Franks did in Gaul; - so that, even upon this limited view of the question, the influence of - the Germanic race in fixing the destinies of Britain, at this critical - period, is apparent. - -Footnote 11: - - The whole of these are accurately figured and described in the - "Materials for the History of Britain," published by the government. - It is to be hoped that a work so auspiciously begun will not be - strangled in its birth, by a false application of the principles of - national economy. - -Footnote 12: - - Whitaker’s History of Manchester, i. 228. - -Footnote 13: - - "Politically speaking, Rome is now the city of the dead." - - _Times_, March 18th, 1850. - ------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - ~The Roman Barrier of the - Lower Isthmus.~ - - PART II. - A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE LINE OF THE WALL. - -Numerous are the appellations which the Great Barrier of the Lower -Isthmus has obtained. 'It was called by ancient writers _vallum -barbaricum_, _prætentura_ and _clusura_; by Dion διατειχισμα; by -Herodian χωμα; by Antoninus and others _vallum_; by some of the Latin -historians _murus_; by the English the Picts’-wall, or THE WALL; and by -the Britons _gual Sever_, _gal Sever_, and _mur Sever_. The names -_prætentura_ and _clusura_ are given to it upon account of its being -stretched out against, and excluding the enemy.' To the names thus -enumerated by Camden, must be added, the Thirl Wall, the Kepe Wall, and -that by which it is best known at present, the ROMAN WALL. - -[Sidenote: GENERAL VIEW OF THE WORKS.] - -This great fortification consists of three parts. - -I. A Stone Wall, strengthened by a ditch on its northern side. - -II. A Turf Wall or Vallum, to the south of the stone wall. - -III. Stations, Castles, Watch-towers, and Roads, for the accommodation -of the soldiery who manned the Barrier, and for the transmission of -military stores. These lie, for the most part, between the stone wall -and the earthen rampart. - -The whole of the works proceed from one side of the island to the other -in a nearly direct line, and in comparatively close companionship. The -stone wall and earthen rampart are generally within sixty or seventy -yards of each other.[14] The distance between them, however, varies -according to the nature of the country. Sometimes they are so close as -barely to admit of the passage of the military way between them, whilst, -in one or two instances, they are upwards of half-a-mile apart. It is in -the high grounds of the central region that they are most widely -separated. Midway between the seas, the country attains a considerable -elevation; here the stone wall seeks the highest ridges, but the vallum, -forsaking for a while its usual companion, runs along the adjacent -valley. Both works are, however, so arranged as to afford each other the -greatest amount of support which the nature of the country allows. - - _PLATE II._ - -[Illustration: PLAN OF THE BARRIER BETWEEN CILURNUM AND MAGNA AFTER -HORSLEY.] - -[Illustration: - - _A PLAN OF CILURNUM AFTER WARBURTON WITH PART OF THE PLAN OF THE STONE - WALL AND VALLUM._ - _Shewing how they are connected at the Stations, and by their mutual - relation to one another must have been one entire united Defence or - Fortification._ -] - - _Reid Litho. 117 Pilgrim Street Newcastle_ - -The stone wall extends from Wall’s-end on the Tyne, to Bowness on the -Solway, a space which Horsley estimates at sixty-eight miles and three -furlongs—the turf wall falls short of this distance by about three miles -at each end, terminating at Newcastle on the east side, and at Drumburgh -on the west. - -[Sidenote: GENERAL VIEW OF THE WORKS.] - -The Map of the Wall, the more detailed Plans of several parts of it in -Plate II, and the Sections given in a subsequent page, will afford a -pretty correct idea of the general arrangement of the works. - -Most writers who have treated of the Roman remains in Britain, have -considered that the two lines of fortification are the works of -different periods. The earth-wall, or Vallum, has generally been -ascribed to Hadrian, but the stone wall, or Murus, to Septimius Severus. -This is the opinion of Horsley, whose judgment is always deserving of -the highest consideration. Deferring to a subsequent period the -discussion of this question, it will be convenient, meanwhile, to speak -of the works as being but different parts of one great engineering -scheme. - -[Sidenote: THE COURSE OF THE WALL.] - -The most striking feature in the plan, both of the Murus and the Vallum, -is the determinate manner in which they pursue their straight-forward -course. The Vallum makes fewer deviations from a right line than the -stone Wall; but as the Wall traverses higher ground, this remarkable -tendency is more easily detected in it than in the other. Shooting over -the country, in its onward course, it only swerves from a straight line -to take in its route the boldest elevations. So far from declining a -hill, it uniformly selects it. For nineteen miles out of Newcastle, the -road to Carlisle runs upon the foundation of the Wall, and during the -summer months its dusty surface contrasts well with the surrounding -verdure. Often will the traveller, after attaining some of the steep -acclivities of his path, observe the road stretching for miles in an -undeviating course to the east and the west of him, resembling, as -Hutton expresses it, a white ribbon on a green ground. But if it never -moves from a right line, except to occupy the highest points, it never -fails to seize them, as they occur, no matter how often it is compelled, -with this view, to change its direction. It never bends in a curve, but -always at an angle. Hence, along the craggy precipices between -Sewingshields and Thirlwall, it is obliged to pursue a remarkably -zig-zag course; for it takes in its range, with the utmost pertinacity, -every projecting rock. - -This mode of proceeding involves another peculiarity. It is compelled to -accommodate itself to the depressions of the mountainous region over -which it passes. Without flinching, it sinks into the ‘gap,’ or pass, -which ever and anon occurs, and, having crossed the narrow valley, -ascends unfalteringly the steep acclivity on the other side. The -antiquary, in following it into these ravines, is often compelled to -step with the utmost caution, and in clambering up the opposite ascent, -he is as frequently constrained to pause for breath. After crossing the -river Irthing, in Cumberland, the Wall is opposed in its course westward -by a precipice of upwards of one hundred feet in height. It cannot now -be ascertained, whether or not the Wall was taken up the edge of this -cliff, for the stratum is of a soft and yielding nature, and is -continually being removed by the river below. Certain, however, it is, -that the Wall, accompanied by its ditch, is still to be seen on the very -brink of its summit. If it did not climb this steep, it is the only one -which, in the course of the line from sea to sea, it refused—and if it -did ascend it, it would more nearly resemble a leaning tower than a -barrier wall. - -[Sidenote: THE HEIGHT OF THE WALL.] - -In no part of its course is the Wall entirely perfect, and therefore it -is difficult to ascertain what its original height has been. Bede, whose -cherished home was the monastery of Jarrow, anciently part of the parish -of Wall’s-end, is the earliest author who gives its dimensions. He -says—‘It is eight feet in breadth, and twelve in height, in a straight -line from east to west, as is still visible to beholders.’ Subsequent -writers assign to it a greater elevation. It is not unlikely that the -venerable monk, who was no traveller, describes it as it existed in his -own neighbourhood; and we can readily conceive that in a flat country, -and upon the border of a navigable river, it would, even then, have -suffered more from the hand of the spoiler than in the wilder regions of -the West. - -In a letter written by Sir Christopher Ridley, is an account of the Wall -as it stood about the year 1572. The writer says— - - Rycht worschipfull, where as you spake unto me for a certayn knowledge - of one wall builded betwyxt the Brittons and Pightes (which we call - the KEPE WALL) builded by the Pightes, sure theyr is one. The length - whereof is about, I think, almost a C myles, bilded alwayis whar they - cold upon the hyghtes, whereon about the greatest cragis was, and - whare theyr was no cragis or hy placis theyr was a great stank cast of - other syd, the bredth iij yardis, the hyght remanith in sum placis yet - vij yardis, it goith from Bowlness in Cu'berland viij myles beyond - Carlell upon the west sea cost till it comes to a town called the - Wallis end besyd Tynemouth on the est sea.[15] - -Samson Erdeswick, an English antiquary of some celebrity, visited the -Wall, in the year 1574.[16] His account is here given— - - As towching Hadrian’s[17] Wall, begyning abowt a town called Bonus - standing vppon the river Sulway now called Eden. The sea ebbeth and - floweth there. The forsaid Wall begynning there, and there yet - standing of the heyth of 16 fote, for almost a quarter of a myle - together, and so along the river syde estwards, they space of an eight - myle by the shew of the trench, as certayne ruynes of castills in that - wall, tyll a qwarter of a myle of Carlyole, and there passeth ower the - river of Eden; and then goeth straight estwards hard by a late abbey - called Lanvercost, and so crossing ower the mowntaynes toward - Newcastell. - -[Sidenote: THE WIDTH OF THE WALL.] - -Camden, who visited the Wall in 1599, says— - - Within two furlongs of Carvoran, on a pretty high hill the Wall is - still standing fifteen feet in height, and nine in breadth. - -These statements leave upon the mind an impression that the estimate of -Bede is too low. - -In all probability, the Wall would be surmounted by a battlement of not -less than four feet in height, and as this part of the structure would -be the first to fall into decay, Bede’s calculation was probably -irrespective of it. This, however, only gives us a total elevation of -sixteen feet. Unless we reject the evidence of Ridley and Erdeswick, we -must admit, even after making due allowance for error and exaggeration, -that the Wall, when in its integrity, was eighteen or nineteen feet -high. This elevation would be in keeping with its breadth. - -The thickness of the Wall varies considerably; in some places it is six -feet, in others nine feet and a half.[18] Probably the prevailing width -is eight feet, the measurement given by Bede. - -The frequency with which the thickness of the Wall varies, favours the -idea that numerous gangs of labourers were simultaneously employed upon -the work, and that each superintending centurion was allowed to use his -discretion as to its width. The northern face of the Wall is continuous, -but the southern has numerous outsets and insets measuring from four to -twelve inches, at the points, doubtless, where the sections of the -different companies joined. - -[Sidenote: THE NORTH FOSSE.] - -Throughout the whole of its length, the Wall is accompanied on its -northern margin by a broad and deep FOSSE, which, by increasing the -comparative height of the Wall, would add greatly to its strength. This -portion of the Barrier may yet be traced, with trifling interruptions, -from sea to sea. Even in places where the Wall has quite disappeared, -its more lowly companion, the fosse, remains. In some fertile districts -the plough has been carried over it in vain; owing to the moisture of -the site, the corn sown upon it springs up with undue luxuriance, and is -almost uniformly laid prostrate before it can ripen. From this -circumstance the ground is frequently retained in grass, while the -neighbouring parts are under tillage.[19] The fosse thus more readily -catches the eye, and is likely longer to retain its groove-like form -than if subjected to the ordinary process of cultivation. - -When the ditch traverses a flat or exposed country, a portion of the -materials taken out of it has frequently been thrown upon its northern -margin, so as to present to the enemy an additional rampart. In those -positions, on the other hand, where its assistance could be of no avail, -as along the edge of a cliff, the fosse does not appear. - -No small amount of labour has been expended in the excavation of the -ditch; it has been drawn indifferently through alluvial soil, and rocks -of sandstone, limestone, and basalt. The patient exertion which this -involved is well seen on Tepper Moor, where enormous blocks of whin lie -just as they have been lifted out of the fosse. The fosse never leaves -the Wall to avoid a mechanical difficulty. - -The size of the ditch in several places is still considerable. To the -east of Heddon-on-the-Wall, it measures thirty four feet across the top, -and is nearly nine feet deep; as it descends the hill from Carvoran to -Thirlwall, it measures forty feet across the top, fourteen across the -bottom, and is ten feet deep. Westward of Tepper Moor is a portion -which, reckoning from the top of the mound on its northern margin, has a -depth of twenty feet. - -The dimensions of the fosse were probably not uniform throughout the -line; but these examples prepare us to receive, as tolerably correct, -Hutton’s estimate of its average size. ‘The ditch to the north,’ he says -'was as near as convenient, thirty-six feet wide and fifteen feet -deep.'[20] - -The care with which the fosse was dressed, has varied with the taste of -the overseer and the forbearance of the enemy. In some tracts, the work -presents as smooth and trim an aspect as a modern railway cutting; in -others, marks of haste, carelessness, or sudden surprise, appear. The -curious circumstance which Hodgson describes in the following paragraph -may be seen in more than one locality:— - - 'A little west of Portgate, the appearance of the fosse is still, to - the eye that loves and understands antiquity, very imposing and grand. - The earth taken out of it lies spread abroad to the north, in lines - just as the workmen wheeled it out and left it. The tracks of their - barrows, with a slight mound on each side remain unaltered in - form.'[21] - -[Illustration: The works near the 18th mile-stone West of Newcastle.] - -[Illustration: The works half a mile west of Carraw.] - -[Sidenote: THE VALLUM.] - -The VALLUM or TURF WALL, is uniformly to the south of the stone Wall. It -consists of three ramparts and a fosse. One of these ramparts is placed -close upon the southern edge of the ditch, the two others of larger -dimensions[22] stand, one to the north, and the other to the south of -it, at the distance of about twenty-four feet. The annexed sections of -the works exhibit their present condition. They are drawn to the scale -of seventy-five feet to the inch. The Wall is in these parts, unhappily, -entirely removed. - -The ramparts, in some parts of the line, stand, even at present, six or -seven feet above the level of the neighbouring ground.[23] They are -composed of earth, mingled, not unfrequently, with masses of stone. -Occasionally, the stone preponderates to such an extent as to yield to -the hand of the modern spoiler, ready materials for the formation of -stone dikes. In several places they are being quarried with this view. - -The fosse of the Vallum is of a character similar to the fosse of the -stone Wall; but, judging from present appearances, its dimensions have -been rather less. It, too, has been frequently cut through beds of -stone. - -The question will occasionally occur to the wanderer by the Wall, whence -were the materials obtained for constructing the mounds of the Vallum? -With the exception of the fosse, there are no marks of excavation in the -neighbourhood, and that the fosse of the Vallum would not yield -materials sufficient for the purpose, is abundantly evident.[24] - -[Sidenote: USE OF THE VALLUM.] - -The contents of the ditch on the north of the Wall have probably gone to -assist in the formation of these lines. This statement of course -proceeds upon the supposition that the Wall and the Vallum were -contemporaneous works. Upon the same assumption, it may be added that -the ramparts of the Vallum are probably indebted for some portion of the -stone which they contain, to the chippings of the Wall. - -Although the distance between the stone Wall and the Vallum is, as -already observed, perpetually varying, the lines of the Vallum maintain -amongst themselves nearly the same relative position throughout their -entire course. - -No apparent paths of egress have been made through these southern lines -of fortification. The only mode of communication with the country to the -south, originally contemplated, seems to have been by the gateways of -the stations. - -If we adopt the theory that the Wall and the Vallum exhibit unity of -design, a question of some importance arises—With what view was the -Vallum constructed? Hodgson, with much probability, conceives that, -whilst the Wall undertook the harder duty of warding off the professedly -hostile tribes of Caledonia, the Vallum was intended as a protection -against sudden surprise from the south. The natives of the country on -the south side of the Wall, though conquered, were not to be depended -upon; in the event of their kinsmen in the north gaining an advantage, -they would be ready to avail themselves of it. The Romans knew this, and -with characteristic prudence made themselves secure on both sides. - -[Sidenote: PECULIAR CONSTRUCTION OF THE VALLUM.] - -But, whatever we may conceive to have been the design of the Vallum, the -peculiarity of its form will excite the attention of the enquirer, -though probably without his arriving at any satisfactory explanation. -Supposing, according to the common theory, that the Vallum was an -independent fortification, erected long before the Wall, to resist a -northern foe, why was not the ditch, as in the case of the stone Wall, -drawn along the northern edge of the northern agger? I cannot supply an -answer. A similar difficulty meets us on the supposition that it was -meant to guard against attack from the other side. Again, what part did -the smaller rampart on the south edge of the fosse perform? Possibly it -may have been intended as a foot-hold for the soldiers when fighting on -this platform against the revolted Britons south of the barrier. - -The third, and perhaps the most important, part of the barrier line -consisted of the structures that were formed for the accommodation of -the soldiery, and for the ready transmission of troops and stores. -Neither stone walls, nor ditches, nor earthen ramparts, would alone have -proved material impediments to the incursions of the Caledonians— - - An iron race, ... - Foes to the gentler genius of the plain. - -It is reported that Agesilaus, when asked where were the walls of -Sparta, pointed to his soldiers and said, ‘There.’ The Romans placed -their chief reliance on the valour and discipline of their armies, -though they did not despise the assistance of mural lines. In a foreign -country, to which it was difficult to transmit relays of troops, it -became a matter of great importance to economize the lives of the -soldiery. Hence arose the Wall. - -Those portions of the great barrier which yet await our consideration, -are the STATIONS, the MILE-CASTLES, the TURRETS, and the ROADS. - -[Sidenote: THE STATIONS.] - -At distances along the line which average nearly four miles, STATIONARY -CAMPS (_stationes_ or _castra stativa_) were erected. These received -their distinctive appellation, in contradistinction from those temporary -ramparts, which were thrown up when an army halted for a night or for -some brief period. - -The stations on the line of the Wall were military cities, adapted for -the residence of the chief who commanded the district, and providing -secure lodgment for the powerful body of soldiery he had under him. Here -the commandant held his court; hence issued decrees which none might -gainsay; here Roman arts, and literature, and luxury, struggled for -existence, when all around was ignorance and barbarity. - -Some of the stations, though connected with the Wall, have evidently, as -will afterwards be shewn, been built before it: this does not prove that -they did not form part of the great design. To secure a safe retreat for -the soldiers employed upon the work would necessarily be the first care -of the builder. - -The stations are uniformly quadrangular in their shape, though somewhat -rounded at the corners, and contain an area of from three to five acres. -A stone wall, five feet thick, encloses them, and has probably in every -instance been strengthened by a fosse, and one or more earthen ramparts. -They usually stand upon ground which slopes to the south, and are -naturally defended upon one side at least. - -[Sidenote: THE PLACE OF THE STATIONS.] - -The Wall, when it does not fall in with the northern wall of a station, -usually comes up to the northern cheek of its eastern and western -gateways. The Vallum, in like manner, usually approaches close to the -southern wall of the station, or comes up to the defence of the southern -side of the eastern and western portals. Examples of these arrangements -are given in Plate II. At least three of the stations, it must, however, -be observed, are quite detached from both lines of fortification, being -situated to the south of them. They may have been members of Agricola’s -chain of forts. - -Probably all the stations have, on their erection, been provided, after -the usual method of Roman castrametation, with four gateways; in several -instances one or more of these portals have been walled up at an early -period, in consequence, probably, of some natural weakness in the -situation. - -Narrow streets, intersecting each other at right angles, occupy the -interior of the stations, and abundant ruins, outside the walls, -indicate the fact that extensive suburbs have, in every instance, been -required for the accommodation of the camp-followers. - -[Sidenote: THE FERTILITY OF THE STATIONS.] - -In selecting a spot for a station, care has been taken that an abundant -supply of water should be at hand. The springs, rivulets, wells, and -aqueducts, whence they procured the needful fluid, are still, in many -places, to be traced; and never did water more limpid, more sparkling, -more invigorating, lave the lips of man, than that which flows from -these sources. - -For the most part, the stations—cities which for centuries were the -abodes of busy men, and which resounded with the hum of multitudes, and -the clash of arms,—now present a scene of utter desolation. The wayfarer -may pass through them without knowing it; the streets are levelled, the -temples are overthrown, and the sons and daughters of Italy, Mauritania, -and Spain, whose adopted homes they were, no longer encounter him. The -sheep, depasturing the grass-grown ruins, look listlessly upon the -passer-by, and the curlew, wheeling above his head, screams as at the -presence of an intruder. Whether, or not, sites naturally fertile were -chosen for the stations does not appear; but certain it is, that they -are now for the most part coated with a sward more green and more -luxuriant than that which covers the contiguous grounds. Centuries of -occupation have given them a degree of fertility which, probably, they -will never lose.[25] One can scarcely turn up the soil without meeting, -not only with fragments of Roman pottery and other imperishable -articles, but with the bones of oxen, the tusks of boars, the horns of -deer, and other animal remains. The debris of some of these cities is -considered to be more valuable for farm purposes, than the recent -produce of the fold-yard, and is used as such. - -[Sidenote: THE NAMES OF THE STATIONS.] - -It is not a little remarkable that the names of the stations, which must -have been household words in the days of Roman occupation, have for the -most part been obliterated from the local vocabulary; they are now only -to be recalled, and that with difficulty, by exhuming the stony records -of the past, and comparing them with the notices of contemporaneous -geographers. The truth is, that military reasons dictated the choice of -the stations,—commercial facilities gave rise to modern cities. Long may -the mere military outpost be consigned to the shepherd’s use, whilst the -wharf and the warehouse are beset by the busy crowd! - -According to Horsley, the stations on the line of the Wall, were -eighteen in number, besides some that were placed in its immediate -vicinity, and lent to it important aid. Hodgson, conceiving that Horsley -has in one instance mistaken a mere summer fortification for a -stationary camp, reduces the number of stations on the line itself to -seventeen. - -[Sidenote: THE STATIONS ACCORDING TO THE NOTITIA.] - -In ascertaining the number and the names of the stations, a most -valuable document has come down to our times from the period of Roman -occupation. The ‘Notitia Imperii’ was probably written about the end of -the reign of Theodosius the younger, and was certainly composed before -the Romans abandoned this island. It is a sort of list of the several -military and civil officers and magistrates both in the eastern and -western empires, with the places at which they were stationed. It may, -in fact, be regarded as the roll-call of the Roman army. The sixty-ninth -section of the work contains a list of the prefects and tribunes under -the command of the Honourable the Duke of Britain. The portion of the -section in which we are at present interested is headed, _Item per -lineam valli_—Also along the line of the Wall—and contains the following -list:— - - The Tribune of the fourth cohort of the Lingones[26] at Segedunum. - The Tribune of the cohort of the Cornovii at Pons Ælii. - The Prefect of the first ala, or wing, of the Astures[27] at - Condercum. - The Tribune of the first cohort of the Frixagi at Vindobala. - The Prefect of the Savinian ala at Hunnum. - The Prefect of the second ala of Astures at Cilurnum. - The Tribune of the first cohort of the Batavians at Procolitia. - The Tribune of the first cohort of the Tungri at Borcovicus. - The Tribune of the fourth cohort of the Gauls at Vindolana. - The Tribune of the first cohort of the Astures at Æsica. - The Tribune of the second cohort of the Dalmatians at Magna. - The Tribune of the first cohort of Dacians, styled Ælia, at - Amboglanna. - The Prefect of the ala, called Petriana, at Petriana. - The Prefect of a detachment of Moors, styled Aureliani, at - Aballaba. - The Tribune of the second cohort of the Lergi at Congavata. - The Tribune of the first cohort of the Spaniards at Axelodunum. - The Tribune of the second cohort of the Thracians at Gabrosentis. - The Tribune of the first marine cohort, styled Ælia, at - Tunnocelum. - The Tribune of the first cohort of the Morini at Glannibanta. - The Tribune of the third cohort of the Nervii at Alionis. - The Cuneus of men in armour at Bremetenracum. - The Prefect of the first ala, styled Herculean, at Olenacum. - The Tribune of the sixth cohort of the Nervii at Virosidum. - -[Sidenote: THE CORROBORATION OF LETTERED STONES.] - -It is not said, nor does it appear, that all these twenty-three stations -were exactly upon the line of the Wall itself. It is very plain indeed, -says Horsley, that according to the Notitia, SEGEDUNUM was the first, -for that immediately follows the title _per lineam valli_; but he has -not told us expressly at what place or station they end.[28] Those -stations which were not on the Wall were probably in its vicinity, and -were connected with it by military ways. The stations in this list are -manifestly, as this writer also observes, set down in some order, and -those that were near to each other are placed together;[29] so that if -we ascertain the identity of some of them, we may form a pretty correct -estimate of the position of the intermediate or neighbouring stations. - -[Illustration] - -When, in the ruins of a station, inscribed stones are found bearing the -name of a cohort mentioned in the Notitia, the inference is natural, -that, in most cases at least, the imperial Notitia will furnish us with -a key to the ancient designation of the station. The argument becomes -irresistible, when, in several successive instances the designations -thus obtained correspond exactly with the order of the places as given -in the Notitia. Let us take an example. At the station of Chesters, on -the North Tyne, several slabs have been found, bearing the name of the -second ala, or wing, of the Astures. One of these is here -represented.[30] It is a sepulchral stone, and bears at the end of the -third and the beginning of the fourth lines the words— - - · · · · · · ALAE - II ASTVR[UM]· · · · - -[Sidenote: CILURNUM APPROPRIATED.] - -[Illustration] - -Now, as the Notitia represents this ala, or troop of cavalry, to have -been stationed at Cilurnum, the probability is, that the camp on the -west bank of the North Tyne is the CILURNUM of Roman Britain. - -Immediately following ‘The second wing of the Astures at CILURNUM,’ on -the Notitia list, is, ‘The first cohort of the Batavians at PROCOLITIA.’ -Now the station immediately west of Chesters is Carrawburgh, and here a -slab and an altar have been found, inscribed with the name of this very -cohort. The woodcut represents one of them,[31] an altar to Fortune, -which is thus inscribed— - - FORTVNAE - COH I BATAVOR[UM] - CVI PRÆEST - MELACCINIVS - MARCELLUS PRÆ[FECTUS] - - To Fortune - The first cohort of the Batavians - Commanded by - Melaccinius - Marcellus, Prefect. - -[Illustration] - -The conclusion is natural,—Carrawburgh is the PROCOLITIA of the Notitia. - -[Sidenote: BORCOVICUS ASCERTAINED.] - -Moving westward, the next station we come to is Housesteads; here -numerous inscribed stones have been discovered, which mention the first -cohort of the Tungri. One of these, an altar to Jupiter, which is now in -the possession of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and -is preserved in their museum, is accurately given in the accompanying -engraving. - - I[OVI] O[PTIMO] M[AXIMO] - ET NVMINIBUS - AVG[USTI] COH[ORS] I TV- - NGRORVM - MIL[LIARIA] CVI PRÆE- - ST Q[UINTUS] VERIVS - SVPERSTIS - PRÆEFECTVS - - To Jupiter, the greatest and best, - And the Deities - Of Augustus; the first cohort of the - Tungri, - A milliary one,[32] commanded by - Quintus Verius - Superstis, - Prefect. - -The correspondence between the Notitia and the sculptures derived from -this station, is again too striking to admit a doubt, that the -Housesteads of the modern shepherd is the BORCOVICUS of the Roman hosts. - -[Sidenote: THE FATE OF LETTERED STONES.] - -In this way, the ancient designations of the stations from SEGEDUNUM, -Wall’s-end, to AMBOGLANNA, Birdoswald, have been accurately ascertained; -but no stony memorial of the past has arisen to confirm the Notitia -account of the stations westward of this point. The peculiarly fertile -nature of the soil between the river Irthing and the Solway has been -inimical to the preservation of the Wall and its antiquities. The wants -of a numerous population rendered stones of every kind valuable; and in -an ignorant age, when anything in the shape of a letter was regarded as -a thing of evil omen, those most precious to the historian were the -first to be sacrificed.[33] [Sidenote: THE STATIONS WEST OF -AMBOGLANNA.]Since the accuracy of the Notitia has been confirmed in so -many instances, it is but fair to conclude, that it may be safely taken -as a guide in fixing the Roman designations of the remaining stations -along the line. Cambeck Fort is the station next to Birdoswald; the -Notitia places PETRIANA next in order to AMBOGLANNA, which has been -ascertained to be Birdoswald—doubtless, according to this reasoning, -Cambeck Fort is the ancient PETRIANA. In this way, could it be certainly -ascertained which were the stations _per lineam valli_, each station -might have its Roman name restored, though not a syllable of the ancient -designation be retained in the modern cognomen. We should have but to -read over the roll-call, and let each camp in succession answer to its -name. Unhappily, there is some doubt as to which are the stations along -the line of the Wall. Horsley conceives that Watch Cross is the station -next in order to Cambeck Fort, and, accordingly, calls it ABALLABA; -Stanwix, Burgh, Drumburgh, and Bowness, he successively denominates, -after the Notitia, CONGAVATA, AXELODUNUM, GABROSENTIS, and TUNNOCELUM. -Subsequent inquirers, and, in particular, the Rev. John Hodgson, have -seen reason to suspect that Watch Cross was not a station _per lineam -valli_. It probably was destitute of stone walls, and was surrounded -only by a rampart of earth.[34] It seems to have been a mere _castra -æstiva_—a summer encampment, and consequently, was not entitled to rank -with those strongholds that were intended to withstand all foes at all -seasons. Should Watch Cross be laid aside, the whole of Horsley’s -subsequent allocation of the Notitia names is thrown out of course. It -is much to be desired that some ‘Witch Stone’ would start from its -hiding-place in the foundation of some cottage or castle in the -neighbourhood of any one of the stations west of Cambeck Fort, and -resolve the interesting question. Until such an event does occur, some -doubt must hang upon the subject. The reader will now understand how it -is, that, according to some authorities, the stations immediately -dependent upon the Wall are said to be eighteen in number, and according -to others only seventeen. For the reason just referred to, the Notitia -names of the stations are not given on the Map of the Wall westward of -PETRIANA. - -The remainder of the stations of the Notitia were probably out-posts, -intended to give support to the whole structure. The difficulty of -rightly appropriating the Notitia appellations to such of these as have -not yielded inscribed stones, is even greater than in the case of those -which follow more closely the line of the Wall. - -[Sidenote: THE EXTINCTION OF ROMAN NAMES.] - -Before leaving this subject, the reader will do well to compare the -ancient with the modern names of the stations, as far as they are -ascertained; in doing so, he will be struck with the almost total -absence of any similarity between them. So complete, it would appear, -has been the subversion by Pict, and Saxon, and Dane, of the Roman -domination in the north of England, that the very names of the cities -which were occupied by the empire for centuries have perished, - - And, like this unsubstantial pageant faded, - Leave not a rack behind. - -[Sidenote: THE CASTELLA OR MILE-CASTLES.] - -In addition to the Stations, CASTELLA or MILE-CASTLES were provided for -the use of the troops which garrisoned the Wall. They derive their -modern name from the circumstance of their being usually placed at the -distance of a Roman mile from each other. They were quadrangular -buildings, differing somewhat in size, but usually measuring from sixty -to seventy feet in each direction. With two exceptions, they have been -placed against the southern face of the Wall; the castle at Portgate, -every trace of which is now obliterated, and another near ÆSICA, the -foundations of which may, with some difficulty, still be traced, seem to -have projected equally to the north and south of the Wall. Though -generally placed about seven furlongs from each other, the nature of the -ground, independently of distance, has frequently determined the spot of -their location. Whenever the Wall has had occasion to traverse a river -or a mountain pass, a mile-castle has uniformly been placed on the one -side or other to guard the defile. The mile-towers have generally had -but one gate of entrance, which was of very substantial masonry, and was -uniformly placed in the centre of the south wall; the most perfect -specimen now remaining, however, has a northern, as well as a southern -gateway. It is not easy to conjecture what were the internal -arrangements of these buildings; probably they afforded little -accommodation beyond what their four strong walls and well-barred gates -gave. Hodgson states that when the foundations of the castle northeast -of Housesteads were removed in 1832, the remains of an inner wall were -seen, all round, parallel to the outer walls. He hence infers that the -space between the walls has been roofed, and the centre uncovered. -Deferring the further discussion of this subject until, in the course of -our local description, we arrive at the most perfect specimen -remaining—the mile-castle near Cawfields—the reader is meanwhile -referred to the lithograph which depicts this interesting remain. - -[Sidenote: THE TURRETS OR WATCH TOWERS.] - -Between the mile-castles, four subsidiary buildings, generally -denominated TURRETS or WATCH TOWERS, were placed. They were little more -than stone sentry-boxes. It is with much difficulty that they can now be -traced. Horsley, in his day, complained that ‘scarce three of them could -be made out in succession.’ Would that the modern antiquary could make -the same lamentation! Scarcely one along the whole line can with -certainty be determined. They contained an interior space of eight or -ten feet square. Horsley states the distance between them to have been -three hundred and eight yards—the whole number would consequently be -three hundred and twenty. Though small buildings, they were, like all -the works of the Romans, built for perpetuity. Hodgson found the walls -of one near Birdoswald to be nearly three feet thick. Such were the -buildings provided for the lodgement and security of the cohorts, whose -hard lot it was to guard this frontier barrier. A plan of Cilurnum, and -the works in its vicinity, taken from Warburton’s Vallum Romanum, in -Plate II., exhibits these arrangements, and shews, as he remarks, how -the Wall and the Vallum, the stations, turrets, and castles, yielded -mutual assistance to each other. - -[Sidenote: THE MILITARY WAY.] - -But all these arrangements were not enough; without ROADS, one important -element in the strength of the Great Barrier would have been wanting. -Nothing economizes military force more effectually than the possession -of means for quickly concentrating all available resources upon any -point that the enemy may select for attack. The advance of Roman armies, -and the formation of roads, were uniformly contemporaneous. The Barrier -had its MILITARY WAY. It is impossible to over-estimate the importance -of this part of the works. Without it, all the rest would have been -useless. It would not, perhaps, be incorrect to say that both Vallum and -Wall were subsidiary to it, and that the chief use of these structures -was to guard the road, and to protect and conceal from view, both on the -north and south, the troops that marched along it. The modern history of -the district traversed by the Wall furnishes a singular corroboration of -this opinion. In the rebellion of 1715, the operations of the royalist -forces were greatly impeded by the absence of a good road between -Newcastle and Carlisle. In the rebellion of 1745, a similar -inconvenience was experienced. Marshal Wade was at Newcastle when the -Pretender appeared before the city of Carlisle. The commandant of the -city immediately sent an express to inform him of his position. The -general’s answer contained these words:— - - Newcastle, November 10th, 1745, 7 o’clock. - - GENTLEMEN, - - I have just now the favour of your letter by express, with an account - of the Rebels’ approach near your city. The spirit and resolution with - which you exert yourselves is very commendable, and I hope will - contribute to disappoint the Rebels of any design they may have formed - against you. ..... _I cannot follow them, the way they may probably - take being impassable for Artillery_ ..... but I hope to meet them in - Lancashire, and make them repent of their rashness. ... I wish you all - imaginable success, - - And am, Gentlemen, your - Most obedient humble servant, - GEORGE WADE.[35] - -[Sidenote: THE IMPORTANCE OF MILITARY ROADS.] - -Thus, for want of a military road across the Isthmus, the importance of -which had been perceived by the Romans sixteen centuries previously, the -safety of the kingdom was perilled, and a hostile force permitted to -pour itself into the heart of England. After such terrible warnings, -government at last interfered, and an act of Parliament was passed which -set forth in the preamble:— - - Whereas the making and keeping a free and open communication between - the city of Carlisle and the town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, by a road - for the passage of troops, horses, and carriages, at all times of the - year, would be of great use and service to the public, and it hath - been found by experience, that the want of such road, passage, and - communication, hath been attended with great inconvenience and danger - to this kingdom. ....: Be it enacted, &c. - -The road now known in the district by the name of the Military Road was -accordingly made at the public expense. It is not a little remarkable -that it takes precisely the track which the engineers of Rome had so -many centuries before selected. In the map of the Wall which accompanies -this work, the modern military road is delineated. - -The importance of a good road, protected by military posts at short -intervals, in securing the tranquillity of a turbulent district, is -strikingly shewn in another instance. That part of the great highway -between Madrid and Cadiz which crosses the wild hills of the Sierra -barrier, was formerly left to the robber and the wolf, without roads or -villages. A road, admirably planned, was at length executed by Charles -Le Maur, an able engineer in the service of Charles III. The task of -guarding it was the difficulty next to be overcome. For this purpose, -Spain, who had colonized the new world, and expelled her rich Jews and -industrious Moors, was compelled to resort to foreign assistance. In -1768, a colony of Germans and Swiss settled upon the line on condition -of maintaining a constant guard.[36] This is done to the present day. -Several consecutive towns, such as Carolina, in Andalusia, are occupied -by people speaking nothing but the German language, and regular patrols -are constantly on the move from one town to another. These Germans have -their land in better order and cultivation than the Spaniards. This -Spanish highway, with its stations at regular intervals, with its -foreign guards, who from generation to generation maintain the tongue -and the habits of their fatherland, presents too many points of -resemblance to the manner in which the northern frontier of Roman power -in Britain was defended, to be passed over without obtaining at least -this brief notice. - -[Sidenote: MILITARY ROADS.] - -Gordon, in his Itinerarium Septentrionale, says, that two military ways -belonged to the Barrier; a small Military Way a little to the south of -the Wall, and, beyond it, the Great Military Way. In addition to these, -Horsley enumerates a third, which he calls the Old Military Way. Horsley -conceives that the north rampart of the Vallum constitutes the road -which was used by Agricola and Hadrian in transporting their troops from -station to station, and that when Severus built the Wall, he formed a -new road—the great military way—which pursued an independent course, -sometimes coinciding with the old road, but more frequently keeping -nearer to the Wall. That there may have been a path-way immediately -under the Wall which went from turret to turret, on which the Roman -sentries marched with slow and measured pace, when they did not choose -to expose themselves upon the parapets of the Wall, is not improbable; -though we now look in vain for any traces of it. But that the north -agger of the Vallum was thrown up either by Agricola or Hadrian to serve -the purposes of a road, is a proposition too startling to be received -even on the authority of the learned Horsley. In some places, indeed, it -is sufficiently flattened to admit of the passage of traffic along it, -but in the greater part of the course where the works of the Vallum are -not under cultivation, the rampart is too conical, too narrow, and too -ragged, to admit of such a use. Excepting in those situations, where -stones are mingled with the whole mass of the agger, it exhibits no -signs of having been paved.[37] The manner in which all the ramparts of -the Vallum on Tepper Moor are encumbered with blocks of basalt, clearly -shews, that here at least there has been no road. Besides, few who trace -the lines of the Vallum from sea to sea, and observe their complete -parallelism, will be able to resist the conclusion, that the whole of -the works were contemporaneous; whereas, Horsley’s theory ascribes part -to Agricola, and part to Hadrian: moreover, it may be added, that so -much do the northern and the southernmost aggers resemble each other, -that unbiassed observers will scarcely entertain a doubt, that they have -been thrown up to serve a precisely similar purpose. - -[Sidenote: THE MILITARY WAY.] - -Happily, there is no room for doubt respecting the other road, which -Horsley calls Severus’ Greater Military Way, as in the untilled -districts of the country it may be traced for several consecutive miles; -and if we receive the theory, that the Murus and Vallum are one work, -there is no need to seek for any other. - -[Sidenote: CONSTRUCTION OF THE ROAD.] - -THE MILITARY WAY is usually about seventeen feet wide, and is composed -of rubble so arranged as to present a rounded surface, elevated in its -centre a foot or eighteen inches above the adjoining ground. When -carried along the slope of a hill, the hanging side is made up by large -kerb-stones. In most places where it still remains, it is completely -grass-grown, but may, notwithstanding, be easily distinguished from the -neighbouring ground by the colour of its herbage, the dryness of its -substratum allowing the growth of a finer description of plant. For the -same reason, a sheep-track generally runs along it. For the -accommodation of the soldiery, the road went from castle to castle, and -so, from station to station. In doing this, it did not always keep close -to the Wall, but took the easiest path between the required points. In -traversing the precipitous grounds between Sewingshields and Thirlwall, -the ingenuity of the engineer has been severely tried; but most -successfully has he performed his task. Whilst, as previously observed, -the Wall shoots over the highest and steepest summits, the road pursues -its tortuous course from one platform of the rock to another, so as to -bring the traveller from mile-castle to mile-castle by the easiest -possible gradients. Often has it been my lot to notice how naturally, -towards the close of a fatiguing day’s march, the less zealous of our -exploring party, more anxious to select an easy track than to keep close -companionship with the Wall, have, most unconsciously, pursued the route -of the Roman way. But, notwithstanding all the art of the engineer, the -steepness of the road in some places is such, that most of our modern -carmen, with all their boasted skill, would be greatly puzzled if -required to traverse it with a waggon laden with military stores.[38] - -[Sidenote: ADDITIONAL ROAD.] - -Although the road now described has probably been the only carriage-way -between the two great lines of fortification, another, situated to the -south of them, has afforded direct communication between some of the -inland stations. From CILURNUM to MAGNA, the Wall forms a curved line, -in order to gain the highest hills of the district. For the -accommodation of those whose business did not require them to call at -any intermediate point, a road went, like the string of a bow, direct -from the one station to the other. This road, which is shewn in Plate -II., went near the modern village of Newburgh, where Roman remains are -occasionally found, and passed by the north gate of VINDOLANA, -Chesterholm, near to which a Roman mile-stone still stands. Some -portions of the ancient pavement still remain near Morwood. It is -probable that this Roman Military Way was further continued, south of -the Wall, direct to Stanwix. - -[Sidenote: SPEAKING TUBES IN THE WALL.] - -If tradition is to be credited, the Romans were not satisfied with roads -as a means of rapidly communicating information; speaking-trumpets or -pipes, we are told, ran along the whole length of the Wall. Of this, -Drayton, long ago, sang in his Polyolbion— - - Townes stood upon my length, where garrisons were laid Their limits to - defend; and for my greater aid, With turrets I was built, where - sentinels were plac’d To watch upon the Pict; so me my makers grac’d - With hollow pipes of brasse, along me still they went, By which they - in one fort still to another sent, By speaking in the same, to tell - them what to doe, And soe from sea to sea could I be whispered - through. - -Sir Christopher Ridley, in his letter tells us, that— - - In this Wall was theyr a trunck of brass, or whatever kynd of mettal, - which went from one place to another along the Wall, and came into the - Captaynes chamber, whereat they had watchers for the same, and yf - theyr had bene stryfe or business betwyxt the enemies, and that the - watchmen did blow a horn in at the end of the truncke that came into - the chamber, and so from one to one; there was certayn money payed - yearly to the mantenance of this trunck by the inhabitants theyrabout, - and doith yet pay to some gentilmen in Northymberland, the which money - is called horn-geld money.[39] - -[Sidenote: THE THEORY PROBABLY INCORRECT.] - -Camden also refers to this curious tradition. Once, but only once, have -I met with this story in my own rambles. Such myths will not long -outlive the introduction of the electric telegraph. ‘There are no old -people upon the Wall now,’ as a man of three-score lately said to me, -when I was endeavouring to persuade him to gather up from his still more -ancient neighbour the fire-side lore of by-gone times. - -It is curious to observe that a similar statement is made respecting the -BARRIER of the UPPER ISTHMUS. A correspondent writes— - - One old man told me, that when he was young, on digging through one of - the wall stations—at Upper Croy—they came upon stone pipes, laid - horizontally in the soil, and joined at the ends like those for water. - From the elevation of the place, it is quite obvious that they could - not be water conduits. This old person said that the idea he had heard - ‘learned people’ give of these pipes, was, that they were for speaking - through. That the pipes were found, and made of stone, not clay, is - certain. - -Pipes of lead are occasionally met with in the ruins of the stations, -and pipes of burnt clay are of very frequent occurrence. To this -circumstance the tradition probably owes its rise. They are not, -however, found in the Wall, and when placed in the stations, seem to -have served a different purpose. One use to which the tile-tubes have -been put has been the transmission of warm air throughout an apartment. -The walls of one of the chambers of the ‘baths’ at HUNNUM were lined -with them. Others may have been used, especially in high situations, for -collecting rain-water from the roofs of the dwellings, and conveying it -to cisterns. Besides, the inutility of the contrivance militates against -the probability of its adoption: the sentinels at their posts could -easily transmit hasty intelligence from end to end, by the voice or by -horns, without pipes imbedded in the Wall, which, even if constructed, -would probably be useless for such a purpose. - -This traditionary fiction is probably of more than mediæval antiquity. -Xiphiline, in his life of Severus, tells some such marvellous tale about -the towers of Byzantium. - - * * * * * - -[Sidenote: THE MASONRY OF THE WALL.] - -A description of the MASONRY of the erections which have passed in -review before us will conclude this general examination of the Barrier. - -The following extract of a letter with which I have been favoured by -Robert Rawlinson, esq., Inspector of the Board of Health, will form an -excellent introduction to the subject. - - I have several times thought over the subject of the Roman Wall since - I had the pleasure of seeing you. The Romans constructed works with - many different kinds of masonry; no doubt all chosen to suit the - material used, the place, and the skill of the builders. In Rome, and - Italy generally, works of great magnificence were constructed, when - the art displayed was equal to the grandeur of the design. Such a work - was the famed Arch of Trajan, the Arch of Septimius Severus, the Arch - of Constantine, the Baths of Diocletian, and others. In these works, - construction of the highest order was used, and the sculptor emulated - the architect. The lettered altars and sculptured figures found on the - line of ‘the Wall’ must not be compared with the best workmanship of - Rome. - -[Sidenote: NATIVE LABOURERS EMPLOYED.] - - I am quite satisfied, in my own mind, that the general character of - the work on the Wall was adapted to suit the time, the country, and - more especially, the labourers employed on the work. The Wall, being a - work of defence, had to be constructed in haste; the country was wild, - rude, and without roads, excepting such as the Romans caused to be - made. This ‘caused to be made’ is I think, the key to the character of - the masonry chosen.... The form of construction is the easiest and - strongest which rude, uneducated men could accomplish; and, with good - mortar, such as the Romans knew so well how to make, is the kind of - work calculated to endure for centuries, as we find it has done.... - The works of the Wall I consider to have been chiefly constructed by - the natives, under the armed superintendence and teaching of the - soldier. The Roman knew no right but that of the conqueror; his object - was conquest for use; use of the land, and the labour that was upon - it. The Roman soldier was a fighting animal, and was so far civilized - as to know how to make the comparative savage do his work upon his - plan, and this was shaped to suit the labour used. Consider the length - of the Wall, and the extent of the works upon it, and it will be seen - that for the army to have constructed it, would have been to have kept - them constantly working instead of watching and fighting. - - Some years ago I had a large quantity of heavy masonry to construct on - one of the railways. It was not unlike the Roman Wall in character. I - found a difficulty in dealing with the regularly educated mason, and - bought several scores of trowels and hammers; these I placed in the - hands of uneducated labourers, set them to work under the - superintendence of educated foremen, looking after the whole myself. - This is a case similar to the one I have imagined for the great Wall; - only the work my labourers performed had more difficulties about it - than the Wall, and yet, these uneducated men performed the work - perfectly.[40] - - Think of the Roman bringing in at the sword’s point, hundreds of - captive natives, placing for the first time tools in their hands, - indicating the work to be done, and compelling the trembling slaves to - do it![41] - -The stones employed in building the Wall and stations were very -carefully selected. When good stones were to be had near at hand, they -were taken; but those of inferior quality were never used to avoid the -labour of bringing better from a distance. In some parts of the line, in -Cumberland especially, the stone must have been brought from quarries -seven or eight miles off. A quartzose grit was generally selected not -only on account of its hardness, but because its rough surface gave it a -firmer adhesion to the mortar. The stone which has been used in the -works at Wallsend is of a much coarser grit than any that is found in -the neighbourhood. - -[Sidenote: THE QUARRIES USED.] - -The quarries from which the stone has been procured can in many -instances be precisely ascertained. At Fallowfield, not far from -CILURNUM, is an ancient quarry on the face of which the words, - - [P]ETRA FLAVI CARANTINI, - -the rock of Flavius Carantinus—are still to be traced. The vignette at -the close of this part represents its present condition. On opening out, -in the year 1837, some old quarries on the high, brown hill of Borcum, -near Thorngrafton, a small copper vessel was found, containing a large -number of coins, all of the upper empire. Another Roman quarry existed -on Haltwhistle Fell. In a paper recently read before the Society of -Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Mr. John Clayton says— - - In riding over Haltwhistle Fell, before its enclosure, in the summer - of 1844, I came upon some workmen employed in re-opening an old - quarry. They told me they had met with a ‘written stone’; I - dismounted, and climbed the face of the rock, when I found inscribed - in letters clear and fresh - - LEG. VI. V. - - From its position on a wide waste, far removed from any abode, but in - the immediate vicinity of the Roman Wall, this quarry could not - possibly have been used for any other purpose than to supply stones - for the building of the Wall; and from the freshness of the letters of - the inscription, it must have been filled up with earth soon after the - soldiers ceased to use it. The workmen promised to spare the ‘written - rock,’ but the next time I rode that way it had been shivered to - atoms. - -[Illustration: - - Drawn & Lithographed by John Storey - WRITTEN ROCK ON THE RIVER GELT. -] - -[Sidenote: INSCRIPTIONS ON THE QUARRIES.] - -In Cumberland, there are several Roman inscriptions on the face of the -ancient quarries. About a mile west of Birdoswald, and little more than -a quarter of a mile south of the road, is Coome Crag, which, besides -other markings, presents the following inscription— - - SE · · RVS - AI · · · · - · · · VSTUS - -This perhaps may be read—SEVERUS ALEXANDER AUGUSTUS. The most remarkable -of this class of Antiquities, however, is the ‘Written Rock of the -Gelt,’ near Brampton. The lithograph on the opposite page is a very -accurate representation of this curious relic of antiquity. As the scar -is nearly perpendicular, and the river Gelt washes its base, it is not -without some difficulty that the inquiring visitor can give it a -satisfactory examination; it will, however, well reward his exertions, -and the beauty of the surrounding scenery will give additional zest to -the ramble. [Sidenote: INSCRIPTIONS ON THE QUARRIES.]The inscribed part -of the rock is fully fifty feet above the water. The letters seem to -have been made by connecting with a chisel or pick a [Illustration: -‘Letters] number of holes drilled in the rock in the required order; at -all events, the terminations of the strokes have been thus formed. Some -doubt exists as to the precise reading of the inscription, but the -general purport of it is this:—The vexillarii of the second legion under -an optio called Agricola, were, in the consulship of Flavius Aper and -Albinus Maximus (A.D. 207), employed to hew stone here for the -Romans.[42] It is piteous, when surveying so interesting a relic of -antiquity, and one which has outlived the accidents of upwards of -sixteen centuries, to observe that it has been approached by men who -cannot sympathize with the mighty dead, and who care not what violence -they do to the feelings of those who can. To the defacement, as I -believe, of some portion of the inscription, the names of F. GRAHAM, W. -HARDCASTLE, T. THOMPSON, W. NELSON, have been carved upon the rock. -Notoriety is easily earned, but it is not always of an enviable -character. - -[Illustration: Form of Wall-Stone] - -[Sidenote: CHARACTER OF THE FACING-STONES.] - -The exterior masonry of the Wall consists, on both sides, of carefully -squared free-stone blocks[43]; the interior, of rubble of any -description firmly imbedded in mortar. The character of the -facing-stones is peculiar, yet pretty uniform. They are eight or nine -inches thick, and ten or eleven broad; their length, which is perhaps -their characteristic feature, not unfrequently amounts to twenty inches. -The part of the stone exposed to the weather is cut across ‘the bait,’ -so as to avoid its scaling off by the lines of stratification; the stone -tapers towards the end which is set into the Wall, and has a form nearly -resembling that of a wedge. The cut shews its usual form. Owing to the -extent to which the stones are set into the Wall, the necessity of -bonding tiles—so characteristic of Roman masonry in the south of -England—is altogether superseded. There does not appear to have been a -single tile used in any part of the Wall. Stones of the shape and size -which have now been described were just those which could be most easily -wrought in the quarry, most conveniently carried on the backs of the -poor enslaved Britons to the Wall, and most easily fitted into their -bed. The uniformity in their appearance is such as to enable us, after a -little practice, at once to recognize them in the churches, castles, -farm-buildings, and fences of the district through which the Wall runs. - -[Illustration: Junction of the west wall of Birdoswald with the Wall] - -[Sidenote: MASONRY OF THE STATIONS.] - -In Cumberland, the stones are rather larger than in the eastern portion -of the line, a thickness of twelve inches not being uncommon, with a -corresponding breadth. The blocks in the north face of the Wall, also, -are not unfrequently larger than those in the south. The stones of which -the walls of the stations are composed are smaller than those of the -main Wall. Their average thickness is from five to seven inches, and -their breadth from six to eight. The woodcut which is here introduced, -depicts the junction of the west wall of the station of AMBOGLANNA with -the Wall, and well displays the different character of the stones used -in two erections. As already observed, the stations appear to have been -built before the Wall, and as the necessity of the case required that -they should be run up as quickly as possible, a smaller class of stone -was allowed to pass muster here than was used in the Wall. The -workmanship also is of inferior quality. - -[Sidenote: THE TOOLING OF THE STONES.] - -[Illustration: diamond broaching] - -The front of the stones, both of the Wall and stations, is roughly -‘scabbled’ with the pick. In some parts of the line, this tooling takes -a definite form; when this is the case, the marking called the diamond -broaching is most common. Sometimes the [Illustration: waved lines] -stone is scored with waved lines, or with small squares, or with nearly -upright lines. The woodcuts illustrative of the masonry at Chester Holm, -and of the Crypt at Hexham, to be introduced along with [Illustration: -upright lines] the account of these places, will exemplify some of these -kinds of broaching. It was not until I had become tolerably familiar -with the Wall, that my attention was called to this peculiar kind of -tooling. A visit to HABITANCUM and BREMENIUM, where the stones are -nearly all broached in the diamond fashion, induced me to inspect the -Wall more narrowly in this respect. I have since frequently detected it, -especially in Cumberland. It is rare in the Northumbrian portion. Is -this broaching peculiar to a particular legion, or to a certain period? -The station of HABITANCUM is understood to have been rebuilt by -Caracalla—can the other stations, and those parts of the Wall where this -kind of marking appears, have also undergone repair at the same time, or -is it the work of some particular legion? The same kind of broaching may -be noticed in some of the stones at Chester, the DEVA ICENORUM of the -Romans, which was for a long time the head quarters of the 20th legion. -Though unable to resolve the doubt, I think that the prosecution of the -inquiry may lead to some worthy result. - -[Sidenote: MASONS' MARKS.] - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -Cuttings resembling masons’ marks occasionally occur. Sometimes they -consist of a single or double stroke; sometimes of a diagonal cross, -sometimes of a rectangular. The other marks which are here represented -are less frequently met with.[44] - -[Illustration] - -[Sidenote: ROMAN MORTAR.] - -The tenacity of the mortar which was used, forms an important element in -the strength of the whole fabric. That which is in use now is generally -spoiled, from a variety of circumstances. The prevailing practice is, -first of all, to slack the lime by pouring a quantity of water upon it -when lying in a heap; in most cases this does not sufficiently pulverize -it: it is then mixed with any earth bearing the least resemblance to -sand, and the two are worked together very imperfectly with a shovel. -The mortar thus made often stands and hardens, so as to require to to be -once and again mixed with water, and worked up before it is used. It -thus becomes quite impoverished; and, after all, for the convenience of -the mason, it is employed in so dry a state that the stone soon takes -all the moisture from it, and it becomes little better than powder. The -gigantic railway operations of recent times have driven men out of the -beaten track, and compelled them afresh to discover the Roman method of -preparing mortar. On the authority of engineers well acquainted with the -Roman Wall, I am enabled to state, that the mortar of that structure is -precisely similar to the grout and concrete[45] of the railway mason of -the present day. Specimens of the ancient and modern grout are before -me, and there cannot be a doubt as to the identity of their preparation. - -The following is the mode in which the railway engineer prepares his -mortar. The lime, in the state in which it comes from the kiln, is first -ground to powder, and is then mixed with sand and gravel, and chippings -of stone. The purposes for which the mortar is required indicate the -coarseness and quantity of the intermingling gravel. When wanted as -concrete, to form, independently of other materials, the foundation of -some heavy structure, stony fragments of larger size are mingled with -the lime than when the mortar is to be used to cement chiselled stones, -or even than when wanted to constitute with rubble the interior of a -wall. The mixture of pounded lime and gravel, when made, is not mingled -with water, until the moment of its application to the work for which it -is required, but it is then intimately united with an abundant quantity -of it. When used as concrete, the mass will, in three hours, have -solidity sufficient to bear the weight of a man, and in about three days -it will have acquired a rock-like firmness. - -Such, doubtless, is the way[46] in which the mortar of the Roman Wall -was prepared, and it would have this very important advantage over that -generally used at present, that, in a very short time, the work would -acquire a massiveness and strength, sufficient to resist the attacks of -an enemy. The mortar of the Saxon and Norman periods is of the same -character. - -Occasionally, but by no means frequently, small pieces of charcoal are -mixed with the mortar. These have evidently been derived from the wood -used in burning the lime. Excepting in the buildings of the stations, -pounded tile, so characteristic of the Roman mortar in the south of -England, is by no means a common constituent of the mortar of the Wall. -Limestone is abundant in most parts of the district through which the -Wall passes. The Romans probably burnt it in ‘sow kilns.’ The limestone -and fuel being arranged in alternate layers, the whole was carefully -covered with turf and ignited. This simple method is still much resorted -to when the lime is wanted for farm purposes. - - _PLATE III_ - -[Illustration: Sections and Elevations of the Masonry of the Wall] - -[Sidenote: THE MODE OF BUILDING.] - -Supposing the stones to be now quarried and squared, the lime burnt and -mixed with sand and gravel, the next point to be attended to is the -method of using them. The foundation has been prepared by the removal of -the natural soil to the width of about nine feet. In the hill district, -a very scanty portion of earth covers the rocks; in the richer regions -an excavation of from fifteen to eighteen inches has been made before -the subsoil was reached. On the outer and inner margins of the ground -thus bared, two rows of flags of from two to four inches in thickness, -and from eighteen to twenty in breadth, were generally laid; no mortar -was placed under them.[47] On these lay the first course of -facing-stones, which were usually the largest stones used in the -structure. In higher courses the facing-stones are uniformly of -free-stone, on the ground course a ‘whin-stone’ is occasionally -introduced. The flagstones of the foundation usually project from one to -five inches beyond the first course of facing-stones, and these again -usually stand out an inch or two beyond the second course, after which, -the wall is taken straight up. In some parts of the line the flagstones -do not appear in the foundation—the first course of facing-stones being -laid directly upon the ground. In the neighbourhood of Sewingshields, -where large tracts of the Wall have been recently removed, a careful -observer informs me, that the entire foundation has for some distance -been laid upon a bed of clay of three or four inches thick. - -[Sidenote: THE RUBBLE OF THE WALL.] - -One or two courses of facing-stones having been placed in their beds and -carefully pointed, a mass of mortar in a very fluid state was poured -into the interior of the wall, and stones of any kind or shape that were -of a convenient size were ‘puddled’ in amongst it. Whin-stones, as being -most abundant in the district, are generally used for the filling. -Course after course was added, and one mass of concrete imposed upon -another, until the Wall reached the required height. When the whole was -finished it formed a solid, compact mass, without any holes or crevices -in the interior, and in a short time became as firm as the unhewn rock. - -In some parts of the line the mortar has been ‘hand-laid.’ The rubble of -the interior having been first disposed in its place, the mortar has -been laid upon it with a trowel. In this case the mortar never -penetrates the interstices of the mass, and does not make such solid -masonry as the method generally pursued. When, however, this plan is -adopted, the rubble stones are often laid upon their edges in a slanting -position; and when those of the next layer, as occasionally occurs, are -made to lean in the opposite direction, we have the kind of -[Illustration: herring-bone work] masonry represented in the adjoining -diagram, which is appropriately called herring-bone work. The nearest -approach to this that I have seen upon the line of the Wall is at -Steel-rig, and Hare-hill. In Hodgson’s Northumberland[48] a section of -the Wall on Walltown crag is given, exhibiting herring-bone masonry. In -this instance the stones are disposed transversely to the Wall, at -Steel-rig and Hare-hill they are disposed longitudinally; the latter -method is the easier of the two.[49] - -On wavy ground the courses of the Wall follow the undulations of the -surface, but on steep inclines the stones are laid parallel to the -horizon. The Wall, in this case, must have been built up from the bottom -of the defile, where also, in order the better to resist the -superincumbent mass, it not unfrequently has a greater breadth than -usual. As shewing that different sections of the Wall have been erected -under distinct superintendents, it may occasionally be observed that, -whilst on one slope of a ‘gap’ the stones are laid parallel to the -horizon, on the other, differing little perhaps in inclination, they are -laid even with the ground. - -[Sidenote: DURABILITY OF THE STRUCTURE.] - -We must now take leave of this important part of our subject, the -masonry of the Wall. Judging from those portions of it which remain, it -may safely be asserted, that no structure can be conceived to possess -greater strength and durability. The first time I happened to visit -Bowness (in the year 1831), some portions of the Wall, seven feet high, -were in the course of being removed; it was found necessary to resort to -the force of gunpowder in order to effect its destruction. In the -substantial nature of their works, the Romans have left the impress of -their own mighty minds. They built not for the day. They did not -conceive that their existence was bound up in the fate of a single -generation, but that it was spread over the destinies of succeeding -ages. Their works contrast strongly with the efforts of some modern -builders. The editor of the pictorial volume, styled ‘Old England,’ -seems, in the following passage, to speak from personal observation. - - Passing by the fragments of which we have spoken, we are under the - north wall [of Richborough]—a wondrous work calculated to impress us - with a conviction that the people who built it were not the petty - labourers of an hour, who were contented with temporary defences and - frail resting places. The outer works upon the southern cliff of - Dover, which were run up during the war with Napoleon, at prodigious - expense, are crumbling and perishing, through the weakness of job and - contract, which could not endure for half a century. And here stand - the walls of Richborough, as they have stood for eighteen hundred - years, from twenty to thirty feet high, eleven or twelve feet thick at - the base, with their outer masonry in many parts as perfect as at the - hour when their courses of tiles and stones were first laid in - beautiful regularity. - -[Sidenote: ITS EVENTUAL DECAY.] - -If the meddling hand of man had been withheld from the Barrier of the -Lower Isthmus, the Wall might have stood, even to the present hour, in -almost its original integrity. It is necessary to say ‘almost,’ for -nothing can be more correct than the observation of Hodgson— - - Though man has had the chief labour in effecting its destruction, its - whole line and all its stations, castles, and towers, ever since it - was deserted by the Romans, have been incessantly suffering - prostration by the hand of nature. The feeble roots of grasses, ferns, - and shrubs, have been assisted by the more destructive wedges and - levers of forest trees in levelling it with the ground; and, in many - places in the west of this county, for considerable distances - together, the ruins that time has thrown from its brow, lie in a deep - green mound at its feet; and thorns, briars, hazel, and mountain ash - (entwined with relentless ivy), are still, in the parts that remain - above ground, at the labour of demolition in which, for the last - fourteen centuries, they have been unceasingly engaged. - -In this day, when the Arabic numerals assert an influence quite as -potent as that which the lictors’ rods obtained in ancient Rome, the -inquiries may not be destitute of interest—What amount of labour was -involved in the construction of the Barrier, in what time could it be -accomplished, and what, at the present value of labour and materials, -would be the cost of its construction? - -[Sidenote: MONEY VALUE OF THE BARRIER.] - - The Wall is sixty-eight miles long; granting that it was only sixteen - feet high, but had a continuous thickness of eight feet, we have - 1,702,115 cubic yards of masonry, to say nothing of stations, - mile-castles, and turrets. - - Twelve shillings per cubic yard is as near as may be the present value - of masonry, such as that of which the Roman Wall consists—the cost of - this part of the structure would therefore be 1,021,269_l._ - - Taking into account that the labour was forced, each cubic yard of the - Wall would, at the least, require, in quarrying the stone, its - carriage to the Wall, its setting, and other operations, one entire - day’s exertions of one man. In this way we have 1,702,115 days’ labour - in the stone Wall. - - Taking the north fosse at the dimensions already given, its excavation - would involve the removal of 5,585,072 cubic yards. A modern - excavator, stimulated by pay proportioned to his work, enjoying food, - and raiment, and shelter, such as the ancient Briton was a stranger - to, and possessing the advantage of good tools, and good organization, - can remove the enormous quantity of twenty cubic yards of earth per - day. The labourer, driven to his ungrateful task by a Roman - task-master, and compelled to support himself as best he might, and to - labour with tools of the rudest construction, would not accomplish the - half of this task; the removal of eight yards _per diem_ would - probably be an average day’s work. The excavation of the north fosse - would thus, under these circumstances, involve 698,134 days’ labour. - At the present time, when twenty cubic yards may be removed per man in - a day, and when a day’s wages may be set down at half-a-crown, the - whole cost of the excavation of the fosse would be 34,906_l._ - - In this estimate no account has been taken of the increased labour - occasioned by cutting through the rocks that are sometimes met with. - The entire absence of the ditch, however, in the hilly district, - compensates for this omission. - - The fosse of the Vallum is rather less than that of the Wall. Making a - deduction of one-third on this account, and supposing that the - distance which the Vallum falls short of the Wall at each extremity, - makes amends for the increased labour of cutting through the rocky - ground, we have 3,723,382 cubic yards to be removed, involving 465,422 - days of forced labour. The whole could now be done for the sum of - 23,271_l._ No account is taken of the labour expended in raising the - earthen ramparts, or the cost of their construction, for the reason, - that the removal of the earth from the fosse implied its being - deposited somewhere; no place would be more convenient for this - purpose than the mounds of the rampart. - -[Sidenote: TIME REQUIRED FOR ITS CONSTRUCTION.] - - Adding together these results, we find that the cost of the Wall and - its north fosse would be 1,056,175_l._, and that the cost of the - Vallum, added to this would form a total of 1,079,446_l._ The number - of days’ labour involved in the Wall would be 2,400,249, and, adding - to this, that of the Vallum, we have for the whole 2,865,671 days’ - labour. - - The largest number of men that we can conceive to be brought to bear - at once upon the Wall, including such of the Roman troops as could be - spared from military operations, is ten thousand. This body, at the - rate already supposed, would, by continuous labour, execute the Wall - and its ditch in 240 days, and, taking the Vallum also into account, - in 286 days. In the exposed district over which the Wall runs, it is - not probable that the weather would allow of the work being pursued - during more than two hundred days in the year. If, in addition to - this, we make deductions for the chances of war, two years may be - stated as the shortest time in which the whole of the works could be - executed. - -A recent writer, who, in a work denominated ‘A History of the Picts or -Romano-British Wall,’ adopts the notion of Gildas, that the stone wall -was built, not by Hadrian or Severus, but by the trembling Britons on -their abandonment by the Romans, supports his opinion by denominating -the work an un-Roman-like defence, and argues that men who were -unaccustomed to fear, would not seek the assistance of a wall and a -ditch. However regardless of life the Romans may, in the abstract, have -been, they knew how to economize their resources. In the battle of the -Grampians, Agricola withheld his legionary soldiers, and made use only -of his auxiliary troops. He could better afford to expend the one than -the other. As well might a warrior despise the protection of a helmet or -a shield, as refuse the defence of a stone wall. - -[Sidenote: WALLS NOT UNWORTHY OF ROME.] - -The best refutation, however, of this theory, is the fact, that in other -places the Romans, about the same period, raised similar barriers. At -two of these we shall glance, before beginning a detailed inspection of -the Barrier of the Lower Isthmus. The comparison will probably afford -valuable instruction. - -[Sidenote: THE GERMAN BARRIER.] - -The DEVIL’S WALL, in Germany, bears many marks of resemblance to the -English Wall. It seems[50] to consist of the _Pfahl_, a mound of stakes, -or vallum, ascribed to Hadrian, and a stone wall which is said to have -been executed by some of his successors. The works extended westwards -from Regensburg [Ratisbon] on the Danube, towards the sources of that -river, a distance of nearly two hundred miles. They formed the boundary -of the Roman empire in those parts where the Danube was not broad and -deep enough to be of itself a sufficient protection. A deep trench ran -along the Wall on its northern side, and along its southern face roads -and camps were formed. At regular intervals of one mile, towers of -observation were placed of the same size, though, being circular, not of -the same form as the mile-castles on the English Wall. It is not -possible, from the present remains, to determine with certainty the -height or breadth of the Wall. ‘I found it in many places,’ says -Professor Buchner, ‘from four to six, in others from ten to twelve, feet -broad. We may therefore perhaps conclude, that its medium breadth was -from six to seven feet, and that its height, as corresponding to this -breadth, may have been from eighteen to twenty-four feet.’ The works -have the same tendency to advance in a straight line as those of our own -Barrier. ‘No mountain is so high, no abyss so steep, no wood so thick, -no morass so profound, through which it does not penetrate.’ ‘The whole -line of the fortification has been laid down and executed according to a -well-digested plan.’ - -[Sidenote: THE ANTONINE WALL.] - -GRAHAM’S DIKE, so denominated probably from the Celtic words _grym_, -strength, and _diog_, a ditch, is a barrier which fortified the Upper -Isthmus of Britain. It extended from Borrowstoness, on the Firth of -Forth, to West Kilpatrick, on the river Clyde, a distance of about -twenty-seven English miles. It was constructed by Lollius Urbicus in the -reign of Antoninus Pius, the adopted son of Hadrian. The following -succinct account of this important design is taken from the ‘Caledonia -Romana,’ a work of great ability, by the late lamented Mr. Robert -Stuart, of Glasgow:— - - This great military work consisted, in the first place, of an immense - fosse or ditch—averaging about forty feet in width, by some twenty in - depth—which extended over hill and plain, in one unbroken line, from - sea to sea. Behind this ditch, on its southern side, and within a few - feet of its edge, was raised a rampart of intermingled stone and - earth, strengthened by sods of turf, which measured, it is supposed, - about twenty feet in height, and twenty-four in thickness at the base. - This rampart, or _agger_, was surmounted by a parapet, behind which - ran a level platform, for the accommodation of its defenders. To the - southward of the whole was situated the Military Way—a regular - causewayed road, about twenty-feet wide—which kept by the course of - the Wall at irregular distances, approaching, in some instances, to - within a few yards, and in others receding to a considerable extent. - Along the entire line there were established, it is believed, nineteen - principal stations or forts. The mean distance between each may be - stated at rather more than two English miles. Along these intervals - were placed many smaller _castella_, or watch-towers. While the - continuous rampart seems to have been little more than a well-formed - earthen mound, it is probable that many, if not all, of the stations, - were either rivetted with stone or entirely built of that material. In - some places, it would even appear that the Vallum itself had been - raised upon a stone foundation—probably in situations where the ground - was low and marshy, and where it was found necessary to form drains - beneath the works, to prevent the accumulation of water on their - anterior side. - -[Sidenote: MUTUAL SUPPORT OF THE BARRIERS.] - -The Barrier of the Upper Isthmus never consisted of more than a single -line of fortification. This circumstance may seem to militate against -the view that we have taken of the double line of the Southern Barrier. -If in the one case the conquered tribes to the south were disregarded, -why should they not be so in the other also? We shall not, however, -greatly err if we regard the Antonine Wall as but an advanced work of -Hadrian’s entrenchment. On this view of the matter, the difficulty is at -once removed, for the Lower Barrier would be a sufficient security -against danger in the rear. Certain it is, that the southern line was -not abandoned when the other was constructed. Several altars have been -found on the Lower Barrier inscribed with the name Antoninus Pius.[51] A -slab bearing the names of the consuls Sex. Sulpicius Tertullus, and C. -Tineius Sacerdos, elicits the following remarks from judge Cay[52]:— - - These were consuls in A.D. 158; consequently, we have undeniable - authority to assert, that Antoninus Pius repaired Hadrian’s Vallum - (or, at least, the stations _per lineam Valli_), as well as built one - between the Scottish Firths. This stone is certainly most valuable, as - it clearly proves, that though Antoninus extended the boundary so far - north, he could not, or durst not, trust the Mæatæ, but thought - himself obliged to keep up the southern pretenturæ, lest they should, - on any disturbance, join the Caledonians. - -Such prudence is characteristic of good generalship. Napoleon never made -an important move without first resolving what to do in case of failure. -Assuredly Hadrian did not act in a manner unbecoming a Roman, when, at -the same time that he shewed a stony front to the Caledonians, he placed -an earthen rampart between himself and the doubtful fidelity of his -southern subjects. - -[Sidenote: THE BARRIERS IN RELATION TO THE RIVERS.] - -The position of the Barriers of the Lower and of the Upper Isthmus, and -of the Devil’s Wall, in relation to the rivers in their vicinity, -requires some remark. The Tyne in the eastern, and the Irthing and the -Eden in the western part of the island, are uniformly to the south of -the English Wall. A similar remark applies to the Devil’s Wall, in -Germany, which is drawn along the northern shore of the Danube, the side -exposed to the enemy. The Clyde, and its feeders, are to the south of -the Antonine Wall. Why did the Romans not avail themselves of the -natural trenches of these river-basins? The valley of the Tyne is -peculiarly broad and deep. A chain of camps on its southern bank, where -the mediæval castles afterwards stood, would alone, we might suppose, -have bid defiance to the passage of any foe. - -A similarity of practice in these cases favours the belief that -important objects were to be accomplished by it. What are they?— - -By erecting a chain of posts on the high grounds to the north of the -rivers, a better observation of the movements of the enemy was obtained -than would otherwise have been practicable. In the days of Roman -occupation, large tracts of country, the banks of rivers especially, -would be covered with forests. The conquerors, unless they had secured -the enemy’s side of the river-basins, would have been perpetually -subject to unexpected attacks. They could not be so easily taken by -surprise on the high grounds of the northern slopes. - -[Sidenote: IMPORTANCE OF RIVER BASINS.] - -Probably the value of the land on the margin of the rivers, was an -additional motive for the course pursued. The alluvial soil by a river’s -side is usually the most fertile portion of a country. The banks of the -Tyne and the Eden are peculiarly productive. Without a wall the enemy -would have had undisputed possession of the slopes which enjoyed the -finest aspect—that to the south—while those on the other side would have -been subject to frequent depredation. This consideration is of the more -importance, as the lands of the district were given to the soldiers who -garrisoned the frontier, as a means of securing their fidelity. - -[Sidenote: PRUDENCE OF THE ROMANS.] - -So far from the importance of the natural boundary, the river, being -overlooked by the Romans, I am disposed to regard the works on its -northern bank as a proof of the value which they set upon it. The -natural and the artificial barriers were probably regarded by them as -but separate members of one complete fortification. In case of a rush of -invasion from the North, the Wall would arrest the attack and the river -entirely repel it. The stone and earth works would impede the progress -of a foe, however formidable, and give time for the formation of an army -on the southern bank of the stream. It was, moreover, ‘political in the -Romans,’ as Stukely remarks,[53] 'to leave on the north side of the Wall -that huge tract of waterless and dismal moor, a great barren solitude, -where in some places you may walk sixty miles endwise, without meeting -with a house or tree; to ride is impracticable. Thus, as much as in them -lay, without the horror of barbarity, did they remove the barbarians -from their territories; whilst within the Wall, either naturally or by -their industry, all things smiled like the garden of Eden.' - -The vast hosts which the Caledonians were able to muster rendered all -these precautions necessary; and it was, moreover, becoming in the -Romans—a generation of warriors the mightiest the world has ever seen—to -plant the foot firmly on any land they thought fit to occupy. Assuredly -they did so in the Lower Isthmus of Britain. - -[Illustration: Written Rock, at Fallow-field.] - ------ - -Footnote 14: - - Hodgson states the mean of nineteen measurements to be one hundred and - twenty six yards.—_Northumberland_, II. iii. 310. This high number is - obtained by its including the mountain districts, where the works are - widely separated. - -Footnote 15: - - Harl. MSS. 374,—impr. Hodg. North’d. II. iii. 273. - -Footnote 16: - - Harl. MSS. 373,—impr. Richardson’s Reprints and Imprints, divis. - Miscell. - -Footnote 17: - - It will be observed here that the erection of this structure has not - been _always_ ascribed to Severus. - -Footnote 18: - - Greater extremes are met with, but they are rare. Hodgson in a note p. - 276 says, The foundations in the turnpike-road, just west of Portgate - are scarcely seven feet broad; but opposite a plantation a little - further west, ten feet and a half. Hutton found the Wall at Brunton - only five feet and a half thick. - -Footnote 19: - - This is particularly the case about Old Wall in Cumberland. - -Footnote 20: - - Hutton’s Roman Wall, 139. - -Footnote 21: - - Hodg. North’d. II. iii. 276. - -Footnote 22: - - Horsley, in the profiles of the barrier which he gives, represents the - marginal rampart or _agger_ as being much larger than the south one. - The present aspect of the works does not warrant such a delineation. - -Footnote 23: - - When travelling along the road west of Birdoswald, I have seen a - ploughman and his team entirely disappear, on descending into the - fosse of the Vallum. - -Footnote 24: - - An inspection of Horsley’s own sections will at once show - this.—_Britan. Romana_, 158. - -Footnote 25: - - In corroboration of this statement, it may be mentioned that an - intelligent and substantial farmer offered to take, on a twenty-one - years’ lease, the Corchester field, in which the station of - CORSTOPITUM stood, at the yearly rate of 6_l._ per acre. It contains - twelve acres. - -Footnote 26: - - The Notitia has _Lergorum_, but it will be afterwards shewn that this - is probably an error for _Lingonum_. - -Footnote 27: - - The Notitia has _Astorum_ in this and the subsequent instances, but - all the inscriptions hitherto found have _Asturum_. - -Footnote 28: - - Brit. Rom. 102. - -Footnote 29: - - Ibid. 473. - -Footnote 30: - - This slab is in the possession of his Grace the Duke of - Northumberland, and is preserved, along with several other interesting - reliques of the Wall, in that noble baronial residence, so worthy of - the chiefs of Percy, Alnwick Castle. - -Footnote 31: - - Now in the Dean and Chapter Library at Durham. - -Footnote 32: - - According both to Hyginus and Vegetius, the first cohort of a legion, - in the times of the lower empire, was called _milliaria_, from its - being stronger than any cohort of the legion, and from its generally - consisting of about a thousand men. - - _Arch. Æl._ ii., 83. - -Footnote 33: - - A correspondent of the author writes 'Even in my own day it was the - custom of the superstitious, on the line of the Wall, especially - between Birdoswald and Cambeck Fort to pound the stones, bearing - inscriptions, into sand for their kitchens, or bury them in the - foundations of houses or walls, for the simple reason that they - considered them unlucky—calling them 'witch stones’. When one was - found, the _old wives_ fearing that the butter might not form in the - churn, took good care that it should never again make its appearance. - Thus down went many a splendid Roman altar, a sacrifice to ignorance - and superstition'! - -Footnote 34: - - The plough has now passed over the station of Watch Cross. The - enquiries which I have made on the spot, and in the neighbourhood, - are, on the whole, confirmatory of Hodgson’s view. - -Footnote 35: - - Mounsey’s Account of the occupation of Carlisle in 1745. - -Footnote 36: - - Ford’s Hand-book of Spain, 1st edition, p. 306. - -Footnote 37: - - On putting the inquiry pointedly to a person who had ploughed up some - portions of the Vallum in the neighbourhood of Wallend, Cumberland, - and who was also acquainted with the mode in which the Maiden-way (a - Roman road) was formed, I was told that there were no traces of - pavement in the Vallum. - -Footnote 38: - - We must not, however, pronounce a road to be impracticable, because - now it would be thought so. A Northumberland farmer, speaking to me - upon this subject, said he had seen roads which, in his neighbourhood, - were regularly traversed only a century ago, on which no one would - venture now-a-days; ‘it was like coming down a crag-side.’ He had - driven through mosses in which the horses were commonly enveloped, but - had no misgivings so long as he could see the heads of the animals. - -Footnote 39: - - Hodgson, however, distinctly proves, that the _cornage_, or - castle-guard rent of the North of England—originally a payment in lieu - of cattle, and called in English, _horngeld_ and _neatgeld_, - cattle-tax, or ox-lay—has nothing whatever to do with sounding the - war-alarm by _horns_. - -Footnote 40: - - It must, however, be borne in mind, that even the uneducated labourer, - in a highly civilized community, has unconsciously received a - considerable amount of mental training, which places him in a - situation much superior to that of the mere savage. - -Footnote 41: - - The remainder of this valuable communication is, in order to avoid - repetition, embodied in the subsequent account of the Masonry of the - Wall. - -Footnote 42: - - Hodgson II. ii. 298. - -Footnote 43: - - It would be described by a modern builder as a rough blocking course. - -Footnote 44: - - The cuts representing these markings are transferred from my note - book, without reference to scale. - -Footnote 45: - - Concrete contains less lime, and is mixed with a smaller proportion of - water than grout. It is chiefly used in large masses, to form an - artificial foundation for a building. - -Footnote 46: - - The almost entire absence of those little white lumps of lime, not - properly mixed with sand, which are found in the imperfectly prepared - mortar of modern times, shews that the lime must in some way have been - crushed by rollers or beaters. - -Footnote 47: - - Mr. Bell, of Irthington, tells me that in some places the foundation - flags of the north side point upwards, at an angle of about twenty - degrees, caused apparently by the settling of the ponderous mass. In - this circumstance, we have an interesting confirmation of the - supposition that the Wall was surmounted with a parapet on its north - side. The foundation would have settled equally if both sides had been - burdened alike. - -Footnote 48: - - Part II. v. iii. p. 294. - -Footnote 49: - - In some parts of the line, the joints of the Wall are at present - filled with earthy matter instead of mortar, and it is the opinion of - some authorities, and amongst them, the eminent architect and - intelligent antiquary, Mr. Dobson, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, that in - these places, clay has been originally substituted for mortar. Very - loath to suppose that the original builders of the Wall would leave - any portion of it in so unsatisfactory a state, I have been in the - habit of accounting for the apparent absence of mortar in the - following way:—The upper part of the structure having been overthrown - by a ruthless enemy, and the lower parts covered with the fallen - rubbish, the whole heap would speedily become coated with vegetation. - Roman mortar, with all its tenacity, would not be able to resist the - powers of vitality; and the constant demands of the ferns and the - foxgloves would, in the course of time, abstract the whole of the - lime. The roots of the plants, by whose agency the work of abstraction - had proceeded, yielding in due time to the process of decay, would - themselves, in the form of vegetable earth, supply the place of the - lime which they had withdrawn. - -Footnote 50: - - The only source of information which I have upon the subject of this - wall, is a translation of an extract from a pamphlet by Professor - Buchner, of Regensburg, in the first volume of the ‘Archæologia - Æliana.’ The precise relation which the _Pfahl_ bears to the stone - Wall does not very clearly appear from this paper; to all appearance, - however, the analogy between the German and English barriers is very - close. - -Footnote 51: - - Hodg. North’d. II. iii. 276. - -Footnote 52: - - Ibid. 284. - -Footnote 53: - - Iter Boreale, 67. - ------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - ~The Roman Barrier of the - Lower Isthmus.~ - - PART III. - LOCAL DESCRIPTION OF THE WORKS. - -Little did the Romans dream, when they fixed the eastern termination of -their Wall at SEGEDUNUM, of the world-wide celebrity which its -subsequent cognomen—Wallsend—would attain. Even Horsley, writing in -1731, and in what he lovingly terms 'my own county,'[54] did not foresee -the extensive mining operations which shortly after his day were to take -place in its immediate vicinity. In order to mark the site of the -station, he fixes upon Cousin’s House, which is at some distance from -the spot, whereas, the principal shaft of the celebrated mine is close -beside its western rampart. - - -SEGEDUNUM, Wallsend, is admirably selected as the site of a Roman -station, and as the eastern terminus of the Wall. Without being so -much[Sidenote: SEGEDUNUM.] elevated as to give it a painful exposure to -the blasts of the north and of the east, it commands a view, in every -direction, of the adjacent country. The ground, in front of it, slopes -rapidly down to the river’s brink, and has a full exposure to the -mid-day sun. The beauty of its situation is considerable now; what must -it have been when aged oaks crowned the contiguous heights, and the Tyne -rolled by in the brilliancy and exuberance of its youth! - -[Sidenote: WALLSEND.] - -Eastward of Wallsend, the river acquires a sufficient magnitude to make -it a barrier quite formidable enough to prevent the ready passage of a -foe, and to render the erection of a wall unnecessary. Frequently, -however, would it be needful for the watchful eye of the Roman prefect -at SEGEDUNUM to traverse the expanse which lay between him and the sea. -This he could easily do. The station stands upon a bend of the river, -formed by two of the longest ‘reaches’ which it makes in the whole of -its course. The Long-reach extends downwards as far as the high end of -South Shields, and the Bill-reach stretches nearly two miles up the -water. In both directions, therefore, any operations conducted on the -river would be easily discerned from the station. - -[Sidenote: SEGEDUNUM.] - -Although it was not thought requisite to extend the Wall further along -the northern bank of the Tyne than Wallsend, special precautions were -taken to secure the mouth of the river from hostile occupation. A camp -at Tynemouth, and another at North Shields, were garrisoned by troops -from the head quarters at SEGEDUNUM; these frowned over the northern -shore of the estuary. A subsidiary station at Tyne Lawe, near South -Shields, and another at Jarrow, guarded its southern bank, whilst one at -Wardley, opposite Wallsend, would effectually support, on that side of -the river, the operations of the garrison in the principal encampment. -All of these will be examined afterwards. - -[Illustration: Altar to Jupiter-Coh. IV. Lingonum] - -The evidence by which Wallsend is identified with the _Segedunum_ of the -Notitia is not so direct as could be desired. First in the list of -officers ‘along the line of the Wall,’ the Notitia places the Tribune of -the fourth cohort of the Lergi at SEGEDUNUM. Now, no inscription has -been found in Britain mentioning the Lergi, but inscriptions have been -found which mention the second and fourth cohorts of the Lingones; on -the other hand, the Lingones never occur in the Notitia, but the cohorts -of the Lergi which are there recorded, are the second and the fourth. -This being the case, and the difference in the form of the Latin words -_Lergorum_ and _Lingonum_ being very slight, the probability is, as Mr. -Thomas Hodgson, in an able paper in the Archæologia Æliana, conjectures, -that some early transcriber of the Notitia has written the one in -mistake for the other. Within the precincts of Tynemouth Castle, in the -year 1783, an altar was found, which formed part of the foundation of an -ancient church. It is now in the possession of the Society of -Antiquaries of London. The adjoining wood-cut accurately delineates it. -The inscription may be read as follows: - - I[OVI] O[PTIMO] M[AXIMO] - AEL[IVS] RVFVS - PRAEF[ECTVS] COH[ORTIS] - IIII LINGO - NVM. - - To Jupiter the best and greatest, - Ælius Rufus, - The Prefect of Cohort the - Fourth of the Lingo- - nes. - -On the supposition, which is a natural one, that Tynemouth was a station -subsidiary to Wallsend, this altar gives satisfactory proof that the -first of the stations at the eastern extremity of the Wall is the -SEGEDUNUM of the Notitia. On some occasion, when the prefect who -commanded the estuary of the Tyne, was on a visit to this out-post, he -erected to Jupiter, whom he ignorantly worshipped, the altar which still -remains. - -[Sidenote: ORIGIN OF THE NOTITIA NAMES.] - -The etymology of the names of the stations is an interesting, but -intricate subject. The new occupants of a country usually adopt the -appellations bestowed by their predecessors upon its more prominent -features. Thus, though in England the ancient Briton, Roman, Saxon, -Norman, and modern English, have successively prevailed, many of our -most familiar rivers, as the Thames, the Isis, and the Avon, have borne, -as Whitaker shows, through each successive change, their present names. -The appellations of cities are much more variable, but some even of -these are indelible. Strange as a painted Briton of the first century -would feel himself in the streets of modern London, its _name_ would -fall on his ear as an accustomed sound. - -The Romans were a minority in Britain; and, in their intercourse with -the natives, would be compelled to adopt the nomenclature of the people. -We may, therefore, expect to find that the names of the stations are -essentially British, though somewhat altered by the imperfect -pronunciation of the strangers, and by a ceaseless effort to recast the -words in the mould of their own tongue. The change most frequently -introduced consists in the addition of Latin terminations. The names -given by the aborigines of a country are usually descriptive of the -object to which they are attached: they are epithets changed into proper -names. Accordingly, we find that the names of the stations, so far as -they have been deciphered by the assistance of those modern -representatives of the ancient British tongue—the Gaelic and native -Irish—are descriptive of the locality. - -[Sidenote: ETYMOLOGY OF SEGEDUNUM.] - -SEGEDUNUM is an unfortunate example to begin with. There was a Segedunum -in Aquitania, the modern Rodez—a Segodunum in Northern Germany, the -modern Siegen. The camp at Wallsend may have received its name from some -resemblence to one of these. Still the question remains, What was the -common origin of the term? Wallis thinks it is derived from the Latin -_seges_, corn, and the Celtic _dunum_, a hill; but, excepting in extreme -cases, an etymology dependent upon two languages can scarcely be -admitted. A more consistent derivation is found in the Celtic _sech_, -(the root of the French _sec_) dry, and _dun_, a hill. The final -syllable is a Latin affix. The elevation of the spot, and its rapid -slope to the river, would render it comparatively free from -moisture.[55] - -[Sidenote: VILLAGE OF WALLSEND.] - -Whatever doubt may hang over the Roman name of this station, none -attaches to the modern—Wallsend - - ... Ab illo - Dicitur, æternumque tenet per sæcula nomen. - -The number of places along the course of the Wall which have derived -their names from this great work, is very striking, and proves the -importance that has been attached to it. Without examining a map, and -simply drawing upon the resources of my own memory and note-book, the -following examples occur: In Northumberland, we have Wallsend, Walker, -Wall-knoll in Newcastle, Benwell, Wallbottle, Heddon-on-the-Wall, -Welton, Wall-houses, Wall, Walwick, Shields-on-the-Wall, Wall-mill, -Walltown, Thirlwall, and Wall-end; in Cumberland, we have Walton, -Wallbours, Old-Wall, High Wallhead, Middle Wallhead, Low Wallhead, -Wallby, and Wallfoot. - -The present village of Wallsend is about half a mile distant from the -station, a little to the north of the turnpike road. It is, however, of -modern erection. Brand says that ‘an old woman, still living, remembers -when the site of the present Wallsend was an empty field.’ The -traditional account of its erection is, that a plague having desolated -the original town, which stood upon the site of the camp, and was built -out of its ruins, the terrified inhabitants forsook the spot, and sought -shelter in the new locality. - - _PLATE IV._ - -[Illustration: - - _SECTION, after Warburton, of the Mountains at Bradley, - shewing the relation, in the hill-district, between the Wall - and the Vallum._ - _REID. LITHO. NEWCASTLE._ -] - -[Sidenote: WALLSEND.] - -A person unaccustomed to examine the remains of Roman forts, will -probably be disappointed to find the ramparts of Wallsend so feebly -marked; but one who brings to the task a practised eye, will give a good -account of the land, and express his surprise that so much of the camp -is left. The station, it must be remembered, is situated on the edge of -a river the scene of an immense commerce, in the vicinity of a large -town, and in the centre of a great mining district. - -[Sidenote: SEGEDUNUM.] - -The station of SEGEDUNUM has occupied an area of three acres and a half. -The Wall, coming from the west, has struck the north cheek of its -western gateway, and there terminated. The walls of the station would be -a sufficient protection to the garrison against attack from the north or -other quarters, but to prevent the enemy getting within the barrier, by -passing between the station and the river, the eastern wall of the -station has been brought down to the river, and continued into it to -low-water mark.[56] - -[Illustration: - - Drawn & Lithographed by John Storey - WALLSEND, LOOKING EAST. -] - -[Sidenote: WALLSEND.] - -In tracing the outline of the station it will be well to begin at -Carville-hall, the 'Cousin’s-house,'[57] of Horsley. Between it and the -Gosforth ‘waggon-way,’ the north fosse of the Wall is very distinct, a -gravelled path, for some distance, occupies the site of the Wall.[58] -Behind the Methodist-chapel the ditch may still be traced, but after -that it disappears. The row of houses between the chapel and the station -is manifestly very close upon the line of the Wall. The old -engine-house, which Brand tells us was six yards north of the Wall, -still remains. The whole of the ramparts of the northern section of the -station are gone; the walls of the southern portion of it may, however, -be traced rising in the form of a grassy mound above the general level -of the soil. The continuation of the eastern wall of the station down -the bank to the river’s edge, may also be recognised, not only by the -gentle mound which it forms, but by the fragments of Roman mortar, Roman -tile, and coarse-grained sandstone, not proper to the district, which -may be picked up on it. This river-wall joins the Tyne at the spot where -a jetty has recently been formed. Numerous swellings in the ground to -the south, and to the east of the station, indicate the ruins of -suburban buildings. These seem to have been invariable concomitants of -stationary camps. Officers wishing to have more space than the fort -allowed, the families of the soldiers, the camp followers, and others, -who sought the protection of a fortified post, would occupy such -dwellings. The sunny exposure of the streets on the south of the camp, -would render them peculiarly acceptable to the Lingones who came from -that part of Gaul where the Meuse and Marne have their source.[59] The -fosse which protected the eastern rampart, is still distinctly visible, -and generally contains a little water. The accompanying lithographic -view is given chiefly with the intention of showing the extensive -command which the station had of the river below it; the south-east -angle of the rampart may be traced upon it, as well as the fosse beyond. -The altar, represented in the foreground, was found in the vicinity of -the station a few years ago, and is still preserved upon the spot, it is -without an inscription, but has a hole drilled through its centre, which -it had when found. An extensive natural valley protected the western -side of the camp, which some years ago was partially filled up, in order -to form the waggon-way. The house occupied by the late Mr. John Buddle, -the eminent colliery viewer, is just within the western wall of the -station, and that, formerly occupied by Mr. John Reay, is just within -the eastern rampart. The waggon-way leading from the Wallsend pit seems -to enter the station by its western portal, and to leave it by its -eastern, and thus exactly traverses the _via principalis_ of the camp. -The only trace of the northern division of the station that remains, -consists [Sidenote: SEGEDUNUM.]of the road which has apparently led from -SEGEDUNUM to the out-posts at Blake-chesters and Tyne-mouth. This -causeway extends from the station to the north of the Shields railway; -it is formed of a mass of rubble, about two feet deep, and is eleven -yards wide. It cannot be ploughed, and nothing that requires any depth -of earth will grow upon it. - -Numerous proofs of Roman occupation have been discovered at various -times in the station and its vicinity. Brand says, ‘I found a fibula, -some Roman tegulæ, and coins, a ring, &c. Immense quantities of bones -and teeth of animals are continually turning up. Stones with -inscriptions were found, but the incurious masons built them up again in -the new works of the colliery.’ Dr. Lingard was told, that in digging a -cellar under the dining room of Mr. Buddle’s house, a deep well was -found. I have been informed by Mr. John Reay, that another was -discovered outside the station, at the spot shown on the plan of the -station, Plate IV. A structure, which was conceived to be a bath, was -struck upon about the same time, near the river’s brink; it was -immediately removed, but its site is marked on the plan. Many coins have -been found, but most of them in a very corroded state. A beautiful piece -of Samian ware was got in sinking the shaft of the colliery, which is -now in possession of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne; -it is figured in a subsequent Plate. - -[Sidenote: WALLSEND TO NEWCASTLE.] - -Leaving Wallsend, and proceeding westward, the Wall is chiefly to be -traced by the presence of its north fosse. This is very distinctly -marked nearly all the way to Byker. In front of Stote’s-houses, the -Beehouses of Horsley, it forms a pond, which is used for farm purposes. -Some traces of the foundation of the Wall may be seen, but they are -faint. Thirty years ago the Wall was standing, for a considerable -distance, three and four feet high, covered with brushwood of hazel, -oak, and alder. The tendency of the half-ruined Wall to give lodgement -to the roots of these plants, is very remarkable; wherever the Wall is -undisturbed they are found, and in regions where the hazel does not -occur elsewhere, as in the neighbourhood of Bowness, it is to be met -with abundantly upon the Wall. - -A mound, a little more elevated than the neighbouring ground, near to -Stote’s-houses, points out the site of the first mile-castle west of -Wallsend. The tenant of the farm told me that he had got a great -quantity of stones from it. In Horsley’s time, there were ‘two distinct -tumuli remaining near the Bee-houses’; what I take to be the rudiments -of them may yet be traced; one of them is just behind the stack-yard of -the farm, the other, the least marked of the two, a little to the west -of it. - -The road that is seen stretching in a straight line up the hill to Byker -indicates the direction of the Wall, and though the first, it is by no -means the most remarkable instance that we shall meet with, of the -unflinching and straightforward tendencies of this remarkable structure. -The Wall stood on the south side of the present road. The facing-stones -having already been removed, and it being desirable to have the rocky -remnant entirely cleared away, the ground was let to parties without -rent for a short term of years, on condition of their clearing it, and -bringing it into cultivation. It is on this account that the site of the -Wall and fosse, even yet, is portioned out in long narrow slips, which -are, for the most part, used as potato gardens. - -From the top of Byker-hill, an interesting view is obtained of the Tyne -and the numerous hives of busy men which bestud its banks. This would be -an important post for the Roman soldier, who could easily see from it -the stations on either hand—SEGEDUNUM and PONS ÆLII—and all that was -going on between them. - -Between Byker and Newcastle, all traces of the Wall are now nearly -destroyed. In 1725, it was, however, standing in a condition of imposing -grandeur, as appears from Stukeley’s ‘Prospect’ of it in the Iter -Boreale. He was induced to make this drawing because ‘the country being -entirely undermined’ by colliery excavations, it might ‘some time or -other sink, and so disorder the track of this stately work.’ He dreaded -an imaginary evil, and overlooked a real one. - -The north fosse was, till recently, very distinct within the wall of -Heaton-park; it is now filled up; many of the stones in the park-wall, -are to all appearance, Roman. Before descending the hill, a portion of -it, boldly developed, may yet be seen at the end of a small row of -houses called Howard-street. - -[Sidenote: COURSE THROUGH NEWCASTLE.] - -At the head of the bank overlooking the Ouse-burn stood a mile-castle, -as was usual in such situations, to guard the pass. Two stones which, I -am persuaded, formed part of the entrance gateway of this mile-tower, -now stand upon the stairs leading to the grand entrance of the keep of -the Castle of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. They measure two feet by one, and are -of the form usually employed in the portals of mile castles. One of them -bears a rude, and almost unintelligible, inscription. These stones were -found built up in a structure on the west bank of the Ouseburn, were -thence taken to Busy Cottage, afterwards removed to Heaton, and finally -presented to the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - -The Wall crossed the Ouse-burn very near the ancient bridge which is -about a hundred and fifty yards south of the railway viaduct. In -preparing the foundations of Mr. Beckinton’s steam-mill about the year -1800, the workmen came upon the Wall, and, with great good taste, built -into the opposite quay three of the largest stones they met with, in -order to mark its site; they may yet be seen at low water, and are -evidently mile-castle stones. - -[Sidenote: COURSE THROUGH NEWCASTLE.] - -It is not possible to trace the Wall with minute accuracy through -Newcastle, a town which has been the seat of a large and active -population ever since the days of Roman occupation. In endeavouring to -follow its route, I shall mainly depend upon the investigations of Mr. -George Bouchier Richardson, who has for several years past made the -antiquities of ‘the Metropolis of the North’ his especial study, and -whose paper upon this subject, recently read before the Society of -Antiquaries of this town, will doubtless speedily appear in the -Archæologia Æliana. - -[Sidenote: NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.] - -Rising from the western bank of the Ouse-burn, it traversed the north -side of Stepney-bank, passed through the gardens at the Red Barns, along -the site of the present Melbourne-street, and, proceeding behind the -Keelmen’s Hospital, came to the Sallyport. This, which was one of the -gates of the town, is sometimes described as a Roman building, but is of -mediæval origin. Thence, the Wall went over the crest of the hill still -called the Wall-knoll, where the foundations of it were turned up about -the middle of the last century. It crossed Pandon-dean on the north side -of the locality called the Stock-bridge, and, in its western course, -ascended the steep hill, on the summit of which stands All Saints’ -church. Brand tells us that the crypt of the old church had plainly been -built of stones plundered from the adjacent Wall. A well of Roman -masonry is said to have been discovered near the church when the -foundations of the new building were prepared. Crossing Pilgrim-street a -little above Silver-street, the course of the Wall is indicated by the -present narrow street called the Low bridge. Until a comparatively -recent period, the site of Dean-street formed the unenclosed bed of the -Lort-burn, and was spanned by an arch called the Low-bridge. At the -point where this mediæval viaduct stood, its Roman predecessor carried -the Wall, with its attendant military way, across the gully. The church -of St. Nicholas, according to Leland, whose statement is confirmed by -subsequent writers, ‘stondithe on the very Picts Waulle.’ The Wall, -leaving the church, crosses Collingwood-street in an oblique direction, -and passing by St. John’s church, the Vicarage-house, and the -Assembly-rooms, makes for the Town-wall somewhat to the north of the -site of the West-gate. There can be little doubt that in its exit from -the town, the Wall occupied the elevation on which Cumberland-row now -stands. - - -[Sidenote: PONS ÆLII.] - -PONS ÆLII.—Having tracked the Wall in its passage through the modern -town, the site of the ancient station of PONS ÆLII next demands -attention. - -Horsley is the only writer who has attempted to define its limits, and -he had but slender evidence to guide him. He takes, as his data, the -three following facts:—1. The course of the Wall westward, which he -conceives, and no doubt correctly, would form the northern boundary of -the station; 2. The direction of the Vallum, some portions of which -remained, in his day, just outside the West-gate; 3. 'A traditionary -account of the Wall having passed through St. George’s porch, near the -north-west corner of St. Nicholas’-church.' As this porch stands a -little to the south of the line of the great Wall, as laid down by him, -he conceives that this traditionary wall must have been the east wall of -the station, and draws it upon his plan accordingly.[60] The western -wall now only remained to be determined, and this point was easily -settled, by supposing the station to have been square. According to the -line assigned by him to the Vallum, six chains is the distance which -would intervene between it and the Wall; he therefore places the western -rampart of the station at the corresponding distance of six chains from -the eastern, and encloses altogether an area of little more than three -acres. - -It may well be doubted whether the important station of PONS ÆLII would -be subjected to the ordinary rules of castrametation. I am strongly -disposed to think, that it would partake of the features of a commercial -as well as of a military capital, and that its walls would not only -embrace a wider range than ordinary camps, but would be allowed to adapt -themselves more freely to the nature of the ground. - -The wants of the immense body of troops required to garrison the Wall, -and man its out-posts, would create a considerable amount of commerce. -The inhabitants of Italy, Gaul, and Spain, would be unwilling all at -once to forego the comforts and luxuries of their sunny climes, and to -be entirely cut off from intercourse with the land of their nativity. -The fragments of amphoræ, which are so abundantly met with on the line -of the Wall, shew that the soldiers sometimes gladdened their hearts -with the wine of their native hills; and the innumerable sherds of -Samian ware, which usually bestrew the camps of Roman occupation, prove -that a continual intercourse was kept up with the continent. To the sea, -as a means of communication between many of the stations of Roman -Britain, frequent recourse would be had. - -The exports from this island to the continent were considerable. Camden -tells us, that every year not less than eight hundred vessels laden with -corn alone were sent out of it. Certain it is, that the imperial -government would expect an adequate return for the expenditure -occasioned by the troops in this country, and that the commodities of -the continent would not be transmitted to the occupants of the Wall from -motives of mere benevolence. Lead, which is now so abundant in the three -northern counties, would probably form one article of export, and corn -another. Those who have noticed the fertility of some portions of the -region watered by the Tyne, will be able to conceive how luxuriant were -the harvests which its alluvial soil produced when first turned up by -the plough. It is certain that coal has been wrought to some extent in -Roman times, and some of it may have been exported. - -No place in the north of England was so well fitted as Newcastle to be -the emporium of the commerce of the North. Situated upon a noble river, -at about ten miles from its mouth, it combined the naval advantages of -the coast, with the security of an inland situation. The wealth arising -from the commerce of the port would increase its importance, and the -facility with which foreign news and foreign luxuries could be obtained, -would render it the frequent resort of those prefects and tribunes whose -usual posts were in bleaker and more inhospitable regions. The fact that -the river was at this part spanned by a bridge of many arches, is a -striking indication of the importance of the place even in the days of -the emperor Hadrian. - -No account has come down to us of the state of Newcastle in the days of -Roman occupation, but if, after it had been deprived of the advantages -which the residence of the mural garrison conferred upon it, the -venerable Bede calls it 'an illustrious royal city'—'_vico regis -illustri_'—we must conclude that it was a place of considerable -importance. The natural advantages of the situation struck the eye of -Camden; ‘Now’, says he, ‘where the Wall and Tine almost meet together, -Newcastle sheweth itself gloriously the very eye of all the townes in -these parts.’ - -Under these circumstances, there seems to be no reason why the walls of -PONS ÆLII should form the usual military parallelogram any more than -Roman Rochester, or Pompeii, or Rome itself, much less that the station -should occupy an area of little more than three acres. - -The contour of the ground on which the modern Newcastle stands, is -peculiar. It consists of three tongues of land, separated by natural -valleys permeated by rivulets. The westernmost of these presents the -boldest front to the river, and is that on which the Castle stands; the -Skinner-burn bounds it on the west, and the valley of the Lort-burn, the -present Dean-street, on the east. The contiguous tongue lies between the -Lort-burn and Pandon-dean; and that still further removed, has for its -eastern boundary the Ouse-burn. The same natural advantages which -recommended the heights of the most westerly of these strips of ground -to the Normans for the erection of their stronghold, would no doubt -previously induce the Romans to select it as their chief position. They -probably enclosed nearly the whole of it within their walls. Horsley, -indeed, places his camp in this division, but in the least advantageous -part of it, whether considered in a military or in a commercial point of -view. The Romans would surely not overlook the importance of the ravine -of Dean-street as a defence on the east, especially at a time when the -tide flowed up it as far as the Painter-heugh, and of the cliff that -descends from the Castle to the river on the south. The necessity of -defending the bridge, and commanding the Tyne would not be forgotten. -Taking all these things into account, we may fairly suppose the walls of -PONS ÆLII to have been thus defined:—The Wall, passing through the site -of St. Nicholas’-church, would, of course, be its northern boundary; a -line coming from the church, and adapting itself to the crest of the -hill that overhangs Dean-street, crossing the Head-of-the-Side and -stretching as far as the elevated angle on which the County-courts now -stand, will probably mark its eastern boundary; the southern rampart -would run from this angle along the edge of the cliff overhanging the -Close, as far as the site of the White-friar-tower, which stood at the -head of the present Hanover-street; the western wall may have run in the -line of the Town-wall as far as Neville-tower, and then have struck up -in a straight line to meet the great Wall. Westward of this boundary, -the ground slopes down to the Skinner-burn. If these lines are correctly -drawn, Roman Newcastle would contain upwards of sixteen acres. - -Although the camp of PONS ÆLII occupied this tongue of land, there is no -reason to suppose that suburban buildings were not erected on the other -two, both of which are well protected by their natural situation. There -is good ground to believe that Pandon, which was formerly a separate -town from Newcastle, and is seated on the middle strip, was of Roman -origin. Villas and gardens probably extended as far as the Ouse-burn. - -In order to render the preceding description intelligible to persons -unacquainted with the topography of Newcastle, a plan of the town (Plate -V.) and a lithographic view of PONS ÆLII are appended. In the plan of -the town, Horsley’s demarkation of the station, as well as the one here -proposed, is laid down. For the view of PONS ÆLII, the frontispiece, I -am indebted to the pencil of Mr. G. Bouchier Richardson; the contour of -the ground is very accurately delineated, and the probable outline of -the station marked; the details of the picture are of course filled up -according to the artist’s fancy—a fancy regulated by his antiquarian -knowledge. - - _PLATE V._ - -[Illustration: - - Plan of PONS ÆLII AND OF THE COURSE OF THE WALL THROUGH _NEWCASTLE ON - TYNE_. - And^w. Reid s.c. -] - -[Sidenote: NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.] - -Roman antiquities, which, when they abound, are so serviceable in -defining the seat of Roman occupation, are unfortunately here rather -scanty and unimportant. This cannot be matter of surprise. In the middle -ages, Newcastle abounded in churches and monastic buildings. To the -erection of these and of the Castle, the Town-wall, and Gates, every -stone whether lettered, sculptured, or plain, that could easily be -obtained, would be appropriated. - -[Sidenote: PONS ÆLII.] - -The precincts of the Castle have afforded the most important discoveries -of this kind. The present County-courts occupy the site of a building -which used to be called the Half-moon-battery. This was probably the -position of the south-east angle of the station of PONS ÆLII, and some -of the lines of the octagonal face of the battery presented no doubt the -actual curve of the station. To a certain extent the Norman builders may -have converted to their own uses a portion of the labours of their -imperial predecessors; appearances seemed to shew that the Castle wall -between the Half-moon-battery and the Black-gate had rested upon a Roman -foundation. When the County-courts were built, some important -discoveries were made. Mr. Hodgson, who watched the progress of the -excavations, has thus described them:— - - In digging for the foundations for the Northumberland County - Court-house, in 1810, a well was found finely cased with Roman - masonry. It still remains below the centre part of the present - court-house. It had originally been a spring, or sunk low down on the - river bank, and its circular wall, raised within another strong wall - in the form of a trapezium to the height of the area of the station, - and the space between them traversed with strong connecting beams of - oak both horizontally and perpendicularly, and then tightly packed up - with pure blue clay. Some beams of this timber were taken up and - formed into the judges’ seats, and chairs for the grand-jury room, now - in use. Two of the perpendicular beams had very large stags’ horns at - their lower end, apparently to assist in steadying them till clay - sufficient was put around them to keep them upright. On the original - slope of the bank next the outer wall, there was a thick layer of - ferns, grasses, brambles, and twigs of birch and oak, closely matted - together, and evidently showing that before these works were - constructed, man had not tenanted the spot.[61] Here also were exposed - large remains of the foundations of other very thick and strong walls, - one of which rose into the eastern wall of the Old Moot-hall, which - was of exactly the same breadth, bearing, and style of building, and - doubtless of the same date as the Roman foundations of which it was a - continuance. - -[Sidenote: ANTIQUITIES OF PONS ÆLII.] - - The whole site of the Court-house, for several feet above the original - surface of the earth, was strewn with a chaos of Roman ruins. I was - frequently on the spot while the excavations were carrying on, and saw - dug up large quantities of Roman pottery, two bronze coins of - Antoninus Pius, parts of the shaft of a Corinthian pillar, fluted, and - of the finest workmanship; besides many millstones, and two altars, - one bearing an illegible inscription, and the other quite plain. The - altars were found near the north-east corner of the Court-house, and - near them a small axe, and a concave stone, which bore marks of fire, - was split, and had thin flakes of lead in its fissures. The broad - foundation walls were firm and impenetrable as the hardest rock. On - Aug. 11, 1812, when the foundations of the north portico were sinking, - a Roman coin was found (of what Emperor I have no minute,) and the - original surface of the ground was covered with a thick stratum of - small wood, some parts of which were wattled together in the form of - crates or the corfs of collieries, but in a decayed state, and cut as - easily with the workmen’s spades, as the brushwood found in peat - mosses does. As there was much horse or mules’ dung near them, and - some mules’ shoes amongst it, I thought they had been fixed there as - crates or racks to eat fodder out of. - -[Illustration] - -Since that period, few important discoveries have been made. In cutting -the crest of the hill in front of the Castle for one of the piers of the -Railway viaduct, a small stone figure of Mercury, represented in the -adjoining wood-cut,[62] was found. It is preserved, among other -antiquities, in the Museum in the Castle. - -Between the years 1840 and 1844, the White-friar-tower and the -contiguous portions of the Town-wall of Newcastle were removed. Two -Roman altars were discovered, which are now in the possession of the -Society of Antiquaries, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. One of them is destitute of -an inscription, and the other seems to bear the word SILVANO. Several -coins of the Roman and mediæval age were picked up in its immediate -vicinity. The Roman coins were of both the upper and the lower empire. - -From the manner in which the pieces of the middle and ancient periods -were commingled, a thing of rare occurrence, it may be inferred that the -tower was formed out of Roman materials, and that the Roman coins were -re-imbedded without being noticed, whilst the workmen inadvertently -added Nuremberg tokens and other contemporary pieces to the numismatic -treasures of the spot. - -But, perhaps, the structure which gave name to PONS ÆLII affords the -most interesting foot-prints of Roman occupation in Newcastle. - -[Sidenote: THE BRIDGE OF ÆLIUS.] - -Horsley received sufficient evidence to convince him, that a Roman road -had gone from the south bank of the Tyne to Chester-le-street, and -thence to the south of England. A bridge was necessary to conduct the -road across the river. In 1771, a flood having carried away several of -the arches of the bridge which then existed, and materially damaged the -rest of the structure, it was found necessary to erect a new one. In -removing the old piers the distinguishing characteristics of Roman -masonry were observed; and the workmen were led to believe that the -arches of the mediæval structure had been placed upon the foundations -which Hadrian laid. Several piles of fine black oak, which had supported -the foundation, were drawn out of the bed of the river, and found to be -in a state of excellent preservation.[63] - -[Sidenote: COINS FOUND IN THE BRIDGE.] - -The coins that were found imbedded in the piers give decided evidence of -the Roman origin of the structure. To some of these, in the possession -of George Rippon, esq., of Waterville, North Shields, I have had access; -they are here represented. - -[Illustration] - -_Obv._—HADRIANUS AUGUSTUS, CONSUL TERTIUM. PATER PATRIÆ. Bare head of -Hadrian. - -_Rev._—GERMANIA. The province personified as a female standing. In her -right she holds a lance; her left hand rests upon a German-shaped -shield. - -[Illustration] - -_Obv._—IMPERATOR CÆSAR TRAJANUS HADRIANUS AUGUSTUS. Laureated head of -Hadrian. - -_Rev._—PONTIFEX MAXIMUS TRIBUNITIA POTESTATE CONSUL TERTIUM. A female -figure, with helmet, standing, holding a lance in her left hand, and in -her right a patera, under which is an object that appears to be an -altar. - -[Illustration] - -_Obv._—Same as the former; but CONSUL SECUNDUM. - -_Rev._—Legend same as the former, but in the exergue JUSTITIA. A female -seated; in her right hand a patera, in her left a spear. - -[Illustration] - -_Obv._—Same as the two former. - -_Rev._—Same as in the former, but in the exergue. FEL PR (Felicitas -Populi Romani). A female seated; in her right hand a caduceus, in her -left a cornucopia. - -[Illustration] - -_Obv._—SEVERUS AUGUSTUS PARTHICUS MAXIMUS. Laureated head of the -emperor. - -_Rev._—PROVIDENTIA AUGUSTORUM. The figure of a female standing, with a -globe at her feet. - -The coins of Hadrian are remarkably bold and sharp, and cannot have been -long in circulation before being deposited in the bed where sixteen -centuries of repose awaited them; that of Severus is a good deal -corroded. Besides these, other coins have been found. Brand had one of -Trajan, and he engraves a copper coin of Hadrian; he also had in his -possession one of Antoninus Pius. Pennant describes, amongst others, a -coin of Faustina the Elder, and one of Lucius Verus. Hodgson saw coins -of Gordian and Magnentius, all of which had been obtained from the same -spot. - -The coins posterior to the time of Hadrian were probably deposited -during the repairs and alterations which the bridge received after its -original construction in A.D. 120. - -[Sidenote: CHARACTER OF THE BRIDGE.] - -It is probable that the ancient bridge had no stone arches, but was -provided with a horizontal road-way of timber. Pennant[64] who derived -his information from the workmen, says, that ‘the old piers seem -originally to have been formed without any springs for arches. This was -a manner of building used by the Romans; witness the bridge built over -the Danube by Trajan, at Severin, whose piers, I believe, still exist.’ - -The foundations of the piers of three Roman bridges in the region of the -Wall, still remain—one across the Tyne, at CORSTOPITUM, one across the -North Tyne, at CILURNUM, and another across the Reed-water, at -HABITANCUM; an examination of these has induced me to believe that they, -at least, had no arches. The piers are of a size and strength sufficient -to withstand the thrust of the waters without the aid of an arch; and in -one at least of these cases, the requisite spring of the arch would have -raised the road to an inconvenient height. An experienced mason who -examined carefully the ruins of the bridge at HABITANCUM told me that he -observed that all the stones which encumbered the spot were square, none -of them having the shape of stones used in building arches. It is -certain that in the mediæval period the Newcastle bridge had a road-way -of timber; for Matthew of Paris tells us that, A.D. 1248, it, and the -greater part of the town were destroyed by fire. - -[Sidenote: SUPPOSED MEDAL OF THE BRIDGE.] - -Brand, misled by the early numismatists, conceived that the bridge -across the Tyne had been honoured by a commemorative medal. He says— - - Two coins appear to have been struck upon the building of two bridges - by this emperor; one is doubtless to be referred to that of Rome; may - not the other have been intended to commemorate the work we are now - considering? One of the bridges marked on these coins has seven, the - other five arches. The Tiber being a very inconsiderable river, when - compared with the Tyne, we must therefore claim that with seven - arches—especially as we find a view of the Pons Ælius at Rome in - Piranesi’s collection, without the modern ornaments, where it is - represented as consisting of exactly five arches.[65] - -Alas! for a theory so beautiful and so grateful to the feelings of -Newcastle antiquaries! Mr. Akerman, in his work on rare and inedited -Roman coins, has pronounced the relentless verdict—‘The medallion with -the _Pont Ælius_, quoted by the early numismatic writers, is a modern -fabrication.’ - -It is perhaps too much to suppose that all the arches of the mediæval -bridge rested upon Roman foundations, but it is more than probable that -the piers of the original structure would be at least as numerous as -those of its successor. The mediæval bridge had twelve arches. - -[Sidenote: ORIGIN OF THE NAME PONS ÆLII.] - -No altar or other inscribed stone has been found to confirm the opinion -that Newcastle was the ancient PONS ÆLII. Brand was ‘of opinion that the -inscriptions belonging to the station of PONS ÆLII are all built up in -the old keep of the Castle, and that a rich treasure of this kind will -some time or other be discovered, lurking in its almost impregnable -walls, by future antiquaries.’ May the antiquary never be born that -shall behold this treasure! Such evidence is, however, scarcely needed -to lead us to the ancient designation of the place. The fact that PONS -ÆLII occurs in the Notitia between SEGEDUNUM and CONDERCUM, and that -Newcastle lies between the modern representatives of these two stations, -Wallsend and Benwell, is strong presumption in favour of the theory, and -the fact that a Roman bridge here crossed the Tyne, renders it almost -indubitable. This structure took the name of the Bridge of Ælius, after -Hadrian,[66] who was of the Ælian family, and the bridge gave name to -the station. The Notitia informs us that PONS ÆLII was governed by the -tribune of the cohort of the Cornovii, ‘a people,’ says Hodgson, ‘whose -name is unnoticed by all the ancient geographers I have access to.’ - -[Sidenote: THE CASTLE OF NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.] - -Before leaving the station of PONS ÆLII, a reference to the mediæval -structure—the Norman keep—which gives the town its modern name, may be -allowed. It is the most perfect specimen of Norman castrametation in the -kingdom; and a careful examination of its structure will yield a more -correct view of the mode of warfare adopted at the time of its erection, -and of the mournful condition of society then existing, than the fullest -verbal description could give. Within a recent period its passages have -been cleared and its portals opened, so as to afford the antiquary an -opportunity of examining it thoroughly. The Corporation of Newcastle, -whose property it is, have, in this respect, set an example which might -with advantage be followed by the national government. To the student of -the Wall, however, the collection of Roman antiquities which the castle -contains, will be the object of greatest interest. In the number and -importance of its altars and inscribed stones, it excels every other -museum in Britain. As the Castle contains so many of the spoils of the -Wall, it is much to be wished that it could be made the depository of -all that have been discovered on the line. Numerous individual objects -of interest are scattered over the country, and he who would examine -them all must travel several hundred miles, and propitiate the favour of -many private gentlemen, as well as public bodies. Documents illustrative -of the history of a country may be regarded as the property of the -country, so far at least, as to be made easily accessible to all. PONS -ÆLII is the fitting place to deposit those antiquities of the Wall which -cannot be carefully preserved on the spot where the Romans originally -placed them. - - -[Sidenote: ROAD TO BENWELL.] - -The reader will probably now be glad to disentangle himself from the -intricacies of PONS ÆLII, and to pursue with rapid steps the course of -the Wall westward. - -Between Newcastle and Benwell-hill, the traces of the works are faint -but interesting. The turnpike road runs upon the bed of the prostrate -Wall, so that, except occasionally in a neighbouring building, not one -stone of it is to be seen; its constant companion, the north fosse, may, -however, be recognized in a kind of depression or slack, which runs -nearly all the way parallel with the road on the traveller’s right hand. -On his left, he will sometimes be able to discern with tolerable -certainty the course of the Vallum. A small, but well defined portion of -it, is met with immediately after leaving the town, behind a row of -houses, appropriately termed Adrianople. Though the stone wall has -perished, this humble earth-work has survived the accidents of seventeen -eventful centuries! Its days, however, are now numbered; a contiguous -quarry is making rapid encroachments upon it. - - -[Sidenote: CONDERCUM.] - -CONDERCUM.—About two miles from Newcastle, and near the modern village -of Benwell, stood the third station of the line, CONDERCUM. - -The present turnpike road runs through it, occupying, in all -probability, very nearly the site of its ancient _via principalis_. So -feeble, however, are the traces of it which remain, that the wayfarer -who does not scrutinize the spot very narrowly, will pass on his journey -without knowing that he is treading ground once jealously guarded by -imperial power—the scene, for centuries, of a crowded city’s joys and -fears. - -The situation of the camp is good; without being much exposed, it -commands an extensive prospect in every direction. Northwards, looking -over the grounds of Fenham, the Simonside hills appear in the distance, -and still more remote, is the lofty range of Cheviot. To the south is -the vale of Ravensworth, which is exceeded by the vale of Clwyd only in -magnitude, not in beauty, and to the south-west, the lordly Tyne threads -its way through the richest of landscapes. - -The sunny slope, south of the station, was favourable for the erection -of the suburban buildings of the occupants of the camp, the foundations -of several having been discovered. - -In Horsley’s days, the ramparts were large and distinct; now, their -surface is chiefly marked by a general elevation, occasioned probably by -the accumulated ruins of the ancient fort. It contains in all a space of -nearly five acres. Gordon conceived that the Wall was continued right -through the station. This would have divided it into two distinct parts. -As Horsley and Brand prove, the Wall came up to its eastern and western -ramparts, but did not pass through it. The northern wall of the station -itself was a sufficient defence in that quarter. About a third of the -station was to the north of the line of the Wall, the remaining -two-thirds were within it. The Vallum, Horsley tells us, fell in with -the southern rampart. - -The portion north of the turnpike road is at present under tillage. In -Brand’s days it was covered with a plantation. The man who first -ploughed it told me that in doing so, his horse, on one occasion, sank -up to its middle in traversing some chambers that had been insecurely -covered. The quantity of Roman pottery which is found in this portion of -the camp is remarkable. Fragments may be seen at every step. The -peculiar character of the Roman earthenware, especially of the -coral-coloured kind, denominated Samian, renders this an interesting -evidence of Roman occupation. - -The larger portion of the station, that to the south of the road, is -enclosed within the walls of Benwell-park. The inequalities of its -grassy surface indicate the lines of its streets, and the position of -some of its principal buildings. Near its centre is a large mound, which -would probably reward examination. The southern rampart, with its fosse, -is very distinct. - -[Sidenote: BENWELL.] - -Two hypocausts have been discovered in connexion with this station; one -within its walls, close to the south side of the road, and between forty -and fifty yards from the eastern rampart, the other without them, and -about three hundred yards to the south-west. Of the latter building a -plan is given by Brand. It contained eight or nine apartments, five of -which had floors supported upon pillars. The floors consisted of ‘flags -covered with a composition of various hard ingredients, about eighteen -inches thick, such as small pieces of brick and blue and red pots, mixed -up with run lime.’ The pillars were all of stone, and were so arranged -as to allow hot air to circulate beneath the apartments. The idea -generally entertained of these arrangements is, that they were intended -for hot baths and sudatories. In pursuance of this opinion, Mr. Shafto, -who discovered this hypocaust, says: ‘Here were found many square bricks -with holes in the middle, which were probably joined together by way of -pipes, to conduct the water from the top of the hill, where there was -also the appearance of other baths, and where, probably, springs had -been, but since drained by the colliery.’ However much the Romans in -their own luxurious city may have been addicted to the indulgence of the -hot-bath and the sweating-room, it may well be doubted, whether, in this -cold climate, they would have any great desire for it, or if they had, -whether the dread realities of war would allow them to make, on an -enemy’s frontier, erections so extensive as this has been, for such a -purpose. Next to food, warmth would be their most urgent demand, and a -more effectual mode of maintaining a uniform temperature in their -dwellings could not be devised than that which the hypocaust supplied. - -[Illustration] - -Brand tells us that great conduits or sewers, composed of large wrought -stones, were discovered in the north part of the station at the depth of -about a yard and a half. - -Several inscribed slabs and small altars have been found in the station. -The most important one of these, which is preserved in the parsonage at -Ryton, is here represented. By comparing it with the Notitia, we learn -the ancient name of the station, and the locality of its original -occupants. - - MATRIBVS CAMPEST[RIBVS] - ET GENIO ALÆ PRI[MÆ] HISPANORVM - ASTVRVM [OB VIRTVTEM] - [APPELLATÆ] GORDIANÆ TITVS] - AGRIPPA PRÆ[FECTVS] TEMPLVM A S[OLO] - [RES]TITVIT. - - To the Campestral Mothers, - and to the Genius of the first wing of Spanish - Astures, on account of their valour, - styled Gordiana, Titus - Agrippa, their prefect, this temple, from the ground, - rebuilt. - -The Notitia records that the præfect ‘_alæ primæ Astorum_’ was stationed -at CONDERCUM. This slab, reads Ast_u_rum, not Ast_o_rum. At two other -stations the same people resided; at CILURNUM, the Notitia places the -præfect ‘_alæ secundæ Astorum_,’ and at Æsica, the tribune ‘_cohortis -primæ Astorum_.’ At both these forts, as well as in the case immediately -before us, inscriptions have been found which are written Ast_u_rum; the -probability, therefore, is, that a clerical error has crept into the -Notitia, and that it was the Astures, not the Asti (a people of -Liguria), who garrisoned these posts. The Astures were a people from the -eastern part of the modern Asturias, in Spain. 'Under the empire, the -term _ala_ was applied to regiments of horse, raised, it would seem, -with very few exceptions, in the provinces.'[67] This fractured slab, -therefore, furnishes us with the information that the camp at Benwell -was anciently named CONDERCUM, and that it was garrisoned by a Spanish -cavalry regiment. It supplies other facts. This regiment was styled, -probably on account of some illustrious achievement, Gordiana. The -emperor Gordian, from whom this title is derived, began his reign in the -year 238. We have thus a proof of the continued occupation of the camp -until a date subsequent to this period. The event recorded by the -inscription is to the same effect. A temple which had been erected, -probably at the first formation of the station, had through time or the -chances of war, become so entirely dilapidated, as to require -rebuilding, and Titus Agrippa accomplished the work. The Romans, -although they had at this time been long in the occupation of the -isthmus, had then no thoughts of relinquishing it. The woodland deities, -to whom the temple was dedicated, will require separate discussion -afterwards. [Illustration: ‘altar] To the same occasion will be referred -a remarkable altar inscribed to the three Lamiæ, which was discovered at -this station. Two altars[68] of less importance, which were found here, -may at once be disposed of. They are dedicated to one of the favourite -deities of Rome—Mars. The focus, or place for burning the offering, is -deep and well marked in each of them. They are small domestic altars, -before which the soldier would perform his private devotions. As such, -they give us a little insight into the heart and feelings of the -worshipper. - - DEO M - ARTI V - ICTOR[I] - VINDI[CI] - V[OTVM] - - To the god - Mars - The Conqueror _and_ - Avenger - In performance of a vow. - -Along with this altar, as Brand tells us, were found two stones -resembling pine-apples. This is by no means an unusual ornament of the -works along the line. The pine-apple ornament is frequently introduced -in the stained-glass works of the middle ages. [Illustration: Altar to -Mars] As the fruit to which it bears a resemblance could not be known in -Europe until after the discovery of America, the origin of the figure is -an interesting speculation. I am disposed to think it is of Mithraic -origin, and that the prototype of it was a mass of flame proceeding from -the torch usually represented in the statues of that deity. The other -altar, here given, is inscribed— - - ARTI - IENV - ANIV[S] - V[OTVM] - - To the god - Mars - Jenu- - anius _erected this_ - In performance of a vow. - -Besides these and some other inscribed stones, many coins have been -found here; amongst them, Brand mentions denarii of Trajan, Hadrian, -Faustina senior, and Domitian; brass coins of Valentinian, Gratianus, -Diocletian, Faustina, and Maxentius, with many others not legible. -Obscene figures are frequently found in Roman stations. They were worn -by females as a religious charm. Benwell has furnished one such example -of a very remarkable kind. Before leaving the station, the inquiring -traveller will do well to examine the stones of the park-wall. He will -soon detect many of Roman mould, whose faces have been scarred by the -blasts of many centuries. The larger ones have been derived from the -Wall—the smaller, from the curtain wall of the station, or the dwellings -erected within it. - -[Sidenote: CONDERCUM.] - -The pleasant village of Benwell lies a little to the south-west of the -station. ‘The old tower of Benwell-hall,’ says Bourne, 'was the place -where the prior of Tynemouth resided some part of the summer, and the -chapel, which Mr. Shaftoe opens and supplies for the good of the people -of his village, was the prior’s domestic chapel.' Who that visits the -spot will say that the prior who made the selection was not a man of -taste? Benwell, as Horsley remarks, is not improbably thought to have -its name from the northern word _ben_, (Saxon _binnan_) signifying -within, and _well_ for wall, as being seated within, or on the south -side of the Wall.[69] Whitaker derives the Roman name of the station, -CONDERCUM, from the Celtic _Cond ar gui_, the height upon the water.[70] -The river being near, the description is apposite. - - -Leaving CONDERCUM, we again pursue our journey westward. The road for -several miles running upon the base of the Wall, the facing stones may -not unfrequently be seen for some distance together, protruding through -the ‘metal.’ This used to be more the case formerly than at present, for -since the diversion of the traffic from the road to the rail, motives of -economy have induced the road surveyors to quarry, in some places, the -last remnants of this great work of antiquity, for materials with which -to repair the highway. The north fosse, as we pursue our journey, -becomes more distinct on the right of the road. - -[Sidenote: THE WALL AT DENTON.] - -Descending Benwell-hill, the village of East Denton is reached. Here we -meet for the first time with a fragment of the Wall. The accompanying -wood-cut exhibits its present state. William Hutton describes the -interesting relic with becoming reverence. - -[Illustration: The Wall at East Denton] - - At Denton Dean, situated at the bottom of Benwell-hill, the great road - veers a few yards to the right, that is into Severus’ ditch, and gives - us for the first time a sight of that most venerable piece of - antiquity, THE WALL, which is six yards south of the road, and twenty - short of the brook I am going to pass. The fragment is thirty-six feet - long, has three courses of facing stones on one side, and four on the - other, and is exactly nine feet thick. An apple tree grows on the top. - -It has lost a course of facing-stones since Hutton saw it, and the apple -tree is but the shadow of what it was. - -The turnpike road, which usually runs upon the site of the Wall, -uniformly swerves to the right when passing a village. The truth is, -nearly every house and hamlet in the district has sprung out of the -Wall. In many instances a mile-castle, slightly added to, has formed a -mediæval dwelling of some strength. The nucleus thus provided, became, -in the course of time, clustered round with contiguous habitations, so -that when, after the last season of strife with which the borders were -visited, the road came to be constructed, motives of economy required -that these spots of increased value should be avoided. - -Beyond the burn, the ground again rises, and the Wall, stretching -onwards in a line with the road, forms a distinct, but turf-covered -mound. At the distance of a field to the south of it, the Vallum is seen -in greater distinctness than before. Both of the aggers and the -intervening fosse may be clearly made out. Some young ash-trees grow in -the ditch. - -[Sidenote: DENTON HALL.] - -Advancing a little further, we have Denton-hall, formerly the seat of -the literary Mrs. Montague, on the right; attracted by her influence, -many of the great spirits of the age were occasionally found to be -assembled within its walls. Very nearly opposite the hall, a larger mass -of ruin than usual betokens the site of a mile-castle. - -Ascending the hill from West Denton, the fosse of the Murus is very -distinctly seen. The road is elevated two or three feet above the -natural level of the ground, the Wall, probably some courses high, -forming its nucleus. - -On the left hand, the lines of the Vallum are feebly indicated, but by -extending our glance some distance backwards and forwards, we can, with -tolerable certainty, distinguish the artificial mounds from the natural -heavings of the surface. - -[Sidenote: CHAPEL-HOUSE.] - -Passing the fourth mile-stone, we arrive at Chapel-houses. This name is -of sufficiently frequent occurrence along the line to suggest a -momentary inquiry into its origin. In the early ages of Christianity, a -mile-castle may have occasionally been the resort of the worshippers of -the true God; or in the ‘troublesome times’ of border warfare, when the -church not unfrequently shared in the general devastation, it may have -been set apart as a place for the confirmation of matrimonial vows, and -for the performance of religious rites. - -From the crown of this hill we have one of the finest views which -Northumberland can afford. The Tyne, in all its glittering beauty, -stretches far before us. Its southern bank is crowned by the pretty -village of Ryton, its left is variegated with the once beautiful, but -now furnace-fuming, Wylam. An amphitheatre of hills shuts in the distant -scene.[71] - -Horsley describes some ruined ramparts, called the Castle-steads near -Chapel-houses, to the south of both Vallum and Wall. They were probably -temporary encampments and have now disappeared. - -[Sidenote: WALBOTTLE-DEAN.] - -Before crossing Walbottle[72]-dean, the Vallum, which is very distinct, -and the Wall (_i. e._ the road) approach each other, apparently for -mutual support. There are no traces of a bridge across the ravine. - -As we ascend the next hill, and pass Throckley,[73] we have, for the -most part, the fosse on the right hand, and the mounds of the Vallum on -the left, very boldly developed. By the time the traveller has advanced -thus far, he will have learnt the necessity of bearing in mind that he -is in a mining district. If he overlook this circumstance, he will be in -danger of mistaking the track of some old ‘waggon way’ for the terraced -lines of Roman cultivation, or an old ‘pit-heap’ for an indubitable -British barrow. - -[Illustration: - - Cha^s Richardson, Delt. John Storey. Lith. - THE WORKS AT HEDDON-ON-THE WALL -] - -After passing Throckley, just where a gate on the left hand enters the -field from the road, a mound covered, in winter at least, with greener -herbage than the contiguous ground indicates the site of a mile-castle. -A little further on, a range of houses of peculiar appearance, called -the Frenchman’s-row, attracts the eye. It was the residence, after the -first French revolution, of a number of refugees. The dial which -ornaments the Row is of their fabrication. The building is now used as a -poor-house. - -[Sidenote: HEDDON-ON-THE-WALL.] - -On the top of the little eminence, at which we arrive before reaching -Heddon-on-the-Wall, the north fosse is deeper and bolder than it has -hitherto appeared; it must be nearly in its original perfection. The -works of the Vallum, about fifty yards to the south, are also finely -developed. The ditch, in both cases, is cut through the free-stone rock. -Here, also, if the traveller will forsake the turnpike, for the road, as -usual, diverges to the right in order to avoid the village, he may see a -fragment of the Wall much longer and somewhat higher than the one at -Denton. Its north face is destroyed, but about five courses of the -southern face are perfect. The accompanying lithograph shews the present -state of the Barrier here. The Wall is in the foreground, while in the -distance (looking eastward) the section of the north fosse, and of the -works of the Vallum, is distinctly seen. - -About a mile north of the village is a striking prominence called -Heddon-law. Horsley remarks—‘Not far from Heddon-on-the-Wall have been -some remarkable tumuli.’ - -The ditch of the Vallum cuts right through the village, its lowest dip -forming the village pond; it is rather remarkable that in such a -situation, it should not long ago have been obliterated. - -Descending the hill on which Heddon-on-the-Wall stands, the lines of the -Barrier keep close together, and not without reason. The crag on the -south, now the scene of extensive quarrying operations, completely -commands them. Surely a post must have been maintained on this eminence -in the days of Roman occupation, though it had only been for the sake of -a look-out. - -Passing the eighth mile-stone, where the Vallum is in good condition, we -approach the fourth great station of the Barrier. A road, crossing the -turnpike at right angles, is close to its east rampart. - - -[Sidenote: VINDOBALA.] - -VINDOBALA.—The station now called Rutchester, stands on flat ground, but -commands a considerable prospect. The Notitia places here the tribune of -the first cohort of the Frixagi, a people [Sidenote: RUTCHESTER.] whose -country does not seem to be mentioned by any ancient geographer. The -inside dimensions of this station, from north to south, are 178 yards, -and from east to west, 135; it consequently contains nearly five acres. -The Wall started each way from the north side of its east and west -gates; so that a a greater portion of the station lay on the north than -on the south side of it, as is shewn in the plan of it, Plate II. At -present, the turnpike road runs between these portions; that on the -north has been all ploughed, and three of its sides sloped into the -ditch; its general outlines may, however, be distinguished; the southern -part is irregular in its surface, with heaps of ruins, still covered -with sward.[74] In Horsley’s time, the northern part was sufficiently -perfect to enable him to discern six turrets in it, 'one at each corner, -one at each side of the gate, and one between each corner, and those -adjoining to the gate.'[75] The Vallum seems to have joined the station -in a line with its southern rampart. The ditch on the western side is -still tolerably distinct. The suburbs have been to the south of the -station, but their site has recently been disturbed by the opening of an -extensive quarry which has supplied large quantities of the stone used -in carrying the railway over the Tyne, and through Newcastle. - -On the brow of the hill, just west of the station, there is still to be -seen, hewn out of the solid rock, what Wallis calls a coffin. It has -more the appearance of a cistern. It is twelve feet long, four broad, -and two deep, and has a hole close to the bottom at one end. When -discovered, it had a partition of masonry across it, three feet from one -end, and contained many decayed bones, teeth and vertebræ, and an iron -implement resembling a three-footed candlestick. In the immediate -vicinity of this spot, three fine Roman altars were discovered in 1844; -they are now in the possession of Mr. James, of Otterburn, and are -described in the Archæologia Æliana, iv. 5. - -[Sidenote: VINDOBALA.] - -The etymology of the name of this station seems to be tolerably plain. -‘VINDOBALA,’ says Whitaker, ‘signifies merely the fort upon the heights. -_Bala_ remains, to the present period, the Welsh and Irish appellation -of a town.’ I have received a similar account of the word from those -acquainted with the Gaelic language. The station, however, though -possessing the advantage of a gentle elevation above the contiguous -ground, does not stand upon a lofty eminence. - -No inscriptions have been found here mentioning the first cohort of the -Frixagi, which, according to the Notitia, was quartered in VINDOBALA. -This is of little consequence; the names of the contiguous stations both -east and west having been ascertained, the order of the stations in the -Notitia is sufficient evidence as to the identity of this with the -ancient VINDOBALA. - -The farm-house at Rutchester partly consists of an ancient building, -possessing great strength of masonry. A gothic carving on the interior -wall of its principal apartment shews that it is not of Roman -construction. It was probably a mediæval stronghold, made out of the -ruins of the station. It contains a well, now boarded over, which may be -of Roman date. - -Most of the stones of the farm buildings and adjacent fences are Roman, -and one or two fragments of Roman inscriptions built up in the stables, -besides some small altars preserved on the premises, give interest to -the place. - -[Sidenote: MURAL HOSPITALITY.] - -Mr. Hutton is usually very particular in giving a detail of the kind of -entertainment he met with at the various points of his journey. The -recital of his reception at Rutchester kindles into poetry: - - I saw old Sir at dinner sit, - Who ne'er said, "Stranger, take a bit," - Yet might, although a poet said it, - Have saved his beef, and raised his credit. - -His own appearance, he tells us, was a little peculiar, and -archæological pursuits not being in vogue in that day, the farmer -probably had grave doubts as to the propriety of tempting the -enthusiastic old man to prolong his stay. - -It has frequently been my lot to receive the kindly attentions of the -inhabitants of the mural region. Often have my eyes, bedimmed with -fatigue, been ‘enlightened’ by partaking of the barley cake of the -cottager, (excellent food for a thirsty climb) as well as the costlier -viands of the farm tenant, or proprietor. Never shall I forget visiting, -on one occasion, a frail tenement near Chesterholm. Its only inmate, an -old woman, in the spirit of regal hospitality, asked me to join with her -in partaking of her only luxury—her pipe. I recently observed with -regret, that the cottage was tenantless. - -[Sidenote: NORTHUMBRIAN YEOMEN.] - -The inhabitants of that part of the district which is remote from towns, -do not affect the dress, or the speech, or the manners of polished -citizens. They like to know a person before they welcome him, and make -their approaches cautiously. But if slow in grasping the hand, they do -it heartily and sincerely. There is scarcely a latch in the wilder -regions of the country, that I would not freely lift in the assurance of -a smiling welcome. Often as I have groaned under the toils to which my -present undertaking has exposed me, I have reason to rejoice, that the -Barrier of the Lower Isthmus has been the means of making me acquainted -with many of the true-hearted and intelligent yeomen, both of my own -county, and of Cumberland, whom I should not otherwise have known. -Although their dialect may sound strangely to a southern ear, yet it is -English in its native purity and strength; a great authority, Mr. -Thorpe, having said, 'I believe the genuine Anglian dialect to be that -which is usually denominated the Northumbrian.'[76] - -Proceeding, now, after this long digression, on our journey, we pass, on -the left hand side of the road, an inn generally called the Iron-sign. -Some of the buildings are entirely composed of Roman stones. In the -erection nearest the road are three centurial stones. One has on it COH -VIII, another has the word LVPI, probably to announce the fact, that the -portion of the Wall in which it was originally inserted had been built -by the troop under the command of the centurion Lupus; the third is -illegible. - -[Sidenote: HARLOW-HILL.] - -Passing the ninth milestone, we stand upon the top of an eminence from -which there is a good view of Harlow-hill, and of the adjacent country. -The Wall here slightly changes its course for the purpose of ascending -the summit before it. The Vallum keeps company with the Wall for a short -distance, but eventually swerves to the south with the design of passing -along the base of the hill; it rejoins the Wall on the other side. This -is an arrangement which we should not have encountered had the Vallum -been intended for an independent barrier against a northern foe. The -north fosse is here very distinct, forming a deep groove on the left of -the road all the way to Harlow-hill. - -Just before entering the village of Harlow-hill, some portions of the -heart of the Wall may be seen, and a careful scrutiny will enable us to -ascertain its course through the village, a part of its foundation, of -the full width (nine feet), yet remaining. As usual, in passing through -the village, the turnpike road leaves the Wall for a short distance. -There was a mile-castle at Harlow-hill, which, Horsley says, had a high -situation, and a large prospect; all traces of it are now gone. A field, -about half a mile north of Harlow-hill, bears the ominous name of -Grave-riggs; the traditionary account of its origin being, that after a -bloody battle in ‘the troublesome times,’ it became the resting-place of -slaughtered multitudes. - -The village and ancient stronghold of Welton (a corruption no doubt of -Wall-town) is about half a mile to the south of the road. The fortlet is -entirely built of Roman stones. The adjoining mansion, at present -occupied by the farm tenant, bears the date of 1616. Its large hall, -with ample hearth and spacious bow-windows, is redolent of ancient -hospitality. In the memory of the villagers, the freaks of a benevolent -ghost, named Silky, which frequented the old tower, and the feats of -strength performed by William of Welton, still survive the weekly -intrusion of the newspaper. - -[Sidenote: WALL-HOUSES.] - -At Wall-houses, on the south side of the road, traces of a mile-castle -are obscurely visible; between this point and the fourteenth mile-stone -all the lines of the Barrier are developed in a degree that is quite -inspiriting. The north fosse is, for a considerable distance, planted -with trees, which will for some time save it from the envious plough. - -[Illustration: - - H. Burdon Richardson, Delt. John Storey, Lith. - THE WORKS NEAR CARR HILL. -] - -[Sidenote: THE VALLUM AT DOWN-HILL.] - -Immediately after passing the farm house of Carr-hill, an appearance of -great interest presents itself. The works of the Vallum are coming -boldly forward in company with the Wall, when suddenly, and at a decided -angle, they change their course, evidently to avoid mounting a small -barrow-like elevation, called Down-hill.[77] The Wall pursues its course -straightforward. The view, exhibited on the opposite page, taken from -the edge of the hill, looking eastward, shews this arrangement. The -road, with the ditch on its north side, is the representative of the -Wall. The Vallum and Wall again converge as they approach HUNNUM. These -appearances strongly corroborate the opinion that all the lines of the -Barrier are but parts of one great engineering scheme. If the Vallum had -been constructed as an independent defence against a northern foe, and -nearly a century before the Wall, we cannot conceive that an elevation, -which so entirely commands the Vallum, would have been left open to the -enemy; especially as it would have been just as easy to take the Vallum -along the north flank of the hill as along the south. Horsley, who -advocates the opinion that the north agger is Agricola’s Military Way, -that the southern aggers were the work of Hadrian, and that the Wall was -not erected till the time of Severus, is rather at a loss to account for -these appearances. He says:— - - Before we come to Halton-chesters, somewhat appears that is pretty - remarkable. Hadrian’s Vallum running full upon a little hill, turns at - once round about the skirt of it, leaving the hill on the north, and - thereby, one would think, rendering the Vallum itself a weak defence - at that part. The north agger goes close to the south side of this - hill; so that they were also obliged to carry the Vallum round the - hill in order to preserve the parallelism. If the north agger was the - Old Military Way, and prior to the Vallum, there was nothing improper - in carrying it on the south skirts of the hill; and then when the - Vallum came afterwards to be built, (for a defence, or place of - retreat) they were under a kind of necessity to form it after this - manner. - -Since so able a man as Horsley can devise no better defence of his -theory, it may well be abandoned altogether. It cannot be conceived -that, under a rule so vigorous as Hadrian’s, the builders of the Barrier -would be allowed to give the enemy a material advantage, in order to -save themselves the trouble of reconstructing the Military Way for a -short space. - -Down-hill bears marks of having been quarried at some distant period for -its limestone. A little to the south of the Vallum are some circular -lines, which an experienced observer tells me, are the remains of -‘sow-kilns.’ It would, perhaps, be rash to claim for them a primeval -date, though in their appearance there is nothing inconsistent with the -supposition. - -[Sidenote: HALTON RED-HOUSE.] - -Halton Red-house is next passed on the right hand. It is entirely built -of stones taken from the neighbouring station; they have, however, been -fresh dressed. In the farm-yard is a rectangular stone trough, which was -found in the station, and which its owner describes as a ‘smiddy trow,’ -and shews upon the edge the place which had been worn away by the -attrition of the blacksmith’s irons. It might, indeed, serve very well -for such a purpose, but troughs of this kind are of too frequent -occurrence in the buildings along the line to allow us to suppose that -this was their usual application. They are generally very rudely carved -both outside and in, and not unfrequently are formed of an irregular -unsquared block of stone. I think that they were used for domestic and -culinary purposes. There is a fragment of one lying in the hypocaust at -Chesters, the edge of which is worn down by the sharpening of knives -upon it. - -We now approach the fifth station of the line, - - -[Sidenote: Hunnum.] - -HUNNUM.—This ancient abode of Rome’s warriors, with its walls, streets, -temples, markets, and aqueducts, is nearly one unbroken sweep of -luxuriant vegetation. The traveller may readily pass by it, as Hutton -did, without discerning symptoms of Roman occupation. A small, -half-ruined hut stands within its area, a fitting emblem of the -surrounding desolation. It is almost needless to name a city, which has -no existence, but for convenience sake,[Sidenote: HALTON-CHESTERS.] -Horsley conferred upon it the style and title of Halton-chesters. The -castle of Halton is close by. - -The form of the station is peculiar, as is shewn in the plan of it, -Plate II. The Wall joins the station at about one-third the distance -between its northern and southern extremity. The portion of the station -which is to the north of the Wall is not so broad as the part to the -south of it. The only reason which has been assigned for this is, that, -as Horsley observes, 'there is a descent or hollow ground joining to the -west side of this part, so that the work could not be carried on any -farther that way without much trouble and expense; though, it must be -owned, the Romans don't usually seem to have valued either the one or -the other'. It is remarkable that in adapting the station to the ground, -they have not given to the wall, at the north east corner, a slanting -direction, as would have been most convenient, but have, as usual, -adhered to the rectangular form. - -The turnpike road, keeping the line of the Wall, crosses the station -from the site of the eastern to that of the western gateway. The section -north of the road was brought under cultivation about twenty years ago, -when immense quantities of stones were removed. It is now called the -‘Brunt-ha’penny field’ in consequence of the number of corroded copper -coins which were found in it. The portion south of the road has a gentle -slope and a fair exposure to the sun. It has not recently been ploughed, -and consequently exhibits, with considerable distinctness, the lines of -the outer entrenchments and ditches, as well as the contour of the -ruined buildings and streets of the interior. The suburbs have covered a -fine tract of pasture-ground to the south. The valley on the west side -of the station would materially strengthen the position in this quarter. - -The excavations made in the northern section, a few years ago, revealed -several points of interest. The careful manner in which the stones, even -of the foundation, were squared and chiselled, struck beholders with -surprise. The thickness, of one part at least, of the west wall of the -station I have been assured, by a person who superintended the work, was -nine feet.[78] In the angle of the north-west portion of the station, -just outside the Wall, was a large heap, containing numerous fragments -of Roman pottery, the bones of animals, the horns of deer, and other -refuse matter—it must, in short, have been the dung-hill of the camp. -Even now, although the plough has passed repeatedly over it, its -position is shewn by the darkness of the soil. On the same occasion, -there was laid open an aqueduct of about three quarters of a mile in -length, which seems to have conducted water from a spring or burn in the -high ground north of the place where Stagshawbank fair is held. My -informant, who traced it for between two and three hundred yards, says, -that it was formed of stone, and was covered with flags.[79] In crossing -the valley to the west of the fort, it must have been supported on -pillars, or a mound. The most remarkable circumstance to be noticed -respecting this water-course is, that it was on the north, or the -enemy’s side of the Wall. It is scarcely probable that the Romans would -depend for that portion of their daily supply, which was required for -drinking and culinary purposes, on so precarious a source; but it is not -unlikely that the water so introduced was meant to fill the fosse to the -north of the station, and thus to give the additional security of a wet -ditch to a portion of the camp, which, though much exposed, possessed no -natural strength of situation.[80] Crossing the station diagonally from -below the eastern gateway to the north-west angle, a sewer or drain was -found, of considerable dimensions. My informant crept along it for about -one hundred yards. The bottom of it was filled with hardened mud, -imbedded in which, were found a lamp and many bone pins, such as those -with which the Romans fastened their woollen garments. - -The most interesting discovery made on this occasion, however, was a -suite of apartments, which have been usually supposed to be ‘the Baths.’ -The building was one hundred and thirty-two feet in length, and -contained not fewer than eleven rooms. The first of these was -forty-three feet long, and twenty wide, and was the place, it has been -conjectured, ‘where the bathers waited, and employed themselves in -walking and talking, till their turn came to bathe.’ The others beyond -are supposed to have been set apart for the purposes of undressing, -taking the cold, the tepid, and the hot-bath, sweating, anointing, and -robing. If the Roman prefects allowed the most important buildings of -their frontier camps to be devoted to the enjoyment of the bath in all -its elaborate details, they were more indulgent than some modern -generals would be. That one or two of the smaller rooms have been -devoted to ablution is not unlikely, this range of buildings having -contained two carefully constructed cisterns which may have been used as -baths. Several of the rooms had hanging floors, with flues beneath; -pipes of burnt clay, fixed to the walls by T-headed holdfasts, -communicated with the flues below, and conveyed the hot air up the sides -of the apartments. But no provision for heating large quantities of -water was discovered, such as we might have expected to find, if the -whole building had been used for bathing. - -The whole of this interesting structure was removed as the process of -exhumation proceeded. Our only consolation is, that a minute and able -description of it has been left us by Mr. Hodgson. - -[Illustration: The Works near Carr-hill] - -Several inscribed and sculptured stones have been discovered here. -Camden, in 1600, found a monumental slab, erected to the memory of a -soldier of the Ala Sabiniana; the regiment which the Notitia represents -as being quartered at HUNNUM. A stone, bearing the inscription, LEG. II. -AVG. F., _Legio secunda Augusta fecit_, is at Alnwick castle, and -belongs, I think, to this station. Wallis says 'as some labourers were -turning up the foundations here, for the sake of the stones to mend the -road, they met with a centurial stone with the above inscription, within -a civic garland, the crest of the imperial eagle at each end, and that -it was taken into the custody of Sir Edward Blackett. The one here -shewn, though not a centurial stone, must be the one in question.[81] It -is one of the most elegantly carved stones that have been found upon the -line, and closely resembles the style of those erected by the same -legion in the Barrier of the Upper Isthmus. The ornament in the upper -margin, and at the sides, has probably formed the type of one that -prevailed in the Transition Norman and Early English styles. - -Several busts of emperors and empresses, preserved about the house and -grounds of Matfen, shew the attention which the ancient inhabitants of -HUNNUM have paid to the decoration of the camp. - -[Illustration: Slab—Fulgur Divom] - -A little to the west of the station, not far from the gateway, was -recently found the slab which is here figured. Although the inscription -is not deeply cut, it is very legible, and doubtless means—The lightning -of the gods. When any spot was struck with lightning, it was immediately -deemed sacred, and venerated as such by the Romans, being surrounded by -a breastwork of masonry, similar to that put round the mouth of a well. -Conscious guilt makes cowards of the most dauntless warriors! Perhaps -some member of the Sabinian ala, hastening for shelter, and beseeching -meanwhile the protection of Jupiter Tonans, was here arrested on life’s -journey, and summoned to his great account. - -Among the minor antiquities found at this station was a particularly -massive finger ring of pure gold, set with an artificial stone, on which -a full-length figure was engraved. It was stolen from lady Blackett, to -whom it belonged, together with the rest of her jewellery. - -An intelligent observer informs me, that an ancient road of Roman -construction went direct north from HUNNUM. It, no doubt, soon joined -the eastern branch of the Watling-street which Horsley lays down, part -of whose course is represented in the map accompanying this volume. - -[Sidenote: HALTON-CHESTERS.] - -Halton-castle is to the south of the station. It is entirely composed of -stones taken from the Roman Wall. In the farm-buildings attached to it, -are some Roman mouldings, and a weathered figure of primeval aspect. - -No probable etymological account of the word HUNNUM has yet been -offered. If the word Halton can be supposed to have any affinity with -HUNNUM, besides the initial breathing, this is one of the few instances -in which there is any resemblance between the ancient and modern name of -the stations. - - -Leaving HUNNUM, we soon reach Stagshawbank-gate, where the ancient -Watling-street crosses the road at right-angles. This Roman Way was -probably first constructed by Agricola, as a means of keeping up a -communication with the garrisons in South Britain, while he was forcing -his way into Scotland. A fort formerly stood here to guard the passage -through the Wall; no trace of it now remains. - -[Sidenote: VALLUM NEAR ST. OSWALD’S.] - -The earth-works between this point and the crown of the hill descending -to the North Tyne are remarkably perfect. The description which Hutton -gives of them happily holds good at the present moment— - - I now travel over a large common, still upon the Wall, with its trench - nearly complete. But what was my surprise when I beheld, thirty yards - on my left, the united works of Agricola and Hadrian, almost perfect! - I climbed over a stone wall to examine the wonder; measured the whole - in every direction; surveyed them with surprise, with delight; was - fascinated, and unable to proceed; forgot I was upon a wild common, a - stranger, and the evening approaching. I had the grandest works under - my eye of the greatest men of the age in which they lived, and of the - most eminent nation then existing; all of which had suffered but - little during the long course of sixteen hundred years. Even hunger - and fatigue were lost in the grandeur before me. If a man writes a - book upon a turnpike road, he cannot be expected to move quick; but, - lost in astonishment, I was not able to move at all. - -The first time I visited the spot, this passage, through which there -runs so fine a vein of youthful enthusiasm, was fresh in my -recollection. The shades of evening were beginning to gather round me, -and the blackness of the furze which covered the ground, gave additional -solemnity to the scene. I looked for the venerable old man, as if -expecting still to find him fixed in his enthusiastic trance; but he was -not there. After all, he had moved on; and a few years more removed him -from this scene, to sleep in the church-yard under a humbler and less -durable mound than his favourite general and emperor had here raised! - -The section given in page 52, exhibits the state of the works at this -place. The north fosse is very boldly developed between the sixteenth -and eighteenth milestone: the whole of its contents lie strewed on its -outer margin. Near the eighteenth milestone, on the left of the road, is -a mound, which I take to be the remains of a mile-castle. In one part -near here, the Wall, as seen in the road, measures ten feet wide, but it -speedily becomes narrower. - -[Sidenote: ST. OSWALD’S CHAPEL.] - -Where the ground begins to dip strongly to the North Tyne, St. Oswald’s -chapel stands. On the north side of the road, is a field called -Mould’s-close, in which a number of bones and implements of war have -from time to time been turned up, and which is supposed to be the site -of a battle. The tradition runs, that from the fight which was won here, -England dates her advancing greatness, and that, from the fatal results -of a conflict to be lost on the same ground, she will date her decline. -[Sidenote: BATTLE OF HEAVEN-FIELD.]Hodgson says, ‘Was this the site of -part of the battle of Heaven-field, which Bede says was fought just -north of the Roman Wall, and in memory of which the chapel of St. Oswald -was built?’ That it was, the narrative of the venerable historian will -probably shew— - - The place is shewn to this day, and held in much veneration, where - Oswald (A.D. 635), being about to engage (with the ferocious British - king Cadwalla), erected the sign of the holy cross, and on his knees - prayed to God that he would assist his worshippers in their great - distress. It is further reported, that the cross being made in haste, - and the hole dug in which it was to be fixed, the king himself, full - of faith, laid hold of it, and held it with both his hands, till it - was set fast by throwing in the earth; and this done, raising his - voice, he cried to his army, ‘Let us all kneel, and jointly beseech - the true and living God Almighty, in his mercy, to defend us from the - haughty and fierce enemy; for He knows that we have undertaken a just - war for the safety of our nation.’ All did as he had commanded, and - accordingly advancing towards the enemy with the first dawn of day, - they obtained the victory, as their faith deserved. In that place of - prayer very many miraculous cures are known to have been performed, as - a token and memorial of the king’s faith; for even to this day, many - are wont to cut off small chips of the wood of the holy cross, which - being put into water, men or cattle drinking of, or sprinkled with - that water, are immediately restored to health. The place in the - English tongue is called Hefenfeld, or the Heavenly Field.... The same - place is near the Wall with which the Romans formerly enclosed the - island from sea to sea, to restrain the fury of the barbarous nations, - as has been said before. Hither, also, the brothers of the church of - Hagulstad (Hexham), which is not far from thence (it is in the valley - directly below), repair yearly on the day before that on which king - Oswald was afterwards slain, to watch there for the health of his - soul, and having sung many psalms, to offer for him in the morning the - sacrifice of the holy oblation. And since that good custom has spread, - they have lately built and consecrated a church there, which has - attached additional sanctity and honour to that place.[82] - -[Illustration: - - H. Burdon Richardson, Delt. John Storey, Lith. - THE WALL AT BRUNTON. -] - -A little to the south of the road, at St. Oswald’s-hill-head, is -Fallowfield-fell, where the Written-rock, of which an engraving is -given, page 102, may yet be seen. The face of the rock occupied by the -inscription is four feet long; the letters are distinct.[83] Continuing -to descend the hill, we come to Plane-tree-field, where on the left of -the road, a conspicuous piece of the Wall remains. It is about -thirty-six yards long, and has, in some places, five courses of -facing-stones entire; the grout of the interior which rises still -higher, gives root to some fine old thorns. This sight may be rendered -more interesting by the antiquary’s carrying his eye forward, and -tracing the Wall in its onward course; in its modern representative, the -turnpike road, it is seen, (having crossed the North Tyne, and passed -the station of CILURNUM,) bounding up the opposite hill in its usual -unflinching manner, and making for the wastes and mountains which it is -speedily to traverse. - -[Sidenote: THE WALL AT BRUNTON.] - -In the grounds of Brunton, a little below this, a small piece of the -Wall is to be seen in a state of very great perfection. It is seven feet -high, and presents nine courses of facing-stones entire. The mortar of -the five lower courses is good; the face of the south side is gone. The -ditch also is here well developed. The opposite lithograph gives an -accurate representation of what Hutton calls ‘this grand exhibition.’ -The altar which, at present, stands as it is placed in the drawing, -formerly discharged the office of a gate-post at the entry of the yard -of St. Oswald’s chapel. - -[Sidenote: BRIDGE OVER THE NORTH TYNE.] - -For some reason, which it is hard to divine, the turnpike road now -recedes from the Wall, and crosses the river at Chollerford, nearly -half-a-mile above the spot where the Roman bridge spanned it. - - _PLATE VI._ - -[Illustration: - - REMAINS OF ROMAN BRIDGE - OVER THE - NORTH TYNE. - _Reid Lith._ -] - - _PLATE VII._ - -[Illustration: Miscellaneous Antiquities, Chesters, Cilurnum] - -The remains of this bridge may yet be seen when the water is low, and -the surface smooth. There seem to have been three piers of considerable -size and solidity, set diagonally to the stream. The stones composing -them are large, regularly squared, and fastened with metallic -cramps.[84] Luis-holes, indicating the mode in which they have been -lowered into their bed, appear in several of them. The firmness with -which these foundation courses still retain the position assigned to -them by the soldiers of Hadrian is very remarkable; the rolling floods -of sixteen hundred winters seem to have spent their rage upon them -almost in vain. As the eastern side of the river is frequently -overflowed, the Vallum is here obliterated, but probably both works -approached the bridge in close companionship. On the western side, -appearances still bear out Horsley’s statement, that the 'Wall falls -upon the middle of the fort, and Hadrian’s Vallum, as usual, falls in -with the south side of it.' - -A plan of CILURNUM, and adjoining works, as figured by Warburton, is -given in Plate II. Probably, few who examine it attentively will -question the justness of the conclusion to which he has arrived, that -the Wall, Vallum, stations, castles, and turrets, ‘by their mutual -relation to one another, must have been one entire, united defence, or -fortification.’ - -We are now arrived at the station called in the locality, Chesters, but -by Horsley named, for the sake of distinction, Walwick-chesters. An -attentive examination of it will well reward the antiquary. - - -[Sidenote: CILURNUM.] - -CILURNUM.—This station has, as usual, the form of a parallelogram, the -corners being slightly rounded off. It contains an area of fully six -acres. In the latter part of the last century, when the mansion and -estate of Chesters came into the possession of the family of Clayton, -this area was covered with the ruins of buildings which had apparently -stood in strait, narrow streets, and although the surface of the station -has since been levelled and made smooth, in order to fit it for its use -as part of the park, yet its ramparts and fosse, the Wall and Vallum as -they approach and leave it, and the road leading to the river, may all -be distinctly discerned; even the ruined dwellings of the interior area, -as if dissatisfied with their lowly condition, struggle to rear -themselves into notice. A portion of the Wall, near the north-west -angle, has been freed from the encumbering soil; it is five feet thick, -and exhibits four courses of masonry in excellent preservation. - -Hutchinson was struck with the linear character which the ruined streets -of this fort had in his time, and was reminded, by their appearance, of -the arrangements of the Polybian camp. This will be observed in a -greater or less degree in all the stations, and there cannot be a doubt -but that the dwellings were arranged in rows parallel to the four sides -of the stations, and hence, intersecting each other at right angles. It -was necessary that the Roman camp, whether of a temporary or permanent -character, should be nearly uniform in its plan. If the troops rested -but for a night, each man knew the part he had to fill in preparing the -fortification, and could set about it at once; in the event of a sudden -attack in the darkness of the night, each knew his position, though he -may never have rested upon the spot before. - -Suburban buildings have occupied the space between the station and the -river, and ruins more extensive than usual are spread over the ground to -the south. There is no appearance of any habitations having been erected -to the north of the Wall. Whenever the surface of the contiguous ground -is broken, fragments of Samian ware and other marks of Roman occupation -appear. - -[Sidenote: CHESTERS.] - -Two remains of great interest are found within the station. One of these -is an underground vault near the middle. Its masonry is rough, and -somewhat peculiar; the sides incline slightly inwards, but the roof, -instead of being uniformly vaulted, is formed of three ribs arched in -the usual manner, and the intervals between them are in technical -language—‘stepped over,’ that is, the stones of each course are made to -project inwards a little, until, at length, one laid on the top -completes the junction. The woodcut, which is here introduced, together -with the following extract from Hodgson’s description of it, will give a -tolerably correct idea of this curious structure. - -[Illustration: Vault at Cilurnum] - - This vault, when it was first found, was supposed to have been the - Ærarium of the station. Between the joinings of the floor, which were - of thin free-stone flags, were found several counterfeit denarii, both - of copper and iron plated with silver. The approach to it was by four - steps downwards, the lowest of which was a large centurial stone, - which had borne an inscription, but nearly all of it had been - purposely erased. On the outside of the threshold was found, in a - sadly decayed state, its original door of wood, strongly sheathed with - plates of iron, and the whole firmly rivetted together with large - square nails. Within the door, which had opened inwards, the end wall - was two feet thick, plastered and painted. Its internal area is ten - feet by nine, and its height to the crown of the arch six feet four - inches.[85] - -[Illustration: Ground-plan, Hypocaust, CILURNUM.] - -[Illustration: Hypocausts at Cilurnum] - -Some buildings situated near to the spot where the eastern gateway must -be, and which have recently been freed from the earth and rubbish that -have long enveloped them, are objects of still greater interest. Their -general appearance, as seen from a slight elevation, is shewn in the -adjoining wood-cut, while, for a more minute knowledge of their size and -arrangements, reference may be made to the plan on the opposite page. -Eight apartments have already been exposed, and a little more research -would doubtless display others. - -[Sidenote: THE HYPOCAUSTS.] - -Descending a few steps (at L in the Plan), a street three feet wide at -one extremity, and four at the other, is entered. Another, leading from -it at right-angles, and which is paved with flag-stones, conducts to the -grand entrance (D) of what appears to be the principal section of the -building. The steps are very much worn down by the tread of feet, and -even some of the stones, which have evidently been put in the place of -others that have been too much abraded to be serviceable, exhibit -partial wear. This saloon must have been a place of general -concourse—can it have been the hall of justice, or the place where the -commander of the station transacted the business of the district under -his charge? The floor (E) is probably supported on pillars, and has been -warmed by flues beneath; but this cannot be ascertained without injuring -it. The upper covering is of flags, the fractured state of which induces -the belief, that the walls of the surrounding building have been -forcibly thrown down upon them. The northern enemies of Rome, knowing -the importance of these stations, would not be slow in involving them in -entire ruin, when permitted, by the withdrawal of the troops, to do so -without molestation. Passages diverge from this saloon, to the right and -left, into other apartments. In the room on the left was found, in good -preservation, a cistern or bath (C), lined with red cement. A breach had -been made in the street wall of this chamber (at B), and in the rubbish -which [Illustration: River-god] encumbered the gap, was found the statue -of a river-god, of which a correct sketch is here given. It is probably -intended to represent the genius of the neighbouring river—the North -Tyne. Although executed in coarse sand-stone, it is not without -considerable gracefulness of attitude and proportion. It is preserved in -the mansion at Chesters. Of the present state of the apartments beyond, -the wood-cut in the previous page, and the lithograph here introduced, -will give an accurate conception. The floors have been supported upon -pillars, some of them being of stone, others of square flat bricks. The -stone pillars are, for the most part, fragments of columns and balusters -which have been used in a prior structure.[86] The student of mediæval -architecture will probably recognise in some of them types of the Saxon -style. The dilapidated state of the floor of this apartment allows of an -easy examination of its mode of construction. Flags, about two inches -thick, rest upon the pillars; a layer of compost, five inches thick, and -formed of lime, sand, gravel, and burned clay or pounded tile, succeeds, -and above that, another covering of thin flag-stones.[87] This apartment -has been provided with a semicircular recess at its eastern extremity -(G), and, at the angle next the street (A), has been supported by a -buttress. A similar alcoved recess existed on the western side of one of -the principal rooms of the ‘baths’ at HUNNUM, and the same arrangement -may yet be observed in the corresponding building at Lanchester. All of -these buildings have been strengthened with buttresses, but it is only -in these and analogous cases, that the use of the buttress is admitted -among the erections of the Barrier; it never occurs in the great Wall or -the curtain-walls of the stations. In the circular recess[Sidenote: THE -HYPOCAUSTS.] of this apartment is an aperture (G), which probably has -served to regulate the current of air circulating in the hypocausts. The -furnace which warmed the suite of apartments was situated near the -south-east extremity of the building (at F); the pillars near the fire -having been much acted upon by the heat, the whole of this part of the -floor was reduced, on exposure to the frosts of winter, to the confused -heap represented in the drawing. The soot in the flues was found as -fresh as if it had been produced by fires lighted the day before.[88] -The walls of this apartment were coated with plaster, and coloured dark -red; exposure to the weather soon stripped them of this covering. An -arched passage curiously turned with Roman tile took the heated air from -the furnace through the party-wall (at X) into the chamber to the west -of it. The rooms to the westward of the intersecting street (HD), seem -to form an independent building, and have less of the aspect of a place -of public concourse than the other portions. They may have been the -private residence of the commander of the station. They, too, are heated -by hypocausts. - -[Illustration: - - H. Burdon Richardson, Delt. John Storey, Lith. - HYPOCAUST AT CHESTERS, (CILURNUM) - Printed by W. Monkhouse, York -] - -[Sidenote: CILURNUM.] - -In urging the conviction, that the hanging floors of these Roman -buildings were meant to produce a comfortable warmth, rather than to -generate steam, by having water sprinkled upon them, attention may be -drawn to the thickness of their substance. At present, the floor of the -principal apartment is nine inches thick, and when its upper surface was -overlaid, as it no doubt was, with a tasteful concrete or mosaic -pavement, it would be an inch or two more. It would require a very -powerful furnace to raise this mass of matter to a considerable -temperature. On the other hand, if the production of a genial and -uniform warmth were the object in view, no contrivance could be more -suitable. The heated air from a small furnace permeating the underground -flues and the walls of a suite of apartments, and not passing off until, -in its lengthened passage, it had given out the larger part of the -warmth it had derived, would, in the lapse of some hours, give to the -whole building a comfortable temperature, which it would not readily -lose. Any inattention to the furnace, either by causing it to burn too -fiercely or too feebly, would not be felt. The thickness of the floors -would prevent the air from being scorched, and producing that -disagreeable sensation which is experienced in rooms that are heated by -the stoves in common use. It is not improbable that we may return to -this method of warming our churches and public halls, even if we do not -adopt it in our private buildings.[89] - -[Sidenote: METHOD OF WARMING BUILDINGS.] - -The door-ways of some of these apartments have been provided with double -doors, probably for more effectually maintaining the warmth of the room. - -The masonry of those portions of the walls which are standing, is in an -excellent state of preservation. In the angle near the buttress (A), the -action of the trowel in giving the finishing touch to the pointing may -be perceived. The walls rest upon two strong basement courses, the angle -of the uppermost being bevelled off with a neat moulding. - -Some of the quoins of the door-ways consist of very large stones; one is -six feet long, and is probably a ton in weight. This proves that it was -not from lack of mechanical means that the interior buildings and walls -of the stations were composed of small stones. More than one of the -thresholds have a groove very roughly cut in them, apparently to allow -of the egress of water. This has probably been done after the departure -of the Romans and the general demolition of the buildings, by some -houseless wanderers, who, having ‘camped’ in the ruin, were incommoded -by the lodgement of rain on the floor. - -The hydraulic properties of the concrete used in the floors of Roman -hypocausts, has, I believe, escaped the notice of previous writers, and -is the only other point which need longer detain us in this interesting -building. My attention was drawn to this subject by my brother, Mr. -George Barclay Bruce, Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, in -the following communication:— - - In many places on the line of the Wall, the mortar has had mixed with - it broken tiles or burned clay, to assist it in resisting the moisture - of the atmosphere. - - The concrete at Chesters placed between the slabs of the bath-room, - has a very large proportion of this burned clay, and would thus be - better suited to resist the action of heat below and water above than - purer lime. - - A portion of this concrete was taken, by way of experiment, and burned - in a crucible, as though it had been a piece of limestone; it was then - ground fine, and mixed with a proper quantity of water; after being - allowed to dry for three or four hours, it was immersed in water, - where it set in the same manner as common mortar does in the open air, - clearly proving its hydraulic properties. The same experiment was - tried with the ordinary mortar of the Wall, but without the same - result, there not being a sufficiently large quantity of burned clay - to enable it to stand so severe a test. In the case of the concrete, - it did not set so readily as what is called Roman cement, but - sufficiently so to prove that it is a strong hydraulic mortar, made by - the mixture of burned clay with common lime. - -[Sidenote: THE CEMETERY.] - -Bidding farewell to these interesting structures, we may now bend our -steps a short way down the river, on a visit to the cypress-grove—the -burial ground of the station. This, which in Horsley’s days formed a -separate field called the Ox-close, is now included in the park of the -domain. Never was spot more appropriately chosen. The river here -descends with more than usual rapidity over its stony bed, and bending -at the same time to the left, exhibits to the eye the lengthened vista -of its well-wooded banks. No earthly music could better soothe the -chafed affections of the hopeless heathen mourner than the murmur of the -stream which is ceaselessly heard in this secluded nook. From this spot -have been procured several sepulchral slabs which will presently afford -us instruction; meantime, one is given on the next page whose lesson is -of a negative character. The blank memorial shews how vain are the -efforts which even affection makes to render buoyant on the wave of time -the memory of those departed. Our very monuments need memorials. But, -passing this, the character of the carving betokens a poor state of the -arts, and fixes its date in the lowest times of the empire: in this we -have a proof of the long-continued occupation of the station. The fate -of the stone has been singular. When Horsley saw it, the inscription was -legible; but having since been used as the door-stone of the cow-house -at Walwick Grange, the letters had, previous to its removal to -Alnwick-castle (its present resting place), been entirely obliterated. - -[Illustration: Funereal Slab, Cilurnum] - -Between the station and the cemetery is a well enclosed with Roman -masonry; it is now in a great measure filled up. - -[Illustration: Funereal Slab of Horse Soldier, Cilurnum] - -[Sidenote: ITS NAME ASCERTAINED.] - -The station of CILURNUM, which is the sixth on the line of the Wall, was -garrisoned by the second wing of the Astures, (a regiment of Spanish -cavalry) commanded by a prefect. This fact has gradually developed -itself to the antiquary. Camden thought it probable. Horsley concurred -in the opinion, and, in the absence of better evidence, sagaciously -referred to the tombstone of which a drawing is here presented, in proof -of its having been occupied by a horse regiment. ‘That some horse,’ says -he, 'kept garrison here in the lower empire, seems to be probable from -the inscription and sculpture yet remaining at Walwick-grange.'[90] ‘The -letters D. M.,’ he remarks in another place, ‘prove this to be a -sepulchral monument, and the figure shews that the deceased belonged to -the horse, and therefore probably was one of the _Ala secunda Astorum_, -which in the lower empire kept garrison at CILURNUM, as the Notitia -informs us.’ - -[Illustration: Slab–Ala II. Asturum] - -More decisive evidence has since been procured. The slab figured on page -61, is part of it. A still more satisfactory document of stone was -discovered at Chesters several years ago, where it is still preserved: -the wood-cut accurately portrays it. - - IMP[ERATORI] CAES[ARI] _MARCO_ AVREL[IO] - AUG[VSTO] . . . . . . . . . . . . _PONTIFICI MAXIMO_ - TRIB[VNITIA] P[OTESTATE] CO[N]S[VLI] _IV_ P[ATRI] P[ATRIÆ] DIV[I] - _ANTONINI FILIO_ - DIVI SEVER[I] NEP[OTI] - CAESAR[I] IMPER[ATORI] . . . . . . . . . . . _DUPLARES_ - ALÆ II ASTVRV[M] _TEMPLUM_ VETVSTAT[E] _CONLAPSUM RESTITU_- - ERVNT PER MARIUM VALER[IANUM] _LEGATUM AUGUSTALEM PROPRÆTOREM_ - INSTANTE SEPTIMIO NILO PRÆ[FECTO] - DEDICATVM III KAL[ENDAS] NOVEM[BRIS] GRATO ET SELE[VCO] - _CONSULIBUS_.[91] - - To the emperor Marcus Aurelius - Augustus . . . . . . . . . . . Pontifex Maximus, - With tribunitian power, fourth time Consul, Father of his Country, of - divine Antoninus the son, - Of the deified Severus the grandson, - To Cæsar our emperor . . . . . . . . the duplares[92] - Of the second wing of Astures, this temple, through age dilapidated, re- - stored by command of Marius Valerianus, Imperial Legate and Proprætor, - Under the superintendence of Septimius Nilus, Prefect. - Dedicated Oct. 30th, in the consulate of Gratus and Seleucus. - -Hutton, who has done such good service to the Wall, under-rated the -value of inscriptions. ‘When the antiquary,’ says he, 'has laboured -through a parcel of miserable letters, what is he the wiser?'—Let this -fractured and defaced stone answer the question.[93] 1. This dedication -was made by soldiers of the second wing of the Astures;—we thus learn -the name of the people who garrisoned the fort, and by a reference to -the Notitia, ascertain with certainty that this was[Sidenote: CILURNUM.] -CILURNUM. 2. We acquire the fact, that a temple, which through age had -become dilapidated, was restored;—learning thereby, not only the -attention which the Romans paid to what they conceived to be religious -duties, but their long occupation of this spot. It has been already -observed, that some of the pillars of the hypocaust have been portions -of a prior building;—the ruin and inscription thus corroborate each -other. 3. The date of the dedication is given; the third of the calends -of November falls upon the thirtieth of October, and the year in which -Gratus and Seleucus were consuls corresponds to A.D. 221;—the data on -which antiquaries found their conclusions, are not always so vague as -some imagine. 4. Even the erasures are instructive. By a reference to -the date, we find that Heliogabalus was reigning at the time of the -dedication of the temple; we find that what remain of the names and -titles on the stone apply to him; he, consequently, is the emperor -referred to. The year following he was slain by his own soldiers, his -body dragged through the streets and cast into the Tiber. The soldiers -in Britain seem to have sympathized with their companions at Rome and to -have erased the name of the fallen emperor from the dedicatory slab. -Human nature is the same in every age. How often have we, in modern -times, seen a name cast out with loathing which yesterday received the -incense of a world’s flattery! - -The above inscription gives us the station of the _Ala secunda Asturum_, -in the reign of Heliogabalus, A.D. 221. The Notitia Imperii gives us its -station in the reign of Theodosius the younger, ‘_ultra tempus Arcadii -et Honorii_,’ A.D. 430, and we find at both periods the same force in -the same station, which corresponds with the understood practice of the -Roman army with regard to the permanency of the quarters of its -auxiliary forces. With reference to the difference between the spelling -of the inscription and the Notitia, ‘Asturum’ and ‘Astorum,’ it may be -observed that as the Notitia Imperii was preserved for a thousand years -in manuscript before the art of printing came to its rescue, it is more -likely that the error should be in the book, than on the stone. - -The ancient name of the station having been ascertained, the etymology -of it may be inquired into. Whitaker says it means a creek. An authority -acquainted with the Gaelic language suggests the following derivation; -_caol_, narrow, probably pronounced by the Romans _kil_, and _doir_, -water (in composition _dhoir_, the dh not sounded); so that _caol-oir_ -is narrow stream; the _um_ is a usual Latin affix. Of course, this -branch of the Tyne is narrow in comparison with the united floods. The -word may have had an Italian origin; the Latin _celer_, swift, has some -resemblance to it, and the river, when swollen by floods, very speedily -discharges its superfluous water. Whatever be the origin of the word, -the names of the neighbouring places, Chollerton and Chollerford, have -had a similar derivation. - -[Sidenote: ROMAN SCULPTURES.] - -[Illustration: Statue of Cybele, Cilurnum] - -The miscellaneous antiquities which have been found here, and are still -preserved upon the spot, are of a very interesting character. Chief -among them is a broken statue, which is here represented. - -The fragment, consisting of a fine-grained sandstone, is six feet two -inches long. Statues of so large a size are of very rare occurrence in -Roman camps in Britain. It is generally supposed to have been meant for -Cybele, the mother of the gods. The gracefulness of the design, and the -excellence of the execution, show us that the state of the arts in Roman -Britain was not so low as is sometimes supposed. The arrangement of the -drapery, and the ornament placed upon its margins, are suggestive of the -mode in which these details were managed in the statues of the early -ecclesiastical architects. The ancient builders professedly followed the -Roman modes. - -[Illustration: Group of Carved Stones, Cilurnum] - -The fine Corinthian capital, which is here shewn, enables us to judge of -the beauty of some of the buildings which adorned the ancient CILURNUM. -In the drawing, it rests upon one of the foundation stones of the -bridge; on the right-hand side of the group are two centurial stones, -inscribed— - - C[ENTVRIA] VAL[ERII] - MAXI[MI] - [CENTVRIA] RVFI SABI - NI - - The century (or company) of Valerius - Maximus - The century of Rufus Sabi- - nus. - -On the top of these is a pipe of red earthenware. - - _PLATE VIII_ - -[Illustration: Miscellaneous Antiquities, Cilurnum] - - _PLATE IX_ - -[Illustration: Samian Ware] - -[Sidenote: MISCELLANEOUS ANTIQUITIES.] - -Preserved in the collection here, is a tile of the usual Roman -fabrication, on which are impressed the foot-marks of a dog, seemingly -of the terrier species. The animal must have run over it while the clay -was in a soft state. Plate VIII. fig. 4. - -In making the excavations at the hypocausts, many coins of silver and -brass were found. They extend from the reign of Hadrian to that of -Gratian; those of Constantine and his immediate successors prevail. A -massive silver signet ring, representing, on a cornelian stone, a cock -pecking at an an ear of corn, was found in one of the rooms. As is -uniformly the case, numerous fragments of the different kinds of pottery -used by the Romans were turned up; some of the fragments of vessels of -Samian ware are figured on Plate IX. A key, fig. 4. an iron implement -with springs on each side of it, fig. 1. and a spear head fig. 3. drawn -on Plate X., were found here. Some soles of sandals, similar in -character to those which will afterwards be described, several glass -beads of curious fabrication, and broken pieces of glass vessels, were -picked up. A piece of _cut_ glass procured here is shewn in Plate VII. -fig. 10. One of the most curious relics obtained from this treasury of -Roman effects was the tooth of a bear; it is of a large size, and is -pierced with two holes to enable its possessor to suspend it by a -string, and wear it as a trophy or a charm on his person. It is figured -of the full size in Plate VII. Bears, as well as wolves, prowled in the -forests of ancient Britain, and no doubt the formidable animal which -yielded this tusk, cost its captor a severe struggle. - -Not the least interesting of the circumstances of a place of very early -occupation, are the traditions of the ‘ancients’ respecting it. -Notwithstanding their rudeness, some latent truth may generally be -educed from them; and they always manifest the modes of thought that -prevailed in former times. Sixty years ago the traditions of the Wall -might easily have been gathered, but now the old men have nearly -forgotten the tales with which their ‘fore-elders’ used to entertain -them on a winter’s evening. The products of the press have nearly -superseded this unlettered lore. A few fragments relative to CILURNUM -have, however, been supplied to me. A belief used to prevail, that there -existed a subterranean stable under the camp capable of containing five -hundred horse. It was, moreover, currently related, that beneath the -river a tunnel was formed, which led to the opposite side. There is a -pool in the vicinity of the station, on its western side, called the -Ingle-pool, and which, until partially filled up a few years ago, was -very deep; the peasantry believed, that it derived its supplies by an -underground canal from the North Tyne, at Nunwick-mill, between three -and four miles up the river. - - _PLATE X._ - -[Illustration: - - J. STOREY DEL. ET LITH. PRINTED BY AND^W. REID. - Roman Spears, etc. -] - -In these traditions we may perhaps recognise the facts, that a regiment -of horse garrisoned the station; that the Romans carefully maintained -the means of intercourse with both sides of the river; and that, if in -this instance they did not, which is by no means certain, in others they -undoubtedly did bring water from great distances, either for the purpose -of sustenance, or to strengthen their position. - -We must now take leave of CILURNUM. Whatever may be the views of the -reader, the visitor will do so with regret. As Hodgson well remarks, -‘The Astures, in exchanging the sunny valleys of Spain for the banks of -the tawny Tyne, might find the climate in their new situation worse, but -a lovelier spot than CILURNUM all the Asturias could not give them.’ -During many days spent in the prosecution of my inquiries here—the -beauty of the landscape, the instructive nature of the ruins, and the -pleasant intercourse which I was privileged to enjoy with the hospitable -family at the hall, combined to make a deep impression upon my mind. - - -[Sidenote: CHESTERS.] - -Again we bend our steps westward. Behind the garden wall at Chesters -stands a fragment of the Wall. The north fosse is filled with water. -Ascending the hill which leads to Walwick, the earth works are seen on -the left hand. When near the top of it, our out-door antiquary, while he -pauses for breath, will do well to look back, and contemplate the scene -he is leaving. The lines of the Barrier are seen boldly descending the -well-wooded and fertile banks on the east side of the river. Warden-hill -is to the south, and will attract attention by its elevation. Its summit -is seen still to bear marks of having been occupied by the aborigines of -Britain. Whilst the works of the Barrier were going on, they may have -maintained their position for a while, and, from behind their -entrenchments, scowled upon the intruders who were soon to drive them to -the remoter region of the Cheviots. After watering both sides[Sidenote: -WARDEN-FELL.] of the tongue of land of which Warden-fell consists, the -North and South Tyne meet, and their waters roll on in a united stream -to the Emporium of the North. We can follow it with the eye for some -distance, as it goes sparkling in the sunshine, spreading fertility and -beauty on either hand. - - ... O ye dales - Of Tyne and ye most ancient woodlands; where - Oft as the giant flood obliquely strides, - And his banks open, and his lawns extend, - Stops short the pleased traveller to view, - Presiding o’er the scene, some rustic tower, - Founded by Norman or by Saxon hands. - -Nestled in the fairest part of the valley is the abbey church of Hexham; -closely inspected, it is found to be a chaste specimen of the most -simple and beautiful of our ecclesiastical styles—the early English, -and, when viewed from a distance, as in this case, its venerable towers -lend a quiet charm to the landscape. - -How different the scene which the Romans beheld! In their day, and for -long afterwards, the painful cultivator of the soil knew not who should -reap the harvest; those only, therefore, who had power to protect -themselves would engage in the occupation. Now, the husbandman dreams -not of a foreign foe, or of troops of lawless marauders; steadily he -evokes the riches of the soil, and something like an Eden smiles! - -A strip of the Wall, though in a disordered state, and covered with -brushwood, is in a field beyond Walwick; its fosse is finely developed. - -[Sidenote: TOWER-TAY.] - -Ascending the next hill, called Tower Tay, the earth-works are still -very conspicuous. About half way up are the ruins of a tower, erected -about a century ago, as an object in the landscape. It stands on the -Wall, and has been entirely formed out of its stones. At the summit, the -ditches of both Wall and Vallum are cut through the native rock, of -which the hill consists, and are in excellent order. The Wall stands -very near the edge of a scar, sufficiently elevated to have formed of -itself a defence; it is remarkable that the Romans should have thought -it necessary to draw a ditch on the north side of it at all. - -Looking forward from the top of this hill, we see, for a considerable -distance, all the lines of the Barrier proceeding on their course; -descending one hill and ascending the opposite, called the -Limestone-bank, they keep perfectly parallel. It would have delighted -Horsley’s heart to notice that the present road runs upon the north -agger of the Vallum, maintaining, as he did, that this was the Military -Way of Agricola. - -At a short distance, further in advance, the ruins of a mile-castle are -seen on the right. The whole of the facing-stones are gone, as is -usually the case, and the place where it stood is chiefly marked by the -vacuity occasioned by their removal. This castellum measures, inside, -fifty-four feet from east to west, and sixty-one from north to south; it -has been protected by a fosse. A long range of the Wall is next seen in -the Black-carts farm, in an encouraging state of preservation; it is -between five and six feet high, and shews, in some places, seven courses -of facing-stones. - -[Sidenote: TEPPER-MOOR.] - -On the summit of the next hill, many objects of great interest await us. -The view from it is most extensive. To the north, a vast sweep of -country meets the eye; a beautiful undulated valley occupies the -foreground, behind it the hills rise boldly, and the lofty Cheviots -bound the scene. Chipchase castle occupies a commanding position. The -modern mansion of Nunwick, embowered in wood, selects the lower ground. -Towards the west, the lofty crags traversed by the Wall come into view. - -In the corner of a field adjoining the road, are the remains of another -mile-castle; it measures fifty-seven feet by fifty-four. Horsley says, -it was detached about a yard from the Wall, the reason of which was not -very obvious. A portion of the Roman Military Way may here be seen as it -curves towards the gateway of the castellum, and again recedes from it. -A good section of it is obtained at the margin of the places where its -stones have been removed to form the stone dikes of the field. - -[Illustration: - - H. Burdon Richardson, Del. John Storey, Lith. - THE WORKS, TEPPER MOOR. -] - -The fosse of the Wall and Vallum at this point deserve attentive -examination. In passing over the crown of the hill, they have been -excavated with enormous labour out of the basalt of which the summit -consists. The workmen, as if exhausted with the task of raising the -splintered fragments, have left them lying on the sides of the moats. A -mass on the outside of the north ditch, though now split by the action -of the frost into three pieces, has evidently formed one block, and -cannot weigh less than thirteen tons. It is not easy to conceive how -they managed to quarry so tough a rock without the aid of gunpowder, or -contrived to lift, with the machinery at their command, such huge -blocks. No luis-holes appear in them. - -The lithograph presents a view of the giant works of the Vallum and -fosse at this point. It is quite evident that here, at least, the north -agger did not form the Military Way. There are several breaks and -irregularities in both the mounds; the works have probably been left by -the Romans in a rough, unfinished state. - -Between this spot and the craggy summit on which Sewingshields -farm-house is perched, the ground is flat, and destitute of any decided -descent to the north. On this account, and for mutual defence, the lines -of the Barrier keep close together, so close, sometimes, as scarcely to -leave room for the passage of the Military Way between them. - - -[Sidenote: PROCOLITIA.] - -PROCOLITIA is the seventh stationary camp on the line of the Wall. It -was garrisoned by the first Batavian cohort, which, with two others from -the same country, and the two Tungrian cohorts, was with Agricola in his -great battle with Galgacus in the Grampian Hills. That the ruined camp -at Carrawburgh was the adopted home of this cohort, is proved by the -altar engraved on page 62, and by [Illustration: Slab—Coh. I. Batavorum] -the fractured slab now introduced,[94] and which was found here in the -year 1838. On this mutilated stone, the words COH I BATAVORVM are quite -distinct, and are of themselves sufficient, not only to fix the site of -the ancient PROCOLITIA, but to corroborate the testimony of Tacitus, on -the presence of Batavians in Britain during the period of Roman -occupation. The line following may probably be read INST[ANT]E BVRRIO, -and bears the name of the prefect under whose superintendence the -building was erected, to which the slab referred. In the last line, the -word CO[RNELIANO may be perceived. In 237, when Maximinus was emperor, -Titius Perpetuus and Rusticus Cornelianus were consuls. That this is the -date of the inscription is rendered likely from a fragment of this -emperor’s name appearing in the beginning of it. - -Whitaker gives, as the meaning of the word PROCOLITIA, the ‘fortress in -the woodlands.’ In the Gaelic tongue, _coille_ signifies a wood. - -There is little in this station to detain us. The course of its ramparts -and moats can be easily traced, and the rich green sward of its area is -seen to cover numerous irregular heaps of ruins; every building, -however, is prostrate; scarcely one stone is left upon another. The Wall -forms the northern boundary of the station; its eastern and western -gateways are, as usual, opposite to each other, but strike the side -walls between the upper end and the middle. The position of the southern -gateway cannot be detected; in the present state of the ruins, there is -no appearance of one. The southern corners are rounded off, but the side -walls of the station, in joining the Murus on the north, seem to -preserve their rectilinear course. Outside the western wall are the -ruins of the suburbs. A natural valley, consisting at present of boggy -ground, gives strength to the fortification on this side. Horsley saw a -well in the slack, cased with Roman masonry; it is now removed. - -No modern habitation is on the ground or in its immediate vicinity to -relieve the general desolation— - - ... here, as in the wild, - The day is silent, dreary as the night; - None stirring save the herdsman and his herd, - ... or they that would explore, - Discuss and learnedly. - -[Sidenote: CARRAWBURGH.] - -Passing onwards, we soon reach the farm-house of Carraw, formerly a -rural retreat of the priors of Hexham. On the crown of the next -elevation, the works are brought into close proximity, apparently for -the purpose of avoiding an extensive bog on the north, and of -maintaining possession of the point of the hill on the south. The -earth-works are very boldly developed, but are in a ragged state. The -contents of the north fosse are piled up high on its outer margin. The -fosse of the Vallum is cut through free-stone rock; its southern agger -is very elevated, and would present a bold and angry front to any -intruder from the south. - -[Sidenote: THE GREAT MURAL RIDGE.] - -We must now, to adopt the language of Hutton, ‘quit the beautiful scenes -of cultivation, and enter upon the rude of nature, and the wreck of -antiquity.’ Four great mountain waves are before us, and seem to chase -each other to the north, on which side their crests rise almost -perpendicularly. To the highest of these, the second from the south, the -Wall directs its course. It is a ridge of basalt, which crosses the -island obliquely, from Cumberland to Holy Island. The Vallum here parts -company with the Wall, and takes the ‘tail’ of the hill on the ‘crag’ of -which the other runs. The accompanying drawing shews the nature of the -country before us. - -[Illustration: - - H. Burdon Richardson, Delt. John Storey, Lith. - APPROACH TO SEWINGSHIELDS. - Printed by W. Monkhouse, York -] - -Before approaching Sewingshields[95] farm-house, which is on the line of -Wall, an experienced eye will detect the Roman Military Way. It runs at -first nearly parallel with the Wall, at about thirty-six paces from it, -but, in its subsequent course, recedes from the Barrier, or approaches -it, according to the position of the mile-castles, and the nature of the -ground. With but few interruptions, it may be traced by the appearance -of its herbage, by its slightly elevated, rounded form, and by the -occasional protrusion of the stones composing it, all the way from -Sewingshields to Thirlwall. - -The north fosse, which we have had in view from the very commencement of -our journey, accompanies the Wall for a short distance up the hill, as -is seen in the lithograph, but when the ground becomes precipitous, it -forsakes it until the high grounds are passed, only to appear when the -Wall sinks into a gap or chasm between the crags. - -[Sidenote: THE WALL ON THE CRAGS.] - -A difficulty will here present itself to nearly every mind; why was the -Wall drawn along the cliffs at all? Horsley cut the knot instead of -untying it. ‘As such steep rocks,’ says he, ‘are a sufficient fence of -themselves, I am inclined to think the Wall has not in those parts had -either strength or thickness, equal to what it has had in other parts.’ -Present appearances give us no reason to suppose that the Wall on the -crags was in any respect inferior to what it was in the low grounds. A -different method of accounting for the circumstance has been forced upon -my attention. It was my fortune to traverse the heights near -Sewingshields late in December last year, when the wind blew a violent -gale from the north, and the thermometer, even in the valley, was ten -degrees below the freezing point. In order to maintain the ordinary -temperature of the body, very active exertion was necessary, and to make -any progress on my way, I was constrained to get under the lee of the -hill. The conclusion was irresistible; if the Romans were to keep watch -and ward here during the winter, a Wall was necessary, even though only -for the sake of sheltering them from the blast. The habits of the enemy -demanded continual vigilance; for, as Tacitus tells us, before the time -of Agricola they usually repaired the losses they had sustained in -summer by the success of their winter expeditions. The loftier the -mountain peak, the more necessary, in this view of it, was the friendly -shelter of the Wall to the shivering soldiers of southern Europe. - -[Sidenote: SEWINGSHIELDS.] - -The Wall in the neighbourhood of Sewingshields is not in good condition; -its site is marked by the rubble which encumbers it, but the -facing-stones are gone, having contributed to the erection of every -building in the vicinity, from the time of Honorius to the present day. -A considerable tract of it was removed lately. Thorough draining, the -life of agriculture, is death to the Wall. - -The aspect of the country in the immediate vicinity of the heights of -Sewingshields is dreary enough, but the elevation enables the eye to -revel in the fertility and beauty of the distant landscape. Hexham is -distinctly discernible from the farm-house. On the flats to the north of -the crags, there formerly stood the border fortress, Sewingshields -castle.[96] It was at one time the property of the late Ralph Spearman, -esq., the Monkbarns of THE ANTIQUARY. - -[Sidenote: MURAL TRADITIONS.] - -A situation so remote from the crowded haunts of men is favourable to -the preservation of legendary lore. It occurred to me that here, if -anywhere, I might ascertain the kind of ideas which the rude forefathers -of the mural region entertained respecting the Wall and its builders. -Although on the Antonine Wall all tradition of the Romans has been lost, -this has certainly not been the case here; the recollection of them is -still distinctly preserved, and some stories of them are told, which, -though in several respects resembling written history, are not derived -from this source. For the following scraps of traditional information, I -am chiefly indebted to the master of Grindon school, in the immediate -neighbourhood of Sewingshields, who says he has often heard them -repeated. Though he denominates them ‘absurd,’ the learned in mediæval -legends will probably think them worth preserving. - - The Romans are said to have been remarkably lazy, so much so, that in - the hot weather of summer, having almost nothing to do, they lay - basking in the sun, on the south side of the Wall, almost in a state - of torpor. The Scots were in the habit of watching their opportunity, - and, throwing hooks, with lines attached to them, over the Wall, - caught the poor Romans by their clothes or flesh, and by this means, - dragging them to the other side, made them prisoners. - - An old man in this neighbourhood told me, that he had often heard - people say, that the Romans had remarkably broad feet, with still - broader shoes, and that, when it rained, they lay on their backs, and - holding up their feet in a perpendicular direction, protected, by this - means, their persons from the weather.—This legend, under various - modifications, seems to have been widely diffused in the middle ages. - Sir John Maundevile, describing ‘Ethiope,’ says—‘In that contree, ben - folk that han but o foot; and thei gon so fast, that it is marvaylle; - and the foot is so large, that it schadewethe all the body azen the - sonne, whan they wole lye and reste hem.’ Precisely similar to this is - Pliny’s account—'Item hominum genus, qui Monoscelli vocarentur, - singulis cruribus, miræ pernicitatis ad saltum: eosdemque Sciopodas - vocari, quod in majori æstu, humi jacentes resupini, umbra se pedum - protegant.'[97] - - It is the tradition of the country that all the stones of the Wall - were handed from one man to another by a set of labourers stationed in - a line from the quarry to the place where they were required. Many - will tell you, 'I have heard my mother say, that the Wall was built in - a single night, and that no one was observed to be engaged upon it, - save an old woman with an apron full of stones.'—This, however, is a - tradition of almost universal application. - - The people say that the Wall was hollow, or, as they express it, had a - flue running the whole length of it, through which the sentinels - communicated intelligence by a speaking trumpet. - - Some of the people of this neighbourhood tell me that the Britons, - tired, at length, of Roman oppression, rose in a body, and drove the - garrison, with considerable slaughter, from all their stations. The - Romans, when making their way to the sea to look for ships to carry - them home, were met by a seer, who told them that if they returned - home they would all be drowned; and if they went back to their old - stations they would all be slain. This prophecy disconcerted them - greatly, and they were at their wits’ end; however, after long - consultation, they resolved to escape both calamities by marching - direct to Wales. This they did, and there the pure, unadulterated - Roman breed is to be found to this day.—Can this story refer to the - passage of the second legion, at an early period, to Caerleon? - -[Sidenote: LEGENDS OF KING ARTHUR.] - -We next pass on to some tales, which, though not connected with the -Wall, belong, as Hodgson remarks, to times nearer the Roman than these -degenerate days. They chiefly relate to king Arthur. Sir William Betham -observes that this monarch’s name is more celebrated in Scotland than in -Wales, which was the chief resort of the conquered Britons, and is -disposed to think, that this favourite hero of romance was not a -Romanized Briton, but an invading Pictish king. This idea would account -for the frequent reference to his name in the region of the Wall. - - Immemorial tradition has asserted, that king Arthur, his queen - Guenever, his court of lords and ladies, and his hounds, were - enchanted in some cave of the crags, or in a hall below the castle of - Sewingshields, and were to continue entranced there till some one - should first blow a bugle horn that lay on a table near the entrance - of the hall, and then with ‘the sword of the stone’ cut a garter also - placed there beside it. But none had ever heard where the entrance to - this enchanted hall was, till the farmer at Sewingshields, about fifty - years since, was sitting upon the ruins of the castle, and his clew - fell, and ran downwards through a rush of briars and nettles, as he - supposed, into a deep subterranean passage. Firm in the faith that the - entrance into king Arthur’s hall was now discovered, he cleared the - briary portal of its weeds and rubbish, and entering a vaulted - passage, followed, in his darkling way, the thread of his clew. The - floor was infested with toads and lizards; and the dark wings of bats, - disturbed by his unhallowed intrusion, flitted fearfully around him. - At length, his sinking courage was strengthened by a dim, distant - light, which, as he advanced, grew gradually brighter, till, all at - once, he entered a vast and vaulted hall, in the centre of which, a - fire without fuel, from a broad crevice in the floor, blazed with a - high and lambent flame, that shewed all the carved walls and fretted - roof, and the monarch and his queen, reposing around in a theatre of - thrones and costly couches. On the floor, beyond the fire, lay the - faithful and deep-toned pack of thirty couple of hounds; and on a - table before it, the spell-dissolving horn, sword, and garter. The - shepherd reverently, but firmly, grasped the sword, and as he drew it - leisurely from its rusty scabbard, the eyes of the monarch, and of his - courtiers began to open, and they rose till they sat upright. He cut - the garter; and as the sword was being slowly sheathed, the spell - assumed its ancient power, and they all gradually sunk to rest; but - not before the monarch had lifted up his eyes and hands, and - exclaimed: - - O woe betide that evil day - On which this witless wight was born, - Who drew the sword—the garter cut, - But never blew the bugle-horn. - - Terror brought on loss of memory, and the shepherd was unable to give - any correct account of his adventure, or to find again the entrance to - the enchanted hall.[98] - - To the north of Sewingshields, two strata of sandstone crop out to the - day; the highest points of each ledge are called the King and - Queen’s-crag, from the following legend. King Arthur, seated on the - farthest rock, was talking with his queen, who, meanwhile, was engaged - in arranging her ‘back hair.’ Some expression of the queen’s having - offended his majesty, he seized a rock which lay near him, and, with - an exertion of strength for which the Picts were proverbial, threw it - at her, a distance of about a quarter of a mile! The queen, with great - dexterity, caught it upon her comb, and thus warded off the blow; the - stone fell between them, where it lies to this day, with the marks of - the comb upon it, to attest the truth of the story. It probably weighs - about twenty tons! - - A few miles to the north of Sewingshields stands an upright stone, - which bears the name of Cumming’s cross. Cumming, a northern - chieftain, having paid, one day, a visit to king Arthur at his castle - near Sewingshields, was kindly received by the king, and was, as a - token of lasting friendship, presented by him with a gold cup. The - king’s sons coming in, shortly after Cumming had left the castle, and - being informed of what their father had done, immediately set out in - pursuit of him. They overtook him, and slew him at this place, which - has borne the name of Cumming’s cross ever since. - - King Arthur’s chair used to be pointed out in this vicinity. It was a - column of basalt, fifty feet high, slightly detached from the rest of - the cliff. The top of it had something of the appearance of a seat. It - was thrown down, several years ago, by a party of idle young men, who - were at great pains to effect their foolish purpose. - -[Sidenote: SEWINGSHIELDS CRAGS.] - -We now return to our more immediate object, the examination of the Wall. - -Soon after leaving Sewingshields, a narrow chasm in the rocks, slightly -aided by art, called the Catgate, admits of an awkward descent to the -plain below. Here, says Hutton, the Scots bored under the Wall, so as to -admit the body of a man. Whether the Romans or the Scots made this -passage, it is certain that the garrison on the Wall would sometimes -visit the country to the north, for the purposes of plunder and of -slaughter, and would require the means of egress. - -The mile-castles may now all be recognised in due succession. - -[Sidenote: BUSY GAP.] - -The next point of interest is Busy-gap, a broad, basin-like recess in -the mountain ridge, about a mile from Sewingshields. The Wall here, -being more than usually exposed, is not only strengthened with the fosse -common in the low grounds, but has the additional protection of a -rampart, of triangular form, to the north of this. The wood-cut will -give some idea of the arrangement. A common stone dike occupies at -present the place of the Wall, the foundations of which, and, for the -most part, a portion of the grout of the interior, remain. At a little -elevation, on the western side of the valley, is a gate called the -King’s-wicket (Arthur’s again, probably), through which a drove-road -passes. The gate is well situated for defence, and may have been a Roman -passage. - -[Illustration: Busy Gap] - -Busy-gap was in the middle ages a place of much notoriety; it was the -pass frequented by the moss-troopers and reavers of the debateable -country. - -[Sidenote: STATE OF THE BORDERS.] - -The incessant war which was waged between England and Scotland before -the union of the two kingdoms, rendered property exceedingly insecure, -and nurtured a race of men who had no expectation of holding their own, -unless they could repel force by force. It was the policy of the -governments of both countries, to maintain on the Borders a body of men -inured to feats of arms, whom, on any emergency, they might call to -their assistance. Habits long indulged are not easily laid aside. When -the policy of Elizabeth, and the accession of James to the throne of -England, allayed the national strife, the stern warriors of the Border -degenerated into sheep-stealers; and, instead of dying in the fray, or -yielding their necks _honourably_ to the headsman’s stroke, burdened by -the score the gallows-tree at Newcastle or Carlisle. The vales of North -Tyne and the Rede, which anciently abounded with warriors, became -infested with thieves. It is impossible to imagine the desolation and -misery occasioned by such a state of society. Landed property was of -little value. Precious life was idly sacrificed. Bernard Gilpin, the -‘apostle of the north,’ was esteemed a brave man because he annually -ventured as far as Rothbury to preach the gospel of peace to the lawless -people of the vale of Coquet. Camden and sir Robert Cotton, though -ardently desirous of examining the Wall, durst not venture in their -progress eastward beyond Carvoran. ‘From thence,’ Camden says, ‘the Wall -goeth forward more aslope by Iverton, Forsten, and Chester-in-the-Wall, -near to Busy-gap, a place infamous for thieving and robbing, where stood -some castles (chesters they called them), as I have heard, but I could -not with safety take the full survey of it, for the rank robbers -thereabouts.’ In such ill-repute were the people of these parts, even in -their own county, that we find the Newcastle Merchants’ company in 1564, -enacting that ‘no free brother shall take non apprentice to serve in the -fellyshipe of non such as is or shall be borne or brought up in Tyndale, -Lyddisdale, or any such lycke places, on pain of 20_ll_,’ because, says -the order, ‘the parties there brought up are known, either by education -or nature, not to be of honest conversation; they commit frequent thefts -and other felonys, proceeding from such lewde and wicked progenitors.’ -The offence of calling a fellow-free-man ‘a Bussey-gap rogue,’ was -sufficiently serious to attract the attention of a guild; a case of this -kind being recorded in the books of the Bakers and Brewers’ company of -Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1645. - -The traces of this disordered state of society remained until the early -part of the reign of George III., when the sheriff of Northumberland was -first enabled to execute process in the north-western parts of the -county. ‘Within my own recollection,’ says Mr. Hedley, ‘almost every old -house in the dales of Rede and Tyne was what is called a _Peel_ house, -built for securing its inhabitants and their cattle in the moss-trooping -times.’ Very many of these yet exist. Far different is the state of the -district now. The men of the mural region, and of the vales of North -Tyne, and Rede-water, are as upright as any in England. With the -exception of a few aged individuals, an uneducated person is not to be -found. Although, in addition to the ordinary courts of law, they have -access to courts-leet and courts-baron, (those admirable institutions by -which our Saxon forefathers gave to the poorest villager the ready means -of procuring redress of wrong,) nowhere has the law less occasion -forcibly to assert its claims. Property is secure, and land brings its -full price in the market. On some of the extensive farms of the Cheviot -range, not fewer than ten thousand sheep are kept; they are counted but -twice a year, and seldom is one amissing. The value of land in -Northumberland (exclusive of towns and mines) is seven times greater -than it was at the commencement of the eighteenth century, and two -hundred times what it was in the middle of the sixteenth. The antiquary, -who will not fail to rejoice in the prosperity of the country through -which he is travelling, as well as in the safety of his own person, may -therefore go on his way cheerfully and in confidence. - -The second mile-castle from Sewingshields, opposite the farm-house -called the Kennel, is remarkable as having been built upon an absolute -declivity. Hodgson observes that it had an interior wall on every side -of it, at the distance of about twenty feet from the exterior wall. - -[Sidenote: THE BLACK DIKE.] - -Shortly after leaving Busy-gap, two narrow, but rather steep gaps are -passed in quick succession, which do not seem to have obtained names. -Through the first of these the BLACK DIKE has probably run. This is an -earth-work of unknown antiquity, which is supposed to have stretched, in -a nearly straight line, from the borders of Scotland near Peel-fell, -through Northumberland and Durham, to the south of Yorkshire. The -scantiness of the soil on the crags of the Wall, accounts for its not -being discernible there, and the ground immediately to the north and -south of it is boggy. In a plantation on the hill side, opposite to -where we now are, looking south, the dike exists in excellent -preservation. The _seuch_, or slack of it, may be seen even from the -Wall, on the western edge of the plantation, which is called the -‘Black-dike planting.’ From the information of those who knew it half a -century ago, I shall set down its probable course in this vicinity. -Coming in a south-east direction, it passes the east end of -Broomlee-lough; having cleared the Wall and Vallum, it goes by the west -of Beggar-bog, the east of Low Morwood, through the Muckle-moss, and so -to the Black-dike plantation. Passing afterwards a field called the -Black-hall, it is last seen on the north bank of the Tyne near the -Water-house. It re-appears on the south bank at Morley, and passing -Tedcastle and Dean-row, is supposed to go by Allenheads into the county -of Durham. In the best piece of it which I have seen, the ditch is ten -feet across the top, and about five feet deep, reckoning from the top of -the mound on its east side. Within the memory of my informants, it was -much deeper. The sheep were often covered up in it in a snow-storm, as -they naturally went there for shelter. The earth taken out of the ditch -is uniformly thrown to the east side, where it forms an embankment. No -stones, or such only as were derived from the cutting, have been used in -its formation. The only conjecture hazarded respecting its origin is, -that it formed the line of demarcation between the kingdoms of -Northumbria and Cumbria; and certainly the course pursued by the -Black-dike is very nearly similar to the boundary assigned to these -regions in the most authentic maps of Saxon England. The antiquity of -the cutting may be inferred from the circumstances, that for some -distance it forms the division between the adjacent parishes of -Haltwhistle and Warden, and that it passes through bogs which probably -owe their origin to the devastations committed in the north of England -by William the Norman.[99] The Black-dike is laid down in the map of -Northumberland which was prepared to accompany Horsley’s Britannia, and -in Kitchin’s Map of Northumberland, under the name of the ‘Scots’-dike.’ - -South of the turnpike road, and behind a small house, called Beggar-bog, -is a low freestone crag, which exhibits some quarry-like excavations, -filled with the chippings of stone. It has probably furnished material -for the Wall, the stone being of the same character. - -The stream which we next cross is the Knag-burn; it forms the eastern -boundary of Housesteads. Passing it, we scale the ramparts of this -far-famed station. - - -[Sidenote: THE ANCIENT BORCOVICUS.] - -BORCOVICUS.—‘This’ says Gordon, ‘is unquestionably the most remarkable -and magnificent station in the whole island;’ and ‘it is hardly credible -what a number of august remains of the Roman grandeur is to be seen here -to this day, seeing in every place where one casts his eye there is some -curious Roman antiquity to be seen: either the marks of streets and -temples in ruins, or inscriptions, broken pillars, statues, and other -pieces of sculpture all scattered along the ground.’ Stukely, in the -vehemence of his admiration, denominates it ‘the Tadmor of Britain.’ Let -not the visitor, however, approach it with expectations too greatly -excited. There is very much to admire, but not a great deal to strike -the eye at first sight. The altars and sculptured figures which lay in -profusion on the ground when Gordon and Stukely were there, have been -removed,[100] but the ruins of the place remain as complete and vast as -ever. The city is, in a great measure, covered with its own debris, but -the excavations which have recently been made, shew us that when they -are continued throughout the entire station, the ancient BORCOVICUS will -be the Pompeii of Britain. - -[Sidenote: HOUSESTEADS.] - -The station of Housesteads contains an area of nearly five acres. 'Half -of it hangs on a slope, with a southern aspect: the other, or northern -half, is flat, floored with basalt, covers the summit of a lofty ridge, -and commands a prospect on the east, south, and west, far away beyond -the valley of the Tyne, over blue air-tinted grounds and lofty -mountains; and to the north of the Wall, over the vast waste of the -forest of Lowes, where indeed, a proud, stupendous solitude frowns o’er -the heath.' - -The Wall forms its northern boundary, and the Vallum, it is probable, -came to the support of its southern rampart.[101] It is naturally -defended on all sides, except the west. In order duly to protect this -side, the gateway seems to have been walled up at an early period, and a -triple line of ramparts drawn along it. - -Although the position of Housesteads clearly indicates that this fort -was erected for the accommodation of a mural garrison, it would seem to -have been built independently of the Wall. The first anxiety of the -soldiers engaged in that great work would be to erect a secure -habitation for themselves. The west wall of the station, instead of -coming up to the great Wall in a straight line, makes the curve which is -usual in those corners of a camp that are independent of the Wall; as is -shewn in the wood-cut at the top of the next page. - -[Illustration: Junction of West Wall of Housesteads with the Wall] - -[Illustration: Ground Plan of Gateway, Housesteads] - -[Sidenote: BORCOVICUS.] - -All the gateways, except the north, have been explored, and present very -interesting subjects of study to the antiquary. The western[Sidenote: -WEST GATEWAY OF BORCOVICUS.] is in the best condition, and is specially -worthy of attention. Its arrangements will readily be understood by an -inspection of the ground plan which is here introduced, together with -the views of it as seen from the outside and inside of the station, on -the next page. This gateway, as well as the others which have been -explored, is, in every sense of the word, double. Two walls must be -passed before the camp can be entered; each is provided with two -portals, and each portal has been closed with two-leaved gates. The -southern entrance of the outside wall has alone, as yet, been entirely -cleared of the masonry that closed it. The jambs and pillars are formed -of massive stones of rustic masonry. The doors, if we may judge from the -fragments of corroded iron which have been lately picked up, were of -wood, strengthened with iron plates and studs; they moved, as is -apparent from the pivot-holes, upon pivots of iron. In the centre of -each portal stands a strong upright stone, against which the gates have -shut. Some of the large projecting stones of the exterior wall are worn -as if by the sharpening of knives upon them; this has probably been done -by the occupants of the suburban buildings after the closing of the -gateway. The guard-chambers on each side are in a state of choice -preservation, one of the walls standing fourteen courses high. Were a -roof put on them, the antiquary might here stand guard, as the Tungrians -did of old, and, for a while, forget that the world is sixteen centuries -older than it was when these chambers were reared. At least two of the -chambers in this part of the camp have been warmed by U shaped flues -running round three of their sides beneath the floor.[102] These -chambers, when recently excavated, were found to be filled with rubbish -so highly charged with animal matter as painfully to affect the -sensibilities of the labourers. The teeth and bones of oxen, horns -resembling those of the red-deer, but larger, and boars’ tusks were very -abundant; there was the usual quantity of all the kinds of pottery used -by the Romans. It is not improbable that this rubbish may have been -derived from some dunghill outside the walls, and thrown here when the -gateway was walled up; it is, however, a remarkable fact, that the soil -of the interior area of the stations on the Wall is, for the most part, -thickly mingled with bones. Is it possible that the Romans have thrown -on the floors of their apartments, and suffered to remain amongst the -straw or rushes which may have covered them, the refuse of their food? - -[Illustration: Outside View of the West Portal of BORCOVICUS.] - -[Illustration: Inside View of the West Portal of BORCOVICUS.] - -The view of Housesteads in the accompanying lithograph, is taken from -beside the eastern gateway, and gives a general idea of the scene of -desolation which it presents.[103] The only habitation near is a -shepherd’s cottage to the south of the station. A peculiarity in the -upper division of the eastern gateway requires attention; the lower -division, as seen in the lithograph, has been walled up at an early -period. A rut, nearly nine inches deep, appears in the threshold, on -each side of the central stone against which the gates closed. Grooves, -similar in character, are seen in the gateways of the camps at -Birdoswald and Maryport. Were it not for the central stone, which -presents an impediment to the passage of chariots, no one would doubt -that these hollows have been occasioned by the action of their wheels. -The following extract, explanatory of the condition of the city of -Pompeii, will probably throw light upon this and other things belonging -to the camp. - -[Illustration: - - H. Burdon Richardson, Delt. John Storey, Lith. - HOUSESTEADS (BORCOVICUS) FROM THE EAST. - Printed by W Monkhouse, York -] - -[Sidenote: RUTS IN THE GATEWAY.] - - The Domitian way which led to it was narrow, the carriage-way seldom - exceeding ten feet in width. The streets of the city itself are paved - with large irregular pieces of lava, joined neatly together, in which - the chariot wheels have worn ruts, still discernible; in some places - they are an inch and a half deep, and in narrow streets follow one - track.... In most places, the streets are so narrow, that they may be - crossed at one stride; where they are wider, a raised stepping-stone - has been placed in the centre of the crossing. This, though in the - middle of the carriage-way, did not much inconvenience those who drove - about in the _biga_, or two-horsed chariot, because the width of these - streets being only sufficient to admit the carriage, the wheels passed - freely in the spaces left between the curb on either side, and the - stone in the centre.[104] - -The stone in the centre of the doorway would not be a greater impediment -than the stepping stones in the streets of Pompeii. - -The remains of the gateways of BORCOVICUS shew that in plan and -construction they must have resembled the Roman Gateway which, under the -name of the ‘Porta nera,’ is preserved entire at Treves, AUGUSTA -TREVIRORUM, once the seat of government of the Western Empire. - -In examining this and other Roman camps, the spectator will, perhaps, be -struck with the narrowness of the streets, and the very small capacity -of the the dwellings. It is well to recollect that in their encampments -the Romans studiously avoided occupying a larger space than was -absolutely necessary. Gibbon observes that a modern army would present -to the enemy a front three times as extended as a Roman one of the same -force. In the field, ten men were apportioned to a tent, ten feet -square;[105] a similar proportion would without doubt be followed in the -stationary camp. - -[Sidenote: BORCOVICUS.] - -It is not easy to ascertain the precise character of the dwellings of -the soldiers; the more perfect of the ruins in this and other forts, -induce the belief that they were dark, bare, and cheerless. The roofs -were probably formed of free-stone slate. Several thin slabs of this -kind, with nail-holes in them, as well as some of the nails themselves, -have been found in this and other stations.[106] On Plate XIII, figs. 1, -7, are drawn some door or window heads, found here; these most likely -belonged to buildings of a superior class. The entrance into a chamber -at HABITANCUM, recently excavated, was found to be only fourteen inches -wide; it was rudely ‘stepped over’ at the top. Fragments of a sort of -window glass are frequently found in some of the stations; this would -probably be a rare luxury.[107] - -[Sidenote: THE CHAMBERS OF THE STATION.] - -At Housesteads, two or three of the ruined chambers will, above the -rest, attract the attention of the visitor. Near the centre of the -northern division is one which is seventy feet long and eight broad; it -must have been a place of public concourse. In the front of it is a kiln -which has probably been used for drying corn; near the southern gateway -is another which was nearly destroyed in the endeavour made to extricate -a cow which had fallen into it, and, in struggling to relieve herself, -had thrust her head and neck into the flue. The Romans seem to have -kiln-dried their corn at the close of the harvest; it would not have -been safe to stack it in the open fields. They would the more readily do -this, as it is still by no means unusual, in the central and southern -parts of Europe, to thrash the corn at the close of harvest on the field -where it grew. - -Three hypocausts have been found here, two within the station, and -another to the east of it, on the Knag-burn; the flues of the latter -were full of soot; very slight traces of any of them now remain. - -In this and most other stations, writes Hodgson, ‘there are found -considerable quantities of limestone, having partly the character of -stalagmite, and partly that of such cellular stone as forms about the -mouths of petrifying wells. Some of it is in amorphous lumps; but the -greatest part of it has been either sawn into rectangular pieces, or -formed in a fluid state in moulds.’ They are probably artificial; at -HABITANCUM, where this calcareous substance is abundant, it seems to -have acquired its porosity by being mixed with straw. The use to which -it has been applied is by no means obvious. Hodgson thought that it had -been inserted in the side walls of the hypocausts, to allow heat to -arise from below without smoke. This is doubtful. At HABITANCUM, the -blocks, I am told, have been used as ordinary stones. In the -construction of the Pharos at Dover, (where building stone is scarce) -the calcareous composition has been largely used. Why it should have -been employed at HABITANCUM, and other places, where free-stone is -abundant, does not appear. - -[Sidenote: BORCOVICUS] - -The suburbs of BORCOVICUS have been very extensive, the ruins of them -distinctly appearing on the east, south, and west sides of the station. -A little to the south of it, and stretching westward, the ground has -been thrown up in long terraced lines, a mode of cultivation much -practised in Italy and in the east. Similar terraces, more feebly -developed, appear at Bradley; I have seen them very distinctly marked on -the banks of the Rede-water, Old Carlisle and other places. - -A well, cased with Roman masonry, is in front of the shepherd’s house, -south of the station; a spring, yielding excellent water, is at the -bottom of the same field; the Knag-burn washes the station on its -eastern side, and there is ‘a fine well under the high basaltic cliff’ -on which the northern wall of the station stands, ‘which is still well -walled round,’ and has occasionally been used as a bath. None has been -discovered within the station itself. - - _PLATE XI_ - -[Illustration: Broken Columns, Borcovicus] - - _PLATE XII_ - -[Illustration: Sculpted Figures, Borcovicus] - - _PLATE XIII_ - -[Illustration: Sculpted Figures, etc.] - -[Sidenote: ARCHITECTURAL REMAINS.] - -In the valley below is a small sandstone ridge, called Chapel-hill, from -the idea that a temple stood upon it. Two fine altars have been found -here.[108] The ruins that contained the Mithraic antiquities, to which -reference will be made afterwards, stood a little to the west of this -hill. All traces of the small, dark temple, where the horrid mysteries -of the god were performed, are now nearly obliterated. - -The fragments of columns which are engraved in Plate XI, enable us to -imagine the original grandeur of the place.[109] With some of the -certainty with which a comparative anatomist decides upon the character -and habits of an animal, from an inspection of a fragment of its osseous -system, an architect determines the size and style of a building from an -examination of some of its parts. Thus, the circular column, of which -one of the stones (Plate XI.) that now lies in the valley below the -station, has formed a part, was probably not less than twenty feet high; -how imposing must the entire temple have been! - -Plates XII and XIII exhibit several of the carved figures which formerly -lay in confusion among the ruins of the station. They are interesting, -as exhibiting the state of the arts in Britain at that time, the mode of -dress adopted by the Romans, and the [Illustration: Figure of Victory] -high degree of attention which they paid to the decoration of their -stations. Roman art in Britain has surely been rated too low. - -The figure introduced on this page was found here. It represents one of -old Rome’s most favourite deities,—Victory, careering, with outstretched -wings, over the globe. How strong must the passion for conquest have -been in the breast of a people, who, though nurtured in a southern -climate, braved for more than three centuries, the fogs, and storms, and -desolation of this wild region! Wherever the winged goddess led, they -followed, and, most pertinaciously too, maintained their ground. But, -there is a tide in the affairs of men. - -A Roman poet, in the fulness of his heart, sang— - - Urbs oritur (quis tunc hoc ulli credere posset?) - Victorem terris impositura pedem. - Cuncta regas: et sis magno sub Cæsare semper - Sæpe etiam plures nominis hujus habe. - Et quoties steteris domito sublimis in orbe, - Omnia sint humeris inferiora tuis. - -How different the strains which, in a distant age, and in another clime, -were to flow from the lyre of a brother bard, and how appropriate to the -present condition of the deserted BORCOVICUS!— - - Where is Rome? - She lives but in the tale of other times; - Her proud pavilions are the hermit’s home, - And her long colonnades, her public walks - Now faintly echo to the pilgrim’s feet, - Who comes to muse in solitude, and trace, - Through the rank moss revealed, her honoured dust. - -That Housesteads is the BORCOVICUS of the empire, [Illustration: -Sepulchral Slab to a young Physician] appears plain from the numerous -inscriptions that allude to the first cohort of the Tungrians, which, -according to the Notitia, was quartered there. One of these inscriptions -is shewn on page 63; another, a sepulchral stone, is here presented. The -figure on the top of the slab I take to be a rabbit, and suspect that it -had some reference to the worship of the obscene god, Priapus. The -inscription is usually read in the following manner, though, perhaps, -_ordinario_ might with equal propriety be read _ordinato_:— - - D[IIS] M[ANIBVS] - ANICIO - INGENVO - MEDICO - ORDI[NARIO] COH[ORTIS] - PRIMÆ TVNGR[ORVM] - VIX[IT] AN[NIS] XXV - - _Sacred_ to the gods of the shades below. - To Anicius - Ingenuus, - physician - in ordinary, of cohort - the first of the Tungrians. - He lived twenty-five years. - -From an inscription found at Castlecary, it appears that this cohort of -Tungrians built one thousand paces of the Antonine Wall in Scotland. -They were from about Tongres, on the banks of the Mæse, in Belgic Gaul. -Their rank, as a milliary cohort, conferred on them the dangerous honour -of advancing in the van of the army to battle, and their acknowledged -valour probably procured for them the appointment to this exposed and -dangerous post. - -[Sidenote: THE NAME ASCERTAINED.] - -The etymology of _Borcovicus_ is easy. A high hill to the south of the -station is called Borcum or Barcomb, a neighbouring stream is designated -Bardon-burn, and a village near its confluence with the Tyne, -Bardon-mill. _Bar_, in Celtic, means a height, and probably forms the -root of all these names; the termination, _vicus_, is a Latin word, -signifying a village. - -The stone used in the inside of the walls of the station, and for other -ordinary purposes, has been quarried out of the cliffs in the sandstone -ridge, along which the present military road passes. 'The altars, -columns, and quoins, and much of the ashlar work, have been taken from a -stratum of freestone on the north side of the Wall, and similar to that -in which the recesses, called the King and Queen’s Caves, on the south -side of Broomlee-lough, are formed.'[110] - - -[Sidenote: THE VALLUM COMMANDED BY THE CRAGS.] - -Again taking the Wall as our guide, we will pursue our course westward. -For the greater part of the way along the high ground, the Wall is in a -sufficiently good state of preservation to make it a varied and -interesting study; it not unfrequently exhibits five, six, and even -seven courses of facing-stones. The Northumbrian lakes also lend a charm -to the scene. Though appearing in native simplicity and rude grandeur, -they will not on that account be less appreciated by men of taste. The -Vallum is generally very boldly developed, and runs for several miles in -the valley below, completely commanded by the hill on which the Wall -stands, as is shewn in the section, Plate IV. This fact is surely fatal -to the theory of its having been erected to withstand the brunt of a -northern foe. It would have been impolitic to allow the enemy to occupy -these heights even as a post of observation. It is true, that the Vallum -is occasionally commanded by the rising ground on the south: opposite -Sewingshields it is so, and opposite Hot-bank, a little to the west of -where we now are, it is overlooked on both sides. This difficulty is not -a very formidable one. The engineer of the Barrier has drawn the Vallum -chiefly in straight lines from one point to another, and has not thought -it necessary to guard with excessive jealousy every little rising ground -to the south; he never, however, departs from his course to go round the -north of a hill, as he does to go round the south of that one near -Halton-chesters. The cases, moreover, in which the Vallum is exposed to -observation from the south, are very few. Horsley’s own testimony upon -this point is decided. He writes— - - It must be owned, that the southern prospect of Hadrian’s work, and - the defence on that side, is generally better than on the north; - whereas the northern prospect and defence have been principally, or - only taken care of in the Wall of Severus.[111] - -[Sidenote: RAPISHAW-GAP.] - -After passing a mile-castle we come to a depression in the ridge of -basalt, that places us opposite the west end of Broomlee-lough; the crag -on the west side of this slack is called Cuddy’s-crag. A little farther -on, we reach a more extensive pass, called Rapishaw-gap; a road passes -through it under the same circumstances as that through Busy-gap, a -little above the bottom of the valley. The traveller may here with -advantage go to the north of the Wall, in order to examine the -geological character of the cliffs he has passed; they are seen ‘to rise -in rude and pillared majesty.’ - -Regaining the high grounds, the Wall for a short space is found to -possess less than its usual interest; the ground on the east side of the -Bradley estate was formerly common, and the object of our study was -every man’s prey. Other objects of inquiry, however, abundantly relieve -the attention. Langley castle, on the south bank of the Tyne, is in -sight, and during our western journey will long continue to be so. It is -a square building strengthened by rectangular towers at the corners. -Formerly a seat of the Percys, it became afterwards the property of the -Radcliffes. It passed, on the rebellion of 1715, along with the other -possessions of the earl of Derwentwater, into the hands of the -commissioners of Greenwich Hospital, who at present retain it. Destroyed -by fire at an early period, it has never been repaired; its masonry is -notwithstanding in excellent preservation. On a clear day the singularly -strong tongue of land on which are the ruins of Staward-le-peel, may -also be discerned to the south. But, more to our present purpose, the -high, brown hill of Borcum, from which the Romans obtained much of the -stone used in the construction of this part of the Wall, is in the -foreground. [Sidenote: ANCIENT QUARRY] An interesting discovery was made -here in 1837, to which subsequent reference will be made. On opening an -ancient quarry on the top of it, near the ‘longstone,’ a workman found a -small copper vessel, containing a large number of Roman coins; four of -these were of the time of Hadrian, and all the rest, of previous reigns. -Those of Trajan and Hadrian were as fresh as if new from the die. The -conclusion is natural, that the quarry had been last wrought in the time -of Hadrian, the Wall itself being possibly of the same date. An -extensive earthen camp is on the summit of the hill, probably raised by -the soldiers who were engaged in quarrying the rock. - -Greenlee-lough is to the north; on its western margin is a modern -structure, Bonny-rig, the property of sir Edward Blackett. - -Proceeding westward, the Wall again rises into notice. ‘Much of it -remains of very various thicknesses, the whole of the perpendicular -outsets and insets being on the south side.’ - -[Sidenote: HADRIAN SLAB.] - -On the tail of the crag on which we now are, the farm-house of Bradley -stands. Built up in the doorway of its old kitchen, was a stone, now at -Matfen, bearing the fragment of an inscription. Another fractured slab, -formerly in the possession of the ‘judicious’ Warburton, and now at -Durham, when joined to it, gives an inscription precisely similar to one -immediately to be noticed, with the exception of a letter or two in the -line of the fracture. The fragments, doubtless, as Hodgson conjectures, -formed one stone, deposited in the foundation of some castellum in this -neighbourhood, as a memorial of its erection by Hadrian. The wood-cut -annexed has been prepared from drawings carefully made of the two -portions in their separate localities. - -[Illustration: Slab to Hadrian, Bradley] - -[Sidenote: BRADLEY HALL.] - -Once, at least, since the days of Hadrian, this central region of the -Wall has been honoured with the presence of royalty. Hodgson says,— - - On the authority of documents in Rymer, Prynne, and the Calender of - Patent Rolls, I find Edward the First testing records in the presence - of several great officers of state, at Lanchester, on Aug. 10; at - Corbridge, Aug. 14; at Newburgh, Aug. 28, 30, 31, and Sep. 4; at - Bradley ‘in Marchia Scotiæ,’ Sep. 6 and 7; at Haltwhistle on the 11th, - and at Thirlwall on the 20th of the same month; and at Lanercost on - Oct. 4, A.D. 1306, at which last house he continued all winter. The - Bradley here mentioned is probably Bradley-hall, on the right bank of - Craglough-burn, and a little south both of Vallum and Wall, not the - farm-house of Bradley, which is between the two barriers.—_Northd._ - II. iii. 288. - -The exigencies of war have again and again drawn to this secluded spot -the mightiest potentates of earth; as yet this imperial ground has not -been trodden by the feet of Majesty, attracted by the sweet allurements -of peace. - -On the margin of the military road, opposite to us, is the only Inn in -the district, which is known by no other name than that of _Twice -Brewed_. Before the construction of the Railway it was much resorted to -by the carriers who conducted the traffic between the eastern and -western portions of the island. As many as fifty horses and about twenty -men would be put up here for the night. Now, it is nearly forsaken. -Hutton took up his abode here on a carrier’s night. The difficulty he -had in procuring an exclusive bed was compensated by the amusement of -observing the carriers at their meal—he soon perceived that they had ‘no -barricade in the throat; and became convinced that eating was the chief -end of man!’ - -[Sidenote: MILKING-GAP.] - -The next break in the basaltic ridge, is the Milking-gap. As we approach -it, Crag-lough is seen laving the base of the perpendicular cliff along -which the Wall runs. In order to take the high ground, westward of the -gap, the Wall here turns at a considerable angle. In this valley, the -north fosse again comes to the help of the structure. In front of the -farm-house, called Hot-bank, are distinct traces of a mile-castle. In -taking up its foundations, the slab, of which the annexed drawing is a -faithful copy, was found, which would seem to be a tablet precisely -similar to that which is formed by the junction of the two fragments -referred to above. - -[Illustration: Slab to Hadrian, Milking-gap] - - IMP[ERATORIS] CAES[ARIS] TRAIAN[I]. - HADRIANI AVG[VSTI] - LEG[IO] SECVNDA AVG[VSTA] - AVLO PLATORIO NEPOTE LEG[ATO] PR[O]PR[ÆTORE.] - - Of the Emperor Cæsar Trajanus - Hadrianus Augustus, - The second legion, styled the August, - Aulus Platorius Nepos, being legate and proprætor. - -Of all the inscriptions discovered in Britain, Hodgson pronounces this -to be of the greatest historical importance, inasmuch as it leads to the -true reading of several fragments of similar inscriptions -throwing[Sidenote: MILKING-GAP INSCRIPTION.] light upon the authorship -of the Wall. One of these was known to Horsley, and seems to have -puzzled that great antiquary. It and other fragments which have since -been found in different mile-castles, tend to produce the conviction, -that the mile-castles, (which are on the line of the Wall, ascribed to -Severus,) were built by Hadrian. The simplicity of the inscription will -strike the classical reader, who will not fail also to observe the -peculiarity of the name of the emperor being in the genitive case. - -Although the station of _Vindolana_ lies considerably to the south of -the lines of the Barrier, it is ranked by the Notitia among the stations -_per lineam valli_, and as such, must be examined by us in our mural -peregrination. Leaving Milking-gap with this view, and crossing the low -grounds to the south of the Wall, the Vallum is observed, contrary to -its usual tendency, making two rapid curves, something in the form of -the letter S, to avoid, apparently, the swellings of the contiguous -marsh. At High-shields, a cottage on the little ridge south of the -turnpike-road, the station comes into view. It stands upon a partially -detached eminence, surrounded, though not so closely as to be commanded, -by hills of superior elevation. On all sides, except the western, it is -naturally defended, whilst the summits of the surrounding heights afford -it a degree of shelter which would be peculiarly grateful to the natives -of southern Europe. The Chineley-burn flows past it, and the situation -is altogether one of peculiar beauty. In modern times, the place has -been variously designated Little Chesters, the Bowers, and Chesterholm. - - -[Sidenote: VINDOLANA.] - -VINDOLANA.—As this station is detached from the Wall, and lies upon the -line of the ancient road which ran from CILURNUM to MAGNA, it is not -improbable that it was one of Agricola’s forts. The road which connected -it with the Wall may yet be distinctly traced between High Shields and -the farm-house of Chesterholm. - -The walls, ditches, and gateways of the station are all discernible. The -northern gateway would be the one chiefly used by the garrison, as it -opens directly upon the Great Military Way. An examination of the -western gateway, some years ago, led to the belief that it had been -walled up at an early period; this is the most exposed side of the camp. -A portion of the wall of the station near the north-east corner, when -cleared by its late owner, Mr. Hedley, stood twelve courses high. In -this case, as in many others, the researches of the antiquary have only -facilitated the operations of the destroyer; much of it has since been -removed. The size of the stones, which is considerable in the foundation -course, gradually diminishes upwards. - -[Sidenote: CHESTERHOLM.] - -At least two buildings provided with hypocausts, have been discovered -here. One of these stood about fifty yards beyond the western rampart, -and when discovered, contained a square apartment, vaulted above. Some -of the vaulting-stones are still preserved at Chesterholm; they are -grooved near the lower extremity, apparently to allow of the joints -being strengthened by the insertion between them of keys of slate or -wood. The remains of this building were more complete when Hodgson wrote -the following paragraph than at present:— - - The pillars of the hypocaust are still very black with fire and soot; - and people say that the Bowers, from the Roman age till within the - last century, was the elysium of a colony of fairies; and this ruined - bath, the kitchen to one of their palaces, of which the soot among the - stones was undeniable evidence; and confident belief affirmed, that - long passages led from this laboratory of savoury messes to - subterranean halls that ever echoed to the festivities and music of - the Queen of the Bowers, and her aërial court. - -[Illustration: Altar to Fortune, Chesterholm] - -The other hypocaust was partially explored by Warburton in 1717, but -more fully by the rev. Ant. Hedley in 1831. It stood within the area of -the camp not far from the eastern gateway. In its ruins, Warburton found -the fine altar to Fortune, here engraved. It is now preserved in the -Library of the Dean and Chapter at Durham, the ‘judicious’ antiquary not -having been able to obtain his price for it of my lord Oxford.[112] Here -also Mr. Hedley discovered the three noble altars [Illustration: -Hypocaust Pillar] which are still preserved at Chesterholm. The pillars -which supported the floor of the hypocausts were of different shapes and -diameters; some of them were portions of square columns, as in the -annexed example, some circular, like the balusters of stairs, as may be -seen by the specimens of them in the garden at Chesterholm. The Romans -themselves, Hodgson remarks, seem to have treated the fallen works of -their predecessors here with very little ceremony, when they cut down -the handsome columns of halls and temples into pillars for sooty -hypocausts. - -About a furlong west of the camp is a copious spring, from which the -water was taken by a channel formed of large stones into the station. -The water still, in some measure, follows its ancient track, as the -appearance of the herbage shews, and pours itself, by a covered passage, -into the Chineley-burn on the opposite side. - -[Illustration: - - H. Burdon Richardson, Delt. John Storey, Lith. - MILE STONE AT CHESTERHOLM. -] - -In the vicinity of the camp is an object of peculiar interest. On the -line of the ancient Roman road which skirts its northern rampart, stands -a mile-stone at the spot where the soldiers of Agricola or Hadrian -placed it. The opposite lithograph shews it in the foreground; the camp -is in the distance. It is upwards of six feet high, and is nearly two -feet in diameter. There are traces of an inscription on its western -face, but scarcely a letter can now be deciphered.[Sidenote: ROMAN -MILE-STONE.] Another mile-stone formerly stood to the west of this, but -it was removed and split up by its tasteless owner, into two gate-posts. -Horsley says that it bore the inscription— - - BONO REIPVBLICÆ NATO. - To one born for the good of the republic— - -an inscription which, supposing it to be perfect, though this is a -little doubtful, is happily contrived to be complimentary to each -successive emperor. The Romans, with wise policy, paid great attention -to their roads; the stones which they erected at every mile were -generally inscribed with the name of the consul or emperor under whose -auspices they were made. Horsley mentions another mile-stone, which was -to the east of the present one. - -Close by the mile-stone is a tumulus of considerable size. - -In the house and grounds of the late Mr. Hedley, are preserved some very -valuable antiquarian remains. A very fine altar to Jupiter is reserved -for subsequent description. Another, whose focus is reddened by the -action of fire, is here introduced on account of the evidence which it -affords, in corroboration of the conjecture of Horsley, that Little -Chesters was the VINDOLANA of the Romans, where, according to the -Notitia, the fourth cohort of the Gauls was stationed. - -[Illustration: Altar to Genius of the Pretorium] - -GENIO PRÆTORI[I] SACRVM PI TVANIVS SE CVNDVS PRÆ FECTVS COH[ORTIS] IV -GALLOR[VM] - -To the genius of the Prætorium sacred; Pi- tuanius Se- cundus præ- fect -of the fourth cohort of the Gauls, _erects this_. - -Several other inscriptions by the fourth cohort of the Gauls have been -found here since the time of Horsley. - -The altar to Fortune, given in a previous page, shews us that at least a -detachment of the sixth legion had, at some period, its abode here. -[Sidenote: THE TWENTIETH LEGION.] A stone, [Illustration: alt=Symbol, -Leg. XX.] preserved at the place, and of which an engraving is here -given, bears testimony to the presence of the twentieth legion also, -which was surnamed V[ALENS] V[ICTRIX], ‘the valiant and victorious’, and -of which the symbol was a boar. This legion was first sent over to -Britain by Claudius, and remained in it until the island was abandoned -by the Romans. Horsley conceives that this legion was concerned in the -erection of the Vallum, though, he adds, we have no inscriptions to -prove it. He suspects that it was no-way concerned in building the Wall, -because, among all the centurial inscriptions which had come under his -notice, not one mentioned this legion, or any cohort belonging to it. -The discovery, since the publication of the Britannia Romana, of this -and other memorials to be noticed as we proceed, renders [Illustration: -alt=Part of Slab to Hadrian] it probable that the twentieth legion was -engaged upon both the Wall and the Vallum; and as, according to Horsley, -‘it is evident that this legion was at Chester in the year 154,’ where -it long continued, the probability is strengthened, that the Wall, as -well as the Vallum, was built before that period. A fragment of an -inscription, represented above, bears direct reference to Hadrian. The -Milking-gap slab, to which it has a very close resemblance, enables us -to supply the parts that are wanting. The only difference seems to be, -that the emperor’s name is in the dative case instead of the genitive as -in the other example. - - _IMP CA_ES TRAIA_N_ - _HAD_RIANO _AVG P P_ - _LE_G II _AVG_ - _A PLATORIO NEPOTE LEG PR PR._ - -The cottage which Mr. Hedley erected for his own residence is, with the -exception of the quoins, [Illustration: alt=Coping-stone, Roman -‘broaching’] entirely formed of stones procured from the station. In -addition to the altars which stand in front of the house, several -objects of considerable interest are built up in the covered passage -which leads from the kitchen to the burn; among them is a range of Roman -coping-stones, of the form shewn in the cut. The ‘broaching’ of the -stones has been alluded to previously. - -Near the stables attached to the house, is a Roman altar converted into -a swine-trough; the figure on its side seems to have been intended for -an eagle, the emblem of the imperial Jove. A foretaste this of the day -when every idol shall be cast to the moles and to the bats. May it -speedily arrive! - -[Illustration: - - John Storey, Del. et Lith. - THE CRAGS, WEST OF CRAG LOUGH. -] - -[Sidenote: VINDOLANA] - -The probable meaning of the word VINDOLANA, is ‘the hill of arms;’ -_vin_, with slight variations of pronunciation, signifying, in all the -Celtic dialects, a height; and _lann_, in the Gaelic, weapons. The name -well accords with those common in Ossian’s poems. - -Rejoining the Wall at Milking-gap, and continuing our course westward, -we soon arrive at a conspicuous gap, on the Steel-rig grounds. The Wall -on the eastern declivity of this pass may be studied to great advantage. -The courses are laid parallel to the horizon; the mortar of each course -of the interior seems to have been smoothed over before the -superincumbent mass was added. In order to give the in-door antiquary an -idea of its condition, a drawing of it is here introduced. - -[Sidenote: PEEL-CRAG.] - -Mounting another hill, and again descending into the valley, we find -another gap, in which the remains of a mile-castle will be noticed, from -which it has received the name of the Castle-nick. A little farther -removed is Peel-crag, one of the most precipitous faces which the Wall -has had to traverse. The military way ingeniously avoids the sudden -descent by winding round the southern projections of the rock. After -passing a cottage, called the Peel, a modern road is encountered which -leads to Keilder, and so into Scotland; in its progress northwards, -however, it soon degenerates into a mere track. As this pass is more -than usually open, the fosse again appears surmounted by a mound on its -northern margin; the earth-works are strongly marked, but the Wall is -gone. - -The lithographic view represents the northern aspect of the crags, as -they appear here. - -On the western side of this, sheltered by a few trees, is the farm-house -of Steel-rig. Attaining the next elevation—Winshields-crag—we are on -ground reputed to be the highest between the two seas; a turf cairn has -been erected on it for the purposes of the ordnance survey. From this -lofty summit, the vessels navigating the Solway may easily be descried. - -[Sidenote: BLOODY-GAP.] - -Proceeding in the same direction, we reach another gap of wide -dimensions, but very steep on both declivities. Here the Wall has been -provided with a ditch, strengthened, as usual in dangerous situations, -with a rampart on its outer margin. If the local vocabulary does not -furnish this pass with a name (and I have not been able to find that it -does), Bloody-gap, from the following circumstance, well befits it. -Nearly direct north from it, is a rising ridge of ground, called -Scotch-coulthard. When the moss-troopers, who abounded in these parts, -succeeded in safely reaching it, their pursuers commonly considered -farther chase useless. Between the Wall and this point of safety, -therefore, the race and the conflict were necessarily of the most -desperate character; that many deadly conflicts have taken place, is -evidenced by the numerous skeletons which are turned up in draining the -ground. - -A lonely cottage, upon an exposed part of the ridge, is called -Shield-on-the-Wall. - -Near the modern military way, two large stones, called ‘the mare and -foal,’ are standing. In Armstrong’s map of Northumberland, three are -marked; they are probably remains of a Druidical circle. - -[Illustration: - - H. Burdon Richardson, Delt. John Storey, Lith. - THE WALL AT STEEL-RIG. - Printed by W. Monkhouse, York -] - -[Sidenote: ANCIENT TRADITIONS.] - -Shortly afterwards we come to a gap of very bold proportions. Popular -faith asserts it to have been the abode of evil spirits, and it is known -by the ominous name of Bogle-hole. The sides of the gap are steep; on -the western declivity the courses of the Wall are for the most part -conformable to the ground, but they are stayed up by occasional steps -parallel to the horizon. In the valley, to the south, the Vallum is seen -bending up towards the Wall, apparently to assist in defending the pass; -it would not have done so, had it been an independent fortification. The -vicinity of Bogle-hole seems a fitting place for introducing the -following passage from Procopius, a writer of the fifth century. We can -readily conceive that at a period when the inroads of the Caledonians -were still fresh in the memory of the inhabitants, the country north of -the Wall would be regarded with superstitious dread. Doubtless, many who -passed the boundary, found, to their cost, that in this region lay the -pathway to the world of spirits:— - - Moreover, in this isle of Brittia, men of ancient time built a long - wall, cutting off a great portion of it: for the soil, and the man, - and all other things, are not alike on both sides; for on the eastern - (southern) side of the Wall, there is a wholesomeness of air in - conformity with the seasons, moderately warm in summer, and cool in - winter. Many men inhabit here, living much as other men. The trees, - with their appropriate fruits, flourish in season, and their corn - lands are as productive as others; and the district appears - sufficiently fertilized by streams. But on the western (northern) side - all is different, insomuch indeed, that it would be impossible for a - man to live there, even half an hour. Vipers and serpents innumerable, - with all other kinds of wild beasts, infest that place; and, what is - most strange, the natives affirm, that if any one, passing the Wall, - should proceed to the other side, he would die immediately, unable to - endure the unwholesomeness of the atmosphere. Death also, attacking - such beasts as go thither, forthwith destroys them.... They say that - the souls of men departed are always conducted to this place; but in - what manner I will explain immediately, having frequently heard it - from men of that region relating it most seriously, although I would - rather ascribe their asseverations to a certain dreamy faculty which - possesses them.—_Giles’s Ancient Britons_, I. 404. - -[Sidenote: CAW-GAP.] - -The next defile is Caw-gap; some ruined cottages, formed of Wall-stones, -stand in it. The extreme jealousy with which the Romans defended an -exposed situation is well shewn here. The fosse, which guards the pass -through the low ground, is discontinued on the western side as soon as -the Wall attains a sufficient elevation, but upon the the ground -drooping, though only for the space of a few yards, it re-appears for -that short distance. - -A road runs through this pass to the north, which soon becomes a mere -track. It passes a solitary house, called Burn Deviot, nearly due north -from the gap, which was long the resort of smugglers and sheep-stealers. -The memory of its last tenants, Nell Nichol and her two daughters, who -were a pest to the country, is still fresh in the district. Though many -years have elapsed since any one occupied the dwelling, lights are said -often to be seen at the windows at night, visible tokens of the presence -of the spirits of the murdered children of Nell’s daughters. - -[Sidenote: CAWFIELDS CRAGS.] - -The crags along which we soon find ourselves to be proceeding, possess a -perpendicular elevation of nearly five hundred feet above the plains -below. Passing another small gap, called the Thorny Doors, we come to a -tract of Wall in an excellent state of preservation. The lower courses -have lately been freed from the rubbish which for centuries has covered -them, and the fallen stones replaced in their proper order. The whole -face of the Wall has a remarkably fresh appearance, and nowhere can the -tooling of the stones be examined with more advantage. Amongst the -fallen stones, one was lately found which furnishes us with additional -evidence, that the twentieth legion was engaged in the erection of this -part of the Wall. It [Illustration: alt=Mural Stone, Leg. XX. V.V.] is -preserved amongst the antiquities at Chesters, and is represented in the -adjoining cut. This sculpture cannot have been derived from the Vallum, -in the construction of which, in the time of Hadrian, the twentieth -legion is acknowledged to have been employed; for the Vallum is here -distant more than three hundred yards from the Wall. The reader will of -course perceive the bearing which this fact has upon the question of the -contemporaneous origin of the two structures, and the construction of -the Wall, as well as the Vallum, by Hadrian. - -While the antiquary is eagerly scrutinizing indentations in stones which -were chiselled sixteen centuries ago, his eye will occasionally rest -upon the memorials of an antiquity so indefinite as to throw into the -shade even his primeval records. Lepidodendra, and other fossils of the -mill-stone-grit and coal series, are of occasional occurrence. Who shall -tell when these giant plants flourished, how they were enveloped in -their sandy bed, and how hardened into the flinty stone made use of by -the Roman soldiers? Imagination reels at the questions suggested. - -[Sidenote: PILGRIMS'-GAP.] - -We are now arrived at the most perfect mile-castle remaining on the -line, generally named, from the farm-house to the north of it, the -Cawfields Castle. The gap which it guarded was denominated by the -peripatetic party of 1849, in commemoration of their visit, the -Pilgrims’-gap, a name which is beginning to be recognised by the -inhabitants of the neighbourhood. - -[Sidenote: THE CAWFIELDS CASTELLUM.] - -Until recently, the castellum was nearly covered with its own ruins. -Since the annexed drawing was taken, the rubbish has been entirely -removed from the inside, as well as the out. - -The building is a parallelogram, but the corners at its lower side are -rounded off. It measures, inside, sixty-three feet from east to west, -and forty-nine feet from north to south. The great Wall forms its -northern side. The stones used in the construction of this building are -of the same size and character as those employed in the Wall itself; the -mortar has disappeared from between the courses of the facing-stones, -but portions of lime are seen in the grout of the interior. In the -western wall, nine courses of stones are standing. The side walls of the -castle have not been tied to the great Wall, but have been brought close -up to it, and the junction cemented with mortar. - -[Illustration: - - H. Burdon Richardson Delt. John Storey, Lith. - MILE-CASTLE NEAR CAW-FIELDS - Printed by W. Monkhouse York. -] - -It is provided with a gateway of large dimensions, both on its northern -and southern side. In Horsley’s day, it was a matter of doubt whether -there was any opening through the Wall, excepting at the points where -the Watling-street and the Maiden-way crossed it; the disinterment of -this mile-castle sets the question at rest, and justifies us in -believing that the passages at Busy-gap, Rapishaw-gap, and other places, -are of Roman formation. - -The gateways are formed of large slabs of rustic masonry, and to give -them full development, the walls are thicker here than in other parts. -The width of the wall at the lower gateway is nine feet three inches; at -the upper, which was, of course, the more exposed, ten feet six inches. -The opening of each gateway is ten feet. Two folding-doors have closed -the entrance, which, when thrown back, have fallen into recesses -prepared for them. Some of the pivot holes of the doors remain, which -exhibit a circular chafing, and are slightly tinged with the oxide of -iron. The security of the northern gateway did not entirely depend upon -the solidity of its masonry, or the strength of its doors. It opens upon -a sort of cliff, and the road from it does not lead directly away, but -runs for a little distance under the Wall, so as to give an opportunity -of more readily acting against an enemy. - -The masonry of the whole building, but particularly of the gateways, is -peculiarly fresh. The lines that have been lightly chiselled on some of -the large rustic slabs of the gateways, in order to guide the workmen in -correctly placing those above which project less than than the others, -are still quite distinct. The stone is of a very durable nature, but it -is difficult to conceive how such slender markings, particularly when in -a horizontal position, could long resist the action of the weather. Were -we to judge only from the appearance of the masonry, we might be led to -suppose that the building had been enveloped in its own ruins not long -after its erection—perhaps in that dreadful irruption of the Caledonians -which brought Severus to this country—and that it was never afterwards -repaired. - -In clearing out the interior of this building, no traces of party-walls, -of a substantial character at least, were found. It stands upon a slope -of about one foot in five, and, towards the hanging side of it, the -ground has been rendered horizontal by ‘made earth.’ Some fragments of -gray slate, pierced for roofing, were found among the rubbish; it is -therefore not improbable that a shed was laid against the southern wall -for the protection of the soldiers. At about the elevation which the -raised floor would reach, the Wall is, in one place, eaten away by the -action of fire. Here, probably, was the hearth round which the shivering -soldiers of the south clustered, to forget, in the recital of their -country’s tales, the fierce Caledonians who prowled around them, or the -still fiercer tempests, which all their valour and all their engineering -skill could not exclude from their dwellings. With the exception of such -sheds, or mere temporary erections, the whole building seems to have -been open above. Two large fragments of funereal slabs were found in the -castellum; one of them has been roughly shaped into a circular form, and -is reddened by fire; the letters which remain are distinct and well -formed. Has it been the hearth? The inscription has been erased from the -other. Another stone of still greater interest was found here, -furnishing additional [Illustration: Part of Slab to Hadrian] evidence -of the erection of the mile-castles by Hadrian. From the annexed cut, it -will at once be perceived that it is a duplicate of the inscription, -already described, in which the second legion endeavours to perpetuate -its name, and those of its emperor, Hadrian, and Aulus Platorius Nepos, -his legate. There cannot be a doubt that the castellum and the Wall were -built at the same time, and by the same parties; if Hadrian therefore -built the one, the other is erroneously ascribed to Severus. - -Two small silver coins were found amongst the rubbish within the -castellum, one of Vespasian, the other of Marcus Aurelius. Although -their testimony is of a negative character, it will be observed, that it -is not inconsistent with the idea, that the castle was erected in the -time of Hadrian, and with the opinion already hazarded, that it was -dismantled at an early period. There were also found large pieces of -earthen-ware, chiefly of the coarser kinds, and fragments of millstones -formed of lava, which shew that culinary operations were carried on -within these cold, bare walls, and a solitary oyster-shell among the -rubbish bore testimony to the attachment of the Romans to this article -of luxury. The mile-castle is very nearly midway between the seas. - -Besides the articles already enumerated, there were picked up within the -castellum some large glass beads of somewhat singular appearance, (Plate -VII., figs. 7, 8) and a fibula of brass. The whole of these relics are -safely deposited in the collection of antiquities at Chesters. The -interesting building is, happily, upon an estate belonging to John -Clayton, esq.; the hand of the spoiler will therefore not be allowed to -touch it. - -About one hundred and fifty yards south of the castellum, is a spring of -excellent water. Near it, about midway between the Vallum and the Wall, -an altar to Apollo was lately discovered, which will afterwards be -described. - -[Sidenote: TEMPORARY CAMP.] - -A road leads from the vicinity of the mile-castle to the town of -Haltwhistle, in the sheltered valley of the Tyne, whither, should the -shades of evening be approaching, the way-worn antiquary may be glad to -bend his steps. At the point where the path joins the modern military -road, a Roman camp will be observed. On the sides which are most -exposed, double and triple lines of earth-works have been raised. The -rock on the western face of the ground where the camp stands, has been -wrought by the Romans for stones, and the camp has given them temporary -protection. It was here that the inscription on the face of the rock, -LEG. VI. V., was discovered in 1847, as already mentioned, page 81. The -quarry, not being required for the use of the district, was shortly -afterwards closed. - -[Sidenote: HALTWHISTLE.] - -The Castle-hill at Haltwhistle is, apparently, a diluvial deposit; -ramparts, still quite distinct, run round the margin of its summit. -Several peel-houses in the town and its vicinity, will interest the -antiquary.[113] - -To those who cherish the religious views of the early Anglican -reformers, it will be interesting to remember, that this is the native -district of Nicholas Ridley, bishop and martyr. Willimoteswick-castle, -his reputed birth-place, is on the south bank of the Tyne, about three -miles below Haltwhistle.[114] - -[Sidenote: HALTWHISTLE-BURN-HEAD.] - -Rejoining the Wall, Haltwhistle-burn-head is the first object of -interest that we meet with in our course westward. The burn, to which -important reference will presently be made, is derived from the -overflowings of Greenlee-lough. Between its source, and the gap by which -it passes the ridge on which the Wall stands, it is called the Caw-burn; -below that point it bears the name of Haltwhistle-burn. - -As the width of the defile, and the passage of the stream, render this a -weak point in the barrier, the two lines of fortification approach very -near to each other; they afterwards again diverge. - -Westward of Burn-head farm-house, the fosse is boldly developed, but the -Wall is traceable only in the ruins of its foundation. As we proceed -onwards to Great Chesters, the foundations of a mile-castle which has -stood half to the north of the Wall, and half within it, may be, though -not without careful scrutiny, observed. The tower which formerly stood -at Portgate is the only other known example of a similar arrangement. - - -[Sidenote: GREAT CHESTERS.] - -ÆSICA, or Great Chesters, is the tenth stationary camp on the line of -the Wall. Its superficial contents are 3 acres, 35 poles. The ramparts -and fosse are clearly defined. The southern gateway may be traced; it is -nearer the eastern than the western side. A double rampart of earth -seems to have given additional security to the western side, which, by -situation, is the weakest. A vaulted room in the centre of the camp -still answers very correctly to the description given of it in 1800 by -Dr. Lingard, (quoted by Hodgson, II. iii. 203.) - - It is 6½ feet square, and 5 feet high. It was descended by steps, and - had, at the opposite end to its entrance, a sort of bench, raised on - mason work, 2½ feet wide and high, and covered with a slab of stone. - The roof consisted of six similar and contiguous arches of stone, each - 15 inches broad. It had also one pillar. The floor had on it a great - quantity of ashes, was flagged, and on raising one of the stones, a - spring gushed out, which converted the vault into a well. - -About one hundred and fifty yards south of the station, in a field which -has for years been furrowed by the plough, the remains of a building of -somewhat rude construction have just been discovered. Its floor, -consisting, for the most part, of the usual compost, is nearly a foot -thick. Further examination would probably disclose, in its vicinity, the -foundations of numerous suburban buildings. - -An ancient road leads from the southern gateway of the station to the -great military way which ran from CILURNUM to MAGNA. - -[Sidenote: ÆSICA.] - -The station of ÆSICA, according to the Notitia, was about the year 430, -garrisoned by the _cohors prima Astorum_.[115] Horsley (writing in 1731) -observes, that no inscriptions had been found here mentioning the first -cohort of the Asti, or any other cohort. In 1761, however, an -inscription was dug up in this station, which is now deposited in the -museum at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, recording that in the reign of Alexander -Severus (200 years before the date of the Notitia) the ‘cohors secunda -Asturum’ rebuilt a granary here which had fallen into decay from -age—‘horreum vetustate conlabsum.’ It is to be observed that the -spelling of ‘Asturum’ is similar to that of the inscription at CILURNUM, -and we do not find that the _second_ cohort, either of the Asti or -Astures, is mentioned elsewhere as part of the Roman auxiliary forces in -Britain. - -Near the eastern gateway of the station there has been lately dug up a -large mural tablet, shewn in the wood-cut, and bearing the following -inscription: - -[Illustration: - - IMP. CÆS. TRAI[A]N. HADRIA - NO AVG. P[ATRI] P[ATRIÆ]. - - To the emperor Cæsar Trajanus Hadria- - nus Augustus, the father of his country. -] - -It is not probable that this slab has been derived from the Vallum, -which is upwards of a quarter of a mile from the station.[116] Why the -upper part of the tablet was left blank does not appear; enough, -however, has been inserted to support the theory, that Hadrian built the -Wall. Although several of the stations were probably built before the -Wall, and were quite independent of it, this can scarcely have been one -of them; its position seems to indicate that it was called into -existence in order to accommodate the mural garrison. - -[Illustration: - - _SURVEYED BY I. T. W. BELL 1860_ _A. Reid’s Lithog. 117 - Pilgrim St. Newcastle._ - Plan of - AN ANCIENT WATER COURSE EXTENDING FROM - SAUGHY BIG WASH POOL TO ÆSICA GREAT-CHESTERS. -] - -[Sidenote: ETYMOLOGY OF ÆSICA.] - -Celtic authorities all agree in tracing the name ÆSICA to a word -signifying _water_. The propriety of such an appellation does not at -first sight appear. The camp is far from either the eastern or western -sea; no lake is visible from its ramparts; the only water which is near -is the Haltwhistle-burn, a somewhat tiny stream. The low ground to the -south has a fenny aspect, but the station itself stands high and dry, -though upon a part of the mural ridge less elevated than usual. It is -not improbable that it may have derived its name from an aqueduct which -leads the water from the Greenlee-lough to the camp. As this -water-course has hitherto escaped the notice of writers upon the Wall, -and is a work of considerable interest, a somewhat detailed description -of it may be allowable. - - - THE WATER-COURSE AT ÆSICA. - - The camp, though not greatly elevated, stands higher than the ground, - either north or south of it. The country to the north, though - generally flat, is studded with numerous hills of moderate elevation. - On the sides of some of these, about two-thirds up, may be noticed a - line that reminds the spectator of the parallel roads in Glenroy and - other places. On examination, it is found to be an artificial cutting, - made with evident reference to the maintenance of the water level. The - sections given in Plate XVI., shew its size and form. In some places - the water stands in it yet; in others a mass of peat fills it; and - very frequently, where the channel has been obliterated, its course is - shewn by a line of rushes, which grow on the damp ground. Wherever the - water-course can be distinctly discerned, it has been laid down in the - accompanying plan by a green line; where the traces of it are lost, - the line of the water level has been pursued, and is indicated by dots - of the same colour. - -[Sidenote: THE WATER-COURSE.] - - The whole length of the water-course is six miles; the distance in a - straight line is little more than two miles and a quarter. It takes - its commencement at the Saughy-rig-washpool, which is formed by the - occasional damming up of the Caw-burn, at about a mile from its exit - from the Greenlee-lough. In the immediate vicinity of the burn, the - side of the water-course next the rivulet which would be endangered by - the overflowing of the natural stream, is made up with flat stones put - in endwise, some of which still remain as shewn in the section at B, - in the plan. In its course to the station, in order at once to - preserve the level, and avoid the necessity of using forced - embankments or stone aqueducts, it is taken along the sides of the - moderately elevated hills which rise from the plain. So ingeniously is - this done, that once only has it been necessary to cross a valley by - an artificial mound of earth. This has been at a spot between the - third and fourth mile of the water-course, and which is still known in - the district by the name of Benks-bridge, though probably few of the - inhabitants are aware of the evident origin of the term. Some - ingenuity has been employed in fixing the site of this mound. It is - placed in that part of the valley where there is a slight descent on - each side of it; the drainage of the surface is thus provided for - without the use of a culvert; the surface water on the west, naturally - making for the Halt-whistle-burn, that on the east for the river - Tipalt. The mound which has taken the water-course across the valley - at Benks-bridge has entirely disappeared, having probably been - absorbed, in the course of ages, by the mossy ground on which it - stood. The whole fall of the water-course, reckoning from the - Wash-pool to the bottom of the arched chamber in the centre of the - station is thirty feet. This is distributed over its entire length in - the way shewn in the following table:— - - ft. in. m. f. c. ft. in. - - Commencing at A 0 0 At 2 6 0½ 11 10 fall - - m. f. c. 2 7 5 E 14 4 ” - - 0 0 6 B 2 10 fall. 3 0 0 21 6 ” - - 0 1 5 3 10 ” 3 0 3 23 7 ” - - 0 2 4 3 7 ” 3 0 6 23 5 ” - - 0 3 4½ 3 7 ” 3 1 3 29 10 ” - - 0 4 9 3 6 ” 3 3 5 25 3 ” - - 0 6 0 3 7 ” 3 5 0 North end, 25 4 ” - Benks-bridge. - - 0 7 8½ 4 0 ” 3 5 0 South end, 29 7 ” - Do. - - 1 0 6½ 4 1½ ” 4 1 5 29 9 ” - - 1 1 3½ 3 7 ” 4 5 8 29 11 ” - - 1 3 2½ 3 6 ” 5 3 5½ 28 6 ” - - 1 4 0 C 3 10 ” 5 4 4 28 11 ” - - 2 0 5 5 9 ” 5 5 5 29 0 ” - - 2 1 6½ 11 4 ” 6 0 0 Present 30 4 ” - bottom of - arched - chamber in - centre of - station. - - 2 2 9½ D 11 2 ” - - The nature of the ground threw considerable difficulties in the way of - the engineer, which accounts for the exceedingly tortuous nature of - the track pursued. It is indeed remarkable that without the aid of - accurate levelling instruments, any one could be so fully assured that - the requisite fall existed as to venture upon the task of its - formation. The workmen in the execution of the design probably drew - the water along with them as they proceeded. In one place, (G) they - seem to have made too free with the fall, and after proceeding for - some distance, (upwards of a furlong) have retraced their steps, and - constructed the cutting at a higher level. In crossing the valleys, - there is sometimes an unusual loss of fall. This is particularly the - case at the third mile (E) where there is a difference in the level of - the course, on the opposite side of the slack, of nearly ten feet. - This valley is permeated by a streamlet, and to take the water across - it at the level previously preserved, a stone aqueduct would have been - necessary. Appearances seem to indicate that an easier plan was - adopted. A dam being formed across the hanging side of the valley, the - water of the course was allowed to deliver itself freely into it, and - eventually rising after the manner of a mill-head to the level of the - course on the western side, pursued its way as before. That this plan - was the result of a change in the design of the architect seems - evident, for on the eastern side of the valley a second cutting (E) - has been made at a lower level than the other, apparently with the - view of leading the water more gradually to the lower point. - - Unfortunately all traces of the water-course are lost for some - distance before approaching the station, so that it cannot be - ascertained where it entered it, if it did so at all. - - That some important object was gained by the formation of so long a - cutting is undoubted, but what that object was is a perplexing - question. It can scarcely be supposed that the garrison at ÆSICA were - dependent for their daily supply of so important an article as water - upon an open cutting outside the Barrier. The feeblest of their foes - could, in an instant, cut off the provision. No doubt the country, for - some distance north of the Wall, was held in subjection by the Roman - forces, but when the Wall was built, and the station planned, such was - not the case. The station itself is not destitute of water. A well, - sunk some years ago, to the depth of twenty-four feet, yields to the - tenants of the farm-house an unfailing supply. I am disposed to think - that the water brought by the cutting was to give to the north rampart - of the station the advantage of a wet ditch. By throwing an embankment - across the depression on the north of the station, as it begins to - slope down to the bed of the Haltwhistle-burn, a considerable body of - water would lodge here. The station of ÆSICA was an important one. In - a particularly wild district, at an unusual distance from the great - lines of Roman communication, and close beside the great opening in - the mural ridge, by which the waters of the Forest of Lowes effect a - passage to the low grounds, it would be peculiarly exposed to the - attacks of the enemy. Although somewhat elevated above the ground - north of the Wall, it is not so much so as to be impregnable on that - quarter. A body of water collected here to keep the enemy at a still - greater distance might not be beneath the attention of the garrison. - Any temporary interference with the aqueduct would in this case be - productive of no inconvenience. The existence of a water-course on the - enemy’s side of the Wall at HUNNUM, which may have served a similar - purpose, has already been noticed. At BREMENIUM, High Rochester, some - guttered stones, covered with flags, were recently found lying in a - direction which led to the supposition, that they brought water from - some springs outside the station to the eastern moat. - - In the Archæologia Æliana[117] is a plan and description of an ancient - aqueduct, which brought water from some distant rivulets to the - station at Lanchester. It consists of two branches, the longer of - which is nearly four miles in extent. Earthen embankments, to preserve - the level, are occasionally used in both of them, and, as they run - over sandy ground, the bottom of them has been puddled. The two lines, - after uniting, deliver their water into a reservoir outside the - station, near to its south-west corner. That the water of this - aqueduct cannot have been used for domestic purposes appears from what - Hodgson, the author of the paper, adds—‘Several wells have, from time - to time, been discovered here by labourers, on the outside of the - walls, and there is a plentiful spring at a short distance from where - the bath stood.’ - - Whatever may have been the object served, the water-course at ÆSICA is - a striking memorial of the skill, forethought, and industry of the - Roman garrisons. At the present day, in a highly civilized country, - and after the enjoyment of a long period of internal peace, we are but - beginning to see the necessity of bringing water from a distance into - our large towns. An individual garrison, exposed to all the hazards of - war, scrupled not, even fourteen or sixteen centuries ago, for some - purpose which they thought important, to cut a water-course six miles - long! - - It is not a little remarkable too, that after the lapse of so long a - period, the cutting should be distinctly visible through so large a - portion of its track. - - The view which is here taken of the object of the water-course is not - given because it is absolutely satisfactory, but because it presents - the fewest difficulties. We might have expected that if a miniature - lake had been formed on the north of the station, some remains of the - embankment necessary to confine its waters would appear; none are, - however, to be observed. The soil, on being turned up, has not the - black and sludgy aspect, which might be anticipated, but is of a - yellow hue; the bottom of a pond at Wall-mill, which was drained - within living memory, has, however, a precisely similar appearance. - -To the south of Great Chesters is Wall-mill, near to which the burying -ground of the station seems to have been. Brand observed here several -remarkable barrows, and was shewn some of the graves which had been -opened. ‘They consisted,’ he tells us, ‘of side stones set down into the -earth, and covered at top with other larger stones.’ He took them to be -very early Christian sepulchres; this is more than doubtful. The -progress of agricultural improvement has obliterated all traces of the -cemetery; to one, however, of its sepulchral monuments reference will -afterwards be made. - -The Romans systematically avoided intra-mural interments. The following -is one of the laws of the Twelve Tables: - - HOMINEM MORTUUM IN URBE NE SEPELITO NEVE URITO. - -It is remarkable that at so early a period of the history of the -republic, attention should have been turned to this subject, and that in -a digest of legislation so brief as that referred to, this should form -one of the enactments. - - -[Sidenote: COCK-MOUNT-HILL.] - -Shortly after leaving ÆSICA, the crags again appear, and the Wall -ascends the heights. At Cock-mount-hill, about a quarter of a mile -forward, the Murus is four or five feet high. On the Ollalee ground, it -is six and seven feet high, and shews on the north, nine courses of -facing-stones; at another place, ten courses appear, and the height is -six feet four inches.[118] The earth-works are seen in the valley below, -covered with the whin, called by botanists, _Genista Anglica_. The -continuous sandstone ridge is deeply scarred with ancient quarries.[119] -Here the view is most extensive, Skiddaw, Crossfell, and other -celebrated summits, shewing themselves conspicuously on the south, and -Burnswark, a peculiar flat-topped eminence, and several more distant -hills, on the north. A truncated pyramid of stones and earth, used by -the ordnance surveyors,[120] has been left upon the elevated ridge, -called Mucklebank-crag. - -[Sidenote: WALLTOWN-CRAGS.] - -The next defile that we reach is a very wide one, and is denominated -Walltown crags. Walltown consists of a single house, which, though now -occupied by the tenant of the farm, bears marks of having formerly been -a place of strength, and the residence of persons of consideration. -Ridley the Martyr refers with much affection in his valedictory letter -to his brother who resided here:— - - Farewell, my dearly beloved brother John Ridley of the Waltoune, and - you my gentle and loving sister, Elizabeth, whom, besides the natural - league of amity, your tender love, which you were said ever to bear - towards me above the rest of your brethren, doth bind me to love. My - mind was to have acknowledged this your loving affection, and to have - requited it with deeds, and not with words alone. Your daughter - Elizabeth I bid farewell, whom I love for the meek and gentle spirit - that God hath given her, which is a precious thing in the sight of - God. - -In the crevices of the whin rock, near the house, chives grow -abundantly. The general opinion of the country is, that they are the -produce of plants cultivated by the Romans, who were much addicted to -the use of this and kindred vegetables. This belief is but a -modification of the more extended statements of our earliest writers on -the Wall. Sampson Erdeswicke in 1574, says— - - The Skotts lyches, or surgeons, do yerely repayr to the sayd Roman - Wall next to thes, (Caer Vurron) to gether sundry herbs for surgery, - for that it is thought that the Romaynes there by had planted most - nedefull herbes for sundry purposes, but howsoever it was, these - herbes are fownd very wholesome. - -Camden gives an account precisely similar. - -On the eastern declivity of the gap, and near the line of the Wall, is a -well, which, in the district, is generally called king Arthur’s Well. -Brand, however, gives a different account of it:— - - At Walltown, I saw the well wherein Paulinus is said to have baptized - king Ecfrid. It has evidently been enclosed, which indicates something - remarkable in so open and wild a country. Some wrought stones lay near - it. The water is very cool and fine. - -The western ascent is steep. Hutton tells us he was sometimes obliged to -crawl on all fours. On the summit are evident traces of a mile-castle. - -[Illustration: Nine-nicks of Thirlwall] - -[Sidenote: NINE-NICKS OF THIRLWALL.] - -We now enter upon a most interesting part of the line. The mural ridge, -divided by frequent breaks into as many isolated crags, is denominated -the Nine Nicks of Thirlwall. The view from the edge of the cliff is -extensive; stunted trees unite with the craggy character of the rock in -giving variety to the foreground. The Wall adheres, with tolerable -pertinacity, to the edge of the crags, and hence pursues a course that -is by no means direct. The accompanying wood-cut, which exhibits the -view looking eastwards, shews the zig-zag path which it adopts. Nearly -all our historians agree in stating that the most perfect specimens of -the Wall now remaining, are on Walltown crags. Certain it is that all -who have examined the other parts of the Wall with care, will visit this -with peculiar pleasure; but such are the varied features which each -section of the Barrier presents, and the consequent interest which each -excites, that it is difficult to determine which part, on the whole, is -most worthy of attention. - -[Sidenote: WALLTOWN-CRAGS.] - -For a considerable distance along the crags, the Wall is in excellent -preservation, presenting, on the north side, in several places, ten -courses of facing-stones, and in one, twelve. In the highest part it is -eight feet nine inches high, and nine feet thick. The military way may -in many places be seen, avoiding very dexterously the more abrupt -declivities of its rocky path. - -At length the cliffs, which extend in a nearly unbroken series from -Sewingshields to Carvoran, sink into a plain, and the fertility and the -beauty of a well-cultivated country re-appear. - -However pleasing the change, the traveller will not fail occasionally to -look back upon the road he has trod, and view with secret satisfaction -those bold and airy heights which so well symbolize the austere and -undaunted spirit of that great people whose works he is contemplating; -and when in after years, and it may be in some region far distant, the -image of them rises in his imagination, he will be ready to exclaim— - - I feel the gales that from ye blow - A momentary bliss bestow. - - -[Sidenote: CARVORAN.] - -MAGNA, the modern Carvoran, lies to the south both of the Vallum and -Wall. The nature of the ground in its neighbourhood seems to have -dictated this arrangement. The Wall occupies the edge of a strip of -elevated ground, the benefit of which, as a position of strength against -an enemy, it was desirable not to lose. Had the station been placed as -usual on the line of the Wall, the Vallum, in skirting its southern -rampart, would have been brought into a swamp that occupies the valley -between the high ground on which the Wall stands, and the somewhat -commanding site of the station. Both the lines of the Barrier have -therefore been allowed to pursue their parallel course nearly together, -and the station has been placed about two hundred and fifty yards within -the Wall, on a platform which is sufficiently defended on the south by -the declivity that slopes from it to the modern village of Greenhead. - -It is not impossible, however, that MAGNA may have been one of -Agricola’s forts, the valley, through which the river Tipalt flows, -requiring the adoption of this method of resisting the aggressions of -the Caledonians. - -The station has enclosed an area of four acres and a half. Having, a few -years ago, been brought under tillage, it is with difficulty that even -its outline can now be traced; some fragments of the north rampart, -however, remain, and the north fosse is distinct.[121] - -[Sidenote: MAGNA.] - -In the front of the farm-house which was erected in the year—long to be -remembered in these parts—1745, is built up a Roman altar, apparently -without an inscription. In the garden, and behind the dwelling, are -several other interesting memorials of Roman occupation. Amongst them -are broken capitals and fragments of columns, moulded coping-stones, -gutter-stones, and troughs, of various shapes and rude construction. -Several bases of columns lie scattered about, the prevailing form of -which is square, as shewn in Plate XIII., fig. 5; one of them is, -however, of circular shape, and is ornamented with a cable-pattern -moulding, resembling the Housesteads pedestal, given in Plate XI.[122] -There are also preserved here a small altar, in perfect preservation, -inscribed, D[E]O BE[L]ATVCADRO, some imperfect altars, several centurial -stones, a broken effigy of the bird of Jove, a pair of bronze shears -(figured of the full size on Plate XIV., fig. 1), evidently, from their -proportions, meant to be handled by fair fingers, fragments of Samian -ware and amphoræ, a few beads, and some implements of iron. Amongst the -articles disinterred from the stations on the line, there are generally -to be found numerous small flat circular implements, of which examples -are engraved (of the full size) on Plate XI. They vary from half-an-inch -to two inches in diameter, and have a circular hole in the centre. For -the most part they are composed of sherds of Samian ware, occasionally, -of jet, and of amber; at Carvoran are some of rude shape, made of -imperfectly burnt clay and shale. Various conjectures have been hazarded -respecting their use; the most probable is, that they were employed as -tallies, the small beads representing units, the large, tens. In the inn -at Glenwhelt are preserved a magnificent pair of stag’s horns, nearly -perfect, which were found in the well of the station; each antler is a -yard long. In the possession of the Society of Antiquaries, -Newcastle-upon-Tyne, are several valuable inscribed stones derived from -this station, which have been presented by Colonel Coulson of Blenkinsop -Hall. - - _PLATE XIV._ - -[Illustration: - - Lamp, Fibula, Shears, and Compasses -] - -MAGNA, during the days of Roman occupation, must have been a place of -considerable importance. Not only did the road which leads directly from -CILURNUM, come up to it, but the Maiden-way, from Whitley Castle and the -south, ran through it, as is supposed, to Bewcastle and the other -stations north of the Wall, as shewn on the Map, Plate I. - -Rejoining the lines of the Barrier, we find them about to descend into -the valley watered by the Tipalt, _insaniens flumen_, as Camden calls -it. The moat of the Wall is peculiarly well developed, that of the -Vallum, though less so, is still distinct; they are exactly parallel to -each other. Before the traveller forsakes his present elevation, it will -be well for him to mark the westward course of the objects of his study, -lest he lose their track in the swampy ground fronting Thirlwall Castle. -A valley of considerable extent stretches before him; on the north brow -of it, at the distance of about three miles, Gilsland Spa is situated; -the works of the Barrier stand upon its southern edge. The trough of the -north fosse may easily be discerned where it is intersected by the -railway. - -It has been suggested that one of the objects contemplated by the Romans -in the construction of a double line of fortification, was the enclosure -of a space of ground which might be cultivated by the garrison, and -where their cattle might graze in security. If this had been the case, -the Wall would have been drawn along the northern margin of the wide and -fruitful valley of Gilsland, and the Vallum along its southern edge. - -[Sidenote: THIRLWALL CASTLE.] - -Thirlwall Castle is, as Hutchinson calls it, ‘a dark, melancholy -fortress’ of the middle age.[123] It was for many centuries previous to -its purchase by the ancestors of the earl of Carlisle, the residence of -an ancient Northumbrian family of the name of Thirlwall. Amongst the -witnesses examined on the occasion of the famous suit between the -families of Scrope and Grosvenor, for the right to bear the shield -‘azure, a bend or,’ which was opened at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1385, -before king Richard II. in person, was John Thirlwall, an esquire of -Northumberland. The witness related what he had heard on the subject of -the dispute, from his father, who ‘died at the age of 145, and was when -he died the oldest esquire in all the North, and had been in arms in his -time sixty-nine years.’ Such is the language of the record of these -proceedings, preserved in the Tower of London. - -This locality may also bring to the reader’s remembrance the lines in -Marmion— - - The whiles a Northern harper rude - Chaunted a rhyme of deadly feud, - ‘_How the fierce Thirlwalls, and Ridleys all, - Stout Willimondswick, - And Hardriding Dick, - And Hughie of Hawdon, and Will o’ the Wall, - Have set on Sir Albany Featherstonhaugh, - And taken his life at the Deadman’s-shaw_.’— - -It is not generally known that this ‘ancient ditty,’ which sir Walter -Scott gives at length in a note as a genuine antique, is a modern -fabrication, the production of his correspondent Surtees, the historian -of Durham. The ballad, however, breathes the very spirit of the fierce -borderers, or it would not have deceived so accomplished an antiquary as -Scott. - -The walls of the castle are nine feet thick, and are faced, both inside -and outside, with stones taken from the Roman Wall. It is a singular -thing to see a building, formed out of a prior structure, itself in -ruins, and becoming a prey to yet more modern depredators. The stones -remain meanwhile, whether in the primeval structure, or in those of -mediæval and recent date, as good as ever. Brand observes— - - There is built up near the inn at Glenwhelt, a most barbarous, - gigantic head of stone, which is most certainly not Roman. It came - from Thirlwall Castle, and has no doubt belonged to some of those - hideous figures made use of anciently in such castles to frighten the - distant enemy. - -Brand’s original still graces the vicinity of the inn, and its effigy, -this page. Its ugliness is no proof that it is not Roman; but, after -all, whose beauty would not be tarnished by exposure such as it has -endured? - -[Illustration: Stone Effigy] - -[Sidenote: CENTRAL REGION OF THE BARRIER.] - -That portion of the line which lies between the Tipalt and the Irthing -is probably weaker than any other between Wallsend and Bowness. Not only -is the ground flat, but it is destitute of the aid which copious rivers -give it, both at its eastern and western extremities. Throughout the -whole of this district, both barriers keep close together. Except in the -neighbourhood of Rose-hill, no portion of the stone Wall remains in all -this tract. - -The country between the Tipalt and the Solway is characterized by a -number of diluvial hills, not unfrequently resembling barrows. To the -south of Brampton, they are so numerous and so nearly uniform in size -and shape as to suggest to the playful imagination the idea of their -being gigantic mole-hills. The occurrence of these in the line of the -Barrier must have caused some trouble to the engineer of the Wall. The -difficulty, however, was overcome. The first hill of this description -that we meet with, occurs immediately westward of the point where the -Newcastle and Carlisle railroad crosses the mural line. The Wall -unhesitatingly ascends it on the one side, and descends it on the other, -though it would scarcely have described a larger arc had it gone round -its base. - -[Sidenote: VALLUM AT WALLEND.] - -About half-a-mile onward is a small village, called Wallend. The -earth-works are, for a short distance, in an admirable state of -preservation; nowhere else is the Vallum seen to greater advantage. - -A peculiarity in the relative position of the Wall and Vallum will here -force itself upon the attention. The Wall, which, for the larger portion -of its course, stands considerably above the Vallum, now takes a lower -level, and for nearly the whole space between this point and the -Irthing, is completely commanded by the earthen ramparts. The following -diagram will give a general idea of the country, and of the mutual -relation between the two structures. Had the Wall (A) and Vallum (B) -been independent undertakings, this arrangement would not have been -adopted. The earth-works ascribed to Hadrian having been found -inefficient, would have been relentlessly cut in upon by the officers of -Severus, who would doubtless have planted the Wall in those positions -which were naturally the strongest, irrespective of any prior work. As -it is, to give the Vallum the advantage of an eminence in resisting a -southern foe, the Wall relinquishes a portion of the acclivity which it -might with advantage have taken. - -[Illustration: Section of Works near Wallend] - -[Sidenote: CHAPEL HOUSE.] - -Chapel-house and Fowl-town, two contiguous farm-houses, are next met -with in our course. Chapel-house is probably the site of a mile-castle, -it having been constructed out of the materials of a [Illustration: Slab -to Hadrian, by Leg. XX. V. V.] prior building, which boasted walls of -great thickness. An inscribed stone, of which the woodcut is a copy, is -to be seen lying in an out-house, from the walls of which it has -recently been taken. The letters on one end have been worn away. The -inscription may be read— - - NERVÆ N[EPOTI] - TRA[IANO] HADRIA[NO] - AVG[VSTO] - LEG. XX. VV. - - To the grandson of Nerva, - Trajanus Hadrianus - Augustus, - The twentieth legion, valiant and victorious. - -This is another testimony which recent research has brought to light, of -the part which Hadrian and the twentieth legion bore in the -construction, both of the Wall and the Vallum. - -At the village of Gap, the Vallum, which is very distinct, stands -considerably above the Wall. The place is said to take its name from the -Wall having been broken through here at an early period. - -Rose-hill is a hill no longer. The top of the diluvial mount was thrown -into the surrounding hollow, in order to afford a site for the railway -station, that has assumed the name of the summit which it displaced. - -[Sidenote: MUMP’S HALL.] - -In the immediate neighbourhood of Rose-hill is Mump’s-hall, formerly the -residence of the Meg Merrilies of sir Walter Scott:— - - 'Mump’s-hall,' says Hodgson, 'according to tradition, was once a - public-house, kept by a notorious person of the name of Meg Teasdale, - who drugged to death such of her guests as had money. In Guy Mannering - she glares in the horrid character of Meg Merrilies. But certainly all - this tradition is deeply coloured with unpardonable slander against - the ancient and respectable family of the Teasdales of Mump’s-hall.' - - Sir Walter Scott was in early life an occasional resident at Gilsland. - The broad, flat stone is pointed out, a little above the Shaws Hotel, - on which tradition asserts he was standing when he declared to the - subsequent lady Scott the emotions which agitated his bosom. He had - therefore the opportunity of becoming acquainted with the district and - its traditions. - - The small thatched cottage, opposite to the road leading from the - railway station, is usually pointed out as the residence of Meg, but - it is not the one which was occupied by her. She lived in the larger - building beyond, round which the road bends at a right angle. The - front of the house is modernized, but the back of it still retains the - character of a border fortress. My information upon this and other - subjects respecting her, has been derived from an individual residing - in the district, whose mother knew Meg well, and visited her upon her - death-bed. Although the heroine of Mump’s-hall was cast in a mould - somewhat suited to the state of the district at that time, she was not - the fiend-like woman that she is generally represented. One murder, - however, the tradition of the country lays to her charge. A pedlar - having called upon Meg’s brother, who kept a school at Long Byers - (mid-way between Rose-hill and Greenhead), accidentally presented to - him a box filled with guineas instead of his snuff-box. The traveller - was requested to convey a note to Mump’s-hall, which he did, but was - not seen alive afterwards. Suspicion arising, the house was searched, - and the body found concealed among hay in the barn; but the parties - who made the discovery durst not reveal it, for fear of injury to - themselves and families. About six weeks afterwards the body was found - lying upon the moors. My informant added to his narrative—‘probably - the laws were not so active in those days as at present, for these - things could not escape now.’ - - When Meg was upon her death-bed, the curiosity of the neighbourhood - was excited, and many of her cronies visited her, in hopes of hearing - her disburthen her conscience respecting the death of the pedlar. They - were, however, disappointed; for whenever she attempted to speak upon - the subject, some one of the family, who always took care to be - present, placed a hand upon her mouth. - - Upper Denton church is hard by. It is evidently a very ancient - building, and possibly exhibits some Saxon work. It is one of the - smallest churches in England, and is as damp and mouldy as felons’ - dungeons used to be. Meg and several of the members of her family lie - in the church-yard. Four tombstones, ranged in a row, mark their - resting places. - -[Sidenote: POLTROSS-BURN.] - -The works of the Barrier are crossed by the railway a little to the west -of Rose-hill station. The Wall here exhibits three or four courses of -facing-stones. A little beyond this point, the lines, still clearly -defined, cross the stream called Poltross-burn, which divides the -counties of Northumberland and Cumberland. The gorge in which the stream -flows is deep and well-wooded. There are no remains of a bridge in the -valley, but traces of a mile-castle, by which the defile has been -guarded, are distinct upon its western bank. Before reaching the -Irthing, at a farm-house called Willowford, the site of another -castellum may be discerned. From this point to the water’s edge, the -Wall and Vallum have probably gone in close companionship; but this is a -matter which cannot now be ascertained. The western bank of the river is -lofty and precipitous. Consisting, as it does, chiefly of diluvial soil -and gravel, on which the water of the stream below is continually -acting, it is not surprising that all traces of the Wall, if it ever -ascended the height, have long since disappeared. On the very brink of -the precipice above, the remains of the Wall and fosse re-appear. The -faithful followers of the Wall, who have closely pursued its track from -the eastern sea, will not be willing to desert their companion, even for -a brief space, at this point. The cliff, however, will test their -constancy. Hutton had his troubles; he says, somewhat magniloquently— - -[Sidenote: PASSAGE OF THE IRTHING.] - - I had this river to cross, and this mountain to ascend, but I did not - know how to perform either. I effected a passage over the river by the - assistance of stones as large as myself, sometimes in and sometimes - out; but, with difficulty, reached the summit of the precipice by a - zig-zag line, through the brambles, with a few scratches. - -The latest historian of the Wall attempted to ascend the bank in a right -line; he has given us the result of his experience, as a warning to -others. - - None of the party completely succeeded in ascending the precipitous - bank by the course of the Wall. The attempt is very dangerous, and, as - success accomplishes nothing, should never be tried by those whose - life and existence are in any way useful. - -On the top of the cliff is a mile-castle. To the north, two conical -summits appear, which strongly resemble barrows. We now approach -Birdoswald, the twelfth station on the line. - -[Sidenote: AMBOGLANNA.] - -AMBOGLANNA, the Birdoswald of the present day, is an interesting -station. [Illustration: alt=Altar to Jupiter, by Coh. I. Ael. Dac.] -Numerous inscriptions have been found within its walls, mentioning the -first cohort of the Dacians, surnamed the Ælian, which, according to the -Notitia, was quartered at AMBOGLANNA. One of them, in the possession of -Robert Bell, esq., of the Nook, Irthington, is here figured. - - I[OVI] O[PTIMO] M[AXIMO] - ET N[VMINIBVS] AVG[VSTI] - COH[ORS] PRIMA AEL[IA] - DAC[ORVM] CVI PR[ÆEST] - GALLICVS - TR[I]B[VNVS] - - To Jupiter, the best and greatest, - And the deities of Augustus, - The first cohort (the Ælian) - Of the Dacians, commanded by - Gallicus, - The Tribune. - -The name AMBOGLANNA seems to signify, the circling glen. The former part -of the word, meaning _about_, is met with in most of the western -languages; as the Welsh _am_, the Irish and Gaelic _umain_, the Saxon -_ymb_ or _embe_, the Greek αμφι, and the Latin (in compound words) -_amb_. _Glanna_ is obviously synonymous with the modern _glen_, a term -of very frequent use in the land of the Gäel. - -Here the name has been most appropriately bestowed. The camp stands upon -the precipitous edge of a tongue of land, which, on every side except -the west, is severed from the adjoining ground by deep scars. Hodgson -describes the spot with great accuracy— - - The Irthing, in front of the station, makes two grand and sweeping - turns, under red scars, which have rich flat grounds before them, - deeply fringed along the margin of the river with a border of alder, - heckberry (_Prunus Padus_, or bird-cherry,) and other upland trees. - When the banks are not steep, they are deeply wooded: and diluvial - hills, rounded into vast and beautiful varieties of form, present to - the eye rich sylvan and cultivated scenes, while their component - parts, as the river passes their sides, expose to the geologist - rounded specimens of the different kinds of rocks to be found in the - plains of Cumberland, and the high mountains that lie on each side of - the Firth of the Solway. - -[Sidenote: BIRDOSWALD.] - -The modern name presents greater difficulties than the ancient one. Had -king Oswald been a denizen of these parts, which he was not, we might -have supposed that Birdoswald was a _burgh_ of his. The name is one of -old standing, but the etymology of it can only be a subject of -conjecture.[124] - -The station contains an area of between five and six acres. The walls -are in an unusually good state of preservation; the southern rampart -shewing eight courses of facing-stones. Camden’s statement is still true -to the letter;—‘it has been surrounded with a stately wall of -free-stone, about five feet thick, as may be fairly measured at this -day.’ The moat which surrounded the wall may also be satisfactorily -traced. - -Although the Wall adapts itself to the north rampart of the fort, the -station is entirely independent of the Wall (see the wood-cut _p._ 84), -and must have been built before it. Probably the first step taken in the -construction of the Barrier, in every case, was the erection of the -stationary camps. - -The Vallum cannot now be traced in the immediate vicinity of the -station; but Gordon tells us, that it came close up to the southern -rampart. - -[Illustration: West Gateway, Birdoswald, Amboglanna] - -The southern gateway may be discerned, though it is encumbered with -rubbish; the eastern and western have recently been divested of much of -the matter that has for ages obscured them. The wood-cut, representing -the western portal, as seen from the inside, exhibits the pivot-holes of -the gates, and the ruts worn by the chariots or wagons of the Romans. -The ruts are nearly four feet two inches apart, the precise gauge of the -chariot marks in the east gateway at Housesteads. The more perfect of -the pivot-holes exhibits a sort of spiral grooving, which seems to have -been formed with a view of rendering the gate self-closing. The aperture -in the sill of the doorway, near the lower jamb, has been made -designedly, as a similar vacuity occurs in the eastern portal; perhaps -the object of it has been to allow of the passage of the surface water -from the station. - -The whole area of the camp is marked with the lines of streets and the -ruins of buildings. The present farm-house occupies, according to -Horsley, the site of the pretorium. On the east side of the southern -gateway are the remains of a kiln for drying corn; the stones are -reddened by fire. Near the eastern gateway a building, furnished with a -hypocaust, has been partially excavated. From its ruins a sculptured -figure, draped, and in a sitting posture, has recently been taken. The -head and other highly relieved parts were found to have been broken off: -it remains on the ground. - -[Illustration: Mural Stone, Leg. VI. V. F.] - -A large altar with an inscription, which is in a great measure -illegible, lies within the walls of the camp. A stone broken in two -pieces, and which is preserved on the spot, bears testimony to the -presence of the sixth legion here; it may be read, LEGIO SEXTA VICTRIX -FIDELIS—The Sixth legion the Victorious and Faithful. - -[Sidenote: AMBOGLANNA.] - -The boldness of the lettering, and the depth and clearness of the -cutting, give reason to suppose that the inscription is of early date. -Besides these, several centurial stones, mill-stones, and coping-stones, -as well as portions of tile, and fragments of pottery, are preserved in -the farm-house, and yield to the visitor indubitable proofs of Roman -occupation. In draining the field to the west of the station, many small -altars, without inscriptions, have been found, which were remorselessly -broken, and used with other materials for filling the drains. Strange, -that altars before which Romans of ‘fierce countenance’ have bowed, -should be put to such a use! - - Imperious Cæsar, dead, and turned to clay, - Might stop a hole to keep the wind away: - O, that the earth which kept the world in awe, - Should patch a wall to expel the winter’s flaw! - -On the east of the station are extensive and well-defined marks of -suburban buildings. - -The accompanying lithograph is taken from the western side of the -station. It well represents the chilly and somewhat forbidding aspect of -this now nearly deserted place. - -[Illustration: - - H. Burdon Richardson, Delt. John Storey, Lith. - BIRDOSWALD, WESTERN RAMPART. - Printed by W. Monkhouse, York. -] - -Westward of Birdoswald, the Wall is in an unusually good state of -preservation. Taking into account, not only the height, but the length -of the fragment, and the completeness of the facing-stones on both -sides, it may be pronounced the finest specimen of the great structure -that now remains. Some portions of it, however, are beginning to exhibit -evident signs of decrepitude and decay. - -[Illustration: Section of Works, Wallbours] - -Within a short mile of the station, the remains of a castellum appear. -Here the Vallum exhibits the unusual feature of a second ditch, as is -represented in the subjoined section.[125] Hodgson says— - - Through a bog, about a mile west of AMBOGLANNA, the Vallum has had two - ditches, probably intended for draining the military road that ran - between them. They are still very distinct. - -A careful examination of the spot induces me to think, that the -additional fortification was intended to give increased security to a -defile, which, running from the vicinity of the Wall to the bed of the -Irthing below, renders the works in this part more than usually liable -to attack from the south. - -[Sidenote: THE WORKS AT WALLBOURS.] - -At the western extremity of this extra ditch, the Wall and Vallum come -into close proximity; the space between them was, with the exception of -room for the military way, occupied by the foundations of a castellum. -The place bears the name of Wallbours. - -The Barrier next crosses a small hill called the Pike. The Vallum is a -little below the summit of the eminence, on its southern side; if this -fortification had been formed irrespective of the Wall, it would -doubtless have been drawn along the top of the height. The same remark -applies to Hare-hill. - -The view from the Pike, of the flat and fertile vale below is truly -magnificent. - -[Sidenote: THE WALL AT HARE-HILL.] - -Soon after passing Banks-burn, we arrive at Hare-hill, where a portion -of the Wall stands nine feet ten inches in height. This is the highest -piece of the Wall that is anywhere to be met with; but, owing to the -smallness of the fragment, and to its being entirely deprived of -facing-stones, it is less imposing than it would otherwise be. Hutton’s -enthusiasm, however, never fails him; his remark at Hare-hill is— - - I viewed this relick with admiration: I saw no part higher. - -At this point of our progress, the antiquary may be disposed to turn -aside for a little, to view two relics of the mediæval period of great -interest—Lanercost Priory and Naworth Castle. The priory is a beautiful -specimen of the early English style, and bears architectural evidence of -having been built somewhere between the years 1155 and 1160. Besides the -church, partially in ruins and partially in repair, the refectory and -some portions of the monastic buildings remain. The whole structure has -been formed of stones taken from the Roman Wall. In addition to some -altars preserved in the crypt of the church, several centurial and -carved stones are to be seen in the walls of the adjacent buildings. - -[Sidenote: NAWORTH CASTLE.] - -Naworth Castle, though still an interesting building, is destitute of -some of the attractions which it once possessed. The Roman altars and -other primeval monuments collected by lord William Howard, have long -been dispersed, and a fire in 1844, almost entirely destroyed the -baronial residence of that renowned border-chief, which, until that -event, remained nearly in the state in which it was in his own day. The -dungeons, however, in which the daring moss-troopers were immured, -remain, and two magnificent oak trees near the grand entrance still -extend those brawny arms on which, according to tradition, lord William -suspended the victims of his lawless power. The load of twenty gasping -wretches would not materially weigh down the larger boughs of these fine -trees. That the government of lord William—the Belted Will of Border -tales—was of a vigorous character, there cannot be a doubt; but that he -used his power capriciously, cruelly, or tyrannically, there is no -evidence. Lord William seems to have sent the most desperate of his -prisoners to Newcastle-upon-Tyne or Carlisle. They would probably have -as good a chance for life at Belted Will’s tribunal as at the assizes of -either of these towns, if we may judge of the state of feeling towards -them from North’s Life of Lord-keeper Guildford. His lordship, then sir -Francis North, came to Newcastle, on the northern circuit, in 1676. His -biographer says— - - The country is yet very sharp upon thieves; and a violent suspicion, - there, is next to conviction. When his lordship held the assizes at - Newcastle, there was one Mungo Noble, supposed to be a great thief, - brought to trial before his lordship, upon four several indictments; - and his lordship was so much a south-country judge as not to think any - of them well proved. One was for stealing a horse of a person unknown, - and the evidence amounted to no more than that a horse was seen - feeding upon the heath near his shiel, and none could tell who was the - owner of it. In short the man escaped, much to the regret of divers - gentlemen, who _thought he deserved_ to be hanged, and that was - enough. While the judge at the trial discoursed of the evidence and - its defects, a Scotch gentleman upon the bench, who was a border - commissioner, made a long neck towards the judge and said—'My laird, - send him to huzz, and ye’s ne'er see him mair.' - -On rejoining the Barrier, we find, that though the line of the Wall, in -its course to the Eden, may yet be distinctly discerned, in very few -instances any portion of the masonry remains. - -[Sidenote: MONEY-HOLES.] - -The site of a mile-castle nearly opposite Lanercost Priory, is termed -Money-holes, in consequence of the efforts made to discover some -treasure supposed to be concealed in it. At Crag-hill the north ditch is -very bold. At Hayton-gate, a drove road, probably an ancient pass, -crosses the line of the Wall from north to south. At Randilands the -north fosse is still well developed. After crossing the rivulet, called -Burtholme-beck, a piece of the Wall is seen, which stands about seven -feet high; its facing-stones are gone, but the rough pebbly mortar -possesses its original tenacity. As is often the case, the ruin is -tufted with hazel bushes and stunted specimens of the alder and oak. The -Vallum is about seventy yards to the south of the Wall. - -Approaching Low-wall,[126] something like an out-work appears on the -north side of the Barrier. Has there been a double line of wall here? -After crossing a road, denominated Friar-wain-gate, which leads from -Bewcastle to Lanercost, we reach another house called Wall; Roman masons -might claim many of the stones as theirs. At How-gill is a cottage, -where probably a mile-castle stood to defend the ‘beck,’ In the modern -structure may be observed stones broached in the Roman fashion, and -others variously tooled by Roman hands. - -The farm-house of Dove-cote is on the eastern bank of the King-water. -The fosse and the foundation of the Murus are seen crossing the hill on -the northern side of the summit: the Vallum, which is indistinctly -marked, probably took a corresponding position on the southern side. - -[Sidenote: WALTON.] - -The village of Walton, by its very name, bears testimony to its -relationship with the great Barrier-line. Many of the stones of the Wall -may be detected in its cottages. One of its dwellings furnishes a good -specimen of the mode of cottage-building formerly prevalent in the -North. The rafters of the house, which consist of large and -rudely-shaped pieces of timber, instead of resting upon the walls, come -down to the ground; they are tied together near the top by a transverse -beam, and the mud walls, as well as the thatched roof, partially depend -upon them for support. Horsley says, 'at Wal-town there seems to have -been some fortification or encampment. One side of the square is yet -very visible, and the ramparts pretty large, about eighty yards long. It -is high ground and dry. Perhaps it has been a summer encampment or -exploratory post for the garrison at Cambeck.' - -At Sandysike farm-house the foundation of the Wall as well as abundant -traces of mural vicinage are to be seen. The barn consists of Roman -stones marked with the diamond-broaching. Several sculptured stones are -built up in the garden-wall; amongst them is one which displays the -thunderbolt of Jove; the wall-fruit peacefully rests upon it. Another, -exhibiting the wheel of Nemesis, the emblem of swift justice, and which -no doubt once formed part of an altar to Jupiter, is built into a -pig-sty. A mill-stone of peculiar shape, and closely resembling one at -Naworth Castle, is preserved on the grounds; it is probably Roman. - - -[Sidenote: PETRIANA.] - -PETRIANA, the Cambeck-fort of Horsley, and the Castle-steads of the -locality, is to the south of the Vallum and Wall. A deep scar separates -it from the lines of the Barrier. The site of the station may be -recognised, but it is long since its ramparts were overthrown, and the -ruined buildings of the interior entirely obliterated. - -Its rich soil and sunny exposure recommended it to the father of the -present proprietor of Walton-house as a fitting site for a garden, and -such it is at the present day. It has yielded many altars and[Sidenote: -CAMBECK-FORT.] sculptured stones, some of which are still preserved upon -the spot, and from time to time the spade still reveals to the -numismatist, treasures, over the loss of which, Romans in ancient days -may have mourned, though not in a degree proportioned to their present -value. Wood-cuts of three of the coins which have been found at -Castlesteads are here introduced, as they commemorate the family of a -man whose name is intimately connected with the Wall. They are in the -cabinet of Robert Bell, esq., of Irthington. - -[Illustration: Coin of Severus, Julia] - - JULIA, the second wife of Severus, and the mother of Caracalla and - Geta. Severus, who was a believer in astrology, on the death of his - first wife, looked out for another whose nativity was favourable to - the ambitious views which he at that time entertained. He heard of a - woman in Syria whose destiny it was to marry a king, and accordingly - solicited and obtained in marriage Julia Domna. - -[Illustration: Coin of Caracalla] - - BASSIANUS, commonly called Caracalla. He was created Cæsar by his - father, A.D. 196, when he took the names of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. - In A.D. 198, he was invested with the dignity of Augustus. Amongst his - other titles, he bore the name of Britannicus, as is shewn on the - coin. The engraver of the die from which this coin was struck, has - probably given a correct likeness of his subject; at least, he has - represented an individual who appears capable of attempting an aged - father’s life, and of imbruing his hands in the blood of a brother. - Vengeance at length overtook him. - -[Illustration: Coin of Geta] - - GETA, who, together with his brother Caracalla, accompanied his father - to Britain. He was murdered by Caracalla A.D. 212. - -The finest of the altars, standing in the garden of Walton-house, is -here engraved. The thunderbolt of Jupiter adorns one side of it, the -wheel of Nemesis the other. The inscription has been read by Mr. Thomas -Hodgson, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the following way, after a careful -and learned examination of it, and kindred inscriptions. - -[Illustration: Altar to Jupiter, Coh. II. Tungr.] - - I[OVI] O[PTIMO] M[AXIMO] - COH[ORS] SECVNDA TVNGR[ORVM] - M[ILLIARIA] EQ[ITATA] C[IVIVM] L[ATINORVM] CVI - PRAEEST ALB[VS] - SEVERVS PR- - AEF[ECTVS] TVNG[RORVM] IN- - STA[NTE] VIC[TORE] SEVRO - PRINCIPI - - - To Jupiter, the best and greatest, - The second cohort of the Tungrians, - A milliary _regiment_, having a proportionate supply of horse, _and - consisting of_ citizens of Latium, - Commanded by Albus - Severus, pre- - fect of the Tungrians, _erects this_; - The work being superintended by Victor Sevrus (or Severus), the - princeps.[127] - -[Sidenote: PETRIANA.] - -The Notitia places the ‘Ala Petriana,’ under a prefect, at PETRIANA. -Although two inscriptions belonging to this place mention the second -cohort of the Tungri, none have been found here which name the Ala -Petriana. It is possible that this cohort may have been a part of the -Ala Petriana, but until this point be settled, or some further light -thrown upon the subject, the occurrence of Cambeck-fort[Sidenote: -CAMBECK-FORT.] next in order to AMBOGLANNA, must be regarded as the best -evidence of its being the PETRIANA of the Notitia. - -[Illustration: View of Pigeon Crag] - -[Sidenote: WRITTEN-ROCK OF GELT.] - -Before crossing the Cambeck-water it may be well to remind the reader, -that the river Gelt, on whose rocky banks the Roman quarrymen have left -lettered memorials of their toil, is about four miles to the south of -this place. With the view of clearly displaying the inscription, which -has frequently been inaccurately engraved, the lithograph opposite to -page 81, has been drawn to a scale which precludes the possibility of -shewing the height of the cliff. The adjoining wood-cut partly supplies -this deficiency; it exhibits another inscription, not of a very -intelligible.[Sidenote: PIGEON-CRAG.] character, on the Pigeon-crag, -which is a little higher up the water, and shews the general character -of the scenery on this beautiful stream. - -The distance of these quarries on the Gelt, from the line of the -Barrier, renders it very questionable whether large supplies were -derived from them for the Wall. Hodgson remarks— - - The quarry at Helbeck-scar (the Written-rock) might serve for the - largest stones for part of the Murus, and the stations at - Brampton-old-church, and Walton-castlesteads; for the general purpose - of the Murus, stone, however, could be got in places much nearer than - Helbeck-scar. - -At the quarries of High and Low Breaks, about a mile and a half north of -the Wall, there are marks of extensive ancient workings; the quarries -are still in use and yield stone of good quality. - -The Written-rock will not be easily found by a stranger, but directions -and assistance may generally be obtained from the workmen employed upon -a modern quarry, which is not far from the spot. - - -[Sidenote: HEADSWOOD.] - -We now rejoin the Barrier. The passage of the Cambeck-water seems to -have been guarded with some care. On the eastern margin of the stream, -to the north of the Wall, is an earth-work raised a little above the -general level of the surface, which here is somewhat depressed. Stones, -which do not appear in the contiguous parts, lie scattered about the -place. These circumstances seem to favour the idea of there having been -some additional fortification in this part. The western bank of the -stream consists of a bold breastwork of red-sandstone, rising about -fifty feet above the level of the water. The fosse of the Wall has been -deeply cut into this rock; it still remains in a state of great -perfection. The old drove-road between Newcastle and Carlisle, which, -for some distance west of this, runs upon the site of the Wall, or close -by it, here avails itself of the fosse as a means of climbing the bank. -The ditch of the Vallum is also discernible. The farm-house of Beck is -partially constructed of Roman stones, and on the east side of the -rivulet of Beck a few stones of the Wall are in their original -situation. Headswood, as its name implies, occupies a commanding -position. The ditch of the Vallum is at this place peculiarly bold, and -is about thirty-five yards distant from the Wall. The fosse of the Wall -[Illustration: Mural Stone, Leg. II. Aug.] bends round an object which -has the appearance of being an additional fortification outside the -Wall. At the west end of Newtown-of-Irthington are the remains of a -large mile-castle; the stones still lie in confusion upon the site. The -stone represented in the margin was found at this place. We next come to -White-flat, where the rubble of the foundation of the Wall is very -discernible and the ditch very deep. Hurtleton (the town of strife) is -next reached; both lines of fosse are distinct and in close contiguity. - -In the corner of a field, called Chapel-field, there are evident signs -of a mile-castle; the plough, however, has been drawn over the site. The -two works, which between White-flat and this point have approached each -other very closely, now quickly diverge, the Wall bending to the north. - -[Sidenote: IRTHINGTON.] - -The village of Irthington is a little to the south of the Barrier. Here -formerly stood one of the strongholds of the powerful Norman family of -De Vallibus; the building is now entirely removed, its site being -occupied by the Nook, the residence of Robert Bell, esq. The foundations -of some of its walls have recently been exposed. The keep probably -occupied a lofty earthen mound which is now crowned with thriving trees. -The parish church has recently been renewed with much skill and taste. -The old fabric was entirely built of Roman wall-stones. In the course of -its restoration, a striking proof of the disturbed state of the border -district in the middle ages was disclosed; a number of skeletons, -confusedly thrown together, being found buried within its area. The -church, originally a Transition-Norman building, had evidently at some -period after its erection, been contracted in its dimensions by the -rejection of the side aisles. The outer walls consisted of the original -columns of the aisles, filled up very roughly with common rubble. The -columns bore decided marks of fire. The neighbouring parish church of -Kirklinton, which has also been recently rebuilt, exhibited similar -appearances. On taking down the old tower, which was a fortified -stronghold, the bony remnants of upwards of sixty bodies were found in a -space of not more than five yards square; others were found in confused -masses in other parts. [Sidenote: BORDER STRIFE.] The probable -explanation of these circumstances is this:—After the battle of -Bannockburn, the Scottish forces, flushed with success, entered England, -and the inhabitants, unable to withstand them, fled to the churches for -protection. But neither the strength of the buildings nor their supposed -sanctity could yield them effectual succour; the miserable people were -slain, and their bodies left among the smouldering ruins. Those of their -countrymen who escaped, buried them in a hasty manner upon the spot. -When the desolated district had recovered energy enough to repair the -churches, its utmost efforts were barely sufficient to enclose those -parts which had, by their solidity, withstood the fire; and the reduced -population required nothing more. - -The coins of Edw.I. and II. are comparatively abundant in this district, -the armies of that monarch and his immediate successors, frequently -taking the western route, in their marches to and from Scotland. - -Rejoining the Wall, we meet, when within a quarter of a mile of -Old-wall, with the site of a mile-castle. The ruins of the building -slightly raise it above the general level, and prevent the plough biting -into it. The road formerly deviated from its track to go round it. An -altar, an urn, and several coins of Edward I., have been found in it. In -the buildings at Old-wall, many Roman stones will be noticed, and the -earth-works of both lines of the Barrier may be traced. The Wall is -entirely uprooted; upwards of six hundred cart-loads of stones, within -the recollection of the inhabitants, have been taken from it in this -immediate vicinity. - -Between this point and Stanwix, the works may be traced with tolerable -satisfaction, an ancient drove-road running upon the site of the Wall -for the greater part of the way. - -[Sidenote: BLEATARN.] - -At Bleatarn (blue tarn or lake), on the south side of the Wall, is a -mound of earth resembling an elongated barrow; between this earth-work -and the Wall, is a marshy hollow, which is said to have formerly been -the bed of a lake or tarn. The Vallum takes a sweep to avoid this -morass, and at its greatest distance is removed from the Wall about two -hundred and twenty yards. - -About half-a-mile south from Bleatarn, is the site of a Roman camp, -which Horsley conceived to be one of the stations _per lineam Valli_; it -is now called Watch-cross. If it be a station of this class, and if the -order in which the stations are arranged in the Notitia exactly -corresponds with their consecutive positions in reality, the name of it -was ABALLABA, which was garrisoned by a _numerus_ or troop of Moors, -under a prefect. There is, however, reason to doubt whether this was a -stationary camp at all, as will presently appear. - -As already remarked, no inscribed stones have been found to identify any -of the stations west of AMBOGLANNA with the list given in the Notitia. -Even though this difficulty respecting Watch-cross had not occurred, to -go on appropriating the names of the Notitia, station after station, -guided solely by the slender thread of the order of their succession, -would be a hazardous undertaking, and is rendered still more so by the -uncertainty existing as to those which are, and which are not, -_stationes per lineam Valli_. In our journey from this point westward, -the stations will, therefore, be designated by their modern names; when -the Latin names are added, it is to be understood that they are -conjectural. - - -[Sidenote: WATCH-CROSS.] - -_WATCH-CROSS._—Horsley gives the following account of this station:— - - A little detached from the wall, to the south, is a Roman fort, of - about four chains and an half square, called Watch-cross; and as I was - assured by the country people, and have had it since further - confirmed, a military way has gone near it, or between it and the - military way belonging to the Wall; for they often plough up paving - stones here, and think part of the highway to Brampton to be upon it. - This is the least station on the line of the Wall, and is as usual, - plundered of its stones, as that at Burgh and Drumburgh. However, the - ramparts and ditches are very fair and visible. - -The common on which it stood having been enclosed about seventy years -ago, and brought into cultivation, all traces of the camp have been -obliterated. On a careful examination of its site, I failed to discover -any fragments of Roman pottery, or other marks of Roman occupation. In -those parts of Cumberland where the soil is not naturally stony, the -site of a mile-castle or station, which has been brought into -cultivation, may often be distinguished by the occurrence in that -particular spot of numerous fragments of freestone. No such appearance -here presents itself. The person who farms the ground says it is of -better quality than the surrounding land; still, it does not seem to -possess the peculiar fertility of a spot that has at any period for a -length of time been the resort of a crowded population. Hutchinson -describes ‘the whole ground-plot’ as being covered, in his day, ‘with a -low growth of heath;’ the sites of all the other cities of the Wall are -too replete with animal remains to yield, even unaided by cultivation, -so coarse a product. I am therefore strongly disposed to think, with -Hodgson, that it was a mere summer encampment. The spot has been well -chosen; for, though not greatly elevated, it has an extensive prospect. -Horsley himself had some doubts of the propriety of admitting it into -the rank of a stationary camp, ‘by reason of its being so small, and -having no remains of stone walls.’ The distance, however, between -Cambeck-fort and Stanwix, which is rather greater than that between any -other two stations, induced him to give it this position. - -From Bleatarn the antiquary will, with some care, be able to trace the -Barrier by Wall-head, Walby, and Wall-foot, to Tarraby. From this -village to Stanwix, a rural road runs upon the foundations of the Wall; -the ditch on its north side, which within living memory was very boldly -marked, although partially filled up is yet distinctly traceable. - - -[Sidenote: STANWIX.] - -_STANWIX._—The church and church-yard of Stanwix occupy the site of the -station which guarded the northern bank of the Eden. Recent explorations -have displayed distinct remains of ancient edifices. In pulling down the -old church, to make way for the present structure, a very fine figure of -Victory, somewhat mutilated, was disclosed, which is now in the museum -at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The name of the place indicates, that whilst the -dwellings in the vicinity were made of clay, as many of them are yet, by -reason of the plunder of the Roman station, it could boast of being a -_town of stones_. The situation is one of great beauty. To the east, at -a considerable distance, the Nine-nicks of Thirlwall rear their rugged -peaks; and to the south and south-west, appear the beautiful grounds of -Rickerby-house, the river Eden permeating a rich and well-cultivated -country, the ancient city of Carlisle crowned with its venerable -cathedral, and the long vista of country terminating in the Cumbrian -mountains. - - -Between the station and the north bank of the river Eden, the fosse of -the Wall is distinctly marked, and a hollowed line, formed by the -excavation of the foundation of the Wall itself, shews its track to the -water’s edge, near to the Hyssop-holme-well. We are told by Camden— - - That the Wall passed the river over against the castle—where in the - very channel, the remains of it, namely, the great stones, appear to - this day. - -That the Wall, on the other side of the river, clambered up that part of -the castle-bank which projects most boldly forward, is rendered probable -by the appearance of masonry, resembling its foundations, beneath the -grassy surface. At this point, however, we lose all trace of the great -structure until we get beyond the boundaries of the famous Border city -of the West. - -[Sidenote: CARLISLE.] - -All antiquaries agree that Carlisle is the LUGUVALLIUM of the Romans. It -is not improbable that it was one of Agricola’s forts. It is not named -in the list of the stations _per lineam Valli_ given in the Notitia. The -Notitia mentions only the forts having separate garrisons, and it is -probable that after the erection of the camp at Stanwix, LUGUVALLIUM -became subordinate to that camp, and had no distinct garrison, which -will account for its omission. - -Whitaker says LUGUVALLIUM signifies, in the ancient Celtic, the fort -upon the Waters. - -Extensive remains of the ancient city lie beneath the modern Carlisle; -seldom is the ground penetrated to any considerable depth without -disclosing ancient masonry, Samian ware, and Roman coins. - -Carlisle contains two interesting structures of the mediæval period—the -castle and the cathedral. The keep of the castle is a good specimen of -the Norman donjon, though some parts of it have been modernized. On the -walls and door of one of its chambers, used as a prison in the ‘Fifteen’ -and the ‘Forty-five,’ are to be seen the coats of arms, the devices, and -marks of the ‘sorrowful sighings,’ of the unhappy rebels, who beguiled -their wretched hours in carving them. The cathedral exhibits some -interesting specimens of the Norman as well as later styles. Its east -window, which is of the decorated period, is the finest in the kingdom, -with the exception, perhaps, of the west window at York. - -About a quarter of a mile beyond the canal basin, and nearly midway -between the canal and the river, the track of the Wall may again be -discerned. Owing to the difficulty of entirely uprooting it, its -foundations have been suffered to remain; they form a cart-road which is -used for farm purposes. A little farther on, the plough has won the day, -and a uniform green sward or luxuriant harvest baffles our research. - -[Illustration: Altar—ob res trans vallum prospere gestas] - -[Sidenote: KIRK-ANDREWS.] - -A turf-covered mound on the east side of the church of Kirk-andrews, is -occasioned by a portion of the ruins of the Wall. In the village is -preserved the altar of which the wood-cut gives a representation. It was -found at Kirk-steads, about a mile south of the Wall, and bears marks of -having been cut down to suit the purpose of some comparatively modern -builder. The focus of the altar is unusually large; the boldness of the -lettering indicates an early date. It may be read— - - L[VCIVS] IVNIVS VIC- - TORINVS ET (?) - C[AIVS] AELIANVS LEG[ATI] - AUG[VSTALES] LEG[IONIS] VI VIC[TRICIS] - P[IÆ] F[IDELIS] OB RES TRANS - VALLVM PRO- - SPERE GESTAS. - - Lucius Junius Vic- - torinus, and - Caius Ælianus, Augustal legates - Of the sixth legion, victorious, - Pious, and faithful, on account of achievements beyond - The Wall pros- - perously performed. - -This is a vivid memorial of deeds of common occurrence during the period -of Roman occupation. The original possessors of the isthmus, driven from -their homes, and forced to seek an asylum in the hills to the north of -the Wall, would be accounted the lawful prey of the aggressor. - - The gates of mercy shall be all shut up; - And the fleshed soldier,—rough and hard of heart,— - In liberty of bloody hand, shall range - With conscience wide as hell; mowing like grass - Your fresh fair virgins and your flowering infants. - -Whilst the Roman warrior gloated over his success, and feasted, and -thanked his gods, and recorded his exploits on the votive stone, the -routed remnants of the Caledonian bands would mourn over their -slaughtered comrades and desolated home-steads. - -The great scarcity of stone in the western part of Cumberland has -rendered the Wall a valuable quarry to the inhabitants from time -immemorial. In our future progress we shall see little of it, except in -the buildings contiguous to its site. The heart of the antiquary will, -however, occasionally be gladdened by the recognition of the lines of -the earth-works—their slightly elevated mounds appearing to his eager -gaze scarcely less beautiful than the moulded forms produced by the -genius of the sculptor, in districts more rich than this, in the remains -of antiquity. - -The Vallum appears to have gone nearly due west, along the valley, from -Kirk-andrews to Burgh; the Wall proceeds, after its usual manner, from -eminence to eminence. - -[Sidenote: BURGH-UPON-SANDS.] - -_BURGH-UPON-SANDS_ is the next station. In Horsley’s day the remains of -its ramparts were to be seen at a place called the Old-castle, a little -to the east of the church. He says— - - On the west side these remains are most distinct, being about six - chains in length. And Severus’s Wall seems to have formed the north - rampart of the station. I was assured by the person to whom the field - belonged, that stones were often ploughed up in it, and lime with the - stones. Urns have also frequently been found here. I saw, besides an - imperfect inscription, two Roman altars lying at a door in the town, - but neither sculptures nor inscriptions are now visible upon them. - ...... If besides all this, we consider the distance from the last - station at Stanwix, I think it can admit of no doubt but there must - have been a station here, though most of its ramparts are now - levelled, the field having been in tillage many years. I shall only - further add, that it was very proper to have a station at each end of - the marsh, which, if the water flowed as high as some believe, would - make a kind of bay. - -At present, little meets the eye of the inquirer, to inform him of the -spot where the station stood, but when the surface of the ground is -broken, the traces of a Roman city are still sufficiently distinct. The -church-yard is filled with fragments of red sandstone blocks. At the -depth of two feet, it contains several distinct lines of foundations. -Entire ‘lachrymatory’ vessels and fragments of unglazed jars and urns -have repeatedly been dug up. A small bronze figure was recently found. -When the canal was cut, blocks of stone, blackened by smoke, were dug -out of the soil to the south-east of the church. - -A few inscribed stones have been found since Horsley’s day, but none of -them name the cohort which was stationed in the camp. Hence we have no -means of knowing whether Watch-cross has been rightly thrown out of the -list of ‘stations along the line,’ and whether Burgh is, as Horsley -states it to be, the AXELODUNUM of the Notitia, or CONGAVATA, according -to the opinion of Hodgson. - -In the absence of more decided remains of the camp or Wall, an -examination of the church of this long straggling town will reward the -attention of the antiquary. It is a good specimen of the fortified -Border churches. It has served the threefold purpose of a church, a -fortress, and a prison. - - In case of an inroad from the Scottish coast, the cattle appear to - have been shut up in the body of the church, and the inhabitants to - have had recourse to the large embattled tower at its western end. The - only entrance to this tower is from the inside of the church, and it - is secured by a ponderous iron door, fastening with two large bolts. - The walls of the tower are seven feet thick. Its lowest apartment is a - vaulted chamber, lighted by three arrow-slits. At the south angle is a - spiral stone staircase, leading to two upper chambers. - -Many of the stones of which the church is built, are Roman, and exhibit -reticulated tooling. - - -[Sidenote: KING EDWARD’S MONUMENT.] - -Near to Burgh is the site on which the castle of sir Hugh de Morville, -one of the murderers of Thomas à Becket, formerly stood. The adjoining -field is called—‘Hang-man-tree,’ doubtless because my lord had his -gallows here, always ready for use. A neighbouring enclosure bears a -designation not less ominous—‘Spill-blood-holm.’ But the most -interesting historical memorial which the neighbourhood of Burgh -affords, is the monument to king Edward I., which stands on the marsh. - - Longshanks had marshalled his army: his numerous host lay encamped - upon the sandy flat on the north of the town: the waters of the Solway - alone separated him from the objects of his vengeance. Here the mighty - Edward was called to enter into conflict with an enemy whom he had - often braved on the battle-field, but who was now to approach him by a - new method of assault. In this struggle, his valour availed him - nothing, his chivalrous hosts could yield him no aid, and no devoted - Eleanor was there to abstract from his veins the subtle poison which - the king of terrors had infused. On Burgh-marsh the ‘ruthless king’ - breathed his last. A monument, represented in the vignette at the - close of this part, marks the spot. - -[Sidenote: TOWER OF REPENTANCE.] - -Another structure, on the opposite side of the Firth, may be noticed by -the traveller. The history of the ‘Tower of Repentance’ is strikingly -illustrative of the disordered state of society in this district before -the union of the two kingdoms. - - A chieftain from the northern side having made a successful inroad - into the English border, was crossing the Solway on his return, laden - with booty, when a sudden storm arose. In order to lighten his - labouring vessel, he threw his prisoners overboard in preference to - the cattle which he had stolen. The danger past, he was smitten with - remorse. In order to make such amends as he could, he built a - beacon-tower which overlooks the Solway, and to this day is called the - Tower of Repentance. Tradition avers that the penitent himself carried - all the stones used in its erection to the top of the hill. It is not - far from the town of Ecclefechan. - -In passing along the village of Burgh, the observing visitor will notice -the large number of boulder-stones, some of them half a ton in weight, -which are strewed over the ground; several of them have been used in -forming the foundations of the cottages. They are of granite, and in -some distant age have been wrenched from the summit of Criffel, the hill -which lends so much beauty to the landscape on the northern side of the -Solway. - -On the western side of the village of Dykesfield, which we next -encounter, is a common that contains several earthen ramparts and -temporary camps. - -Between Dykesfield and the next station, Drumburgh, an extensive marsh -occurs, which even now is occasionally overflowed by the waters of the -Solway. Hodgson inclines to the belief, that the Wall ran directly -across it. Horsley, however, took a different view of the subject. - - From hence to Drumburgh Castle no vestige of the Wall is to be seen; - though I think it certain that the Wall did not pass through the - marsh, but by Boustead-hill and Easton, for both tradition and matter - of fact favour this course of it. The country people often strike upon - the Wall, and could tell exactly several places through which, by this - means, they knew it had passed, and always by the side of the marsh. - Besides it is no way reasonable to suppose that the Romans would build - their Wall within tide-mark. - -[Sidenote: EASTON-MARSH.] - -After careful inquiry, I am disposed to adopt Horsley’s view; even now, -stones which appear to be Wall-stones, are turned up by the operations -of the husbandmen in the line which the Wall is supposed to have taken -by Boustead and Easton. It need not be a subject of surprise, that the -Wall in this district has been so thoroughly removed, as there is no -quarry within a convenient distance, and the Wall, therefore, has been -the source from which the inhabitants of the country have drawn their -supply of building stones. The Romans seem to have gone to Howrigg -quarry, which is not less than eight miles south of the Barrier, for -their facing-stones; those which they used for the interior of the Wall -correspond in character with the proceeds of Stone-pot-scar, a quarry on -the north shore of the Solway. - -We must now part company with the Vallum. This wonderful earth-work, -which has outlived the accidents of seventeen centuries, and which we -have traced, with but few interruptions, from the modern representative -of PONS ÆLII to this point, is not observed going beyond it. As the -Vallum falls short of the Wall at its eastern extremity by about four -miles, so it does at its western. Horsley, who wrote more than a century -ago, and who, consequently, had better opportunities of judging than we -can now have, says— - - Whether Hadrian’s work (the Vallum) has been continued any further - than this marsh, or to the water-side beyond Drumburgh, is doubtful. - But I am pretty confident that it was not carried on so far as the - Wall of Severus at this end, any more than at the other. And I can by - no means yield to Mr. Gordon’s sentiments, that the one, for a good - space at each end, was built upon the foundation of the other. - However, it is certain that from the side of the marsh to the west end - of the Wall there is no appearance of Hadrian’s work, or any thing - belonging to it. - -[Sidenote: DRUMBURGH.] - -_DRUMBURGH_ contains distinct remains of a small stationary camp. This, -if Watch-cross be rejected, was the sixteenth station of the Wall, and -consequently, the AXELODUNUM of the Notitia, which was garrisoned by the -first cohort of the Spaniards. The camp is on the grounds of Richard -Lawson, esq. The ramparts are well defined, as well as the ditch which -surrounds them. The whole area is covered with a luxuriant sward, and -its northern margin is shaded by some thriving ash-trees. No portion of -the Wall remains in its vicinity, but its present proprietor remembers -witnessing the removal of the foundation. The northern rampart of the -station did not come up to the Wall, but was removed a few yards from -it; probably the military way ran between the station and the Wall. The -station at Barr-hill, on the Antonine Wall, is similarly situated. - -South of the station is a well, enclosed by a circular wall of Roman -masonry. It is still in use, though the water is drawn from it by a -pump. - -The mediæval castle, of which there are considerable remains, is a very -fine specimen of the ancient fortified manor-house. It is built of Roman -stones. Extensive alterations were made upon it in the reign of Henry -VIII. The habitable part of it is now occupied as a farm-house. - - -The tranquillity of this region was not always what it now is. - - Standing on the northern rampart of the station, Mr. Lawson, the aged - proprietor, directed the attention of the Pilgrim-party of 1849 to a - small cottage on the opposite shore. ‘There,’ said he, ‘lived a - Scottish reaver, who in the days of my grandfather made, on nineteen - successive Easter-eves, a successful foray on the English side. A - twentieth time he prepared to go; his family remonstrated, he however - persisted, saying that this should be his last attempt. Our people - were prepared for him and slew him.’ Some of the party asked ‘what - notice did the law take of the transaction?’ 'None; the law which - could not protect a man, would not punish him for taking the law into - his own hands.' - -Now, nearly arrived at the western extremity of the great Barrier, we -meet with but few traces of its characteristic masonry; enough, however, -remains to lure us pleasantly to our journey’s end. - -In cutting the canal from Carlisle to the Solway Firth, in 1823, a -prostrate forest of oak was discovered, which belonged to an age -anterior to that of Hadrian. The engineer of the canal says— - -[Sidenote: PRIMEVAL FOREST.] - - A subterraneous forest was cut through in the excavation of the canal, - near the banks of the Solway Firth, about half a mile north-west of - the village of Glasson, and extending into Kirklands. The trees were - all prostrate, and they had fallen, with little deviation, in a - northerly direction, or a little eastward of it.—Some short trunks, of - two or three feet in height, were in the position of their natural - growth; but although the trees, with the exception of their alburnum - and all the branches, were perfectly sound, yet the extremity of the - trunks, whether fallen or standing, were so rugged, that it was not - discoverable whether the trees had been cut down, or had fallen by a - violent storm. The level upon which the trunks lay, was a little below - that of high tides, and from eight to ten feet below the surface of - the ground they were embedded in; which, excepting the superficial - soil, is a soft blue clay, having the appearance of marine - alluvion.... Although the precise period when this forest fell is not - ascertainable, there is a positive proof that it must have been long - prior to the building of the Wall because the foundations of the Wall - passed obliquely over it, and lay three or four feet above the level - of the trees.—_Arch. Æl._ ii. 117. - -The forest extends over a considerable tract of ground. It is -probable that it was overthrown by a tempest from the south or -south-west, at a time when the sea occupied a lower level than it -does at present. The wood was so sound, that it was used in common -with other oak timber in forming the jetties at the outlet of the -canal into the Solway Firth. The president’s chair of the Society of -Antiquaries, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, is formed of it. - - -At Port-Carlisle is a mound resembling an ancient British barrow, called -Fisher’s-cross. About half-a-mile to the westward of it is another which -has been somewhat encroached upon by the road that runs along the margin -of the Solway, and is denominated Knock’s-cross. The proverb is common -throughout Cumberland, 'As old as Knock’s-cross.' - -In the front of the Steam-packet hotel, Port-Carlisle, is built up the -fragment of a small Roman altar, bearing the inscription, SVIS MATRIBVS. -It is one of the numerous instances that we meet with, along the line of -the Wall, of altars dedicated to the _Deæ Matres_. - - -[Sidenote: BOWNESS.] - -Between Port-Carlisle and Bowness, the site of the Wall may be traced -nearly the whole way; not unfrequently the foundations of it and its -fosse may be discerned. In one place some large stones resembling those -used in forming the gateways of the mile-castles will be noticed. In -Brand’s day some considerable portions of the Wall remained, between -these points. He says— - - About three quarters of a mile to the east of Bowness, some fragments - of Severus’ Wall remain, of a great height; on measuring one of them, - we found it to be about eight feet high; it was bound and overgrown - with ivy in a most picturesque manner. The facing-stones on both sides - have been taken away. - -On my first visit to Bowness, I saw a portion of it as Hodgson describes -it— - - It is six feet high. Its rugged and weathered core, still hard as a - rock, is thickly bearded with sloe-thorn and hazel, and mantled below - with ivy and honey-suckle. - -This interesting object has been entirely removed, which is the more to -be regretted, as no advantage has been gained by its destruction; it -served as a fence between two fields. - -[Illustration: - - H. Burdon Richardson, Delt. John Storey Lith. - BOWNESS. -] - - -[Sidenote: TERMINATION OF THE WALL.] - -_BOWNESS_ is the name of the low, bow-shaped ness, or peninsula, at the -extreme point of the left bank of the Solway Firth. It is slightly -elevated above the surrounding country, as is plainly seen when it is -viewed from a distance. A little to the east of the site of the station, -the Solway is easily fordable at low water; but no one, in the memory of -the inhabitants of these parts, has forded the estuary westward of the -town. This circumstance would render Bowness a fit place at which to -terminate the Barrier Wall. With difficulty the antiquary detects some -slight traces of the walls of the station, its southern lines near the -church being those which are most apparent. No quarry being within -several miles of the spot, the Wall and station have furnished the -materials of which the church and most of the habitations of the town -are composed. A small altar built up in the front of a barn in the -principal street, has an inscription importing that it was dedicated to -Jupiter the best and greatest, by Sulpicius Secundianus, the tribune of -the cohort for the safety of our lords, the emperors Galbus and -Volusianus. - -Bowness may be the GABROSENTUM of the Notitia; Horsley reckoning -Watch-cross among the stations of the line, conceives it to be -TUNNOCELUM. - -Over that beautiful expanse of waters bounded by the Criffel and other -Dumfriesshire hills, which we see from the somewhat elevated beach that -has formed the northern margin of the station, the eye of the Roman -sentinel must often have listlessly rolled, as he paced his tedious -hours away. The memory of Roman and Caledonian feuds gives to the -picture, as we now behold it, a charm enhanced by contrast with the -state of things which existed in ancient days. [Sidenote: CHANGE OF -TIMES.]The hills have the aspect which they formerly bore, the waters of -the Solway ebb and flow as they were wont, the same clear sky spans the -vault of heaven which was outstretched in Roman days;—but then, the -occupants of the opposite shores scowled upon each other with deadly -hate, and planned the means of mutual slaughter. Stealthily they cast -the net and threw the leister into the margin of the sea, or when they -openly appeared upon the waters, it was in galleys armed for sanguinary -aggression;—now, with each returning tide, the fisherman plies his -peaceful trade, fearless of harm, and the inhabitants of both the -northern and the southern shore hail each other as friends and -fellow-countrymen. - -[Illustration: Monument to Edward I.] - ------ - -Footnote 54: - - He who has the heart of a pilgrim ‘_per lineam Valli_,’ will not fail - to accompany the author, while he attempts, at the very commencement - of his local peregrination, to pay a tribute of respect to three - departed worthies who made the Wall their especial study. - - JOHN HORSLEY was the first and mightiest of the three—is it too much - to say that he was the father of the science of Archæology? Born in an - unknown locality of this county, receiving his elementary education at - Newcastle, his academical at Edinburgh, he spent the greater portion - of his life as the pastor of a Presbyterian congregation in Morpeth. - His tastes, and great familiarity with the classics, induced him to - devote his leisure hours to the study of the antiquities of - Northumberland. Had he conceived that the Britannia Romana would have - cost him one-third of the time which its execution required, the world - would never have seen it. Having embarked in the undertaking, he felt - it his duty to make it as good as he could. How severe his toils, how - great his pecuniary sacrifices, how ardent his aspirations after - emancipation from his self-imposed task, in order that he might - entirely devote himself to his sacred calling, who shall tell? The - thought that his flock might eventually be no losers, that his family - and his own fair fame might gain by the enterprise, buoyed him up in - his course. On 2 Jan. 1731-2, he put the finishing stroke to his - labours, the dedication of his work bearing that date. Now he might - hope to reap the fruits of his toils—the enjoyment of rest, such as - the wearied only know, the congratulations of friends, the approbation - of the learned, the replenishment of his exhausted means. None of - these fruits he enjoyed. He can scarcely have had the satisfaction of - casting his eyes upon a completed copy of his work. The ink of his - dedication was hardly dry when he was summoned to the unseen world. - Respecting him who recorded the mighty doings of the Romans in - Britain, the parish clerk of Morpeth made the following entry in the - church-yard calendar:—Buried, - - ‘_1731-2, Jan. 15_, Mr. John Horsley.’ - - ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’ As regards the honours or - enjoyments of this world, he died an utterly unrequited man. Even of - that bubble, posthumous fame, an attempt was made to rob him. - Warburton, in his Vallum Romanum, transfers Horsley ‘in bulk’ to his - pages—he even copies, without alteration, the opinions which Horsley - expresses in the first person. The honest Hutton often quotes the - ‘judicious Warburton,’ little knowing whose the feathers are which he - so justly admires. The precise spot where his remains rest is unknown. - He whose lot it was to interpret, after the lapse of many centuries, - the throbbings of natural affection over departed relatives in the - heathen breast, had no one to erect over him, though a Christian - minister, a memorial that should outlive a single century. Even the - parish clerk, in his attachment to the altar and the throne, denies - him, in the sepulchral register, the title which courtesy, at least, - would have accorded him. _Requiescat in pace!_ - - - The Rev. ANTHONY HEDLEY, was also a native of Northumberland; he was a - man of literary tastes, and considerable antiquarian acquirements. He - entered public life as curate of Hexham, where his preaching was that - of a Boanerges. He subsequently held some temporary appointments at - Whelpington, Newcastle, and Whitfield. Having, however, actively - espoused the cause of that political body, who, until lord Grey became - premier, had no patronage to bestow, it was his lot to sigh in vain - for a summons to active occupation in the work which he loved. When - the party whom he had long and conscientiously served, came into - office, neglect was his portion. One of the original members of the - Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he did much to promote - the study of primæval archæology in the fruitful region traversed by - the Wall. Biased by his taste for antiquities, he was led to select, - as his abode for life’s evening, the beautiful valley of the Chineley - Burn. The rural hall arose at his bidding, nearly every stone of which - was chiseled by Roman hands. The milliary which told to Hadrian’s - soldiers that another mile had been traversed, stood by his barn. The - station of VINDOLANA was in his grounds—many beautiful altars and - other important reliques had he dug out of it—he could tell where the - prætorium stood, where the standards were deposited, where every - soldier slept. Scarcely were all the arrangements for his comfortable - residence at Chesterholm made, when death seized him as its victim. - Imprudently superintending, whilst somewhat indisposed, the exhumation - of an urn in the station, his mortal part was a few days afterwards - deposited in the church-yard at Beltingham. He died in 1835, and his - beautiful abode has since remained desolate. - - - Westmoreland has the honour of giving birth to the Rev. JOHN HODGSON, - but Northumberland enjoyed the advantage of his youthful and maturer - labours. Successively curate of Sedgefield, Lanchester, and Heworth, - and afterwards vicar of Kirkwhelpington, he was shortly before his - death promoted to the living of Hartburn. He was the chief founder of - the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and the chief - contributor to its transactions. His tastes led him to contemplate, - and an honourable desire to make provision for the education and - settlement of his family, induced him to begin, a history of - Northumberland. Seldom have laudable designs been so signally - defeated. He lived but to complete a part of his task; his health - failed, and his mind gave way under his excessive labours. His - fortunes were not bettered by them; ‘I have lived,’ said he, 'to see - that works of this kind are not suited to the times I live in, perhaps - to any time. It is not profitable to me—it is not suited to my - profession—I ought to do my duty in my profession—to take up night and - day to do it well. Well? no; but as well as good intentions, holy - zeal, every thought and faculty of my mind fully exerted, could do - it.' Hodgson paid great attention to the Wall, and its antiquities. - The last published portion of his history contains a vast mass of - learned information upon the subject. It is perhaps enough for the - present author to say, that had not Horsley and Hodgson cleared the - way before him, he would never have adventured to write a book upon - the Barrier of the Lower Isthmus. Though he cannot be a Horsley or a - Hodgson, he hopes he will never prove a Warburton. - -Footnote 55: - - Brand conceives that SEGEDUNUM may be derived from the Saxon _secg_, a - sedge or flag, and _dun_, which is an Anglo-Saxon, as well as a Celtic - word; this would give, as its meaning—the hill of sedge. If we can - suppose that any of the Germanic hordes had obtained so complete a - settlement here, as to give them the power of forming a local - vocabulary in accordance with their own language prior to the Roman - occupation of this post, the Saxon origin of the term is by no means - improbable. In no part of England was an early settlement more likely - to take place than on the eastern coast of Northumberland, but, after - all, we must probably assign a later date to the first arrival of our - Gothic forefathers. If a Saxon derivation be at all admissible, - another might be suggested: _sige_ is the Anglo-Saxon for victory, and - _tun_ is town—the town of victory—an appropriate name for a station - occupied either by Roman or Saxon forces. - -Footnote 56: - - This statement I make on the authority of the late Mr. Buddle, who - said, as I remember, that in his youth he had seen the stones - extending far into the river. - -Footnote 57: - - This place derived its earlier name from being the property, and - perhaps the suburban residence of John Cosyn, a worthy alderman of - Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the seventeenth century. About 1740, sir - Robert Carre, a London knight, and draper, but also, it is thought, a - burgess of the northern metropolis, bought Cosyn’s house at Wallsend, - and thenceforward designated it Carre-ville. The present mansion is, - with some little impropriety, called Carville-_hall_. - - When I began my inquiries at Wallsend, I had much difficulty in - ascertaining which was Cousin’s-house. One man told me he had lived - all his life in Wallsend—sixty years—and had never heard of it. Our - books still continue to copy from Horsley, and to give us the - out-of-date information that the Wall began at Cousin’s-house. - -Footnote 58: - - In districts where the Wall has been levelled with the earth, a - foot-path or bridle-road frequently indicates its course. When land - was of less value than it is now, the farmers, who appropriated the - stones of the Wall to their own use, were not at the trouble to remove - its foundation. The stony track, however, afforded a firm road, and - when the increased value of the ground rendered it worth while to - bring the whole into cultivation, a right of way had, in many - instances, been established. - -Footnote 59: - - Hodgson, II. iii. 169. - -Footnote 60: - - Horsley’s traditionary account was probably derived from the same - source as Leland’s; and therefore may indicate, not the station wall, - but the great Wall itself. If, as the excavations made since Horsley’s - day seem to prove, the Wall crossed obliquely from the south to the - north side of Collingwood-street, it must have passed over the site of - St. Nicholas’-church—not to the north of it. - -Footnote 61: - - So inviting a post would not escape the notice of the ancient - British warrior—the appearances Mr. Hodgson describes, are not - inconsistent with its having been an Ancient-British strong-hold. - -Footnote 62: - - Drawn to twice the usual size. - -Footnote 63: - - The author, as the leader of the pilgrim-band who traversed the Wall - in the summer of 1849, used a staff made out of this primeval oak. It - is now in the Newcastle collection of antiquities. - -Footnote 64: - - Tour, iii. 313, quoted by Brand, i. 37. - -Footnote 65: - - Brand’s Newcastle, i. 37. - -Footnote 66: - - Jerusalem was called after him Ælia Capitolina, and the games at - Pincum, in Mæsia, Ælia Pincensia. - -Footnote 67: - - Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. - -Footnote 68: - - In the possession of the Society of Antiquaries at Somerset-house. The - wood-cuts are drawn to twice the usual scale. - -Footnote 69: - - Baxter, in his glossary, derives it from the ancient British words - _Pen ual_, the head of the Wall. A comparatively modern village would - hardly take a Celtic name; besides, although the Roman station has a - commanding prospect in a military point of view, it is scarcely so - elevated as to be entitled to the epithet of Pen or Ben; the village - of Benwell is below it. - -Footnote 70: - - History of Manchester, i. 224. - -Footnote 71: - - The cottage is still standing in the neighbourhood of Wylam, in which - George Stephenson first saw the light. Aided, in due time, by his son, - worthy of such a father, he did more than any other man to elaborate - our present railway system. The antiquary who has been revelling in - the associations of the past will scarcely fail, as he looks down from - his Wall-traversed heights upon the vale which gave birth to such a - man, to give for a moment the reins to his imagination, and suffering - his mind to penetrate the mists of futurity, ruminate upon the changes - which the efforts of the Stephensons are destined to produce, not only - in the physical, but in the moral aspect of society. - -Footnote 72: - - Derived from wall and _botle_, the Saxon for an abode. - -Footnote 73: - - Anciently written Throcklow. Low, or Law, is applied either to a low, - round-topped eminence, or an artificial mound. - -Footnote 74: - - Hodgson, II. iii. 178. - -Footnote 75: - - Britannia Romana, 139. - -Footnote 76: - - Note in Lappenberg’s Anglo-Saxon Kings, i. 91. - -Footnote 77: - - The road leaves the Wall here, and keeps to the right of the hill. The - north side of the hill is planted with trees, and it is interesting to - notice in the summit of the plantation, a dip, corresponding to the - depression of the fosse of the Wall. - -Footnote 78: - - Unable to resist the positive testimony of an intelligent eye-witness, - I was, at first, disposed to think that he had included in his - measurement some chamber on the inside of the station wall. I am now - prepared to receive the statement without deduction. Some recent - excavations at Risingham have laid bare a part of the curtain wall - which has been built double, the intervening space, or chamber, being - filled up with rubble and rubbish run together with lime, so as to - form a solid mass of masonry of considerable thickness. The object of - this arrangement may have been, to form a solid, elevated platform, - for the use of the soldiery. - -Footnote 79: - - Both Horsley and Lingard had previously noticed it. Horsley says he - was told by a countryman that ‘it was what the speaking trumpet was - laid in.’ - -Footnote 80: - - The aqueduct was not traced on the Halton side of the valley, so that - the precise point where it joined the station is not known; it is now - entirely removed. - -Footnote 81: - - Several of the sculptures at Matfen were sent to Alnwick Castle. - Wallis uses the term, ‘centurial stone,’ very loosely, applying it - even to the large Milking-gap slab. - -Footnote 82: - - Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, b. III. ch. ii. Giles’s translation. - -Footnote 83: - - Although a walk of a few minutes will bring the traveller, who knows - exactly whither to bend his steps, to this curious relic, a stranger - may fruitlessly spend much time in examining the many low scars which - diversify the surface of the fell. It is a deeply interesting object. - -Footnote 84: - - The cramps seem to have been of various kinds. Some authors speak of - iron cramps. One antiquary, I know, spent a livelong summer’s day - knee-deep in the water, extracting one which proved to be entirely of - lead. A. cramp, of very curious form and structure, taken from this - bridge, is preserved in the museum at Chesters, and is figured Plate - VII. fig. 1.; it seems to have been triply dove-tailed; the substance - of it is iron, but it has been coated all over to the thickness of - one-eighth of an inch with lead. The iron would give the instrument - tenacity, and the lead protect the more corrosive metal from - oxidization; truly the Romans built for perpetuity. - -Footnote 85: - - History of Northumberland, II. iii. 180. - -Footnote 86: - - The initial L, page 103, is formed of two of these Roman balusters. - The lower one is at Chesters, the upright one at Chesterholm. - -Footnote 87: - - The section of the hypocaust wall on Plate III is taken from this - example, and shews the hanging floor. - -Footnote 88: - - See an interesting ‘Account of an Excavation recently made within the - Roman Station at CILURNUM, by John Clayton, esq.’ in the Archæologia - Æliana, iii. 142. - -Footnote 89: - - The improved method of making draining-tiles for agricultural uses has - suggested the formation of hollow bricks for building purposes. A - floor might be paved and side-walls formed of these, so as readily to - admit of the circulation of air throughout the whole substance of the - apartment, and a handful of coke or charcoal, placed at the entrance - of the flue, would effectually warm the whole. Specimens of bricks of - this kind, remarkably strong, and ingeniously contrived for securely - locking into one another, are before me, for which I am indebted to - Robert Rawlinson, esq., after whose design they were formed. The Latin - comedy represents the miser begrudging the smoke that escaped from his - chimney—well may the benevolent man regret that whilst his poor - neighbours are bending under the chills of winter, three-fourths of - the heat generated in his parlour-grate is absolutely wasted. - -Footnote 90: - - Now at Alnwick-castle. - -Footnote 91: - - The words printed in italics have been supplied from contemporaneous - inscriptions; they can scarcely be said to be conjectural readings. - -Footnote 92: - - Soldiers who by their good conduct had earned a double allowance of - corn or pay. - -Footnote 93: - - Hodgson learnedly explains this inscription—Arch. Æl. i. 128. - -Footnote 94: - - Preserved in the interesting collection at Chesters. - -Footnote 95: - - This peculiar term is probably derived from the Saxon _Seuch_, a - furrow or fosse, and _Shiel_, a hut for those who have the care of - cattle, and thus signifies, the cottage by the fosse. - -Footnote 96: - - It is reported in the neighbourhood, that Mrs. Spearman having dreamt - that she found a rich hoard of treasure among the ruins of the castle, - made diligent search for it, but without success. When the castle was - removed, however, the farmer obtained a valuable deposit of mediæval - manure. - -Footnote 97: - - Pliny’s Natural History, lib. vii. c. 2, q. - -Footnote 98: - - Hodgson’s Northumberland, II., iii., 287. - -Footnote 99: - - The country being depopulated, lands once in tillage, again became - wastes. The forests being partially destroyed, either by fire or the - axe, the streams which used to permeate the low-grounds were arrested - in their course by prostrate trunks and branches, and gave rise to - extensive morasses. In the bogs of the district we are now - considering, immense quantities of large oak and birch timber, as well - as of oak leaves and hazel nuts, are continually being found. The Dike - would not, of course, originally, be drawn through swampy ground. - -Footnote 100: - - Many of them are preserved in the Museum of the Society of - Antiquaries, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - -Footnote 101: - - Horsley remarks, 'I cannot say that Hadrian’s Vallum has made the - south rampart of this station at Housesteads, but I think it has - passed it not much to the south, and seems to have a small turn just - at the brook, in order to come near, if not up to it.' This looks as - if Horsley could not altogether throw off the idea that the works - exhibit unity of design. Hutton notices his inconsistency, and, - quoting him, (as transferred to the pages of ‘the judicious - Warburton,’) writes—‘But can a thing be brought near to what does not - exist! Hadrian was dead long before the appearance of this station.’ - -Footnote 102: - - This circumstance, together with the fact, that all the camps of the - Barrier abound in stones reddened with fire, is confirmatory of the - view, that the buildings supplied with hypocausts were not necessarily - baths. - -Footnote 103: - - The site of the western gateway is marked by a figure in the - background of the picture. - -Footnote 104: - - Pompeii.—Library of Entertaining Knowledge. - -Footnote 105: - - Two of this number, however, would always be on duty, to the very - great comfort of the eight who remained. - -Footnote 106: - - The initial N, page 43, is formed of three nails from Housesteads, - drawn to three-fourths of the actual size. - -Footnote 107: - - The most satisfactory specimen that I have seen is at Carvoran; it has - apparently been rolled, when in a soft state, on a stone table, and - presents, from its slightly roughened surface, the degree of opacity - which plate-glass has before it is polished. - -Footnote 108: - - One of them is engraved, on p. 63, the inscription of the other is - illegible; both are in the Museum at Newcastle. - -Footnote 109: - - See also the vignette, page 42. Most of these are still on the ground. - They are drawn to the usual scale. - -Footnote 110: - - Archæologia Æliana, i. 268. - -Footnote 111: - - Britannia Romana, 125. - -Footnote 112: - - Hutchinson’s Northumberland, i. 60. - -Footnote 113: - - A dilapidated building, near the east end of the town, illustrates - some of the peculiarities of this species of border fortress. The - lower portion of it was devoted to the reception of cattle—the upper - was occupied by the family. The floor of the second story consists of - stone flags laid upon massive beams of oak, very roughly dressed. The - object of this arrangement has probably been to prevent the enemy, who - might get possession of the lower part of the building without being - able to take the upper part by storm, from applying, with much success - at least, fire to the floor. The stone slates of the roof were - generally fastened with the bones of sheeps’ trotters—a most durable - fastening—instead of wooden pins; but, in this instance, the original - roof has been removed. - -Footnote 114: - - Whilst lying in prison, and cheerfully waiting for the time when he - should be offered, his mind reverted to the scenes and companions of - his youth. 'My hope was of late that I should have come among you, and - to have brought with me abundance of Christ’s blessed gospel, - according to the duty of that office and ministry whereunto among you - I was chosen, named, and appointed, by the mouth of that our late - peerless prince, king Edward.' In a letter, in which, as one ‘minding - to take a far journey,’ he bids farewell to his loving brothers and - sisters, and his well-beloved and worshipful cousins, he specifies - many of the well-known localities of this district, then their places - of residence. - -Footnote 115: - - Labbe’s edition of the Notitia Imperii, published at Paris, 1651. - -Footnote 116: - - It is preserved in the collection of antiquities at Chesters. - -Footnote 117: - - Arch. Æliana, i. 118. - -Footnote 118: - - History of the Picts’ or Romano-British Wall, 35. - -Footnote 119: - - Hodgson, II. iii. 293. - -Footnote 120: - - History of the Picts’ Wall, 35. - -Footnote 121: - - The owner of the ground was provoked to obliterate the remains of this - ancient city, in consequence of the manner in which curiosity-mongers - (not antiquaries) trespassed on his fields, in their way to the - station, instead of taking the beaten track. - -Footnote 122: - - I have been strongly reminded of these circular pedestals by the - figures of the columns of the Roman part of Reculver church, given (p. - 198) in Mr. C. Roach Smith’s admirable work on Richborough and - Reculver. The northern examples are, however, of coarser workmanship - than the southern seem to have been; the moulding that encircles the - Carvoran specimen resembles straw-ropes rather than carefully - fabricated cables. - -Footnote 123: - - Thirl, from the Saxon _thirlian_, signifies to pierce, to bore. It is - generally supposed, that this stronghold derived its name from the - Scots having broken through the Wall here. It may, however, have taken - it from the sluice or bridge where the river passed through the Wall; - thirl, says Hutchinson, being frequently applied to the opening left - in moor fences for sheep to pass through. - -Footnote 124: - - Can it have been derived from the Saxon _bryddes wald_ or _weald_, the - bird’s forest? The local pronunciation of the name of the place is - peculiar and rather favours the proposed etymology. - -Footnote 125: - - The Wall is at too great a distance from the Vallum to be introduced - into the section; it is beyond the extra fosse, on the right hand side - of the wood-cut. - -Footnote 126: - - In this locality, the traveller is apt to lose his reckoning, in - consequence of the number of cottages and villages which are - denominated ‘Wall.’ - -Footnote 127: - - Some antiquaries have conceived, that in the last two words of the - inscription, a reference is made to the emperor Septimius Severus. - This cannot be admitted, for—1. The emperor’s name would not be placed - after that of the prefect: 2. The term _instante_ implies the - discharge of a subordinate duty; for, not to mention other examples, - the temple of which the CILURNUM slab records the restoration (p. - 186), was built by command of Marius Valerianus, under the - superintendence of (_instante_) Septimius Nilus: 3. That _princeps_ - was the designation of a subordinate officer in the army, appears not - only from a collation of other inscriptions, but from the following - statement of Manutius—'In a legion there were three kinds of foot - soldiers, _hastati_, _principes_, and _triarii_, and in each there - were ten centurions, who were called the first _hastatus_, the second - _hastatus_, the third, and so on, up to the tenth; the first - _princeps_, the second, and so on; but the _triarii_, the bravest of - all, were named in a different manner, for they did not call them - first triarius, but _primipilus_, or _primipili centurio_.'—_Arch. - Æl._, ii. 88. - - _Principi_ is doubtless intended for the more usual form of the - ablative, _principe_. - ------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - ~The Roman Barrier of the - Lower Isthmus.~ - - - - - PART IV - THE SUPPORTING STATIONS OF THE WALL. - -Altho’ we have now traversed the line of the mural Barrier from one -extremity to the other, and examined all the camps that lie upon its -track, we have met with but seventeen or eighteen of the twenty-three -that are mentioned in the Notitia as stations _per lineam Valli_. -According to Horsley, five remain to be accounted for, and according to -Hodgson, who rejects Watch-cross, six. These must be sought for among -the stations which support the great Barrier on its northern or southern -side. As the names of the camps north of the Wall have been ascertained -by independent authority, and as they do not correspond[Sidenote: -SECONDARY FORTS OF THE NOTITIA.] with those of the remaining stations of -the Notitia, it is agreed on all hands, that the list is to be completed -from among the fortified places which support the Barrier on the south. -Without dwelling upon the reasons which have guided the conjectures, -(for they are but conjectures at the best), of the great author of the -Britannia Romana, and other antiquaries, in appropriating the remaining -names supplied by the Notitia, it may be sufficient to say, that as the -primary stations, so far as they have been ascertained, are found to be -arranged in that document in regular consecutive order, beginning at the -eastern extremity of the line, it is conceived to be highly probable -that a similar course has been pursued with the secondary camps. If, -therefore, we could correctly ascertain which, of all the camps that dot -the country in the southern vicinage of the Wall, are mural stations, we -might, with tolerable plausibility, bestow upon them in their order the -remaining names of the Notitia roll. But this is a task of great -difficulty, and considerable uncertainty must necessarily attend the -appropriation of the names upon this principle. - -An examination of the forts themselves, however, on both sides of the -Wall, is a task equally easy and instructive, and it is one which is -essential to a correct estimate of the strength of the principal -fortification—the Wall. Sir John Clark must have altogether overlooked -the existence of these supporting stations, when he wrote in the -following strain to his friend Gale:— - - After all, I cannot but take notice of two things with regard to the - Wall, that have given me great matter of speculation. The first is, - why it was made at all, for it could never be a proper defence, and - perhaps at Bowness less than at any other place, since our barbarian - forefathers on the north side could pass over at low water, and if the - sea was higher or deeper than it is now, could make their attacks from - the north-east side by land.—The second is, why the Scots historians, - vain enough by nature, have not taken more pains to describe the Wall, - a performance which did their ancestors more honour than all the - trifling stories put together which they have transmitted to us. It is - true the Romans walled out humanity from us; but it is as certain they - thought the Caledonians a very formidable people, when they at so much - labour and cost built this Wall; as before they had made a Vallum - between the Forth and the Clyde. - -[Sidenote: THE BARRIER NOT A NAKED WALL.] - -The Romans did not oppose to the enemy a single line of fortification -only, which, by some casual negligence on their part, or a sudden -exertion of desperate bravery on the side of their antagonists, might in -a moment be rendered useless. In addition to the Wall, stationary camps -were planted along its whole course, at a few miles distance from it, -both to the north and the south; so that, in reality, a triple line of -fortresses was opposed to the passage of an enemy from either quarter. -These subsidiary stations were connected with the garrisons on the Wall, -and to some extent with each other, by good roads. In maintaining a -surveillance over an enemy, whether to the north or the south of the -chief member of the fortification, in furnishing a secure retreat for -the soldiery when venturing beyond their line, and in stemming the first -shock of an onset, the importance of the out-stations cannot be -over-rated. - -[Sidenote: THE SUPPORTING FORTS OF DIFFERENT ERAS.] - -It is not contended that all the stations which are immediately on the -north and south of the Wall were erected with the express view of -supporting it. Several of them doubtless were, but others, there is -reason to believe, were made by Agricola, before the Wall was projected -or thought of. All that is necessary for us to admit is, that they -contributed materially to the strength of the main structure, and as -such, formed an important element in the calculations of the engineer of -the Wall. - -In taking a cursory survey of the supporting stations of the line, it -may be well, first, to examine those which defended its eastern -extremity: next, those which are upon Watling-street—the great channel -of communication between the northern and southern sections of Britain -on the east side of the summit level: afterwards, those which are on the -Maiden-way—the road on the west of the summit level: and reserve to the -last, the important stations which strengthened the works on the -northern and southern shores of the Solway. - - -_TYNEMOUTH._—The Castle and Priory stand upon a peninsula so strong and -so easily defended, that it could not have escaped the attention either -of the aboriginal Britons or the Romans. The altar, which was erected by -the fourth cohort of the Lingones, [Illustration: Tablet, Gyrum Cumbas] -has been already described (_p._ 109). Another lettered stone, found -along with it, is here represented. - - GYRVM CVMBAS - ET TEMPLVM - FECIT C IV - MAXIMINVS - LEG VI VI - EX VOTO - -About the reading of the first line of this inscription, which Brand -translates, ‘a circular harbour for the shipping,’ there is some -uncertainty; but there is no doubt about the other lines, which import -that— - - Caius Julius Maximinus, _of_ the Sixth Legion, victorious, - in the performance of a vow, erected _this_ temple. - -The mere circumstance of its selection as the site of a temple, proves -this to have been a place of some importance in the Roman age. The name -of the builder of the temple fixes, with a near approach to precision, -the date of its dedication. Caius Julius Verus Maximinus was a Thracian -shepherd of great personal strength; he attracted at an early period of -his life the notice of Septimius Severus, and under Caracalla attained -to the rank of centurion. On the assassination of Alexander Severus, in -235, he assumed the purple, and was himself assassinated in 238. He -probably accompanied Septimius Severus into Britain, and on this -occasion erected the temple commemorated by this inscription. The -following amusing account of the personal qualifications of Maximinus, -is given in Dr. William Smith’s admirable Dictionary of Biography and -Mythology. - - His height exceeded eight feet, but his person was not ungraceful, for - the size and muscular developement of his limbs were in proportion to - his stature, the circumference of his thumb being equal to that of a - woman’s wrist, so that the bracelet of his wife served him for a - ring.... The remarkable magnitude of his eyes communicated a bold and - imposing expression to his features. He was able single-handed to drag - a loaded wagon, could with his fist knock out the grinders, and with a - kick break the leg of a horse; while his appetite was such, that in a - day he could eat forty pounds of meat, and drink an amphora of wine. - At least such are the statements of the ancient writers. - -Nearly all traces of the camp at Tynemouth have been erased. Some years -after the modern well near the entrance into the castle was sunk, -another of wide diameter, and cased with masonry, was discovered, in -consequence of the falling in of its covering; it is supposed to be -Roman, but was again closed by order of the commander of the garrison, -before it could be properly inspected. - -[Sidenote: MEDIÆVAL REMAINS.] - -The mediæval remains at Tynemouth are of great interest. The castellated -gateway which formerly defended the approaches to the priory precincts -has been sadly mutilated by tasteless renovators, but the ecclesiastical -buildings, which have happily been left to the mercy of the elements, -exhibit even in their ruins, much of their original beauty. The -church-yard, affords a resting place to many who for years had been -tossed upon the restless ocean, and to some who, venturing into the -briny flood in search of health and pleasure, met with an untimely end. -Friendly tomb-stones, speak of them; some names, however, are in danger -of being forgotten. - -The murdered body of Oswin king of Deira, was deposited in the -church-yard of this monastery. Here too, were buried Malcolm Canmore -king of Scotland—the friend of the Saxon—and his son, prince Edward, so -named after his maternal ancestor the Confessor; they were both slain in -the same fatal battle fought near Alnwick, A.D. 1094. Queen Margaret, -through whom her present majesty, queen Victoria, derives her Saxon -blood, survived the slaughter of her husband and son but a few days. - - -[Sidenote: BLAKE-CHESTERS.] - -_BLAKE-CHESTERS_, at the high end of North Shields, is the site of -another camp. Waterville, the residence of George Rippon, esq., is -within its bounds. Several carved stones, much worn by the weather, are -on the ground, and many Roman building-stones may be observed in the -contiguous fences. - -These are not the only camps which were situated on the east coast north -of the Wall. Hodgson says— - -From the Wall northward, are numerous small square camps, strengthened -with deep ditches, scattered over the country, as if they had been -intended for rural purposes.[128] A line of them may still be traced -through the parishes of Long-Benton, past Cramlington, into the Plessy -grounds. - -There is every probability that the site of Morpeth castle was fortified -by the Romans. Some portions of the curtain-wall still standing have -been pronounced by competent judges to be of Roman masonry. - - -[Sidenote: FORT AT SOUTH SHIELDS.] - -_SHIELDS LAWE._—The southern shore of the estuary of the Tyne was as -well protected as the northern. A camp, comprehending several acres, -stood upon the slightly elevated headland at South Shields called the -Lawe. The excellence of the situation, as a post of observation, is -proved by the acts of the pilots who have planted a beacon and erected -many of their residences upon it. In 1798, the foundations of many old -walls, which obstructed the plough, were removed. The lowest course of -some of them consisted ‘of rough whinstone, evidently brought from the -shore, as the barnacles were still adhering to them.’ The remains of a -hypocaust were discovered at the same time. Several coins were also -found, and as some of them were of the reign of Valentinian (A.D. 380), -it may be presumed that the station was in use only a short time before -the desertion of Britain by the Romans. An altar, despoiled of its -inscription, which was found in this station, is preserved in the -library at Durham. - -The ancient military-way called the Wreckendike terminated at this -station. Until a recent period, one branch of it could be traced by -Lay-gate, the Dean-bridge, and Jarrow-slake, to Gateshead-fell. It also -led to Lanchester, Binchester, and the South. - - -[Sidenote: STATION AT JARROW.] - -_JARROW._—At nearly the same distance from the camp on the Lawe, on the -south side of the river, as Blake-chesters is from Tynemouth, on the -north, the site of another Roman fort occurs. Hodgson, who first drew -attention to it, says— - - At Jarrow, an oblong square of about three acres, with its corners - rounded off, overlooking the estuary of Jarrow-slake, and fronting on - the south the bank of the navigable stream called the Don, is, on good - grounds, supposed to have been the site of a station or fortified town - of the Romans. Under-ground foundations of a wall of strong masonry - mark out its area on every side, and include within them the site of - the present church and church-yard, and some ragged remains of the - ancient monastery of Jarrow. In digging up part of the remains of - these walls in 1812, a silver denarius of Aulus Vitellius was found - embedded in mortar in the heart of the wall; and when the road was - formed past Jarrow-row, in 1803, two square pavements of Roman brick - were discovered. - -[Illustration: 323] - -Two inscribed stones have been found here which give strength to the -opinion that Jarrow was a Roman station. One of them, now at -Somerset-house, is shewn in the wood-cut. As Brand observes, it is -interesting as containing the name of our island at length. It has been -read— - - DIFFVSIS PROVINC_IIS IN_ BRITANNIA AD VTRVMQVE - O_CEANVM_ EXERCITVS _FECIT_.— - -The army erected this, on the extension of the Roman dominion in -Britain, from the western to the eastern sea. - -The other stone has formed part of an altar erected in honour of the -adopted sons of Hadrian. - -The church of Jarrow is a simple building, but it contains some -undoubted Saxon work. Within the walls of the ancient monastery, some -portions of which exist, the venerable Bede passed his useful and -unostentatious life. Of him, Surtees, the Historian of Durham, observes— - - The lamp of learning, trimmed by the hand of a single monastic who - never passed the limits of his Northumbrian province, irradiated from - the cell of Jarrow, the Saxon realm of England with a clear and steady - light; and when Bede died, history reversed her torch, and quenched it - in deep night. - -This venerable man died, A.D., 735, in the act of completing a -translation into Anglo-Saxon of the Gospel of St. John. His name would -have been worthy of all reverence, even had he done nothing more than -give to his countrymen the Scriptures in their vernacular tongue. It -must however be confessed that ‘he fell on evil times,’ and that his -works embody many of the errors and superstitions of the period. - - -[Sidenote: WARDLEY.] - -_WARDLEY._—An ancient entrenchment containing an area of upwards of six -acres, may yet be observed at Wardley, in the parish of Jarrow, nearly -opposite to Wallsend. Hodgson, who resided for several years in this -neighbourhood, was not able to learn that any Roman antiquities were -ever found in it. He was disposed, however, to think that it belonged to -the Roman era. It may have been a summer encampment of the garrison at -Wallsend, and as such, would contribute not a little to their comfort, -and the defence of the river. - -Wardley, there is some reason to suppose, is the Wredelau of the -chroniclers, where the body of St. Cuthbert became immoveable, and where -the wandering monastics received the revelation which directed them to -Durham. - -Such were the strongholds by which the garrisons on the eastern -extremity of the Wall were assisted in maintaining their ground against -the foe. - -Watling-street, running north and south, crossed the Wall at about -twenty miles from its termination at Wallsend. The modern turnpike-road -between Corbridge and West-Woodburn adheres very closely to its track, -and occasionally the ancient ditches protecting it on both sides are to -be seen. Its stations were probably planted by Agricola, but were not on -that account less useful to the soldiers of the Barrier. Our examination -of them must be brief. - - -_CHEW-GREEN._—Here, close upon the Scottish border, is an extensive -Roman camp; investigation is necessary to decide whether it was of a -temporary or permanent character; it is probably only an earthen -entrenchment. - - -[Sidenote: HIGH-ROCHESTER.] - -BREMENIUM, or High Rochester, is a station of considerable interest. It -stands upon Watling-street, at about twenty two miles north of the Wall. -Between Rochester and Chew-green the pavement of the Roman road may be -distinctly traced for many miles together. The site on which the station -stands is high and much exposed; but, in a military point of view, it is -very strong. On all sides the ground slopes from it, but on the north it -sinks so rapidly, as to give it the protection of a bold breastwork. The -walls of the station are stronger than those of the forts on the line of -the Wall; they are not only thicker, but are composed of larger -stones.[Sidenote: BREMENIUM.] A moat has surrounded the camp; on the -east side, which is by nature the weakest, two ditches have been formed, -which there is reason to believe were supplied with water. All the -gateways may be traced with considerable distinctness; the southern one -has suffered least from depredation. The interior of the station is -filled with the ruins of buildings; some of them would well repay -examination. Of the modern structures which have been raised within its -area, two are peel-houses or fortified dwellings of considerable -strength. The suburban buildings of the station have been situated on -the west side, where their foundations still appear. Here they would be -protected by the valley along which, at about a quarter of a mile’s -distance, the Sills-burn runs. The stones of the ramparts are strongly -marked by the diamond broaching. The station contains an area of four -acres and three roods. - -At about half-a-mile distant from the station, in a south-east -direction, there have recently been discovered the foundations of some -Roman _cippi_ or funeral monuments. They are close by the road, and as -was usually the case, on the south side of it. Three of them are square, -the fourth, which is the largest, is circular. The masonry of all of -them is remarkably fresh. The circular tomb has two courses of stones -standing, besides the flat stones which form the foundation. On clearing -out the interior, a jar of unburnt clay was found; it had no bones in -it. The natural soil was found to have been acted upon by fire to the -depth of more than a foot. Mixed with the rubbish was a quantity of -white ashes. A coin of Alexander Severus was found within the area, a -circumstance which strengthens the presumption that the station was -occupied by the Romans until a late period. - -There are several temporary camps in this neighbourhood. Persons well -acquainted with the country, and who have noticed the peculiar structure -of Roman roads, give it as their opinion that a Roman way has proceeded -eastwards from Rochester by Yatesfield, Potts-Durtrees, Yardhope, -Holystone, and Glanton, in a direction which renders it probable that it -joined that branch of Watling-street which traversed the eastern side of -Northumberland, and is often inelegantly termed the Devil’s-causeway. - -Some distance south of the station, and near to the point at which -Watling-street crosses the modern high-way, (in front of Redesdale -cottage) the remains of an ancient lime-kiln were recently found. It was -situated on the slope of a rocky hill, and had been formed partly by the -excavation of the natural rock, and partly by regular courses of -masonry. In order to take advantage of the form of the ground, the mouth -for drawing out the lime was placed in front. The stones were much -reddened by the action of fire, and portions of lime were adhering to -them. There is excellent limestone near the kiln, and several beds of -coal are in the vicinity. Several heaps of rubbish, on the line of -Watling-street, where the coal crops out, render it probable that this -mineral was wrought by the Romans. - -[Sidenote: THE ITINERARY OF ANTONINE.] - -In ascertaining the Roman names of the stations on the line of the Wall, -reference has hitherto been made only to the Notitia Imperii. Another -document has come down to our time, of which we may now avail -ourselves—the Itinerary of Antonine. It does not mention any of the -stations immediately upon the Wall, but names some to the north and and -south of it. It is a sort of road-book of the whole Roman empire, and is -supposed to have been made by one of the emperors who bore the name of -Antoninus. Horsley thinks that Caracalla is best entitled to be -accounted its author. That part of it which relates to Britain contains -fifteen routes; the towns upon each are named, and the distances from -one to another given in Roman miles. The aid which such a document gives -in ascertaining the ancient designations of the stations that occur in -it is obvious. The first ‘Iter’ is entitled ‘A Route from the Limit, -that is, from the Wall, to PRÆTORIUM, 156 miles.’ It begins thus— - - From BREMENIUM to CORSTOPITUM XX miles. - To VINDOMORA IX ” - To VINOVIA XIX ” - -The second ‘Iter’ also begins at the Wall, and goes to the -Ritupian-port, Richborough, 481 miles. - -The first portion only, of it also, bears upon our present -investigation. - - From BLATUM BULGIUM to CASTRA EXPLORATORUM XII miles. - To LUGUVALLIUM XII ” - To VOREDA XIV ” - -The tenth ‘Iter,’ which is from GLANOVENTA to MEDIOLANUM, 150 miles, -begins with towns which are supposed to be in the vicinity of the Wall. - - From GLANOVENTA to GALAVA XVIII miles. - To ALIONE (or ALIONIS) XII ” - -That Rochester is the BREMENIUM of the first route, is established by -the discovery of an altar in it, which professes to be erected by the -_duplares_ of the exploratory troops stationed at BREMENIUM. In no -position would exploratory troops be more needed than here, and no place -could be more appropriately fixed upon as the starting point of an -‘Iter’ than this. Several of the inscriptions belonging to this station -bear the name of Caracalla. Both BREMENIUM and HABITANCUM seem to have -undergone important repairs in the time of this emperor. - -Eight miles south of High Rochester, and on the line of Watling-street, -is another Roman station. - - -[Sidenote: HABITANCUM.] - -HABITANCUM is the name which Camden, and Horsley, on the authority of a -stone found near the station, and which was inspected by them both, -agree in bestowing upon the modern Risingham. - -The position of HABITANCUM will strike a stranger with surprise. Instead -of occupying an eminence, it is placed in a valley, and close upon the -banks of the Rede. Hills environ it, though not very closely, on every -side. They who, in early spring, have been exposed on the neighbouring -heights to the sleety shower, will know the reason of the selection. The -climate of Risingham is peculiarly mild. The west wind blows with the -steadiness of a trade wind, and the harsh east seldom descends into this -favoured valley. The village of Woodburn is on the opposite side of the -river. The lines in ‘Rokeby’ well characterize the spot, though its wood -is fast disappearing— - - Where Rede upon his margin sees - Sweet Woodburn’s cottages and trees. - -Notwithstanding the secluded nature of the situation, it is not -destitute of military strength. The Rede defends it on the north, which -was the point of greatest danger; and, excepting on the south, where an -out-post seems to have been maintained, an enemy could be descried long -before approaching the camp. - -The walls of the station have been constructed of the same strong -masonry as those of BREMENIUM. Owing to the excellence of the stone, the -marks of the tool upon them are peculiarly distinct. In the hill behind -the station, called the Bell-knowe, the ancient quarrymen have left -numerous wedge-holes and other indications of their labours. Although a -fosse usually surrounded the ramparts of a station, and although sir -Walter Scott has sung of— - - The moated mound of Risingham, - -[Sidenote: RISINGHAM.] - -Risingham does not appear to have been defended in this way. In company -with the owner of the property, who had a little before thorough-drained -the ground bordering on the south and east sides of the camp, I sought -in vain for any traces of a fosse. The ruins of the interior would yield -a rich harvest to the careful explorer. Recent excavations have revealed -some chambers of great interest; but, with the exception of those near -the south-east corner, they have been removed as soon as displayed. Some -of the buildings were evident restorations of prior structures: a -circumstance which confirms the conclusion deduced from other -considerations, that the station was long occupied by the Romans. After -being deserted, a portion of its north rampart has been carried away by -the river. Until recently, the remains of the bridge by which -Watling-street crossed the Rede, on the west side of the station, were -distinctly visible. The soil which covers the camp is peculiarly rich, -being replete with animal matter. Many important antiquarian treasures -have been procured from this spot. The large slab, six feet long, which -forms the ground-work of the initial letter at the beginning of this -part, was found among the ruins of the south gateway. The inscription -mentions the restoration of the gate with the walls of the station -(PORTAM CUM MURIS VETUSTATE DILAPSIS). The upper part, which is lost, -probably contained the name of Severus; in what remains, some of the -titles of Caracalla appear. Geta’s name seems to have been erased. The -stone is now at Newcastle. Another very fine slab found at this station, -is at Cambridge. Some of the altars discovered here will be described in -the last part. - -Horsley is naturally surprised that HABITANCUM is not named in the -Antonine Itinerary. One conjecture in which he indulges, in order to -account for this is, ‘that the station might be neglected before the -reign of Caracalla,’ which is proved to be unfounded by the slab already -referred to, and by the discovery last year of some large fragments of -inscriptions, mentioning that emperor by his title Adiabenicus. A second -supposition which he entertains may be the correct one. He says— - - Possibly Risingham might be looked on as too near to - Rochester, to make it another mansion in this route. And - though two places are sometimes set down in the same iter, - which are at no greater distance, yet other circumstances - might render this proper at one place, and not so at another. - -It is not improbable that the two stations may have been under one -command. The exposed situation of BREMENIUM would render it highly -desirable that the _exploratores_, after having battled for a season -with the elements and the Caledonians, should be allowed a period of -comparative relief in some more sheltered spot, such as HABITANCUM. - - -[Sidenote: CORSTOPITUM.] - -CORSTOPITUM is the next place that occurs in this ‘iter,’ in which it is -set down as being twenty miles from BREMENIUM. At the distance of about -twenty-three English miles from the camp of High Rochester, and on the -line of Watling-street, are now to be found the remains of the station -of Corchester. - -[Sidenote: CORCHESTER.] - -This, which is a little to the west of the town of Corbridge, is -doubtless the ancient CORSTOPITUM. The station, which is now entirely -levelled, and can with difficulty be traced, has stood upon a gently -swelling knoll on the north bank of the Tyne. A bridge, the foundations -of which the floods of seventeen centuries have spared, connected it -with the opposite bank of the river; the remains of this bridge are -precisely similar in appearance to those on the North Tyne at CILURNUM. -The bridge has crossed the river obliquely, a circumstance which -corroborates the opinion formerly expressed, that the bridges in these -parts consisted of horizontal roadways, supported upon piers—unless, -indeed, we suppose that the Romans were acquainted with the construction -of the skew-arch. Hutchinson states, that a ‘military way passes from -this place south-west through Dilston Park, over Hexham Fell to Old Town -in Allendale, and meets with the Maiden-way at Whitley Castle.’ -Abundance of medals, inscriptions, and other Roman antiquities, have -been found at Corchester. Pieces of Roman bricks and pots are spread -over the surface of the ground. The church at Corbridge has been raised -at the expense of the station. Horsley conceives that this fort was -abandoned before the compilation of the Notitia, as it is not mentioned -in that document. It is about two miles south of the Wall. - -The large altar which is figured in the initial letter at the beginning -of this volume, formed, in Horsley’s days, the shaft of the market-cross -at Corbridge. It is now on the stairs of the entrance-tower, at the -castle of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The inscription is defaced, but the -carving on both sides remains; on the one side is a soldier, armed—the -representative probably of war; on the other is a warrior, having laid -aside his weapons, dragging an amphora of wine—a picture, emblematic of -peace. The singular use made of this heathen relic suggests the -insertion here of the story of the ‘Fairy stone,’ as it is still told in -this neighbourhood. - - A Roman altar in the vicinity of Bywell was, during the ‘troublesome - times’ of 1715, put to a use little contemplated either by the - ancients or moderns. It was employed as the post-office of the - non-juring gentry of the district. The parties, wishing to keep up a - correspondence with each other, arranged to deposit their - communications in a hollow of the altar. In the gray of the morning - little girls clad in green, and trained to the task, approached the - stone with a dancing step, and, having got the letters, retired with - antic gestures. So well did they perform their part that they were - mistaken for fairies, and the object of their visits was not - discovered for a long time afterwards. The stone was known by the name - of the Fairy stone. - -[Sidenote: CORBRIDGE LANX.] - -But the greatest curiosity which has been discovered at CORSTOPITUM, is -the silver _lanx_, or dish, which is represented on the next page. A -piece of plate so massive, is of rare occurrence in the stations of the -North. It is in the possession of the duke of Northumberland. There is -an accurate cast of it in the Newcastle Museum of Antiquities. - -[Illustration: Corbridge Lanx] - - 'It was found (says Mr. Robert Cay, in a letter of 4th March 1734) - near Corbridge, by some ignorant poor people who have cut off the feet - in such a vile barbarous manner, that they have broke two holes - through the table, and a small piece off one of the corners too.' It - is 19½ inches long, and 15 broad; it weighs about 150 ounces. The rim - of the plate rises nearly an inch above the interior. The figures have - been punched into form. Gale’s conjecture as to its use is probably - the correct one. ‘This is big enough (he says) to contain the _exta_ - of a sheep, or other small victims, which seems to me to be the - likeliest employment for it, and that it was one of these sacrificing - utensils that Virgil calls _Lances_: - - Lancibus et pandis fumantia reddimus exta.’ - - The principal figures on the plate are probably, those of Diana, - Minerva, Juno, Vesta, and Apollo. - - On the left side of the design is Diana, armed with a bow and arrow. - Below her feet is an urn with water flowing from it; in front of her, - is an altar with an offering, of a globular form, upon it, and below - the altar, is a dog of the greyhound species, looking up to the - goddess. - - The next figure is Minerva. She wears a helmet, and her breast is - adorned with the Gorgon’s head. A spear is in her left hand. The thumb - and first two fingers of her right hand are uplifted, as if in the act - of bestowing a benediction. - - The next figure is supposed to be Juno, though no symbol is given by - which she can be decisively distinguished. Her right hand is uplifted - in a manner similar to Minerva’s. At her feet lies a dead buck. - - Vesta succeeds. She is seated; part of her peplus or mantle is drawn - over her head; the two fore-fingers of her left hand, which is - apparently resting upon her bosom, are upraised. Beneath the goddess - is an altar with the fire burning. - - On the right of the piece is Apollo, standing under a canopy. His bow - is in his left hand, a flower in his right. His lyre is on the ground - by his side, and a griffin is below him. - - An eagle and some other birds are among the branches of the tree in - the upper part of the piece. - - Under the whole representation some recondite meaning is probably - concealed, which can only be a subject of conjecture. (_See Hodgson’s - Northumberland_, II. iii. 246.) - -[Illustration: Altar to Astarte] - -[Sidenote: GREEK ALTAR.] - -Two important altars, with Greek inscriptions have been found at -Corbridge. One is dedicated to the Tyrian Hercules; the other, which is -represented in the adjoining wood-cut, to Astarte, the Ashtaroth of the -Scriptures. - - ΑΣΤΑΡΤΗΣ - ΒΩΜΟΝ Μ’ - ΕΣΟΡΑΣ - ΠΟΥΛΧΕΡ Μ’ - ΑΝΕΘΗΚΕΝ - - Of Astarte, - The altar - You see, - Pulcher - replaced. - -Josephus tells us, that Hiram king of Tyre, built two temples, which he -dedicated to these deities. The Israelites, in forsaking the living God, -not unfrequently betook themselves to the abominations of the Sidonians. - - ... With these in troop - Came Astoreth, whom the Ph[oe]nicians call’d - Astarte, queen of heaven, with crescent horns; - To whose bright image nightly by the moon - Sidonian virgins paid their vows and songs, - In Sion also not unsung,... - -It is deeply and painfully interesting to dig up in our British soil -decided traces of this gross idolatry.[129] - - -[Sidenote: HEXHAM CRYPT.] - -_HEXHAM_ is generally admitted by antiquaries to have been a Roman town, -though the proof of it is not absolutely decisive. St. Wilfrid built a -church and monastery here about the year 673, after the Roman manner, -which was considered the wonder of the age. We are told by the -historians of that period that ‘secret cells and subterranean oratories -were laid with wondrous industry beneath’ the building. Some vaults -[Illustration: Crypt of Hexham Abbey Church] still remaining probably -formed the crypt of this ancient structure. The stones which compose -this under-ground building are all Roman; the peculiar mode in which -they are chiselled is exhibited in the annexed wood cut, representing -one of its chambers. The walls exhibit several Roman mouldings and -cornices, besides inscriptions.[130] It is not likely that these stones -would be brought from Corbridge (the nearest Roman station, if Hexham be -not one), which is on the other side of the river, and three miles -distant; especially as there is abundance [Illustration: Slab to Severus -at Hexham] of stone in the immediate neighbourhood. The most important -of the inscribed slabs which are walled up in the crypt, is here -exhibited; it is one[Sidenote: INSCRIPTION TO SEVERUS.] of the -inscriptions bearing the names of the emperor Septimius Severus (who -added to his own name that of his predecessor, Pertinax), of his eldest -son, Caracalla, who styled himself Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Pius, and -of Geta, his younger son, whose name and title have obviously been -erased from the tablet, an operation which we find has been studiously -performed on many similar inscriptions, doubtless after his murder by -his unnatural brother Caracalla. The date of this inscription is marked -by the union of Severus and his two sons in the imperial title. Its -object does not appear from what remains of the stone, further than that -it recorded some act done by a vexillation of some portion of the Roman -forces. - -The mediæval antiquities of Hexham are highly interesting. The gateways -and embattled towers will repay examination; but the gem of this fine -old town, which in the Saxon era was an episcopal see, is the -Abbey-church. The choir and transepts alone remain; they exhibit much -beauty of detail, and their several parts blend most harmoniously -together. The church formerly possessed the right of sanctuary. The -frid-stool is still in its place. The cross which marked the eastern -boundary of the privileged territory is nearly entire, and is kept near -its original site, in the yard of the poor-house. The _disjecta membra_ -of that which marked the northern boundary of the sanctuary lie by the -side of the road going over Cross-bank, a hill between two and three -miles north of Hexham, and from which the traveller approaching the town -from the north first obtains a view of the venerable abbey-church, and -surrounding town. The prospect is now, to the peaceful antiquary, -guiltless of his neighbour’s blood, singularly interesting—what must it -have been when descried in ancient times by panting fugitives, pressed -by an avenging hand, and fleeing to the sanctuary! This cross remains a -monument of the disordered state of society in the middle ages, and -leads the reflecting passenger to contrast his present tranquility with -the insecurity of former times. No favoured spot is now necessary to -shield the innocent from the rage of a stronger assailant, or will be -allowed to stay the course of justice upon the guilty. - - -[Sidenote: EBCHESTER.] - -_EBCHESTER_, situated upon the line of Watling-street, is, as its name -indicates, a Roman station. Surtees thus describes it:— - - Ebchester stands at the foot of a long descent, yet on the edge of a - still steeper declivity. Its cottages and trees are scattered along a - lofty brow overhanging the green haugh-lands of the Derwent. On the - very edge of the steep, the vallum of a Roman station is still - extremely distinct, and the little chapel of Ebchester, a farmhold, - and a few thatched cottages, stand within the very area of the ancient - VINDOMORA—if VINDOMORA it be, for the point is by no means stated as - beyond controversy. - - -[Sidenote: LANCHESTER.] - -_LANCHESTER_ is, on the authority of the itinerary of Richard of -Cirencester, conceived to be the EPEIACUM of the Romans. Though several -miles removed from the Wall, its position upon Watling-street would -render it useful as a supporting station. It occupies a lofty brow to -the west of the village, on a tongue of land formed by the junction of -two small streams. On three sides the ground falls from the camp; on the -west only it is commanded by a high moorland hill, whose prospect ranges -from the Cheviots, in the north, to the Cleveland hills, in the south. -The station is one of the largest class, containing an area of about -eight acres. The walls may be distinguished on all sides. The south -wall, though deprived of its facing-stones, stands eight feet high, and -shews nine courses of thin rubble-stones arranged edgewise in a leaning -direction. A layer of very rough mortar has been placed on each course -of stones after they have been placed in their bed. On the outside of -the south-east angle a subterranean chamber has been discovered; the -descent to it is by steps. It is difficult to conjecture the use to -which it has been put; a similar chamber was found to occupy the same -position outside the camp at Plumpton. The masonry of some chambers near -the south-east corner of the station, which when first opened were found -to be full of bones, is very perfect. The remains of a hypocaust may be -seen near to the place where the pretorium has probably stood. -Lanchester seems to have been garrisoned almost throughout the entire -period of Roman occupation; a large proportion of the coins found at it -are of the higher empire, but the series extends down to Valentinian. -The name of Gordian occurs on two inscriptions as the restorer of some -of its buildings. The destruction of the station was probably owing to -some sudden and violent catastrophe. The observations of Surtees on this -subject, are applicable to many of the camps of the Barrier. - - The red ashes of the basilica and bath, the vitrified flooring, and - the metallic substances evidently run by fire, which occur amongst the - ruins, form a strong indication that the structure perished in the - flames. - -It has already been observed (p. 261) that two aqueducts have brought -water to the station from a distance of some miles. This is the more -remarkable as several deep wells have been found near the camp, and -there are open springs within fifty paces from the south and east wall. - -The surrounding moor abounds in iron-stone; of this the Romans seem to -have availed themselves, for immense heaps of slag, of ancient -production, have been found in the neighbourhood. - - -_BINCHESTER_ is still farther to the south, on the same line of road; -but, on account of its distance, would have but little intercourse with -the stations immediately connected with the Barrier. It contains some -hypocausts, which are peculiarly worthy of careful examination. - - -Retracing our steps and again penetrating the region of fierce -Caledonian onslaughts and border feuds, we find Bewcastle occupying a -position north of the Wall, on the Maiden-way, corresponding with that -which Risingham does on Watling-street. - - -[Sidenote: BEWCASTLE.] - -_BEWCASTLE_ stands in the bottom of a basin formed by a wide -amphitheatre of bleak and lofty hills. The camp occupies a platform -slightly elevated above the rivulet, the Kirkbeck, which washes its -southern ramparts and permeates the valley. The northern side is the -weakest part of the position, but even here there is a depression in the -contour of the ground, which would render it more easily defensible. In -this quarter too there are marks of artificial fortifications beyond the -station wall. The fort, in order to suit the nature of the ground, is -not of the usual square form, but is six-sided; it probably encloses an -area of about four acres. The ground on which the camp stands is -reckoned the most fertile in all Cumberland. It was in the depth of -winter that I visited it (1, Jan. 1850) but even then the space occupied -by the fortifications might be distinguished by its peculiar verdure. To -the east of the camp are some barrow-like mounds, and on the west of it -are terraced lines, bearing testimony to the agricultural industry of -the Romans. On the eminence westward of the camp are the foundations of -square buildings, probably posts of observation. On the lofty summits of -some of the adjacent hills the concentric lines of British encampments -plainly appear. They still seem to bid defiance to the Roman fort in the -valley. - -Within the lines of the camp, and protected by a moat of its own, is a -dark and frowning castle; it is tersely described in an ancient -manuscript, ‘as a strength against the Scots in time of warre.’ The -captain of Bewcastle was a military chief of considerable power; he is -frequently mentioned in Border minstrelsy. The castle is built with the -stones of the station. Its masonry is very rude; the mortar which has -been used is rough, containing, besides gravel and sand, pieces of coal, -charcoal, burnt clay, and broken bricks. A tower, apparently added after -the main structure was reared, guards the entrance-gateway. - -This, or some previous building, gives name to Bewcastle—Bueth’s-castle. - - Bueth was, before the conquest, lord of Bewcastle and Gilsland. After - some previous changes, Henry II., by a grant, dated ‘_apud Novum - Castrum super Tynam_,’ gave the manor of Gilsland to Hubert de - Vallibus, one of his Norman retainers. The Saxons were not men quietly - to submit to wrong. Gilbert Bueth, son of the dispossessed proprietor, - collecting a band of followers, made frequent incursions into his - ancient patrimony. Robert de Vallibus, son of Hubert, the former - possessor, suggested a conference, at which he basely assassinated the - unarmed Saxon. Expiation was easy; the[Sidenote: ORIGIN OF LANERCOST - PRIORY.] priory of Lanercost was founded and richly endowed. It is - traditionally said that part of the expiatory ceremony consisted in - the demolition of the walls of his castle at Castle-steads - (Cambeck-fort), and sowing the site with salt. The baronial residence - was transferred to Irthington, where, as already observed, some traces - of it remain. Robert de Vallibus was afterwards employed by Henry II. - as a judge of assize. How lax must the state of morality have been, - when a murderer was allowed to sit upon the bench! His ill-gotten - lands were not permitted to descend to his posterity, William, his - only child, dying before him. - -The far-famed Runic cross, respecting which so much has been written, -holds its ancient place in the church-yard of Bewcastle. The -inscription, which is now hardly legible, is pronounced by Kemble -(Archæologia xxviii. 347) to be an Anglo-Saxon, not a Norse one. Two -Roman inscriptions, not now to be found, have been described as -belonging to this station. One of them, which Camden saw used as a -grave-stone, bore the letters, - - LEG[IO] II AVG[VSTA] - FECIT - - The second legion, the august, - made _this_. - -The other, much fractured, Horsley saw fulfilling the same office. He -says, ‘I take it to have been an honorary monument erected to Hadrian, -by the _Legio secunda Augusta_, and the _Legio vicesima_.’ - - -[Sidenote: WHITLEY CASTLE.] - -_WHITLEY CASTLE_ is the modern name of another outpost, which is -situated on the Maiden-way, as far south of the Wall as Bewcastle is -north of it. An imperfect inscription found here, and described by -Camden and Horsley, commemorates the dedication of a temple to -Caracalla, in his fourth consulship (A.D. 213), by the third cohort of -the Nervii. As the Notitia places the third cohort of the Nervii at -ALIONIS, it is conceived that such may have been the ancient designation -of the camp at Whitley Castle. The station stands upon the gently -inclining side of a hill, about two miles north of the town of Alston. -The railway approaches within a few furlongs of it. The form of the camp -is peculiar, being that of a trapezoid, whereas the usual figure is that -of a parallelogram. In another respect it differs from all the other -camps that we have hitherto examined; it is surrounded by an -extraordinary number of earthen entrenchments. On the western side, -which is the most exposed, there are no fewer than seven ditches, with -corresponding ramparts, and on the north, four. These earth-works are in -a state of wonderful preservation. The strength of these lines, and the -comparative absence, both within and without the station, of Roman -stones, render it probable that the garrison trusted to breastworks of -earth, rather than of masonry. The general level of the camp is elevated -above the surface of the contiguous ground, in consequence, probably, of -the mass of ruins which it contains. Its whole area, including the -entrenchments and ditches, amounts to nine acres. - -A large altar procured from the station is in the neighbouring farm -house; the inscription is illegible, but it has on the upper part of its -four sides, a carving in bold relief. - -[Sidenote: ROMAN DUNGHILL.] - -It is no unusual thing to find in the neighbourhood of a Roman station -manifest traces of the dunghill of the fort. As might be expected, such -a repository is replete with objects which, though once despised and -cast away as worthless, well repay the search of the antiquary. Not far -from the north-east angle of this camp a large dunghill was found, which -has been recently removed for farm purposes. It contained numerous -fragments of Roman earthenware and glass, as well as armillæ of jet or -fine cannel coal. Its most curious product, however, was a large store -of old shoes or sandals. The soles were all made ‘right and left,’ and -consisted of several folds of leather fastened together with -round-headed nails. (See Plate XVIII. figs. 3, 4, 5.) Were this the only -place where these curious objects have been found, we might hesitate to -assign to them a primeval date, but very many having been discovered in -digging the foundations of Carlisle gaol, and some in clearing the -buildings at CILURNUM, as well as other places, and being accompanied in -every instance by other articles of undoubted Roman manufacture, we are -entitled to consider them as the produce of Roman hands. Modern artists -might examine them with advantage; Roman shoe-makers thought it no -dishonour to let nature prescribe the form that their handy-work should -assume. - -[Sidenote: WALLIS’S ENTHUSIASM.] - -Wallis, the author of the Natural History and Antiquities of -Northumberland, was born within the ramparts of this camp; the house is -now removed. In the preface to his work he accounts for the antiquarian -bias of his mind in the following strain:— - - Northumberland being Roman ground, and receiving my first breath in - one of their _castra_, I was led by a sort of enthusiasm to an inquiry - and search after their towns, their cities, and temples, their baths, - their altars, their _tumuli_, their military ways, and other remains - of their splendour and magnificence; which will admit of a thousand - views and reviews, and still give pleasure to such as have a gust for - any thing Roman; every year almost presenting new discoveries of the - wisdom, the contrivance, ingenuity, and elegance of that respectable - people. - -Although nearly a century has elapsed since Wallis wrote this, the field -of Romano-British antiquities still retains much of the fertility he -ascribes to it, and doubtless, has stores yet in reserve for the -assiduous inquirer. - - -Before proceeding to the stations which supported the western extremity -of the Wall, there are two camps, one to the east, and another to the -west of the Maiden-way, which demand a little of our attention. - - -_OLD TOWN._—Horsley entertained the idea that he had found the remains -of a Roman camp at Old Town, near Catton Beacon, in Allendale. Hodgson -treats the opinion with some degree of ridicule. I am disposed to think -that Horsley is right, though the inquiries I made on the spot did not -lead me to a decision of the question. - -[Sidenote: STATION NEAR BRAMPTON.] - -_BRAMPTON._—About a mile west of the modern town of Brampton, upon a -gentle eminence commanding a view in every direction of a most beautiful -country, are the traces of a small Roman camp. The father of English -topography, guided in some measure by the similarity of the names, fixed -the ancient BREMETENRACUM at Brampton; but Horsley, in consequence of -the absence of Roman remains, demurred to the correctness of the -conclusion. It is not surprising that this camp escaped the attention of -Horsley, as it is situated within the ancient park of Brampton, -considerable portions of which were, a century ago, covered with tangled -brushwood and venerable forest trees. Its trenches, though still -visible, are fast disappearing; every time it is ploughed, the furrow is -turned into the hollow of its fosse. Though hundreds of cart-loads of -stones have been taken from it, the ground on which the camp stood is -thickly strewed with stony fragments. On walking over the spot, I picked -up a piece of dove-coloured pottery, part of a millstone, and several -portions of Roman tile. Besides individual coins which have occasionally -been found here, an earthen jar, containing a large hoard, was turned up -by the plough in 1826. It contained not fewer than five thousand pieces, -all of them of the lower empire. - -If Whitley Castle be the ALIONIS of the Notitia, this, as coming next in -order, may be, as Camden conjectured, BREMETENRACUM.[131] - -[Sidenote: ANCIENT TUMULI.] - -In the plain to the south of the camp, are some remarkable _tumuli_. One -mound of large dimensions, standing alone, is covered with oak trees. -Three others of small size, and close to each other, are at the eastern -extremity of the same field. Two of them are circular, and about twelve -yards in diameter; the third is elongated, and measures about thirty-two -yards in length. Whatever opinion we may form respecting the larger -mound, there can be no doubt that the smaller ones are artificial -barrows; the hollow made by the excavation of the soil for their -formation is discernible. They do not appear to have been opened, but -will no doubt soon yield up their long-hoarded treasures to some -enterprising antiquary. - -Between the station and the town of Brampton, may be noticed the faint -traces of an earthen encampment of the usual Roman form; it is fast -disappearing under the action of the plough. West of the station, stands -an ancient church, formed of Roman stones. Though the living have -forsaken the venerable pile, the dead are still being laid in its -church-yard. - - -We now approach the stations which supported the Barrier near its -western extremity; it will be well to examine first those north of the -Wall. - - -[Sidenote: CAMP AT NETHERBY.] - -_NETHERBY._—The nucleus of the seat of sir James Graham is a border -tower, with walls of great thickness. These walls were doubtless erected -at the expense of the ramparts and buildings of the camp, within which -the mansion is situated. The form of the station cannot now be -satisfactorily defined; but the number and importance of the coins, -altars, and sculptures, which have been found within it, prove that it -was a place of consequence during the period of Roman occupation. The -site, though not greatly elevated, commands an extensive prospect in -every direction. The bank on its western side, which slopes down to the -valley of the Esk, is said to have been washed in ancient days by the -waters of the Solway. - -Among the many important inscriptions discovered here, is one to -Hadrian, closely resembling those which have been found at Milking-gap, -Bradley, and other places. The stone has long been lost, but in Gough’s -Camden the inscription is given thus— - - IMP. CAES. TRA. - HADRIANO - AVG. - LEG. II. AVG. F. - -[Sidenote: SCULPTURE AT NETHERBY.] - -Some very fine sculptured stones, found in the station, are preserved on -the spot. Amongst them is one which is figured on the adjoining page. A -youth stands in a niche, a mural crown is on his head, a cornucopia in -his left hand, and a patera, from which he pours out a libation on an -altar, in his right; it is one of the finest carvings that is to be met -with on the line of the Wall. From the grooves which are cut in the -lower part of the stone, [Illustration: Genius of the Wall] we may -naturally conclude, that the figure has been formerly set in masonry, -perhaps to adorn the approach to some temple. Gordon supposes the figure -to be intended for Hadrian; Lysons thinks that it was meant for the -‘Genius of the Wall of Severus’—let us combine the two ideas, and -suppose, that the figure is that of Hadrian, representing, as he had the -best right to do, ‘the Genius of the Barrier.’ - -Reference will afterwards be made to the figures of the _Deæ Matres_ -which have been found here. - -[Sidenote: BLATUM BULGIUM.] - -Netherby is supposed to be the CASTRA EXPLORATORUM of the second -Antonine ‘Iter,’ which was garrisoned by a _numerus exploratorum_. Its -situation is very suitable for an exploratory garrison; and its distance -from Carlisle on the one hand, and Middleby on the other, nearly -corresponds with the distance at which it is set down in the Itinerary -both from LUGUVALLIUM and BLATUM BULGIUM. - - -[Sidenote: CAMP NEAR MIDDLEBY.] - -_MIDDLEBY._—To the south of Middleby Kirk, in the county of Dumfries, is -a camp which is called in the district Burns, or Birrens. It occupies a -low and sheltered situation, but possesses, notwithstanding, -considerable natural capabilities of defence. The water of Mein washes -the earthy scar which forms its southern margin, and the Middleby burn, -which joins the Mein at the south-east angle of the camp, runs parallel -to its eastern rampart. It appears, from the plan given in Roy’s -Military Antiquities, to have been protected, in addition to its stone -walls, on three sides by four earthen ramparts, with intervening -ditches; and on the north, which was at once by nature the weakest, and -the quarter most exposed to the attack of the enemy, by not fewer than -six. The northern ramparts remain in nearly their original completeness, -but the overflowings of the Mein on the south, the construction of a -road on the east, and the operations of agriculture on the west, have -destroyed the ramparts on these sides. A _procestrium_, or out-work, -protected by its own ramparts, appears to have been appended to the west -side of the original camp; or, perhaps, to speak more correctly, the -suburban buildings, which were situated in this quarter were embraced by -an additional fortification. In so exposed a situation, such a -precaution would be highly proper. The field in which the _procestrium_ -was, has been brought into cultivation, and a great number of carved -stones, which were found in it, taken to Hoddam Castle. The corners of -the camp are, as is usually the case, rounded; the four gateways are -clearly discernible. The interior area of the station measures three -acres and three-quarters. On the south side of the station a large -vault, arched with stone, was laid open more than a century ago. Popular -credulity has magnified it into an underground passage, which extended -all the way to Burnswark; the people in the neighbourhood aver that they -have known persons go a considerable way along it. - -The altars and sculptures found at this place are engraved and -described, apparently with great accuracy, in Stuart’s Caledonia Romana. -Amongst them is a stone tablet, bearing the words— - - IMP. CAESARI TRAIAN. LEG. SECVND. AVG. - -A piece of another, with the inscription— - - LEG. XX. VICT. - -The lamented author of this work says— - - With the exception of a brass coin of Germanicus, and the inscription - containing the name of Hadrian, the greater part, if not all the - antiquities found at Birrens, may be ascribed perhaps to the third or - fourth century. The striking similarity of style and execution which - exists between them and the bulk of those discovered in the north of - England, of which the dates can be ascertained, is sufficient to stamp - them as the productions of a period subsequent to the reign of - Septimius Severus.—_Caledonia Romana_, 130. - -It did not belong to the author’s subject; to inquire, how the fact of -so few of the memorials of the mural line being of the age of Severus, -comported with the popular idea that he built the Wall! - - -[Sidenote: BURNSWARK HILL.] - -_BURNSWARK_, or Birrenswork.—A solitary hill, nearly three miles to the -north-west of Middleby, rises to the height of nearly seven hundred and -forty feet above the level of the sea. 'On its top lies an unequal -plain, about nine hundred feet long, by four hundred and fifty of mean -width—almost inaccessible on two of its sides, and by no means of easy -attainment on any.'[132] From this elevated summit, the mountain ridges -which are scattered over not fewer than six of the Scottish counties can -be descried; looking eastward, the Nine-nicks of Thirlwall are in sight; -southward, the familiar forms of Skiddaw, Saddleback, and Cross-fell -rise into view; to the south-west, the craggy peaks of the Isle of Man -arrest the attention in favourable states of the atmosphere; and, not -unfrequently a long, black streak, on the distant verge of the ocean, -indicates the position of Ireland. According to the former political -divisions of the British empire, four kingdoms were thus to be seen from -Burnswark-hill. - -So commanding a position was not neglected by the ancient Britons. -'Around the area of the summit may still be traced the remains of a -wall, composed of earth and stones, which seems to have been raised at -every spot where the precipitous rock did not of itself afford -sufficient protection.' Unhappily most of the stones have been hurled -into the valley below, to form a long boundary fence. The enclosure is -divided into two compartments of nearly equal size; one of them contains -a circular range of stones, the remains apparently of an ancient cairn -or watch-tower. - -[Sidenote: CAMPS ON THE HILL.] - -On two of the sides of Burnswark are the vestiges of Roman military -works. The largest, which is on the southern slope, encloses an area of -twelve acres. It has been originally encompassed by two ramparts, -separated, as usual, by a deep trench; it had three gates on the upper, -and apparently the same number on the under side, with a single one at -each end. These gateways have been protected by circular mounds, thrown -up before them, and fortified on the top. The pretorium, or general’s -quarters, defended by an entrenchment of its own, was placed on the -north-west angle of the camp. This circumstance would seem to warrant us -in supposing, that, even in the stationary camps of the Wall, the -pretorium was not uniformly placed in the upper part of the central -area, where, according to the usual theory, we should expect to find it. -All the entrenchments are of earth, and on the north side they are -peculiarly bold. - -The camp on the northern face of the hill has been constructed upon the -same principle, but is in a less perfect condition. It is of the same -length, but has only half its breadth. A covered way conducts from the -one to the other. It is probable that both these camps have been the -summer quarters, _castra æstiva_, of the garrison at Middleby. So -important a position would not, however, at any period of the year be -abandoned to the enemy; 'when not filled with the tents of its summer -inhabitants, it is probable that a small garrison was maintained on its -summit.'[133] - - -[Sidenote: CAMP AT PLUMPTON.] - -_PLUMPTON._—Several camps south of the line, and at nearly equal -distances from the Wall and from one another, added security to the -fortification in the western district. Plumpton, or Old Penrith, called -in the locality by the common name of Castlesteads, is a large station -about thirteen miles south of Carlisle. The conjecture of Horsley -ascribed to it, the name of BREMETENRACUM. The turnpike-road goes close -past it, as did the ancient Roman way which led from LUGUVALLIUM to the -south of Britain. The station presents the usual characteristics of a -Roman camp. Though not much elevated, it is sufficiently raised to enjoy -a most extensive view of the surrounding country. The western side is -the strongest, being protected by the deep but narrow valley in which -the river Peterel flows. Its ramparts are boldly marked, and the -interior of the station is filled up to their level by a mass of -prostrate habitations. The largest heap of ruins is on the north-east -quarter; it may be the remains of the pretorium. The fosse is well -defined on the north, south, and west sides. Enough of the eastern gate -remains to shew that it has been a double portal. One stone of the -threshold yet retains its position; it is worn by the feet of the -ancient tenants of the city, and is circularly chafed by the action of -the door in opening and shutting. Several very large stones, which have -been used in the construction of the south gateway, lie near their -original site—some of them yet exhibit the holes in which the pivots of -the doors turned. The line of the street, which went from the eastern to -the western gateway (_via principalis_), is discernible. On the outside -of the south-east corner of the station, an arched chamber, or passage, -was discovered a few years ago; but it is now filled up with rubbish. - -[Sidenote: OLD PENRITH.] - -Extensive remains of ancient foundations have been removed from the -field on the east of the station; here, according to tradition, Old -Penrith stood. There are also indications of suburban buildings to the -west of the station. In the neighbourhood of the camp, and even at some -distance from it, we meet, in the houses and stone fences, with such a -number of the small neat stones which were usually employed in the -construction of Roman dwellings, as to impress us with the idea, that -the suburban buildings were very extensive in every direction. - -In recently lowering a part of the turnpike-road, about a quarter of a -mile south of the station, a well, cased with Roman masonry, was -exposed. It is square, and is set diagonally to the road; it now -copiously supplies the neighbouring farm-houses, which formerly were, in -dry seasons, much inconvenienced by the scarcity of water. - -Several sculptured, and inscribed stones, as well as coins, have been -found here; but none of them are of a nature sufficiently interesting to -detain us longer at Plumpton. - - -[Sidenote: OLD CARLISLE.] - -_OLD CARLISLE_ is nearly two miles south of Wigton. The station is a -large one; the ruins of its ramparts and interior buildings are boldly -marked. A double ditch, with intervening vallum, seems to have -surrounded the fort. The rivulet Wiza runs in a deep ravine immediately -below the station, on its west side, and at a remoter distance, on its -south also, thereby lending to it additional strength. [Illustration: -Altar to Jupiter for the safety of Severus] The remains of suburban -buildings may still be seen outside the walls, on the south, east, and -west. Within the fort, a street may be distinctly traced from the north -to the south gate, and another from the east towards the west. Near the -centre of the station is a moist spot of ground where we may conceive a -well to have been. Up to a recent period, the Roman roads leading from -this station on the one hand, to Carlisle, and on the other to Maryport, -were distinctly visible. Of the many important inscribed stones dug out -of this station, that which is represented above is probably the most -interesting. It was found in the year 1775, about two hundred yards east -of the camp, and is now in the collection at Netherby. - - I[OVI] O[PTIMO] M[AXIMO] - PRO SALVT[E] - IMP[ERATORIS] L. SEPTIM[II] - SEVERI AVG[VSTI] N[OSTRI] - EQVITES ALAE - AVG[VSTÆ] CVRANTE - EGNATIO VERE- - CVNDO PRA- - EF[ECTVS] POSVERVNT - - To Jupiter, best and greatest. - For the safety - of the emperor Lucius Septimius - Severus, our Augustus; - The cavalry of the wing _styled_ - the Augustan, under the direction of - Egnatius Vere- - cundus pre- - fect, placed _this_. - - -[Sidenote: CAMP NEAR MARYPORT.] - -_MARYPORT._—On the cliffs overhanging the modern town of Maryport, are -the manifest remains of a large Roman station. Its position gives it a -commanding view of the Solway Firth and Irish Channel. The camp is a -very large one, and the lines of its ramparts are very boldly developed. -The eastern side, which is the only one that is not defended by a -natural defile, or valley, was protected by a double ditch. There are -some traces of masonry also near the gateway on this side, which render -it probable that this entrance had been guarded by additional outworks. -Some portions of this gateway remain; the sill of it is strongly marked -by the action of chariot wheels. The ruts are about five inches deep, -and five feet ten inches apart. Within the station is a well, encased -with circular masonry. The interior of the station was excavated in -1766. The following account of the appearances which were then observed, -is given in Lysons’ Cumberland:— - - The workmen found the arch of the gate beat violently down and broken; - and on entering the great street, discovered evident marks of the - houses having been more than once burnt to the ground and rebuilt; an - event not unlikely to have happened on so exposed a frontier. The - streets had been paved with broad flag-stones, much worn by use, - particularly the steps into a vaulted room, supposed to have been a - temple. The houses had been roofed by Scotch slates, which, with the - pegs which fastened them, lay confusedly in the streets. Glass - vessels, and even mirrors were found; and coals had evidently been - used in the fire places. Foundations of buildings were round the fort - on all sides. - -[Sidenote: HOSPITAL CAMP.] - -In the grounds of Nether Hall, the seat of J. Pocklington Senhouse, -esq., is a small entrenchment containing an area of about an acre and a -half; it is in a low and sheltered position, and has probably been a -retreat for invalids. Ancient roads have diverged from this station, -leading to Bowness, Wigton, and Papcastle. On draining, lately, the -fields on the line of road leading towards Old Carlisle, its pavement -was met with, and to a great extent removed. The body of the road was -composed of large granite boulders, some of them a quarter of a ton in -weight; the interstices being filled up with smaller stones. On the -south side of this way several slabs of stone were found, lying flat on -the ground. They probably covered the ashes of the dead; fragments of -red pottery and glass were found beneath them. - -[Illustration: Altar to Jupiter, Maryport] - -[Sidenote: ANTIQUITIES AT NETHER HALL.] - -Very numerous and very important are the remains of antiquity which this -station has yielded. With the exception of one fine altar, they are all -carefully preserved in the house and grounds at Nether Hall. Many of the -sculptured stones which have been found here, are more highly carved and -more tastefully designed than is usual in the mural region. An altar to -the genius of the place, which has been removed to Whitehaven Castle, -and will be described in the last Part of this work, is characterized by -Camden as ‘_ara pulcherrima affabrè artificio antiquo exculpta_,’ and a -more graceful altar than that which is shewn in this cut, we have not -met with in our mural peregrination. It is important, also, as proving -the residence here of the '_prima cohors Hispanorum_.' In consequence, -probably, of some service done to Hadrian this cohort seems, -subsequently to the dedication of this altar, to have obtained the title -of Ælia and the rank of _milliaria equitata_. The inscription may be -read.— - - I[OVI] O[PTIMO] M[AXIMO] - COH[ORS] I HIS[PANORVM] - CVI PRAE[EST] - MA[RCVS] MAENI- - VS AGRIP[PA] - TRIBV[NVS] - POS[VIT] - - To Jupiter, the best and greatest. - This first cohort of the Spaniards, - Commanded by - Marcus Mæni- - us Agrippa - The Tribune, - Erected _this_. - -A plain, square, but now partially fractured, pillar, inscribed, ROMAE -AETERNAE ET FORTVNAE REDVCI, is reserved to form the concluding cut on -the last page of this volume. It is a striking memorial at once of the -aspiring pretensions and blighted prospects of the imperial city. A -boar, the symbol of the twentieth legion, exhibiting more than the usual -spirit, forms the vignette at the close of this Part; and the slab which -bears testimony to the labours which the second, and twentieth, legion -underwent in constructing the works of this station, is introduced at -the close of the Part devoted to the discussion of the question ‘Who -built the Wall?’ There is preserved in the piazza at Nether Hall, a -carving in relief of a warrior on horseback trampling on a fallen enemy; -the drawing is not strictly correct, but is very spirited, and the -foreshortening of the horse’s head remarkably good. Besides these, there -are several large and instructive altars and funereal slabs, as well as -a tablet having a Greek inscription to this effect—Aulus Egnatius Pastor -set up this to Æsculapius. - -The minor antiquities consist of fragments of tiles, one of which bears -the stamp of the first cohort of the Spaniards, a bronze pot bearing a -marked resemblance to some which are in modern use, several earthenware -vessels of large size, and quite perfect, implements of iron, and -weapons of war. Amongst the coins which have been found in the station, -are a great many forged denarii of Trajan and Hadrian. They are chiefly -formed of lead, and are badly made; in some instances the metal has not -reached the centre of the mould, and in scarcely any have the edges of -the casting been properly dressed. Genuine coin must have been -exceedingly scarce among the soldiery of the camp, and their credulity -very great, to allow of the circulation of such base imitations. - -[Sidenote: ANCIENT BARROW.] - -A large artificial mound or barrow is to the left of the station. The -inhabitants had an old tradition respecting it; they conceived it to be -the sepulchre of a king. It was opened in 1763; near its centre ‘the -pole and shank bones of an ox’ were found, but neither urns, burnt -bones, nor coins, were discovered. - -There is great uncertainty about the ancient name of this fort. Camden -pronounced it to be OLENACUM, chiefly influenced by the resemblance in -sound between it and the name of the neighbouring village of -Ellenborough (Maryport is but of recent origin). This supposition -gathers force from the fact that in ancient documents the river Ellen, -which gives name to the place, is written ‘Alne’ and ‘Olne.’ - - -_PAPCASTLE_ is about six miles south-east of Maryport. Numerous relics -of antiquity have been found here, but little now remains to mark it out -as the site of a Roman station except its extraordinary fertility. The -town of Cockermouth, a mile to the south of the fort, is supposed to -have risen from its ruins. - -The forts which we have already examined may be thought sufficient to -support the line of the Wall. The peculiar circumstances of its western -extremity will perhaps justify us in reckoning Moresby, notwithstanding -its distance from the Wall, among the out-stations of the Barrier. Not -only does the Scottish coast, by projecting considerably beyond the -western termination of the Wall, facilitate the invasion of the -intra-mural portion of the island—but Ireland, the native land of the -Scoto-Celts, is nigh at hand. It was necessary to prevent, not only the -inhabitants of Caledonia landing on the coast of Cumberland, but the -‘Scots,’ also, who at that time ‘poured out of Ireland.’ Another -sea-port station, south of Maryport, was therefore requisite. - - -[Sidenote: CAMP AT MORESBY.] - -_MORESBY_, within a short distance of Whitehaven, still exhibits the -remains of a Roman camp. It occupies a commanding position, enjoying -especially an extensive marine prospect. Its western and southern -ramparts are still good. The parish church and church-yard border upon -its eastern wall. A sculptured stone, evidently chiselled by Roman -hands, lies upon the spot, under the ruined chancel-arch of the old -church. The important slab, of which the wood-cut gives a -representation, was found in digging for the foundations of the present -parish church. It is another of the interesting testimonies which we -have of the energy and influence of the emperor Hadrian in those parts. -Like the Milking-gap inscription, it gives the name of the emperor in -the genitive case. - -[Illustration: Slab to Hadrian, Moresby] - -[Sidenote: FORT AT MALBRAY.] - -A military way ran along the coast from this station, by way of -Maryport, to the extremity of the Wall, at Bowness. By this means, the -defence of the coast could be more effectually secured. As the distance -between Maryport and Bowness is considerable, a small camp was planted -at Malbray, which is about midway between the two places. The site of it -is now a ploughed field. - -We have now taken a hasty review of the stations on both sides of the -Wall, which have supported that structure. Never, assuredly, was a -dangerous frontier more securely guarded. So long as the stations were -supplied with vigilant and well-disciplined troops, no foe, however well -armed, could successfully attempt the passage of the Barrier of the -Lower Isthmus. - -[Sidenote: MURAL SCENES.] - -Even the cursory view that we have taken of the subject, entitles us to -say, that the boldness of the design was worthy of Rome in the zenith of -her glory; and that the manner in which the project was carried out was -becoming a nation with whom to conceive was to execute. - -If we turn our attention for a moment from the work, to the object for -which it was intended, regret, that man should use his ingenuity for the -purposes of aggression and bloodshed, will take the place of admiration. -Milton aptly describes the scenes which this region would often -witness:— - - He look’d, and saw wide territory spread - Before him, towns, and rural works between, - Cities of men with lofty gates and towers, - Concourse in arms, _fierce faces_ threatening war, - Giants of mighty bone, and bold emprise; - Part wield their arms ... - ... now scattered lies - With carcases and arms th' ensanguined field - Deserted.... - ... Others from THE WALL defend - With dart and javelin.... - On each hand slaughter and gigantic deeds. - Adam was all in tears. - _Paradise Lost_, xi. 638-674. - -[Illustration: Symbol of Leg. xx. v. v.] - ------ - -Footnote 128: - - An earthen encampment is cut in two by the Newcastle and Berwick - railway, in the second field south of the Netherton station. In the - space of three fields, lying east of this camp, three others may be - distinctly discerned, varying in size from forty to seventy yards - square. At Dove-cote, which is less than a mile west of Netherton - station, is a large field covered with the ruins of stone buildings. - Excavations in one portion at least of the ground yield large - quantities of glazed pottery. The remains are apparently mediæval, but - it is remarkable that no record of ruins so extensive is known to - exist. - -Footnote 129: - - Hutchinson says (A.D. 1778), the altar to Hercules is in the - possession of the duke of Northumberland; it is not now among those - preserved at Alnwick-castle. The altar to Astarte is in the collection - at Netherby. - -Footnote 130: - - The last time I was in the crypt, I was impressed with the idea that - some portions of it were actually of Roman workmanship; if so, St. - Wilfrid has adapted to his own uses the vaults which he found on the - spot. The crypt at Ripon, to which this bears a marked resemblance, is - now understood to be Roman. - -Footnote 131: - - Horsley, near the close of his work, was less opposed to this view - than at the beginning. In a note (_p._ 481), he says—‘I see no reason - to change my sentiments concerning any one of these stations; except - that I am more inclined to yield to the common opinion, that - BREMETENRACUM is at Brampton, and to think that OLENACUM and VIROSIDUM - are transposed; so that OLENACUM may be Ellenborough, on the river - Ellen, and VIROSIDUM, Old Carlisle, on the Wiza. And if the - military-way near the Wall, which goes by Watchcross, has led to - Brampton, as the country people suppose, this might still make it more - probable, that Brampton is BREMETENRACUM.’ - -Footnote 132: - - Caledonia Romana, 131. - -Footnote 133: - - Caledonia Romana, 134. - ------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - ~The Roman Barrier of the - Lower Isthmus.~ - - - - - PART V. - THE QUESTION—WHO BUILT THE WALL?—DISCUSSED. - -Our course hitherto has been a detail of facts; now we enter upon the -region of speculation. In the former Parts of this work, the history of -the Roman occupation of Britain has been briefly told and an attempt -made to depict the present condition of the Vallum and Wall, with their -camps, castles, and outworks; now the question must be put—Is the -Barrier the Work of one master-mind, or are its several parts the -productions of different periods, and of different persons? Had the -statements of the ancient historians upon the subject been explicit and -consistent, the inquiry would involve simply an appeal to their -authority; unhappily, the information which they afford is not only very -meagre, but of a character so unsatisfactory, as to compel us to sift -their evidence, and to compare it with the facts which we glean from an -examination of the fortifications themselves. - -[Sidenote: AGRICOLA’S WORKS.] - -Agricola, we are informed by Tacitus, erected forts both on the Lower -and Upper Isthmus; we are nowhere told that he drew walls, whether of -earth or stone, across either of them. The northern rampart of the -Vallum has by many been conceived to be the work of Agricola. In the -absence of any direct historical testimony bearing upon this subject, -the circumstance that the lines of the Vallum pursue a course precisely -parallel to each other, must be considered as fatal to this theory. It -is altogether incredible, that two engineers should at different periods -construct independent works, without crossing each other’s ramparts. In -Roy’s Military Antiquities, several instances are given where the -trenches of one encampment cut arbitrarily those of another, the troops -who last occupied the post, not seeming to pay the least attention to -the works of their predecessors; the lines of the Vallum would doubtless -exhibit the same appearance had they been the works of different -periods. The claims of Agricola to the authorship of any part of the -Vallum may therefore at once be set aside, and the inquiry be confined -to the relative claims of Hadrian and Severus. - -[Sidenote: HADRIAN AND SEVERUS.] - -If the parallelism of the lines of the Vallum be fatal to the theory, -that one of the mounds is the work of Agricola, and the others the work -of Hadrian, a similar mode of reasoning leads to the conclusion, that -the Vallum and the Wall cannot be independent structures. If Severus, -finding that the earth-works of Hadrian had fallen into decay, or were -no longer sufficient to wall out the Caledonians, had determined to -erect a more formidable Barrier, would he not have mapped out its track -without any reference to the former ruinous and inefficient erection? -Had he done so, we should find the lines taking independent -courses—sometimes contiguous, occasionally crossing each other; -sometimes widely separated, seldom pursuing for any distance a parallel -course, but the Wall, as the latest built, uniformly seizing the -strongest points, whether previously occupied by the Vallum or not. -This, however, is not the case; the Wall and Vallum, in crossing the -island, pursue precisely the same track from sea to sea; for the most -part they are in close companionship, and in no instance does the Wall -cut in upon the trenches of the Vallum. At the first view of the -subject, therefore, we should be disposed to question the accuracy of -the opinion which gives to these works distinct dates, and ascribes the -Vallum to Hadrian, and the stone Wall to Severus. Before further -prosecuting this inquiry, it will be well to lay before the reader all -the statements of the ancient historians upon the matter in question; he -will by this means see the necessity of appealing to the structures -themselves for a satisfactory decision of the question. - -[Sidenote: TESTIMONY OF HISTORIANS.] - -Herodian was contemporary with Severus, and professes to have been an -eye-witness of all that he relates. He gives a detailed account of the -emperor’s proceedings in Britain, but does not once mention the Wall. -Dion Cassius was also contemporary with Severus. As before observed, -that part of the original work which treats of Britain is lost; we have, -however, Xiphiline’s abridgment of it. The only reference which he makes -to the Wall, comports with its existence previous to the arrival of -Severus in Britain, Speaking of that emperor’s expedition against the -Caledonians, he says— - - Nor did he ever return from this expedition, but died three years - after he first set out from Rome. He got a prodigious mass of riches - in Britain. The two most considerable bodies of people in that island, - and to which almost all the rest relate, are the Caledonians and the - Meatæ. _The latter dwell near the Barrier Wall_ (οιχουσι δε οἱ μεν - Μαιαται προς αυτῳ τῳ διατειχισματι, ὁ την νῆσον διχῆ τεμνει) _which - divides the island into two parts_. - -Spartian, writing about A.D. 280, is the first person who gives us any -direct information about the erection of a Wall; and it is on his -testimony chiefly that the credit of the work has been given to Severus. -Speaking of Hadrian, he says— - - He went to Britain where he corrected many things, and first drew a - Wall (_murumque primus duxit_) eighty miles long, to separate the - Romans from the barbarians. - -No testimony could be more explicit than this in favour of the view that -Hadrian built the Wall. As this writer, however, subsequently ascribes -the work to Severus, many are of opinion that Spartian here speaks of -the Vallum, not of the stone Wall. Mere verbal criticism will not decide -the point, but it may be observed in passing, that although the words -_murus_ and _vallum_ are occasionally interchanged by Latin authors, the -term (_murus_) which Spartian uses in the passage, taken strictly, means -a stone wall. Speaking of Severus, the same writer says— - - He fortified Britain with a Wall drawn (_muro ducto_) across the - island, and ending on each side at the sea, which was the chief glory - of his reign, and for which he received the name of Britannicus. - -The same writer, in a subsequent chapter, makes a second reference to -the Wall, which is of some importance in discussing the question. -Narrating an incident which occurred near the Wall, he says— - - After the Wall or Vallum in Britain was completed, and the emperor was - returning to the next stage _not as conqueror only, but as founder of - eternal peace_, and was thinking within himself what omen might happen - to him, an Ethiopian soldier, famous as a mimic, and noted for his - jokes, crossed his path, crowned with cypress. Struck with the colour - of the man, and his crown, he was angry with him, and ordered him to - be put out of his sight, when the fellow is reported, by way of a - joke, to have said—'Thou hast been everything—conquered everything: - now conqueror, be a god!' - -Julius Capitolinus, a writer who flourished about the same time as -Spartian (A.D. 280) speaking of the Antonine Wall, uses an expression -which seems to imply, that the only previously existing Barrier was one -of turf. He says— - - Antoninus, by his legate Lollius Urbicus, conquered the Britons, the - barbarians being secluded by _another_ earthen wall (_alio muro - cespiticio ducto_). - -All the remaining classical historians sum up in favour of Severus; -they, however, probably only re-echo the statements of Spartian, with a -slight addition of errors of their own. Eusebius Pamphilius says, that— - - Clodius Albinus being slain at Lyons, Severus made war upon the - Britons, and in order to render the subject provinces more secure from - barbaric invasion, he drew a Wall from sea to sea, an hundred and - thirty-two miles long. - -Aurelius Victor, who wrote about A.D. 360, recording his great exploits, -says— - - He achieved greater things than those, for after repulsing the enemy - in Britain, he drew a Wall from sea to sea. - -The younger Victor, in his epitome of the work of the elder, says— - - He drew a Vallum thirty-two miles long from sea to sea. - -Eutropius wrote about the year 360. He says— - - Severus’s last war was in Britain; he drew a Wall of thirty-two miles - from sea to sea. - -Paulus Orosius, who wrote A.D. 417, says, that the conqueror Severus— - - Having fought many severe battles, determined to separate the part of - the island which he had recovered, from the tribes that remained - unsubdued, and, therefore, drew a deep fosse, and a very strong Vallum - (_magnam fossam firmissimumque vallum_), strengthened with numerous - towers, from sea to sea, over a space of one hundred and thirty-two - miles. - -Cassiodorus, who wrote A.D. 520, gives a similar testimony. Among the -events of the consulship of Aper and Maximus (A.D. 207), he enumerates -the transference of the war by Severus to Britain— - - Where, that he might render the subject provinces more secure against - the incursions of the barbarians, he drew a Wall (_vallum_) from sea - to sea, one hundred and thirty-two miles in length. - -[Sidenote: VALUE OF THEIR TESTIMONY.] - -Such are the statements of the Roman historians respecting the -authorship of the Wall. Several circumstances tend to invalidate the -claim which they make in behalf of Severus. The first author who -attributes the Wall to Severus is Spartian, a weak writer, who lived in -an ignorant age, and nearly a century after the time of Severus. Surely -his assertion will not be allowed to outweigh the negative testimony of -Herodian and Dion Cassius, the contemporaries of Septimius Severus. Of -all the authors who mention the length of the Wall, the only one who -approaches correctness is Spartian, when speaking of the Wall, which he -states that Hadrian drew from sea to sea; eighty Roman miles is very -nearly the true length. The other writers call it thirty-two, [Sidenote: -SPARTIAN INCONSISTENT.]or one hundred and thirty-two. Admitting, as some -have supposed, that the larger number is an error, occasioned by some -careless transcriber’s inserting in the copies the centurial number (C), -which did not exist in the original, the difficulty is not removed. -Thirty-two Roman miles is the length of the Barrier of the Upper -Isthmus, not of the Lower, and these writers seem to have confounded the -one with the other. Buchanan, Usher, and several writers, who were as -capable of weighing the evidence furnished by the ancient historians as -we are, have accordingly maintained, that the Wall which extended from -the Forth to the Clyde, is that which was reared by Severus. This -opinion we now know, from the inscriptions found upon it, to be -erroneous; but the fact that it was entertained by such able scholars, -proves the incompleteness of the historic evidence upon the subject. -Milton correctly estimates the vague nature of this testimony. He -writes— - - Severus, on the frontiers of what he had firmly conquered, builds a - wall across the island from sea to sea; which our author judges the - most magnificent of all his other deeds; and that he thence received - the style of Britannicus; in length a hundred and thirty-two miles. - Orosius adds, it is fortified with a deep trench, and between certain - spaces many towers or battlements. The place whereof, some will have - to be in Scotland, the same which Lollius Urbicus had walled before. - Others affirm it only Hadrian’s work re-edified; both plead - authorities, and the ancient track, yet visible: but this I leave, - among the studious of these antiquities, to be discussed more at - large.—(_History of England_, _bk._ ii.) - -Spartian, moreover, invalidates his own testimony when he says, that the -erection of this Wall was the greatest glory of Severus’s reign (_quod -maximum ejus imperii decus est_). The Wall is indeed a magnificent work; -it is, as Stukely characterizes it, ‘the noblest monument’ of Roman -power ‘in Europe;’ but if reared by Severus, it is, a lasting monument -of his failure. He came to Britain panting for renown—he resolved to -reduce the whole island to his subjection—to make the sea-girt cliffs of -Northern Caledonia his barrier. The efforts which he put forth were -worthy of his resolve—‘In a word,’ says Dion Cassius, ‘Severus lost -fifty thousand men there, and yet quitted not his enterprise.’ Were the -abandonment of the Wall of Antonine, and the withdrawal of the frontier -to the southern Isthmus, where Hadrian, eighty years before, had -prudently fixed it, the glorious results of all his aspirations? -Spartian assuredly errs, if not in saying that Severus built the Wall, -at least in stating that this was the great boast of his reign. - -[Sidenote: OCCUPATIONS OF SEVERUS.] - -When, too, we may ask, did he build the Wall? not assuredly when he -issued forth on the expedition that was to win him so much renown, and -which occupied him the greater part of the time he was in Britain. He -was then bent upon aggression, not defence. Neither is it probable that -he would do it on his return. According to Spartian, he had at that time -proved himself not only victorious, but the founder of eternal peace, -and thus had removed all ground for apprehension in the direction of -Caledonia. Or, on the other hand, according to the more accurate and -trustworthy historians, Herodian and Dion Cassius, he was returning worn -out with disease and the endless fatigues he had sustained; chagrined at -the havoc which the islanders had made in his army, though they -uniformly refused to hazard a general engagement; and broken-hearted at -the misconduct and ingratitude of his sons, and so would, we may -suppose, have been deficient in the spirit and the means to embark in so -large a work. That he should have repaired some of the stations, -particularly those upon the line of his march, when about to enter upon -what he hoped to be the crowning enterprise of his life, and that he -should have maintained garrisons in them to make good his communications -with the south, is not only probable, but is rendered almost certain by -the inscriptions which several of them have yielded; but that, in such -circumstances, he should have planned and executed the whole line of the -Wall, its castles and turrets, and several of the stations, is almost -incredible. - -[Sidenote: POPULAR OPINION.] - -But it may be asked, if Hadrian formed the whole Barrier, how is it that -the popular voice should ascribe the most important part of it not to -him, but to Severus? That the Wall is generally called by the name of -Severus, is at once admitted. So long ago as the reign of Elizabeth, -Spencer wrote— - - Next there came Tyne, along whose stony bank - That Roman monarch built a brazen wall, - Which mote the feebled Britons strongly flank - Against the Picts, that swarmed over all, - Which yet thereof _Gualsever_ they do call. - -Popular testimony, apart from the authentic records of history, is of -value for our present purpose only so far as it is the traditional -statement of the knowledge of those who lived when the event took place. -The nearer to its source that we trace a tradition, the clearer and more -unequivocal it will become, if it have its origin in truth. The popular -opinion that Severus built the Wall, will not stand this test. Whatever -value may be attached to the testimony of Gildas, the first British -historian, it is not denied that he records correctly the hear-say -evidence of his day. He does not mention Severus, but tells us, that -after the departure of the Romans, the Britons, distressed by the Picts -and Scots, sought the assistance of their former conquerors, and at -their suggestion, and with their assistance, raised first a wall of -turf, and afterwards, when that was found insufficient, a wall of stone. -The narrative of Gildas has been already given. (_p._ 29.) - -[Sidenote: BEDE’S TESTIMONY.] - -Bede refers to the opinion that Severus built the stone Wall, only to -refute it; he says— - - Severus was drawn into Britain by the revolt of almost all the - confederate tribes; and, after many great and dangerous battles, he - thought fit to divide that part of the island which he had recovered - from the other unconquered nations, not with a wall, as some imagine, - but with a rampart. For a wall is made of stones, but a rampart, with - which camps are fortified to repel the assaults of enemies, is made of - sods, cut out of the earth, and raised above the ground all around - like a wall, having in front of it the ditch whence the sods were - taken, and strong stakes of wood fixed upon its top. Thus Severus drew - a great ditch and strong rampart, fortified with several towers, from - sea to sea; and was afterwards taken sick, and died at York. - -He then repeats Gildas’ account of the origin of the Wall, and -adds—‘that it was not far from the trench of Severus.’ - -These quotations are made simply to prove, that the testimony of -tradition, at a period not long subsequent to the departure of the -Romans, was by no means decisive; no stress ought, therefore, now to be -laid upon it. - -[Sidenote: TRADITION IN ERROR.] - -The popular report, which ascribes the building of the Wall to Severus, -is the less worthy of credit, inasmuch as it imputes to him also the -building of the northern Barrier, which we know was the work of Lollius -Urbicus, in the reign of Antonine. Pinkerton says, 'As to the Welsh name -of _Gual Sever_, which it is said they give to the Wall in the North of -England, it is also given to that between the Firths of Scotland.[134] A -small grave-stone, which was discovered in Falkirk church-yard, in the -immediate neighbourhood of the Antonine Wall, about the year 1815, -confirms the testimony of Pinkerton upon this point. The inscription, a -cast of which I have seen, records the burial there, in the reign of -Fergus II., of ‘a knight, Rob. Graham, who first threw down the Wall of -Severus’ (ILLE EVERSVS VALL. SEVER). If popular opinion has erred with -reference to the one Wall, it may have erred with respect to the other -also.[135] - -But we ought not to expect minute accuracy in a tradition transmitted -through many generations. It is enough that the general impress of the -truth remains. It is nothing surprising, that, after the lapse even of a -century or two, the name of Severus should have been connected with -every military stronghold in the northern section of the island. As -having inflicted the last and heaviest blow upon it, his hated memory -would be the longest retained. - -In the absence of any decisive testimony from the historians of Rome, -respecting the emperor who upreared the Murus, we may next examine the -inscribed stones which have been found upon it. - -[Sidenote: COMMEMORATIVE SLABS.] - -In some instances, inscriptions attached to Roman buildings give their -history with great particularity. This is the case with the Antonine -Wall in Scotland. Slabs inserted at intervals, record the name of the -reigning emperor, of his legate, of the troops engaged upon the work, -and also the number of paces executed by each detachment. Unfortunately -these commemorative slabs are of rare occurrence in the Lower Barrier, -and the information given by such as do exist, is very scanty. This will -appear the more surprising, if we bear in mind that the English Wall is -not only twice as long as the other, but is built of stone throughout; -the Scotch Wall is chiefly formed of earth. On the theory, that Hadrian -reared all the members of the Barrier, the paucity of inscriptions -admits of easy explanation. The custom of raising these memorials did -not commence until his day, and at the time of the erection of the Wall -was probably in its infancy; the practice was in vogue during the reigns -of several of his successors, and was not discontinued until after the -time of Caracalla. If, on the other hand, Severus built the Wall, it is -a most unaccountable thing that his soldiers have left no record of the -fact upon the line of the Wall itself, and but very scanty traces of his -name even in the out-stations. This is [Sidenote: PAUCITY OF -INSCRIPTIONS TO SEVERUS.] the more remarkable, when we remember that the -Wall was built by the same legions as were employed upon the Vallum of -the Upper Barrier. The Antonine Wall was constructed by the twentieth -legion and by vexillations of the second, and sixth. On the mural line -of the Lower Barrier we frequently meet with stones inscribed with the -names and insignia of the second, and sixth, legion, and occasionally -with those of the twentieth. If the English Wall was built in A.D. 210, -as is generally stated, how is it that the troops disregarded a custom -so natural and so laudable as that which was practised so extensively by -their predecessors, in A.D. 140? Extensive repairs were made by -Caracalla at HABITANCUM, BREMENIUM, and some other stations; of these we -have distinct records in the inscriptions which remain. How is it, if -the mind and hand of his father gave being to the magnificent fence of -the English isthmus, that not one of the many stones which he upreared -records the fact? Mural slabs and contemporary historians are alike -silent upon the subject, and, probably, for the simple reason that -Severus did not build it. - -It will serve the purposes of truth to cite all the instances in which -the name of either emperor has been found upon the line; wood-cuts of -all to which I have had access, have been already presented to the -reader. - -[Sidenote: INSCRIPTIONS NAMING HADRIAN.] - -The name of Hadrian occurs in many instances. At Jarrow a stone was -found, and is figured in Brand, which was inscribed OMNIVM FIL. -HADRIANI. In the foundations of the castellum at Milking-gap a stone was -discovered (p. 234), bearing in bold letters the name of the emperor, -and of his legate Aulus Platorius Nepos. At Chesterholm a fragment of a -precisely similar inscription was found (p. 241). In the neighbourhood -of Bradley, two fragments were discovered, which, when placed together, -give us an accurate copy of the same inscription (p. 232). In the ruins -of the castellum near Cawfields, was a portion of another, with a -precisely similar inscription (p. 251); and near the eastern gateway of -ÆSICA a large tablet was dug up, bearing the name of the same emperor -(p. 256). In an outhouse, which probably occupies the site of a -castellum, at Chapel-house, in Cumberland, a stone was found, which -mentions Hadrian and the twentieth legion (p. 274). Horsley describes a -slab which he saw at Bewcastle, bearing the following inscription— - - _IMP._ CAES. TRA_IANO_ - _HADRIANO AVG. - L_EG. II AVG. ET XX V. - LICINIO PR_ISCO_ - LEG. AVG. PR. PR. - -In Gough’s Camden, a stone, inscribed to Hadrian by the second legion, -is stated to have been found at Middleby; and at Moresby we have the -fine slab now at Whitehaven castle (p. 367). - -It will perhaps be said that these inscriptions prove nothing beyond the -universally admitted facts, that many of the stations existed in -Hadrian’s day, and that the Vallum was raised by him. The reply to this -is, that several of them have been found at a distance from any station, -and on the line of the Wall itself, and that too, in positions where it -is farther removed than usual from the Vallum. The occurrence of three -or four of them in mile-castles, seems to prove that they owed their -position there to no accidental circumstance, and no one will deny that -these mile-towers were contemporaneous with the Wall. - -[Sidenote: INSCRIPTIONS TO SEVERUS.] - -The force of these remarks will more clearly appear after ascertaining -what inscriptions bear the name of Severus. If we turn to the inquiry -with the impression that he built the more important member of the -Barrier, we might expect to find the evidences of the activity which -prevailed in his day more abundant than in the time of Hadrian. Such, -however, is not the fact. The one at Hexham (p. 340) was the only -inscription to Severus which was known to Gordon and Horsley. Well might -Gordon, who maintained the Septimian theory, denominate it—‘a very -precious jewel of antiquity.’ Hexham is nearly four miles south of the -Wall. To this must be added the altar discovered at Old Carlisle (p. -360), which is about ten miles distant from the Wall; and another in a -dilapidated state, found at the same place; and the gateway slab found -at HABITANCUM (p. 315), one of the _castra exploratorum_ nearly ten -miles in advance of the Wall, recording the restoration of part of the -fortifications there. Besides these, I know not of any inscriptions to -Severus. I purposely omit all reference to an altar, said to have been -discovered at Netherby, bearing the inscription SEPT. SEVERO IMP. QVI -MVRVM HVNC CONDIDIT, because, both Gordon and Horsley pronounce it to be -spurious. - -[Sidenote: THE GELT QUARRY.] - -Much importance is attached by those who advocate the claims of Severus -to the inscription on the face of the ancient quarry, on the river Gelt. -Here, it may be said, is the very spot from which the stones of the Wall -were taken, and the precise date is fixed—the consulship of Aper and -Maximus. That the quarry was used by the Romans at this period, is not a -matter of dispute, but it is very questionable whether much of the stone -from it was used in the building of the Wall, because, suitable -materials could be procured nearer at hand. The year in which Aper and -Maximus were consuls was A.D. 207; the year in which, according to the -received reckoning, Severus came to Britain, was that in which Geta and -Caracalla were consuls, A.D. 208.[136] It is not likely that Severus -would order the stones to be quarried before his arrival in Britain. -But, allowing that the chronology of Severus’ reign is to be received -with some latitude, and granting that he had landed in Britain in A.D. -207, some time would necessarily elapse in making inquiries into the -state of the country, and no inconsiderable period would be occupied in -making surveys, even after the construction of the Wall had been -determined on. The quarry has probably been wrought for some ordinary -purpose, perhaps for the erection of some buildings in the station near -Brampton, at the period in question. - -[Sidenote: HADRIAN’S QUARRIES.] - -Evidence is not wanting to prove, on the other hand, that quarries near -the line of the Roman Wall were wrought in the time of Hadrian. In an -old quarry near the top of Borcum, or Barcombe (a hill near the village -of Thorngrafton, and opposite to the station of BORCOVICUS), a large -number of Roman coins was found. They are described and figured in the -last Part of this work. Since none of the pieces of this hoard were -later than the time of Hadrian, and the coins of his reign and Trajan’s -were peculiarly fresh, it is agreed that the treasure must have been -deposited in Hadrian’s time. The quarry on Haltwhistle-fell (p. 81), it -will also be remembered, bore the name of the sixth legion, which, if -the reasoning in the next paragraph be admitted, will appear to have -been inscribed before the arrival of Severus in Britain. - -It has already been observed that numerous stones along the line bear, -without any addition, the names of the second legion, the sixth, and the -twentieth. There can be no doubt that these legions and their -vexillations executed the principal part of the Work. The main bodies of -these forces, however, had their head-quarters, at the time of the -arrival of Severus, in districts of the country southward of the Barrier -line. The second legion, after the building of the Antonine Wall, -appears to have gone to Carleon, in South Wales, the Isca of the Romans. -The sixth legion removed to York before A.D. 190, where it continued as -long as the Romans remained in the island. Horsley, speaking of the -inscriptions on the Wall which mention this legion,[Sidenote: MOVEMENTS -OF THE LEGIONS.] says, ’some of them, from the characters and other -circumstances, may be supposed as ancient as Hadrian’s reign.' The -twentieth legion had taken up its abode at Chester, the DEVA of the -Romans, as early as the year 154. Though it is probable that Septimius -Severus may have taken detachments of these legions with him in his -Scottish campaign, it is not likely that he would withdraw the main -bodies from forts of such importance; and those which did accompany him -would find the discharge of their military duties sufficiently onerous, -without engaging in a work so vast as the building of the Wall. - -But, after all, the works themselves furnish us with the best proof that -the whole is one design, and the production of one period. It is -difficult to conceive how any person can traverse the line of the -Barrier without coming to the conclusion, that all the works—Vallum, -Wall and fosse, turrets, castles, stations, and outposts—are but so many -parts of one great design, essential to each other, and unitedly -contributing to the security of a dangerous frontier. The Murus and the -Vallum throughout their whole course pursue tracks harmonizing with each -other; the Murus, however, selecting those acclivities from which an -attack from the north can be best repulsed—the Vallum, those from which -aggression from the south can be repelled. Stukeley was unable to resist -the evidence of his senses. Speaking of the works in the neighbourhood -of Carvoran, he says— - -[Sidenote: STUKELEY’S TESTIMONY.] - - I suppose this Wall built by Severus is generally set upon the same - track as Hadrian’s Wall or Vallum of earth was; for, no doubt, they - there chose the most proper ground; but there is a Vallum and ditch - all the way accompanying the Wall, and on the south side of it; and - likewise studiously choosing the southern declivity of the rising - ground. I observe, too, the Vallum (Wall?) is always to the north. It - is surprising that people should fancy this to be Hadrian’s Vallum; it - might possibly be Hadrian’s work, but may be called the line of - contravallation; for, in my judgment, the true intent, both of - Hadrian’s Vallum and Severus’s Wall, was, in effect, to make a camp - extending across the kingdom; consequently, was fortified both ways, - north and south: at present, the Wall was the north side of it; that - called Hadrian’s work, the south side of it; hence we may well suppose - all the ground of this long camp, comprehended between the Wall and - the southern rampire, was the property of the soldiers that guarded - the Wall.—_Iter Boreale_, p. 59. - -Speaking of the works westward of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he says— - - The Vallum runs parallel to the Wall, but upon the declining ground - south, as the other north; this confirms me in my suspicion, that both - works were made at the same time, and by the same persons, and with - intent that this should be a counter-guard to the other, the whole - included space being military ground.—_Iter Boreale_, 66. - -The reader needs scarcely to be reminded of the striking illustration of -these remarks which is furnished by the appearance of the works a little -to the west of Carrhill, and by the fact, that for nearly ten miles in -the middle of their course, the Vallum is commanded by the heights on -which the Wall stands. - -[Sidenote: RELATIVE POSITION OF THE WORKS.] - -Whenever the distance between the Wall and Vallum varies, it is -generally with some obvious design in view. Thus, as Hodgson, who -powerfully supports the view here taken, remarks— - - The Vallum and Murus always contract the width of the interval between - them as they approach a river, apparently for no other purpose than a - close protection of the military way, and the defence of one bridge; - for if they had passed the brooks and rivers on their line at any - considerable distance from each other, two bridges would have been - necessary, and two sets of guards to defend them: and here it is not - unimportant to remark, that the Murus always takes that brow of the - ridge it traverses, which is precipitous to the north, and never - deserts its straightest or most defensible course to find a convenient - situation for a bridge, while the Vallum almost invariably bends - inwards as it approaches a bridge, and diverges outwards as it leaves - it.—_Hist. Nor._ II. iii. - -Horsley’s plan of the Barrier between CILURNUM and MAGNA, which is -copied on Plate II., will afford several examples of the truth of these -remarks. - -The position of the Vallum and Murus, in relation to the stations, -furnishes additional evidence. The Murus usually forms the northern wall -of the station, or comes up to the northern cheek of its eastern and -western gates, while the Vallum protects its southern rampart, or comes -up to the lower side of its doorways. The two lines give complete -protection to the camps, and to the roads leading to and from them. On -the supposition that the Vallum is an independent fortification, and -that it was constructed nearly a century before the Wall was thought of, -we must concede that its plan was such as to give the stations the least -possible support, to leave them, in short, in a great measure exposed to -the enemy. The manner in which the two walls combine in giving strength -to a station, is very well shewn in Warburton’s plan of the works in the -vicinity of CILURNUM (Plate II). It is scarcely possible to deny the -justice of the remark, which he appends to the title—‘A Plan of CILURNUM -... with part of the Plan of Severus’ Wall and Hadrian’s Vallum, shewing -how they are connected at the stations, and by their mutual relation to -one another, _must have been one entire united defence or -fortification_.' - -[Sidenote: SEVERUS REPAIRED THE WALL.] - -It is not improbable that Severus may have repaired some portions of the -Wall, and perhaps added some few subsidiary defences. Richard of -Cirencester gives us correct information upon several points connected -with Roman Britain, which we do not learn from other authors; it is not -unlikely that his view of the subject of our present study may be the -correct one. He says— - - About this time the emperor Hadrian, visiting this island, erected a - Wall, justly wonderful, and left Julius Severus his deputy in - Britain.... Virius Lupus did not perform many splendid actions, for - his glory was intercepted by the unconquerable Severus, who, having - rapidly put the enemy to flight, _repaired the Wall of Hadrian_, now - become ruinous, and restored it to its former perfection. Had he - lived, he intended to extirpate the very name of the barbarians. - -The supposition that Hadrian built the Wall is consistent with the -accounts which historians give us of his attachment to architectural -undertakings. One writer, of great research, says of him— - -[Sidenote: HADRIAN A GREAT BUILDER.] - - No prince, perhaps, ever raised so many public and private edifices as - Hadrian. In every city of note, throughout the empire, some erection - perpetuated his memory: bridges, aqueducts, temples, and palaces, rose - on every hand. Many cities, likewise, were either wholly built or - repaired by him. _Building seems, indeed, to have been a main feature - in his system of government._ He was the first who appointed that each - cohort should have its quota of masons, architects, and all kinds of - workmen needed for the erection and adornment of public - edifices.—_Hist. Rome_, _Tract Soc. London 277_. - -It is perhaps needless to pursue the subject further. More might easily -be said; but I was unwilling, on a point of so much importance, to say -less. The reader will not fail to perceive what an impressive view the -works of the mural barrier, considered as one vast scheme, and not as a -series of after-thoughts, give of the mighty conceptions and energies of -imperial Rome. - -In taking leave of those renowned men, Hadrian and Severus, it may be -allowable to advert to the testimony which, before departing this life, -they are said to have given as to the vanity of all earthly things. -Hadrian, who used to say, that an emperor should be like the sun, -visiting all the regions of the earth, found himself then, in darkness. -His knowledge of the Eleusinian mysteries gave him no peace; he -addressed his soul in these words:— - - Animula, vagula, blandula - Hospes, comesque corporis - Quæ nunc abibis in loca - Pallidula, rigida, nudula? - Nec ut soles dabis joca. - -These lines are thus happily imitated by Prior— - - Poor, little, pretty, fluttering thing, - Must we no longer live together? - And dost thou prune thy trembling wing, - To take thy flight thou know’st not whither? - Thy humorous vein, thy pleasing folly, - Lies all neglected, all forgot; - And, pensive, wavering, melancholy, - Thou dread’st and hop’st thou know’st not what. - -[Sidenote: DEATH OF HADRIAN AND SEVERUS.] - -Severus’ restless pursuit after happiness was equally vain. His dying -words are said to have been, '_Omnia fui et nihil expedit_'—I have tried -everything, and found nothing of any avail. What a contrast to the -language addressed to him by the Ethiopian soldier—'Thou hast been -everything—conquered everything: now, conqueror, be a god!' - -[Illustration: Slab, Leg. II. and Leg. XX.] - ------ - -Footnote 134: - - Pinkerton’s Inquiry into the History of Scotland, i. 55. - -Footnote 135: - - I do not, however, find that the Antonine Wall is now known in the - district by the name of Severus’ Wall. - -Footnote 136: - - See chronological tables of Roman History in Smith’s Dictionary of - Biography and Mythology. - ------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - -~The Roman Barrier of the Lower Isthmus.~ - - - - - PART VI. - MISCELLANEOUS ANTIQUITIES FOUND ON THE LINE OF THE WALL. - - -Most apposite is the remark of Dr. Johnson, that ‘Whatever withdraws us -from the power of our senses; whatever makes the past, the distant, or -the future predominate over the present, advances us in the dignity of -thinking beings.’ Few things are so well calculated to produce this -effect, as the altars and lettered tablets that have been left on our -soil by the Romans. When we but glance at them, who is not moved at the -reflection, that they were chiselled by hands which for so many -centuries have mouldered nerveless in the dust! - - Still on its march, unnoticed and unfelt - Moves on our being. We do live and breathe, - And we are gone! The spoiler heeds us not; - We have our spring-time and our rottenness; - And as we fall, another race succeeds - To perish likewise. - _Kirke White._ - -On proceeding to decipher the antique records, our emotions are more -varied and more intense. The old Roman seems to arise from the tomb, and -to reveal his modes of thought and principles of action. His breast -heaves; his heart is laid bare. In lines which his own fingers have -carved, the gods before whom he trembled are declared. Looking on the -very altar at which he knelt, we almost seem to see ‘the mean man bowing -down, and the great man humbling himself.’ - -[Sidenote: LETTERED STONES.] - -The region of the Wall has yielded more inscribed stones of the Roman -period than any other portion of the kingdom. Many of them have already -been presented to the reader; a few others will here be described. The -lettered stones of the mural line may be divided into three -classes—altars, funereal slabs, and centurial stones. - - ALTARS. - -[Sidenote: PARTS OF AN ALTAR.] - -The offering of such sacrifices as were supposed to be acceptable to -their deities, formed an essential part of the religion of the Greeks -and Romans. Very numerous are the altars which have been discovered on -the line of the Wall. Many of them are small, some not larger than the -palm of the hand, rough in the workmanship, and without any inscription; -others are of large size, [Illustration: alt=Altar, Deo Vetri] and of -ornate character. The usual form of them is shewn in the annexed cut. -The inscription is on the face of the altar; the base and upper portion -project a little beyond the sides. A small cavity on the top called the -_focus_, or hearth, received the offering. The sides of the altar were -frequently adorned with carvings representing the victims, the -implements used in sacrifice, and insignia of the god. On the altar[137] -before us, we have represented the _præfericulum_, or pitcher, which -contained the wine for the offering; the _patera_, a round, shallow -dish, generally with a handle, which was used in throwing a small -portion of the wine upon the altar; the _securis_, or axe, with which -the animal was slain; and the _culter_, or knife, used in flaying or -dividing it. In the Chesterholm altar, figured _p._ 240, the sacrificial -ox is represented; and on the sides of the altar to Jupiter, which is -shewn on page 290, the thunder-bolt of the god, and the wheel of -Nemesis— the emblem of swift vengeance—are given. The small size of the -_focus_ proves that the offerings presented to the deities occupied a -very small bulk. When an animal was slain, a portion of the entrails was -often all that fell to the lot of the god. - - Idibus in magni castus Jovis æde sacerdos - Semimaris flammis viscera libat ovis.[138] - _Ovid’s Fasti_, i. 587. - -[Sidenote: NATURE OF THE OFFERINGS.] - -Frequently the offering consisted of a little barley-meal, some fruit, -some frankincense, or chips of fragrant wood, with wine or milk. -Occasions of sacrifice were often times of merry-making. The slain -victim and the dedicated wine formed the ready materials of a feast. -Ovid sarcastically represents an old woman performing the rites due to -the goddess of Silence; upon her offering (three grains of incense) she -allows a few drops of wine to fall, and assisted by her companions, -though needing little help, she drinks up the remainder, departing from -her devotions tipsy, and anything but taciturn. - - Ecce anus ... annosa, - Et digitis tria thura tribus sub limine ponit - Vina quoque instillat. Vini, quodcumque relictum est, - Aut ipsa, aut comites, plus tamen ipsa, bibit. - ... ebriaque exit anus. - _Fasti_, ii. 571. - -[Sidenote: ALTAR TO JUPITER.] - -As might be expected, many altars are dedicated to Jupiter, the king and -father, as he was styled, of gods and men. The wood-cut represents a -very fine one, which was found in the station at Chesterholm, and is now -preserved under the piazza of the House. - -[Illustration: Large Altar to Jupiter] - - I[OVI] O[PTIMO] M[AXIMO] - CETERISQUE - DIIS IMMORT[ALIBVS] - ET GEN[IO] PRAETOR[II] - Q[VINTVS] PETRONIVS - Q[VINTI] F[ILIVS] FAB[IA] VRBICVS - PRAEF[ECTVS] COH[ORTIS] IIII - GALLORUM - EX ITALIA - DOMO BRIXIA - VOTVM SOLVIT - PRO SE - AC SVIS - - To Jupiter, best _and_ greatest, - And to the rest of the - Immortal gods, - And the genius of the pretorium, - Quintus Petronius - Son of Quintus, of the Fabian family, _surnamed_ Urbicus. - Prefect of the Fourth cohort - Of the Gauls, - From Italy, _and_ - Of a house of Brixia, - Performed a vow - For himself - And family. - -Two lines have been purposely erased, perhaps in consequence of some -error committed by the sculptor. The town of Brixia, the modern Brescia, -is situated on a feeder of the Po. Petronius, it would appear, still -remembered, and doubtless with affection, his former home in sunny -Italy. Storks adorn both sides of the altar; the object of their -introduction is rather doubtful. In the Risingham slab, now at -Cambridge, to which reference has already been made (_p._ 332), a cock -is associated with the figure of Mars, and a stork with that of Victory. -Can the stork have been the emblem of victory, as the cock was of the -god of war? The powerful wing and stately motions of this bird render it -a fitting emblem of the goddess whose favours Petronius must often have -sought. The inscription is distinct, and strikingly displays the -polytheism of the Romans. Petronius associates with Jupiter, not only -all the immortal gods, but the genius of the pretorium also. - -[Sidenote: POLYTHEISM OF ROME.] - -Not only were the superior deities and invisible genii blended in one -invocation, but mortal men were not unfrequently associated with the -greatest of the gods on the same altar. This is the case in one already -described (_p._ 63). Quintus Verius, on an altar found at Housesteads, -calls upon Jupiter, the best and greatest, together with ‘the deities of -Augustus.’ The emperor himself is probably intended by this phrase, not -the gods whom the emperor worshipped. The use of the noun in the plural -number, _numina_, is not opposed to this view. Horsley remarks that -_numina_ is frequently, in classical writers, applied to a particular -deity; thus we have _numina Dianæ_ in Horace, and _numina Ph[oe]bi_ in -Virgil. The emperors, we know, were frequently worshipped as gods. The -Mantuan bard, addressing Augustus, has no doubt of his divinity, though -he knows not what region to assign to his especial care; - - ... urbesne invisere, Cæsar, - Terrarumque velis curam;... - An deus immensi venias maris, ac tua nautæ - Numina sola colant.... - _Georg._ I. 25. - -[Illustration: Altar, Genio Loci, etc.] - -[Sidenote: MARYPORT ALTAR.] - -An altar, which is not less remarkable for the ornate character of its -decorations, than for the striking display which it affords of the -polytheism of the Romans, was found in the camp at Maryport, and is now -in the possession of the earl of Lonsdale, at Whitehaven Castle. An -accurate representation is given of it in the preceding engraving. - - GENIO LOCI - FORTVNÆ REDVCI - ROMÆ AETERNÆ - ET FATO BONO - G[AIVS] CORNELIVS - PEREGRINVS - TRIB[VNVS] COHOR[TIS] - EX PROVINCIA - MAVR[ITANIÆ] CÆSA[RIENSIS] - DOMOS E . . . - . . . . . - - To the Genius of the place, - To returning Fortune, - To eternal Rome, - And to propitious fate, - Gaius Cornelius - Peregrinus, - Tribune of a cohort, - From the province of - Mauritania Cæsariensis, - . . . . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . . - -The lower lines of the inscription of this altar are much injured; they -probably refer to the restoration of some buildings. The upper portion -is sufficiently plain. Peregrinus addresses first the deity of the place -over which his arms had triumphed; lest the local god should not smile -benignantly, he resorts to Fortune, who had conducted him safely to the -land of his adoption; if this deity should fail him, he thinks to find a -refuge in the genius of the eternal city; but driven from this resource, -there is nothing for it, but to trust to fate or chance. - -On the back of this altar (which as it is at present placed at -Whitehaven Castle, cannot be seen), are inscribed the words, VOLANTI -VIVAS. This was probably the expression of the good wishes of some party -for his friend, inscribed for greater efficacy on the sacred stone; and -may be translated, Volantius, long may you live! - -[Sidenote: ALTARS TO MARS.] - -Mars is occasionally addressed, though not so frequently as we might -expect in a chain of mural garrisons. Two small altars dedicated to him -have already been introduced. On several altars, chiefly found in -Cumberland, he is addressed by the name [Illustration: Altar, Deo -Cocidio] of Cocidius. One which was found at Bank’s-head, and is now -preserved at Lanercost Priory, is here introduced. An altar found at -Lancaster bearing the inscription, DEO SANCTO MARTI COCIDIO, is the -authority for supposing that Cocidius was a name of Mars. The altar -before us has been dedicated by the soldiers of the twentieth legion, -surnamed the Valiant and Victorious; the boar, the badge of the legion, -is at the bottom of the altar. It appears also that Mars was sometimes -styled Belatucadrus, the expression DEO MARTI BELATUCADRO being found -upon some altars; the altars to Belatucadrus are, however, confined to -Cumberland. One of them is here [Illustration: Altar, Deo Belatucadro] -given. It was found at Walton Castlesteads, where it still remains. The -letters are rudely carved, and the last two lines not very intelligible. -The name Belatucadrus or Belatucader is derived from the words Baal and -Cadir; and probably means—The invincible or omnipotent Baal. The fact -that Baal, the great idol of the east, found votaries in Britain shews -how easy it is to propagate error. - -It was the practice of the Romans to adopt the deities of the countries -which they subdued, and they may be supposed to have sought to -amalgamate with their own god of war, the corresponding divinity -worshipped in that part of Britain where these altars were reared. - -[Illustration: Altar to Minerva] - -[Sidenote: MINERVA.] - -The worship of Minerva was not neglected by the soldiers of the Wall. -The wood-cut exhibits an altar to the virgin goddess, which was found in -the station at Rochester; it is now at Alnwick Castle. Several others -exist. Science is required in the arts of war as well as peace. The -victory which mere daring achieved, was by the Greeks and Romans -ascribed to the intervention of Mars; that which was the result of -skilful strategy to the influence of Minerva. This altar was consecrated -by Julius Carantus. - -[Sidenote: FORTUNA.] - -Fortune was one of the favourite deities of Rome. The great confidence -which the Romans placed in her is expressed in the story related by -Plutarch, that on entering Rome she put off her wings and shoes, and -threw away her globe, as she intended to take up her permanent abode -among the Romans. Several altars addressed to Fortune have been found on -the line of the Wall. One of the most remarkable is shewn in the annexed -cut. It was found in a building in the south-east corner of the station -at Risingham, and is now in the Museum of - -Antiquities, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The great peculiarity of it is, that -the projecting base of the altar is provided with a focus, and that on -the projection the inscription is repeated. It reads— - - FORTVNAE - SACRVM - VALERIVS - LONGINVS - TRIB[VNVS] - - To Fortune - Sacred - Valerius - Longinus - Tribune. - -[Illustration: Altar to Fortune] - -The altar, when in its original position, was raised by means of two -courses of masonry considerably above the level of the ground. The -object of the second focus is a matter of conjecture. According to the -grammarians, _altare_ (_alta ara_, high altar) was dedicated only to the -gods above, whilst the _ara_ was both lower, and employed in sacrificing -to the gods below as well as those above. Can Fortune have been viewed -in the double capacity of a superior and inferior divinity, and can the -tribune, Valerius Longinus, have sought to secure the favour of the -powerful deity both in this life and the one to come! - -[Illustration: Altar to Mithras] - -[Sidenote: MITHRAS.] - -Several of the altars found on the line of the Wall are dedicated to the -god Mithras. _Mitra_, it appears, is one of the names for the sun in -Sanscrit; and that - -Mithras was, by the Romans, identified with the sun, is clearly -proved by many of the inscriptions on the altars of that deity. One, -found in the Mithraic cave at Housesteads, and which is now at -Newcastle-upon-Tyne, is figured on the former page. The inscription -upon it may be read thus;— - - DEO - SOLI INVI - CTO MYTRÆ - SAECVLARI - LITORIVS - PACATIANVS - B[ENE]F[ICIARIVS] COS. PRO - SE ET SVIS V[OTVM] S[OLVIT] - L[IBENS] M[ERITO] - - To the god - The Sun the in- - vincible Mithras - The Lord of ages - Litorius - Pacatianus - A consular beneficiary; for - himself and family discharges a vow - Willingly and deservedly. - -[Sidenote: WORSHIP OF THE SUN.] - -[Illustration] - -Another small and roughly-cut altar procured from the same place, and -also now at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, has a figure of the sun on its capital: -Hodgson reads the inscription in this manner—Hieronymus, performing a -vow, freely and duly dedicates this to the sun. - -When we contemplate the powerful and beneficial influence of the sun, we -cannot be surprised that the worship of this luminary, especially in the -east, constituted the first form of idolatry— - - To solemnize this day, the glorious sun - Stays in his course, and plays the alchemist; - Turning, with splendour of his precious eye, - The meagre cloddy earth to glittering gold. - -[Sidenote: WORSHIP OF MITHRAS.] - -The various ceremonies which were observed in the worship of Mithras, -are supposed to have been emblematic of the different influences -exercised by the sun upon vegetable and animal life. The notices which -we have of the meaning of these emblems are, however, a mass of -mysticism and absurdity. The god is commonly represented as a youth -wearing the Phrygian cap and attire, and [Illustration: Attendant of -Mithras] kneeling on a bull thrown on the ground, the throat of which he -is cutting. He is usually accompanied by two attendants, the one bearing -an uplifted torch, representing the sun in the vernal equinox, ascending -to the zenith of his power, the other, an extinguished torch, resting on -the ground, emblematic of the orb of day, when hastening to the winter -solstice. The wood-cut here introduced exhibits one of these figures -(now at Newcastle-upon-Tyne), which was found in the cave at -Housesteads. - -The Mithraic worship was introduced into the western world, from Persia, -about the time of Julius Cæsar, and speedily spread over all parts of -the empire. It appears to have outlived other forms of idolatry in -Europe. Its favourers seem to have abandoned polytheism; on the line of -the Wall at least, the name of Mithras is not combined with that of any -other deity. This circumstance, together with the laborious, though -vain, researches of its philosophical supporters, recommended it to -those who rejected the pure and simple truths of Christianity. - -[Sidenote: MITHRAIC CAVE.] - -Another of the Housesteads altars to Mithras is here figured. It is -inscribed— - -[Illustration] - - D[EO] O[PTIMO] M[AXIMO] - INVICTO MYT - RÆ SAECVLARI - PVBL[IVS] PROCVLI - NYS C[ENTVRIO] PRO SE - ET PROCVLO FIL[IO] - SVO V. S. L. M. - -——— - - D.D. (_dominis_) N.N. (_nostris_) GALLO ET - VOLVSINO CO[N]S[VLIBVS] - -CC - - To the god best and greatest - The invincible Mith- - ras, lord of ages, - Publius Proculinus, - Centurion, for himself - And Proculus his son, - his vow freely and deservedly pays. - ——— - Our lords Gallus and - Volusinus being consuls. - -The temples of Mithras generally consisted of a cave, or a small -building from which the light was excluded. A cave was adopted, -‘because,’ says Porphyry, ‘a cave is the image and symbol of the world,’ -and it was dark, ‘because the essence of the virtues is obscure.’ All -who sought the favour of this god were subjected to a long course of -painful initiatory discipline. Nonnius, a Greek poet, says— - -[Sidenote: MITHRAIC RITES.] - - No one can be admitted into his mysteries, unless he has previously - undergone all the punishments, the number of which they say is eighty, - some of them of the gentler sort, others more severe. The milder are - undergone first, then the severer; and after the whole course is gone - through, they are initiated. Fire and water are the sorts of - punishment which they endure. These torments are said to be inflicted - to produce examples of piety and greatness of mind under sufferings. - After they have been many days in water, they cast themselves into - fire; then live in desert places, and there subdue the cravings of - hunger; and thus, as we have said, the aspirant goes through the whole - course of eighty torments; which if he survive, then he is initiated - into the mysteries of Mithras. - -Human sacrifices seem to have been used in the worship of Mithras. -Photius, in his life of Athanasius, asserts that there was a Greek -temple in Alexandria, in which, in ancient times, the Greeks performed -sacred rites to Mithras, sacrificing men, women, and children, and -auguring from their entrails. Pliny tells us that in the year of Rome -657, a decree of the senate was passed, forbidding the immolation of -man; for till that time monstrous solemnities were openly -celebrated.[139] The emperor Heliogabalus, a native of Syria, styled -himself high priest of Mithras. His assassination is partly ascribed to -the horror with which the people listened to the tales of magic rites in -which he was concerned, and of human victims secretly slaughtered.[140] - -[Sidenote: MITHRAIC CAVE.] - -The cave at Housesteads in which the Mithraic sculptures were found, was -situated in the valley to the south of the station. It was discovered in -1822 by the tenant of the farm in which it stood, who fixed upon the -spot as one likely to yield him the material which he required for -building a stone fence hard by. The building was square; its sides faced -the cardinal points. It had been originally, as was usually -[Illustration: Zodiacal Tablet, Borcovicus] the case in a Mithraic -temple, permeated by a small stream. Hodgson, who saw it as soon as it -was laid bare, says, ‘The cave itself seems to have been a low -contemptible hovel, dug out of a hill side, lined with dry walls, and -covered with earth or straw.’ Though the building has been entirely -removed, a small hollow is left which marks the spot where it stood. All -the sculptured stones have happily been placed in the custody of the -Society of Antiquaries, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Amongst them, besides the -altars already given, and some which it has not been thought necessary -here to engrave, is the curious stone shewn in the wood-cut. It -represents Mithras, surrounded by the zodiac. The signs of cancer and -libra are omitted. The zodiacal tablet assumes an egg-like form, -probably to symbolize the principle of generation. The god holds a sword -in his right hand, and a peculiar spiral object in his left. It more -nearly resembles an ear of corn than the flame of a torch. We are -reminded [Illustration: Pine-apple Ornament, etc., Cilurnum] by it of -the ornaments resembling pine apples, which are frequently found on the -line of the Wall; and were probably connected with the worship of this -deity. The example here figured, as well as the small altar which -accompanies it, was found at Housesteads; both are now preserved at -Chesters. - -[Illustration: Presumed Mithraic Sculpture, Cilurnum] - -[Sidenote: MITHRAIC SYMBOLS.] - -The accompanying wood-cut represents a subject which is supposed to be -connected with the mysteries of Mithraic worship. The slab was found at -CILURNUM, and is now at Alnwick Castle. Though not satisfied with -Hodgson’s description of it, I am unable to supply a better. He says;— - - The sculpture is in two compartments: that on the left seems to - contain a lion, statant, raising the head of a naked and dead man: - that on the right, a figure of Mithras seated on a bench, and having a - flag in one hand, a wand in the other, and on its head the Persian - tiara.(?) I would hazard a conjecture that the whole relates to the - Mithraic rites called Leontica; for the lion, in the zodiac of the - ancient heathens, stood for Mithras, or the sun, which threw its - greatest heat upon the earth during its course through the - constellation Leo. - -[Illustration: Altar to Apollo, Cawfield mile-castle] - -[Sidenote: ALTAR TO APOLLO.] - -Numerous as are the altars on the line of the Wall to the Persian god, -only one has been found dedicated to Apollo, the Grecian representative -of the luminary of day. It was discovered in the summer of 1850, lying -near a spring in the vicinity of the Cawfield mile-castle, about midway -between the Wall and the Vallum, and is now preserved in the collection -of antiquities at Chesters. The following reading must be regarded as, -in a great measure, conjectural; no doubt, however, can exist as to the -deity to which it is dedicated. - - DEO APOL - INI ET O[MNIBVS] N[VMINIBV]S - SINIS[TRA] EXPL[ORATORVM] - CVI PR[AEEST] SVLP[ICIVS] - _VOTVM_ S[OLVIT] - L.L. (_libentissime_) M[ERITO] - - To the God Apol- - lo and the other deities, - The left _wing_ of guides - Commanded by Sulpicius, - In discharge of a vow - Most willingly and deservedly. - -It is believed that this is the only inscription to Apollo yet -discovered in England, though one at least has been found in Scotland. -The Roman soldiers in Britain were probably not much given to the study -of the _belles lettres_, which were under the peculiar patronage of the -god of the silver bow. - -The next is an inscription of unusual importance. - - Ultima Cumaei venit jam carminis aetas; - Magnus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo. - Jam redit et VIRGO. - -[Illustration: Inscription to the Syrian Goddess, Magna] - -[Sidenote: INSCRIPTION TO THE SYRIAN GODDESS.] - -A slab was found at Carvoran in 1816, and is now in the castle of -Newcastle-upon-Tyne, which contains an exposition in iambic verse of the -creed of a Roman tribune respecting the mother of the gods. Faber -remarks, that Ceres, Cybele, Venus, the Syrian goddess Derceto, the -Ph[oe]nician Astarte, and the Egyptian Isis, were all one and the same -deity. The inscription, which is an unusually long one, is here arranged -in lines of the length which the scansion requires— - - IMMINET LEONI VIRGO CÆLESTI SITU - SPICIFERA, JUSTI INVENTRIX, URBIUM CONDITRIX, - EX QUIS MUNERIBUS NOSSE CONTIGIT DEOS - ERGO EADEM MATER DIVUM, PAX, VIRTUS, CERES, - DEA SYRIA; LANCE VITAM ET JURA PENSITANS. - IN CÆLO VISUM SYRIA SIDUS EDIDIT, - LYBIÆ COLENDUM INDE CUNCTI DIDICIMUS, - ITA INTELLEXIT, NUMINE INDUCTUS TUO - MARCUS CÆCILIUS DONATINUS, MILITANS - TRIBUNUS IN PRÆFECTO DONO PRINCIPIS. - - The Virgin in her celestial seat overhangs the Lion, - Producer of corn, Inventress of right, Foundress of cities, - By which functions it has been our good fortune to know the deities; - Therefore the same _Virgin is_ the Mother of the gods, _is_ Peace, _is_ - Virtue, _is_ Ceres, - _Is_ the Syrian Goddess poising life and laws in a balance, - The constellation beheld in the sky hath Syria sent forth - To Lybia to be worshipped, thence have all of us learnt it, - Thus hath understood, overspread by thy protecting influence, - Marcus Cæcilius Donatinus, a warfaring - Tribune in _the office of_ prefect, by the bounty of the emperor. - -Cæcilius probably prepared this exposition of his faith on being -admitted into the mysteries of Ceres. However unintelligible, we cannot -but admire the humility and teachable disposition of the tribune. - - Their judge was conscience, and her rule their law, - That rule, pursued with reverence, and with awe, - Led them, however faltering, faint and slow, - From what they knew, to what they wished to know. - But let not him that shares a brighter day, - Traduce the splendour of a noontide ray, - Prefer the twilight of a darker time, - And deem his base stupidity no crime! - -[Sidenote: MINOR DEITIES.] - -A glance at some of the minor, and local deities must conclude our -review of the gods of the Barrier. - -The deities of Greece and Rome were without number. Every fountain and -river, every hill and forest, had its tutelary deity; every product of -earth, air, or sea, its guardian; every place its genius; every -household its _penates_. The antiquities found on the Wall furnish us -with numerous illustrations of this fact. The engraving represents an -altar which was found at Birdoswald, and is now at Lanercost. - -[Illustration: Altar to Silvanus, Amboglanna] - - DEO SANCTO - SILVANO VE - NATORES - BANNE S.S. (_sacraverunt_) - - To the holy god - Silvanus, - The hunters of - Banna - Have consecrated _this_. - -[Sidenote: THE NYMPHS.] - -Silvanus seems to have presided over woods and boundaries. Several -altars have been erected to him along the line. Forests must at that -time have covered a great portion of the country, and given shelter to -beasts of chase worthy of the martial prowess of the occupants of the -Isthmus. - -A host of female forms, denominated nymphs, haunted mountain, valley, -and stream. - -When in the Iliad, the father of the gods calls together his council, - - Nor of the Floods was any absent thence - Oceanus except, or of the NYMPHS - Who haunt the pleasant groves, or dwell beside - Stream-feeding fountains, or in meadows green. - -An interesting altar, dedicated to these deities, was found by the side -of a spring overlooking the station of HABITANCUM. It is now in the -garden of Spencer Trevelyan, esq., of Long Witton. - -[Illustration: Altar to the Nymphs, Habitancum] - - SOMNIO PRAE - MONITVS - MILES HANC - PONERE IVS - SIT - ARAM QVAE - FABIO NVP - TA EST NYM - PHIS VENE - RANDIS. - -The inscription is roughly cut, but quite legible, no contraction is -used in it, and no ligature is admitted, even in the case of diphthongs. -The construction of the sentence is peculiar, and admits of two -renderings. Taking _nupta est_ to signify dedicated, a peculiar use of -the word, suggested perhaps by its etymological relationship with the -one which it governs, _nymphis_, the inscription will read— - - A soldier, warned in a dream, directed the erection of this altar, - which is dedicated by Fabius to the nymphs to whom worship is due. - -The other method of rendering it is the following,— - - A soldier, warned in a dream, directed her (_eam_ supplied) who is - married to Fabius to erect this altar to the nymphs to whom worship is - due. - -[Sidenote: THE GODS OF THE MOUNTAINS.] - -According to either interpretation the altar was erected to the sylphs -of the fountain, in consequence of a dream. The lively imagination of -the Roman has invested the humble spring where it originally stood with -such an air of romance, as to render it a matter of regret that the -altar does not still grace the spot. - -[Illustration: Altar to the Gods of the Mountains, Vindobala] - -The adjoining wood-cut represents a small altar found at Rutchester, -VINDOBALA, and now in the Castle of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The inscription -reads—To the gods of the mountains, Julius Firminus, the decurion,[141] -erected this. Epona, to whom the next [Illustration: Altar to Epona, -Magna] altar is dedicated, was the protectress of horses; images of her -were to be seen in most stables. Juvenal’s dandy jockey swore by her -alone. This altar was found at Carvoran, and is now in the High School -of Edinburgh. The accompanying example [Illustration: Altar, sculptured -with a Toad, Cilurnum] is not the only instance of a toad being -represented on an altar. This was found at Chesters, CILURNUM, where it -is still preserved. Did the Romans stoop so low as to worship reptiles? -If so, the superstitious practice has probably been derived from the -east. Dr. Kitto remarks, ‘The importance attached to the frog, in some -parts of Egypt, is shewn by its being embalmed, and honoured with -sepulture in the tombs of Thebes. In the Egyptian mythology, the frog -was an emblem of man in embryo.’ - -[Illustration] - -[Sidenote: VITERES.] - -Many altars have been found on the line dedicated to gods unknown to -Rome’s Pantheon, and supposed to have a purely local celebrity. The -engraving exhibits one of a numerous class.[142] It was discovered near -Thirlwall Castle about 1757, in the course of the formation of the -military road, and shortly after presented to the Society of -Antiquaries. Vitres, or Viteres, or Veteres, is a god whose name is -confined to the north of Britain. Hodgson remarks, that Vithris was a -name of Odin, as we find in the death-song of Lodbroc—'I will approach -the courts of Vithris, with the faltering voice of fear.' If Viteres and -the Scandinavian Odin be identical, we are thus furnished with evidence -of the early settlement of the Teutonic tribes in England. The altar -given on page 395 is [Illustration: Altar to Viteres, Condercum] also -dedicated to Viteres. The occurrence of the name of this god in a plural -form, as in the annexed example, which was found at CONDERCUM, and is -now at Somerset-house, has suggested the idea, that Viteres is not the -proper name of a god, but that _diis veteribus_—the ancient gods—is the -inscription intended. Most probably, however, Viteres was the name of a -local deity. - -[Illustration: Altar to the Dea Hamia, Thirlwall-castle] - -[Sidenote: LOCAL DEITIES.] - -The next altar is also dedicated to a local goddess; at least it is not -easy to give any more satisfactory account of the _Dea Hamia_. The altar -was found near Thirlwall castle, and belongs to the Society of -Antiquaries, London. - -[Sidenote: DEÆ MATRES.] - -We now proceed to an important group of altars and sculptures, which, -if not strictly local, are yet chiefly found in those regions of -Europe which were swept by the Teutonic wave in its progress westward. -They have been met with in England, the Netherlands, along the banks -of the Rhine and other parts of Germany, and in France. These deities, -when sculptured, are represented as triple, generally seated, clothed -in long flowing drapery, and bearing in their laps baskets of fruit. A -slab, of which a drawing has already been given (p. 140), is inscribed -MATRIBUS CAMPESTRIBUS, to the mothers of the plains; it probably -refers to the deities in question. An altar found in the same -[Illustration: Altar to the Three Lamiæ, Condercum] station, -CONDERCUM, and now in the vaults of Somerset-house, is inscribed -LAMIIS TRIBUS, to the three Lamiæ. The wood-cut accurately represents -it. In Rich’s companion to the Latin Dictionary, the Lamiæ are -represented as ‘Vampires; believed to be malignant spirits of the -female sex, who wandered about at night in the guise of old hags, -sucking blood, and devouring the flesh of human beings. This -superstition,’ continues the writer, ‘originated in Egypt.’ In -corroboration of the Egyptian origin of this class of demons, it may -be stated that small images, arranged in triplets, are of common -occurrence among [Illustration: Egyptian Idols] [Illustration: -Egyptian Idols] the antiquities of Egypt. The cuts here introduced -exhibit two groups of this class of idols, selected from a large -number of similar sets, in the possession of his Grace the duke of -Northumberland, at Alnwick Castle. Their resemblance to some of those -found upon the line of the Wall is striking. The foreign origin of -these mother-deities is further proved by their being denominated in -inscriptions MATRES TRAMARINÆ, Transmarine Mothers. The altar here -figured is an example of this kind; it was found at HABITANCUM, and is -now preserved [Illustration: Altar to the Transmarine Mothers, -Habitancum] at Alnwick Castle. The inscription records, that Julius -Victor dedicated it in discharge of a vow freely and deservedly to the -Transmarine Mothers. This Victor, it appears by another inscription, -was a tribune of the first cohort of the Vangiones, a Germanic tribe. -On none of these altars are the deities distinguished by a proper -name. This would seem to be in conformity with the superstitious -feelings of the middle ages in England and Germany, where it was -thought unlucky to call the fairies and elves by any other -denominations than the respectful titles of ‘the ladies,’ or ‘the good -people.’ Several sculptures representing, as is supposed, the -mother-goddesses, have been found on the line of the Wall. One group, -found at Housesteads, and now in the castle of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, is -drawn (fig. 4) on Plate XI. When seen by Horsley, this slab had in the -upper part of it two fishes and a sea-goat in relief. Two other sets -got at the same place, are figured in the Britannia Romana. In one of -them, the central or chief figure is represented as bound by the legs. -The ancients, in order to prevent a deity, whose favour they coveted, -taking his departure against their will, not unfrequently used -[Illustration: Sculpture to the Deæ Matres, at Netherby] the -unwarrantable liberty of securing him by chains. At Netherby, there -are three sculptures belonging to this class. One of them, shewn in -the wood-cut, is in a perfect condition. The figures are standing, an -ample covering envelopes their heads, and a short tunic scantily -[Illustration: Sculpture to the Deæ Matres, at Netherby] invests their -bodies. Another group, here engraved, has met with the usual fate of -Roman sculptures in the north of England—they have suffered -decapitation; the ample folds of the garments by which they are -[Illustration: Sculpture to the Deæ Matres, at Netherby] clothed have -happily not been disturbed, and the central or chief personage holds a -basket of fruit. The third sculpture is of larger size and has -suffered more extensive injury; the left hand figure of the group only -remains; she is seated, and holds fruit in her lap. The Byzantine -character of the drapery will be noticed. At Nether-hall another -fragment of a [Illustration: Sculpture to the Deæ Matres, at -Nether-hall] group, procured from the neighbouring station, is -preserved—the left hand figure has been broken off; the two remaining -ladies wear the same cowl-like head-dress as the Netherby mothers; -shewn on the former page. Mr. Thomas Wright, speaking of these mythic -personages, says— - - The ancient mythology of the Germanic race was not entirely eradicated - by Christianity; and it is interesting to trace it as reflected in the - popular superstitions of the present day. The reverence for the three - goddesses who presided over the woods and fields, pre-arranged the - fates of individuals, and dispensed the blessings of Providence to - mankind, may thus be traced down to a comparatively late period, both - in Germany and in England. They are sometimes regarded as the three - Fates—the _Norni_ of the north, the wælcyrian of the Anglo-Saxons (the - weird sisters, transformed in Shakespeare into three witches), - disposing of the fates of individuals, and dealing out death and life. - But they are also found distributing rewards and punishments, giving - wealth and prosperity, and conferring fruitfulness. They are the three - fairies who are often introduced in the fairy legends of a later - period, with these same characteristics.[143] - -[Sidenote: INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY.] - -After so long a companionship with the heathen relics found on the line -of the Wall, the reader will naturally ask—Have no Christian remains -been found?—Does no memorial record the name of JEHOVAH, the living God? -A negative reply must be given to the inquiry. There is, however, -abundant evidence to prove, that Christianity was extensively diffused -through the world long before the Romans departed from Britain. Tacitus -tells us, that in his day there was a great multitude of Christians at -Rome itself. The younger Pliny, in the second century, addressing the -emperor, complains that the heathen temples were almost deserted. Justin -Martyr says, there is not a nation in which prayers and thanksgivings -are not offered up in the name of the crucified Jesus; and Tertullian, -the most ancient of the Latin fathers, appealing to the magistrates, -says, ‘We are but of yesterday, yet we have filled every place, your -cities, garrisons, and free towns, your camps, senate, and forum; we -have left nothing empty but your temples.’ Britain early received the -glad tidings. ‘The concurrent voice of antiquity,’ says Mr. Thackeray, -‘although it has not designated the individuals who were the immediate -instruments of Providence in enlightening Britain, assigns the year 60 -as about the period when the Christian religion was introduced into this -island.’ At this time there were not fewer than 48,000 Roman soldiers, -including their auxiliaries, in this country, some of whom must have -been well acquainted with the name of Christ. In the army there would be -some centurions like Cornelius, some deputies like Sergius Paulus, who, -not content with knowing the truth themselves, endeavoured to -communicate it to others, and yet these Christian soldiers have, along -the line of the Wall, left no memorial of their faith. The God whom they -served required not the erection of an altar of stone, or an offering of -frankincense. Their ‘inscription’ was, a holy life, ‘seen and read of -all men.’ Notwithstanding the example and teaching of such men, it is a -lamentable fact, that heathenism continued to rear its head in Britain -until near the close of the period of Roman occupation, as several of -the altars found on the line of the Wall clearly testify. - -[Sidenote: CHRISTIAN SYMBOL.] - -Brand conceived that an altar discovered at Rutchester, and now in the -museum at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, exhibited the Christian symbol. It may -well be doubted whether the rude carving to which he refers, is any -thing more than a partially obliterated letter. There are other letters, -evidently of modern fabrication, carved on this altar. - -_Fas est ab hoste doceri._ An obvious remark clothed in Horsley’s own -language, and extracted from a work that is now scarce, will form a -suitable conclusion to this section. Speaking of vows in sickness he -says— - - There is one thing in these pagan votive altars that may be a shame - and reproach to a great many who call themselves Christians; and that - is, the willingness and cheerfulness with which they paid, or - pretended to pay, the vows they had made. Such as have any - acquaintance with those things, know how commonly these letters V. S. - L. M. or V. S. L. L. M., are added at the end of inscriptions that are - on such altars, whereby they signified how _willingly_ and - _cheerfully_, as well as _deservedly_, they performed the vows they - had made, viz., _votum solvit libens merito_, or _votum solvit libens, - lubens_ (or _lætus_) _merito_. Much more _deservedly_, and therefore - more _willingly_ and _cheerfully_, should the vows made to the Most - High, to the true and living God, be paid or performed to him, and - particularly the vows made in trouble.[144] - - SEPULCHRAL INSCRIPTIONS. - -[Sidenote: MONUMENTAL SLABS.] - -Extreme importance was attached by both Greeks and Romans to the due -discharge of the rites of sepulture. Until earth had been three times -sprinkled over the body of the departed, his spirit was conceived to be -denied admission into the Elysian fields. The practice of burning the -dead became common at Rome about the latter period of the republic. The -inconvenience and expense of the process would necessarily restrict it -to persons of some wealth. After the pile was consumed, the ashes of the -deceased were gathered up by the nearest relative, and deposited in an -urn. There are numerous instances in Britain of the Romans having buried -their dead entire. Skeletons have been found in London, which Mr. -Charles Roach Smith considers must have been deposited in the higher -empire. As Christianity gained ground, the custom of burning the dead -fell into disuse; the early Christians were unwilling to do needless -violence to the dust of a fellow disciple, and resolved to discontinue -the superstitious ceremonies which usually attended cremation. - -Whether the body was previously reduced to ashes, or deposited in the -ground unburnt, it was usual to raise a mound over the spot. - - Ergo instauramus Polydoro funus: et ingens - Aggeritur tumulo tellus. - _Æn._ III. 62. - -[Sidenote: FUNERAL URN.] - -Sometimes, instead of a mound of earth, a monument of stone covered the -place where the sepulchral urn was deposited. This was the case at -BREMENIUM, as already described (_p._ 326). With the ashes or body of -the deceased, it was usual to deposit a small brass coin to answer the -demands of Charon. 'This custom of burying valuables and coins with the -dead is by no means extinct; the humbler Irish will pawn their clothes -to provide fresh pieces of money to throw into the coffins of their -departed friends.'[145] The Romans, as formerly observed, did not -usually deposit either the unburnt bodies of the dead, or their ashes, -within the walls of towns or stations. A curious exception to this -practice has lately been noticed. In the month of October last (1850), a -funereal urn was discovered within the station of BORCOVICUS, near the -north-west corner. It was sunk in the earth, and was covered by an -oblong flat stone, without inscription. The vase, which was of -earthen-ware, and altogether devoid of ornament, was globular in its -form, and of large dimensions. It measured two feet in diameter, and two -feet in height. It contained ashes, amongst which was found a solitary -silver coin of Hadrian. This urn is preserved at Chesters. On the slab -covering the remains of the deceased person, the name and age were not -unfrequently inscribed. The carving, which sometimes includes an effigy -of the individual, is often very rude; the back of the stone is, for the -most part, undressed. The inscriptions on these ‘frail memorials’ which -in the mural region have come down to our times, and ‘implore the -passing tribute of a sigh,’ almost uniformly commence [Sidenote: DII -MANES.] with the letters D. M.—_diis manibus_. The shades or departed -spirits are, probably, themselves intended in this address, though much -confusion exists upon the subject in the works of the ancient writers. -In the following lines, Ovid represents the manes as being objects of -worship:— - - Est honor et tumulis: animas placate paternas; - Parvaque in extinctas munera ferte pyras. - Parva petunt MANES: pietas pro divite grata est - Munere: non avidos Styx habet ima Deos. - Tegula projectis satis est velata coronis; - Et sparsæ fruges, parcaque mica salis. - -[Illustration: Sepulchral Altar to the Manes of Fabia Honorata, Cilurnum] - -Some of the ceremonies here referred to by the Latin poet, are still in -use, as all know who have visited the cemetery of Père la Chaise, in -Paris. On the sepulchral slab, death is rarely mentioned; but the number -of years, months, and days, that the deceased lived, is recorded with -great particularity. The altar, of which an engraving is here -introduced, was found at CILURNUM, and is now in the Library of the Dean -and Chapter at Durham. It bears the following inscription— - - D[IIS] M[ANIBVS] S[ACRVM] - FABIÆ HONOR - ATÆ FABIVS HON - ORATIVS TRIBVN[VS] - COH[ORTIS] I. VANGION[VM] - ET AVRELIA EGLIC - IANE FECER - VNT FILIÆ DVLCISSIMÆ - - Sacred to the divine Manes of - Fabia Honorata. - Fabius Hon- - oratius the tribune of the - First cohort of Vangiones,[146] - And Aurelia Eglic- - iane erected _this_ - To their most sweet daughter. - -[Sidenote: MORTALITY OF THE GARRISON.] - -‘Tender souls!’ exclaims Hodgson, ‘your last act of piety to a beloved -daughter has not been forgotten: the altar that bears the memorial of -your affection still exists, though it has been banished from the -custody of the ashes which were committed to its care.’ Though painful, -it is yet pleasant to notice the heavings of natural affection in the -martial bosom of a Roman soldier. This stone differs from most of the -sepulchral monuments, in being an altar instead of a slab, and in not -mentioning the age of the deceased. It has been remarked that the larger -proportion of the tomb-stones of the mural region record the deaths of -young persons. The climate of the north of England, particularly of the -exposed district of the Barrier, must have told with fearful severity -upon the constitutions of those who had been reared under the sunny -skies of Italy and Spain. - -[Illustration: Sepulchral Slab to the Manes of Aurelia Faia, Magna] - -[Sidenote: SEPULCHRAL SLAB.] - -The large slab which is here figured, was found at Carvoran, and is now -in the castle of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It reads— - - D[IIS] M[ANIBVS] - AVRE[LIAE] FAIAE - D[OMO] SALONAS - AVRE[LIVS] MARCVS - Ↄ (_centurio_) OBSEQ[IO] CON- - IVG[IS] SANCTIS- - SIMAE QVAE VI- - XIT ANNIS XXXIII. - SINE VLLA MACVLA - - To the divine Manes of - Aurelia Faia, - Of a house of Salona, - Aurelius Marcus - A centurion, out of affection - For his most holy wife - Who lived - Thirty three years, - Without any stain, _erected this_. - -[Sidenote: MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS.] - -It is not unnatural that a soldier while bemoaning the loss of a beloved -wife in a land of strangers, should so dwell upon her virtues as to -conceive that hers was a faultless character. Gruter gives an -inscription which nearly resembles this. It was erected by Marcus -Aurelius Paullus— - - CONIVGI INCOMPARABILI - CVM QVA VIXIT ANNIS XXVII - SINE VLLA QVERELA - - To his incomparable wife, with whom he had lived twenty-seven years - without having had a single squabble. - -‘This couple,’ says Mr. Akerman, ‘must for ever throw into the shade all -the candidates for the Dunmow flitch.’ - -[Illustration: Sepulchral Slab to the Memory of Cornelius Victor] - -At Chesterholm is a slab which, though suffering from exposure to the -weather, is still distinct:— - - DIIS MANIBVS - CORN[ELIVS] VICTOR S. C. (_Sibi Constitvit_) - MIL[ES] ANN[OS] XXVI CIV[IS] - PANN[ONIAE] FIL[IVS] SATVRNI- - NI P.P VIX[IT] ANN[OS] LV. D[IES] XI - CONIVX PROCVRAVI - - To the divine Manes; Cornelius Victor ordered this to be erected over - himself. He was a soldier twenty-six years, a citizen of Pannonia, and - the very dutiful (P.P. _pientissime_) son of Saturninus. He lived - fifty-five years and eleven days. I, his wife, saw his order executed. - -The tomb-stone to a young physician has already been given, page 227. - - CENTURIAL STONES. - -[Sidenote: CENTURIAL STONES.] - -The only other class of inscribed stones to which reference will now be -made, is that of centurial stones. The centurions seem to have been in -the habit of placing a common stone, inscribed with the name of their -_century_—company or troop, in that section of the Wall which they had -built. The letters are usually very rudely cut; sometimes they are -enclosed in a border, as in the annexed example, which, probably found -in the vicinity of CILURNUM, is now at Alnwick Castle. - -[Illustration: Centurial Stone, Coh. V. Cæcilii Proculi, Cilurnum] - - COH[ORS] V - > (_centuria_) CAECILI[I] - PROCVLI - - The fifth cohort. - The century of Cæcilius - Proculus. - -More frequently, however, the stone is entirely unadorned, as in this -example, which, along with [Illustration: Centurial Stone, Cilurnum] the -former, was removed from Walwick Chesters to Alnwick Castle. The letter -C, reversed thus Ↄ, or more frequently an angular mark resembling the -letter V, laid upon its side thus >, is the sign usually adopted for -_centuria_, century. Two centurial stones are shewn in the wood-cut -introduced in page 190. The upper one, that of Valerius Maximus, was -described, a century ago, by Horsley, who found it near -Haltwhistle-burn. Afterwards it was built up in a gable of the Cawfield -farm-house, against which a coal-shed was formed. Here, though sadly -begrimed, it was protected from further injury, until rescued by the -present owner of the farm, and safely deposited in the museum of -antiquities at Chesters. - - COINS. - -[Sidenote: NUMISMATIC REMAINS.] - -Next in importance to the inscribed stones found on the line of the -Wall, the student of history will reckon the coins which the spade and -plough of the husbandman turn up in considerable numbers in the mural -region. In a rude state of society the commercial transactions of the -residents of a district are almost entirely confined to an interchange -of the commodities produced by each. A body of soldiery, however, liable -to be removed from place to place, and compelled to expend their -energies in unproductive industry, are necessarily obliged to resort to -the use of money. It is chiefly in the stations where the Roman legions -lodged, or on the roads which they traversed, that the imperial coin is -found. These metallic pieces, bearing the insignia of Rome, thus become -exceedingly important in tracking the march of Roman armies. As works of -art, the design and execution of many of them are truly admirable. The -copper coins of Hadrian are especially worthy of study. The custom which -prevailed during the best periods of the empire, of rendering the -circulating medium of the market-place the means of commemorating the -leading events of the day, gives them increased value. Were all the -other records of Roman story destroyed, its most stirring incidents -might be recovered by a careful examination of the coins which the -cabinets of the antiquary contain. - -[Sidenote: COINS.] - -Ample use has already been made of this source of information in the -first Part of this work. Why is it that Britain neglects this means of -rousing the spirit of her people, of communicating information, and of -securing an almost imperishable memorial of her mighty acts? Had she -recorded upon her coinage the events of the last half-century, she would -have transmitted to posterity the memory of a series of warlike -achievements and peaceful triumphs unparalleled in extent and unequalled -in glory. As it is, our metallic currency has little value beyond its -commercial worth, and generation after generation is compelled to -contemplate, with what complacency they may, the same lady sitting -immoveably upon the same enduring rock, and the same mounted knight -making his interminable attempt to slay the same deathless dragon. The -immense number of the coins found upon the line of the Wall, and the -extension of the series from the earliest periods down to the time of -Honorius, prove incontestibly the length of time that the Romans -maintained their hold of this isthmus. The accidental loss of pieces of -money will not, alone, account for the large quantity which has been -found. In times of danger the possessors of treasure seem to have been -in the habit of concealing it in the earth; the secret of their having -done so must often have perished with them. In excavating that portion -of the station of CILURNUM which was opened in 1843, not fewer than -seventy Roman coins were found. In 1833, near the west gateway of -VINDOLANA, three hundred small brass coins, mostly of Constantius and -Mangentius, were found, not in a heap or vessel, but dispersed among the -soil. The Rev. John Walton, who, about a century ago was vicar of -Corbridge, made a considerable collection of Roman coins, by purchasing -such as were turned up in the neighbouring station of Corchester. The -following circumstance is related concerning him. A party of Jews having -established in the neighbourhood a prussian-blue manufactory, felt -disposed to enter the market with the vicar. Mr. Walton, unwilling to -compete with them by offering a larger price, had the fields where the -coins were found, strewed with imitations of the genuine pieces. These, -on being picked up, were freely bought by the Jews, who, soon finding -the trade a losing one, abandoned it altogether. - -The station, notwithstanding such systematic gleaning, is not yet -deprived of its treasures. Not long ago, a rustic eked out a livelihood -by searching for its coins, and disposing of them to occasional -customers. The other day a plough-boy being asked if he had found any -lately, produced straight-way from his pocket not less than thirty, most -of them, indeed, highly corroded. - -The coinage of Rome seems to have continued in circulation in the north -of England for a very short time after the departure of the Roman forces -from Britain. Saxon money is found in Northumberland of a date coeval -with the arrival of that people, but is never mingled with the Roman -coinage. The coins of the Romans, on the other hand, are never -accompanied by those of their successors. Within about forty years after -the departure of the Romans, the circulation of the imperial coinage -seems to have ceased. This circumstance proves incontestibly that a -mighty political revolution had taken place in the interval. The present -appearance of the stations corroborates the idea. The walls have been -forcibly thrown down, the statues and other objects within them -purposely mutilated, and the whole inclosure rendered, as far as -possible unfit for human habitation. - -[Sidenote: THORNGRAFTON COINS.] - -To attempt a description of even the principal coins that can still be -ascertained to have been procured from the district of the Wall, would -be to compose a treatise upon numismatics. It will perhaps be sufficient -to lay before the reader a brief [Illustration: Vessel, in which the -Thorngrafton Coins were found] account of the hoard which was discovered -in 1837, in an ancient quarry near Thorngrafton. The coins, sixty-five -in number, were contained in a small skiff-shaped receptacle with a -circular handle. The vessel represented in the adjoining wood-cut is -about six inches long; the lid has a hinge at one end, and fastens with -a spring at the other. The coins are at present in the possession of the -brother of the quarryman who discovered them, and he holds them with -such tenacity, that my artist was refused permission to see even the -case which contained them, though he had taken a journey of thirty miles -for the purpose of drawing them. Mr. Fairless, of Hexham, was more -fortunate, and obtained leave to take sealing-wax impressions of the -coins, from which the wood-cuts have been prepared. I am indebted to Mr. -Fairless for the description of the coins, which he took from the pieces -themselves. - - GOLD. - -[Illustration] - -_Obv._ TI. CLAVD. CAESAR. AVG. GERM. P.M. TRIB.POT. P.P. - -_Rev._ NERO CLAVD. CAES. DRVSVS. GERM. PRINC. IVVENT. - -[Illustration] - -_Obv._ NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS. - -_Rev._ SALVS. - -[Illustration] - -_Obv._ IMP. CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG. - -_Rev._ A Victory holding a garland over the head of a Roman soldier, and -in the exergue, COS. VIII. - - SILVER. - - 1. _Obv._ IMP. NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS. - - _Rev._ SALVS. Device same as in gold above. - -[Illustration] - -2. _Obv._ IMP. SER. GALBA CAESAR AVG. - - _Rev._ DIVA AVGVSTA. - -[Illustration] - -3. _Obv._ IMP. SER. GALBA CAESAR AVG. - - _Rev._ S.P.Q.R. OB. C.S. (Within a wreath.) - - 4. _Obv._ SER. GALBA AVG. _Rev._ Same as last. - -[Illustration] - -5. _Obv._ OTHO CAESAR AVG. - - _Rev._ PONT. MAX. - -[Illustration] - -6. _Obv._ IMP. CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG. - - _Rev._ IMP. XIX. A basket filled with corn or bread. - -[Illustration] - -7. _Obv._ CAES. VESP. AVG. P.M. COS. III. - - _Rev._ CONCORDIA AVGVSTI. - -[Illustration] - -8. 9. 10. _Obv._ IMP. CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG. - - _Rev._ PON. MAX. TR.P. COS. VI. - -[Illustration] - -11. _Obv._ IMP. CAES. VESP. AVG. CENS. - - _Rev._ PONTIF. MAXIM. - -[Illustration] - -12. _Obv._ DIVV. AVGVSTVS VESPASIANVS. - - _Rev._ No inscription. A figure standing. - -[Illustration] - -13. _Obv._ IMP. VESP. AVG. P. M. COS. VIII. - - _Rev._ VES (figure) TA. - -[Illustration] - -14. _Obv._ IMP. CAES. VESPASIANVS AVG. - - _Rev._ COS. ITER.—(figure)—TR. POT. - -[Illustration] - -15. _Obv._ Same as last. - - _Rev._ COS.—(an eagle standing on cippus)—VII. - -[Illustration] - -16. _Obv._ Inscription same as last. - - _Rev._ Reversed goats’ heads, bearing a shield. - -[Illustration] - -17. _Obv._ Inscription same as last. - - _Rev._ COS. ITER. TR. POT. - -[Illustration] - -18. _Obv._ Inscription same as last. - - _Rev._ GENIVM—(figure)—P.R. - -[Illustration] - -19. _Obv._ IMP. CAES. DOMITIANVS AVG. P.M. - - _Rev._ TR. POT. II. COS. VIIII. DES. X. P.P. - -[Illustration] - -20. 21. _Obv._ Same as last. - - _Rev._ IMP. XXI. COS. XVI. CENS.P. P.P. - -[Illustration] - -22. 23. _Obv._ CAESAR AVG. DOMITIANVS. - - _Rev._ COS. IIII. Pegasus. - -[Illustration] - -24. _Obv._ CAES. DOMIT. AVG. GERM. P.M. T.R.P. - - _Rev._ IMP. XIIII. COS. XIII. CENS. P. P. P. - -[Illustration] - -25. _Rev._ IMP. XXII. COS. XVI. CENS.P. P. P. - -[Illustration] - -26. _Obv._ IMP. CAES. DOMITIANVS AVG. P. M - - _Rev._ TR. POT. II. COS. VIIII. DES. XII. - -[Illustration] - -27. _Obv._ CAES. AVG. DOMIT. COS. III. - - _Rev._ PRINCEPS IVVENTVT. - -[Illustration] - -28. _Obv._ IMP. NERVA. CAES. AVG. P.M. TR.P. COS. III. P.R. - - _Rev._ FORTVNA P.R. - -[Illustration] - -29. _Obv._ IMP. CAES. NERVA. TRAIAN. AVG. GERM. - - _Rev._ PONT. MAX. TR. POT. COS. II. - -[Illustration] - -30.31. _Obv._ IMP. CAES. NERVA TRAIAN. AVG. - -_Rev._ P.M. TR.P. COS. VI. P.P. S.P.Q.R. - -[Illustration] - -32. _Obv._ IMP. TRAIANO AVG. GER. DAC. P. M. TR.P. - - _Rev._ COS. V. P.P. S.P.Q.R. OPTIMO PRINC. - -[Illustration] - -33. 34. 35. _Rev._ COS. V. P.P. S.P.Q.R. OPTIMO PRINC. - -[Illustration] - -36. _Obv._ IMP. TRAIANO AVG. GER. DAC. P.M. TR.P. COS. V. P.P. - - _Rev._ S.P.Q.R. OPTIMO PRINCIPI. - -[Illustration] - -37. _Obv._ Same as last. - - _Rev._ S.P.Q.R. OPTIMO PRINCIPI. - - _Exergue._ FORT.RED. - -[Illustration] - -38. Same as before. - - _Exergue._ PAX. - -[Illustration] - -39. _Obv._ IMP. TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG. GER. DAC. P.M. TR.P. - -_Rev._ COS. VI. P.P. S.P.Q.R. - -[Illustration] - -40. _Obv._ IMP. CAES. NERVA TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG. GER. DAC. - - _Rev._ P.M. TR.P. COS. VI. P.P. S.P.Q.R. - - 41. _Obv._ IMP. CAES. NERVA TRAIAN. AVG. GERM. - -[Illustration] - -42. 43. _Obv._ IMP. CAES. NERVA TRAIAN. AVG. GERM. - - _Rev._ P.M. TR. P. COS. II. P.P. - -[Illustration] - -44. Same as 40. with _Exergue_. TRO—VIO. - -[Illustration] - -45. _Obv._ IMP. TRAIANO AVG. GER. DAC. P.M. TR.P. - - _Rev._ COS.V. P.P. S.P.Q.R. OPTIMO PRINC. - -[Illustration] - -46. The same as last. - -[Illustration] - -47. Same as last. Seated figure, the right hand extended, holding a -Victory. - -[Illustration] - -48. _Obv._ IMP. CAESAR TRAIAN. HADRIANVS AVG. - - _Rev._ P.M. TR.P. COS. III. - -[Illustration] - -49. _Obv._ Same as last. - - _Exergue._ FEL. P.R. (doubtful.) - - _Rev._ P.M. TR.P. COS. III. - -[Illustration] - -50. _Obv._ IMP. CAESAR TRAIAN. HADRIANVS AVG. - - _Rev._ P.M.TR.P. COS. III. - - PIE—TAS, in the field. - - 51. _Obv._ Same as last. - - _Rev._ P.M.TR.P. COS. III. - - - CONSULAR AND OTHERS. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -This coin symbolizes the peace concluded between the Roman general -Scaurus and the Arabian monarch Aretas. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - - MINERALS AND METALS. - -In nearly all the stations of the line, the ashes of mineral fuel have -been found; in some, a store of unconsumed coal has been met with, -which, though intended to give warmth to the primeval occupants of the -isthmus, has been burnt in the grates of the modern English. In several -places the source whence the mineral was procured can be pointed out; -but the most extensive workings that I have heard of, are in the -neighbourhood of Grindon Lough, near Sewingshields. Not long ago, a -shaft was sunk, with the view of procuring the coal which was supposed -to be below the surface; the projector soon found, that though coal had -been there, it was all removed. The ancient workings stretched beneath -the bed of the lake. - -[Sidenote: MINING OPERATIONS.] - -In Allendale and Alston Moor, numerous masses of ancient scoriæ have -been found, which must have resulted from the reduction of lead from its -ore. In the station of Corchester, portions of lead pipe have been -found; it is an inch and a half in diameter, and has been formed by -bending round a flat strip of the metal, and soldering the joint. - -Iron has been produced in large quantities. In the neighbourhood of -HABITANCUM masses of iron slag have been found. It is heavier than what -proceeds from modern furnaces, in consequence, probably, of the -imperfect reduction of the ore. In the neighbourhood of Lanchester, the -process seems to have been carried on very extensively. On the division -of the common, two large heaps were removed, the one containing about -four hundred cart loads of dross, the other six hundred. It was used in -the construction of some new roads which were then formed, a purpose for -which it was admirably adapted. In the neighbourhood of one of these -heaps of scoriæ, the iron tongs represented in Plate XVII. fig. 8, so -much resembling those at present used by blacksmiths, were ploughed up. -During the operation of bringing this common into cultivation, the -method adopted by the Romans of producing [Sidenote: BLAST FURNACE.] the -blast necessary to smelt the metal was made apparent. Two tunnels had -been formed in the side of a hill; they were wide at one extremity, but -tapered off to a narrow bore at the other, where they met in a point. -The mouths of the channels opened towards the west, from which quarter a -prevalent wind blows in this valley, and sometimes with great violence. -The blast received by them would, when the wind was high, be poured with -considerable force and effect upon the smelting furnaces at the -extremity of the tunnels. - - METALLIC IMPLEMENTS. - -Notwithstanding the tendency of iron to oxidize, several weapons made of -this material, and used by the Romans, have come down to our day. Their -general character and form can be better learnt from an inspection of -the drawings which depict them than by verbal description. On Plate X. -are shewn two spear or javelin heads, and on Plate XVII. the iron points -of some arrows. - -Vessels of cast-metal, fitted for domestic use, are occasionally met -with. On Plate XVII. fig. 2, is a specimen of a pot or boiler, closely -resembling those in modern use; it was found in cutting the Newcastle -and Carlisle Railway, near Haydon Bridge. - -[Sidenote: METALLIC IMPLEMENTS.] - -Bronze vessels are occasionally found. The utensils depicted on Plate -XVI. are of this metal. Fig. 1, is a pan, evidently intended for -culinary purposes. The use of the other vessel, fig. 2, so nearly -resembling a modern coffee-pot, is not so apparent, though several of -this form have been found in the Roman stations in the north of England. -Is it a decanter—a sort of wine flagon? Both of these vessels were found -on the line of the Wall, but at what point I have been unable to learn. - -Near to Whitfield, were recently found three camp-kettles, of peculiar -make, which are now in the Museum of Antiquities at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. -They are formed of bronze, but of exceedingly thin metal; they have -evidently seen much service, and are patched in several places. Owing to -the thinness of the metal they would very readily feel the fire. In -Italy, where during a great part of the year a fire is only lighted when -indispensable, similar vessels are still in use. These three vessels -vary in size, so as to allow of their being placed one within the other. -The smallest of them is shewn on Plate XVII. fig. 3. The strainer, fig. -1, also of bronze, and very finely and tastefully perforated, was found -with them. - -The boss of a shield, having something of the appearance of the head of -a snake, Plate VII. fig. 2, is also of bronze. It is preserved at -Chesters. - -Fibulæ or clasps, for fastening the loose robes worn by the Romans, are, -as may be supposed, of ordinary occurrence. The one represented, of the -full size, Plate XIV. fig. 2, was found at Carvoran. It is of bronze, -and is of a form of which there are many examples. The tongue is -wanting, but the spiral spring to which it was attached, and the groove -which caught it, are distinctly observed. The small pair of bronze -shears or scissors, which are shewn of their full size, Plate XIV. fig. -1, were also found at Carvoran. - - _PLATE XV._ - -[Illustration: - - J. STOREY DEL ET LITH. PRINTED BY A. REID. - Samian Ware, from Wallsend and Lanchester -] - - _PLATE XVI_ - -[Illustration: - - J STOREY DEL ET LITH PRINTED BY AND^w REID. - Bronze Vessels -] - - _PLATE XVII._ - -[Illustration: - - J STOREY DEL ET LITH PRINTED BY AND^w REID. - Iron Pot, Bronze Vessel, Tongs, etc. -] - - _PLATE XVIII_ - -[Illustration: - - J STOREY DEL ET LITH PRINTED BY AND^w REID. - Soles of Sandals, etc. -] - - EARTHENWARE AND MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. - -[Sidenote: ROMAN POTTERY.] - -Few subjects possess more interest than the pottery of the Romans. -Whether we regard the shape of the vessels, the beauty of their -ornaments, or the excellence of the material of which they are composed, -they are worthy of our admiration. Fortunately for the present writer, -so much has recently been published upon the subject, as to justify him -in dismissing it with a brief notice. - -Among the earthenware vessels found in the mural region are some of -coarse structure, such as _amphoræ_, _mortaria_, pans for common -domestic purposes, and some which have probably been intended for -exposure to the fire. The amphoræ are large narrow-necked vessels, -capable of containing several gallons, and formed of red clay. In -general, they have been furnished with two handles, on one of which the -maker’s name is not unfrequently stamped. They were used for holding -wine. I am not aware of any having been found on the line of the Wall, -in a state at all approaching to completeness. - -The mortars are strong shallow vessels, provided with a lip for the -convenience of pouring. They are formed of clay, resembling fire-brick -in colour. On their inner surface, are frequently imbedded angular -fragments of quartz, chert, or iron scoriæ. By this contrivance, the -bruising of parched corn or other articles of food would be more easily -effected. - -Various vessels of common earthenware, such as would be required in -every household for holding water, grain, and kindred substances, are -discovered, occasionally nearly perfect. At Nether Hall some very fine -ones are preserved, which were found in the neighbouring station; one is -twelve inches in diameter, and nearly six deep. Another, of globular -form, is ten inches in diameter, and nine in depth. - -Besides these, fragments of thick vessels are frequently met with, which -are of a porous nature, and hence well adapted to withstand the sudden -application of heat. In these, when placed upon the fire, we may readily -conceive that food was baked or stewed. - -Other vessels, for the most part of smaller size, more elegant shape, -and composed of finer materials, are of common occurrence. Some are -nearly black, others grey or slate-coloured: these are quite plain and -unembossed. A species of yellow earthen-ware is found, tinted with a -brown pigment, by the partial removal of which, a sort of pattern is -given to it. All these are of British manufacture. Many of the potteries -in which they were fabricated, have been clearly ascertained. The -slate-coloured and grey kinds owe their peculiar hue to the action of -what has been called, the smother kiln. During the process of baking the -vessels, the vent of the furnace has been closed, so as to fill the kiln -with smoke. The unconsumed carbon not only communicated its own hue to -the objects exposed to it, but prevented the iron, which usually forms -the colouring matter of clay, from being converted into the peroxide, -which is of a brick-red colour.[147] - -[Sidenote: SAMIAN WARE.] - -The finest species of earthenware found in Roman camps, is that called -Samian. It is of a bright coral-red colour. It can at once be detected -by its glaze, which has not yet, in modern times, been successfully -imitated. Some vessels are quite plain, but others are very tastefully -embossed. Plates IX. and XV. furnish specimens of the more ornamental -kind. The large fragment, engraved Plate XV. fig. 1, was found in -sinking the shaft of the famous Wallsend pit. No potteries for the -manufacture of this species of ware, have been found in Britain; and as -the maker’s marks, and the patterns of the embossed varieties correspond -with those found on the continent, it is conceived to be of foreign -origin. Gaul and Spain have been pointed out as the countries from which -the specimens exhumed in Britain were probably procured. The vast -quantity of fragments of Samian ware mingled with the rubbish of some of -the stations is truly remarkable; and not less worthy of observation is -the fact, that not only has the clay of which the broken vessels are -composed, undergone no deterioration by being buried for centuries in -the damp earth, but even the glaze is, to all appearance, uninjured. -That even the plainer kinds of Samian ware have been accounted valuable -by their owners, is evident from the circumstance, that marks and names, -by which they might be identified, have in numerous instances been -scratched upon them. In Plate VII. figs. 9 and 11, are two examples of -this kind, found at CILURNUM, and still preserved there. In some cases -where a vessel has been fractured, it has been joined by clasps of lead. -Fig. 1, Plate VII., is an example of this, also found at CILURNUM. The -process of boring the holes to receive the lead must have been one of -some labour, and would not have been undertaken unless the vessel had -been accounted valuable. - -An imitation of the Samian ware seems to have been made in Britain -during the continuance of the Roman period. It is not equal to the -original in colour, texture, or design. Fig. 2, Plate IX. differs in -appearance from true Samian—it may be an imitation. - -The lamp shewn on Plate XIV. fig. 4, is of red earthenware, covered with -a black pigment; it proves the vast amount of skill and taste which the -Romans lavished even upon articles of minor importance. - -[Sidenote: MINOR ANTIQUITIES.] - -Mill-stones are among the most frequent of the discoveries made in our -Roman stations. Some, found at CILURNUM, are shewn in Plate XIII. fig. -4. They closely resemble the querns which were used in Scotland and the -rural districts of Northumberland, within a recent period. Many of the -stones consist of the mill-stone grit, basalt, or granite of the -district; others are formed of a species of lava which is not procured -in any locality nearer than Rhine Prussia. The advantage of these -foreign stones is, that, though hard, they are porous, and, as they wear -away, still present a continuity of sharp edges to the action of the -grain. - -The process of grinding the corn by hand-mills must have been a most -tedious one. Probably a large proportion of the grain consumed by the -soldiers of the Barrier was simply boiled, after being slightly bruised -in mortars. - - -[Sidenote: CONCLUSION.] - -Here a period must be put to this account of the Roman Wall and its -antiquities. Many topics worthy of fuller discussion have been but -cursorily treated, and some omitted altogether; but it is impossible, in -a work of this extent, to do full justice to a subject of such -magnitude; we content ourselves with imitating the moderation of -Hadrian, who, instead of grasping at universal empire, sought only a -dominion which he might reasonably hope to maintain. - -Still, we may reckon on some advantage from the brief communion we have -held with the Mighty among the Ancients. We can hardly tarry, even for -an hour, in association with the palmy days of the Great Empire, without -learning, on the one hand, to emulate the virtues that adorned her -prosperity, and on the other, to shun the vices that were punished by -her downfall. The sceptre which Rome relinquished, we have taken up. -Great is our Honour—great our Responsibility— - - ... Heavenly wisdom on this ball - Creates, gives birth to, guides, consummates all. - States thrive or wither (as moons wax and wane) - E'en as His will and His decrees ordain; - While Honour, Virtue, Piety, bear sway, - They flourish; and as those decline, decay. - -[Illustration: Tail piece—Romæ Æternæ Fortunæ Reduci] - ------ - -Footnote 137: - - This small altar was found at Benwell, and is now in the possession of - the Society of Antiquaries, London—it is drawn to twice the usual - scale. - -Footnote 138: - - On the ides the undefiled priest in the temple of the great Jove - offers in the flames the entrails of a wether. - -Footnote 139: - - Archæologia Æliana, i. 306. - -Footnote 140: - - Smith’s Dictionary of Biography and Mythology. - -Footnote 141: - - Decurion, a commander of a troop of ten men. - -Footnote 142: - - This and the two subsequent cuts are drawn to twice the usual scale. - -Footnote 143: - - For further information on this interesting subject the reader is - referred to two admirable papers by Mr. C. Roach Smith, and Mr. Thomas - Wright, in the second volume of the Journal of the British - Archæological Association. - -Footnote 144: - - Vows in Trouble, by John Horsley, A.M. London: Printed for Richard - Ford, at the Angel, in the Poultry, near Stocks market. And sold by R. - Akenhead, Bookseller, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1729.—At the time - Horsley published this book, he was engaged in the preparation of the - _Britannia Romana_. - -Footnote 145: - - Smith’s Collectanea Antiqua i. 21. - -Footnote 146: - - The first cohort of the Vangiones were in Britain in the time of - Hadrian, from whom some of them, in 132, had a discharge from the - army, with the privilege to marry. They were from Belgic Gaul, and - were a long time quartered at Risingham, at which station eight of - their tribunes have left their names on inscriptions. - - _Hist. Nor._ II. iii. 183. - -Footnote 147: - - See Remains of Roman Art in Cirencester, 78. - ------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - INDEX. - - ABALLABA, 297. - ÆSICA, Great Chesters, 254. - Agricola lands in Britain, 7. - ALIONIS, 347. - Altars, form of, 395. - AMBOGLANNA, Birdoswald, 278. - Amphoræ, 445. - Ancient Britons, description of, 16. - Apollo, altar to, 411. - Aqueduct at Great Chesters, 257. - Arthur, King, traditions respecting, 205. - Arthur’s Well, 264. - Astures, a people from Spain, 141. - - - Battle of Heaven-field, 167. - Bede, on the building of the Wall, 379. - Belatucadrus, altar to, 401. - Belted Will, 285. - Benwell, CONDERCUM, 137. - Bewcastle, 344. - Binchester, 344. - Birdoswald, AMBOGLANNA, 278. - Black-carts farm, Wall on, 196. - Black-dike, 211. - Blake-chesters, 321. - Blast furnace, 443. - Blea-tarn, 297. - Bloody-gap, 244. - Bogle-hole, traditions of, 245. - BORCOVICUS, Housesteads, 214. - BORCOVICUS, etymology of, 228. - Borcum or Barcombe, quarry on, 231. - Border strife, 296. - Borders, state of, in middle ages, 209. - Bradley, 232. - Brampton, 349. - Bridge at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 130. - Bridge over North Tyne, 170. - Britain, first notice of, 2. - BREMENIUM, High-Rochester, 325. - BREMETENRACUM, 350. - Broaching of the stones, 85. - Brunton, the Wall at, 169. - Bueth’s castle, 345. - Burgh-upon-Sands, 304. - Burnswark, 356. - Busy-gap, 207. - Byker-hill, 118. - - - Cæsar’s landing in Britain, 3. - Carrawburgh, PROCOLITIA, 197. - Cambeck-fort, PETRIANA, 288. - Camp kettles, 444. - Carausius, 21. - Carlisle, LUGUVALLIUM, 301. - Carvoran, MAGNA, 267. - Castella, 67. - CASTRA EXPLORATORUM, 353. - Caw-gap, 246. - Cemeteries, 183, 262. - Centurial Stones, 429. - Chapel-hill, 224. - Chapel-house, 274. - Chapel-houses, 147. - Chesters, CILURNUM, 171. - Chesterholm, VINDOLANA, 236. - Chew-green, 325. - Chives on Walltown crags, 264. - Christian remains, none on the Wall, 421. - Christianity, early introduction of into Britain, 422. - CILURNUM, Chesters, 171. - _Cippi_, 326. - Coal wrought by the Romans, 442. - Cocidius, altar to, 401. - Coins found on Borcum, 231, 434. - Coins found in Cambeck fort, 289. - Coins found in Newcastle bridge, 131. - Coins, number of Roman, relating to Britain, 37. - Coins, general remarks upon, 431. - Coins, number found on the Wall, 432. - Coins, Roman and Saxon, not commingled, 433. - Coins, spurious, 365. - Concrete, hydraulic properties of Roman, 182. - Constantine proclaimed emperor, 23. - CONDERCUM, Benwell, 137. - Corchester, CORSTOPITUM, 332. - CORSTOPITUM, Corchester, 332. - Cost of the Wall, 94. - Cousin’s-house, 113. - Crags, why the Wall built upon, 201. - Cumming’s cross, 206. - - - _Dea Hamia_, 417. - _Deæ Matres_, 417. - Denton Hall, 146. - Devil’s Wall in Germany, 96. - Down-hill, 156. - Drumburgh, 309. - Dykesfield, 307. - - - Earthenware, 445. - Ebchester, 341. - Edward I. at Bradley, 233. - Egyptian triple goddesses, 418. - Ellenborough, 361. - Emperors worshipped, 398. - EPEIACUM, 342. - Epona, altar to, 415. - - - Fibulæ, 444. - Fisher’s-cross, 311. - Forest, primeval, 310. - Fortune, altar to, 403. - Fosse of the Wall, 51. - - - Gelt quarry, 385. - Genius, local, altar to, 399. - Genius of the Wall, 353. - Gildas’ account of the miseries of the Britons, 27. - Glass for windows, 222. - Goddess mothers, 417. - Graham’s-dike, 97. - Great Chesters, ÆSICA, 254. - Grooves in thresholds of gates, 220. - - - HABITANCUM, Risingham, 329. - Hadrian arrives in Britain, 11. - Hadrian, death of, 391. - Hadrian slabs, 383. - Harlow-hill, 155. - Halton-chesters, HUNNUM, 159. - Haltwhistle, 252. - Haltwhistle-burn-head, 254. - Hare-hill, 284. - Heddon-on-the-Wall, 149. - Hedley, Rev. Anthony, 105. - Hexham, 194, 339. - Historical testimonies respecting the building of the Wall, 372. - Hodgson, Rev. John, 106. - Horsley, biographical notice of, 103. - Horsley on Christian vows, 423. - Hospital, camp, 362. - Housesteads, BORCOVICUS, 214. - HUNNUM, Halton-chesters, 159. - Hypocausts at HUNNUM, 162. - Hypocausts, their probable use, 180. - Hypocausts at Chesters, 174. - - - Inscriptions, value of, 187. - Iron wrought by the Romans, 442. - Irthington, 295. - Itinerary of Antonine, 328. - - - Jarrow, 323. - Jupiter, altar to, 397. - - - Keep of Castle of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 135. - Kiln for drying corn, 223. - Kirk-Andrews, 302. - - - Lakes of Northumberland, 229. - _Lamiæ_, 418. - Langley castle, 231. - Lanchester, 342. - Lanercost priory, 284. - Lanx, the Corbridge, 334. - Lead wrought by the Romans, 442. - Legio XX. engaged upon the Wall, 247. - Limekiln, 327. - Limestone-bank, 195. - _Lingones_ at Tynemouth, 108. - LUGUVALLIUM, Carlisle, 301. - - - MAGNA, Carvoran, 267. - Maiden-way, 269. - Malcolm Canmore, 321. - Mars, altars to, 401. - Maryport, 361. - Masonry of the Stations, 84. - Masonry of the Wall, 78. - Maximus, 319. - Middleby, 354. - Mile-castles, 67. - Mile-castle at Cawfield, 248. - Mile-stone, 239. - Mill-stones, 448. - Military-way, 69. - Milking-gap, 234. - Minerva, altar to, 402. - Mithras, altar to, 404. - Monument to Edward I., 306. - Moresby, 366. - Mortar, Roman, 86. - _Mortaria_, 445. - Mountain-god, 415. - Mumps-hall, 275. - Murus and Vallum, one design, 387. - Mythology of Gothic tribes, 421. - - - Names of stations ascertained, 61. - Naworth-castle, 284. - Netherby, 352. - Nether-hall, 362. - Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 121. - Nine-nicks of Thirlwall, 265. - North Shields, 321. - Nymphs, 414. - - - Old Carlisle, 360. - Old Town, 349. - Ouseburn mile-castle, 119. - - - Pap-castle, 366. - Passage of the Eden, 300. - Passage of the Irthing, 277. - Peel-crag, 243. - Peel-houses, 253. - PETRIANA, Cambeck-fort, 288. - Polytheism of the Romans, 398. - Plumpton, 358. - PONS ÆLII, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 121. - PROCOLITIA, Carrawburgh, 197. - - - Quarry on Fallowfield fell, 80. - Quarry on Haltwhistle fell, 80. - Quarry, Roman, 292. - - - Rapishaw-gap, 230. - Richard of Cirencester on the building of the Wall, 390. - Risingham, HABITANCUM, 329. - Rochester, High, BREMENIUM, 325. - Roman emperors, number who visited Britain, 36. - Ruts in gateway of Birdoswald, 280. - Rutchester, VINDOBALA, 150. - - - Sacrifices, Roman, 396. - Samian ware, 447. - Sandals, Roman, 348. - Secondary forts, 315. - SEGEDUNUM, Wallsend, 105. - Sepulchral inscriptions, 424. - Severus lands in Britain, 15. - Severus, death of, 392. - Sewingshields farm-house, 200. - Shields’-lawe, 322. - Silvanus, altar to, 413. - Speaking pipes in the Wall, 76. - Stags’-horns, 269. - Stanwix, 299. - Stations, description of, 56. - _Stationes per lineam valli_, 60. - Steel-rig, 243. - Stotes-houses, 117. - Streets, narrowness of, 221. - Syrian goddess, 412. - - - Tepper-moor, 196. - Terraced gardens, 224. - Thirlwall-castle, 270. - Time occupied in building the Wall, 94. - Toads represented on altars, 416. - Tower of Repentance, 307. - Tower-tay, 195. - Traditions regarding CILURNUM, 192. - Traditions, Sewingshields, 203. - Transmarine Mothers, 419. - Troughs of stone, 158. - _Tumuli_, 351, 365. - Turrets, 68. - Twice-brewed-ale (inn), 233. - Tynemouth, 318. - - - Vallum, description of, 52. - Vallum, additional rampart of, 283. - Vangiones, 427. - Vegetation inimical to the Wall, 93. - Vespasian and Titus in Britain, 5. - Viteres, altars to, 395, 416, 417. - Victory, figure of, 300. - VINDOBALA, Rutchester, 150. - VINDOLANA, Chesterholm, 236. - VINDOMORA, 342. - - - Wallend, 273. - Wall, in relation to the rivers, 100. - Wallis, 349. - Wall-mill, 262. - Wall, probable height of, 47. - Wallsend, SEGEDUNUM, 105. - Walltown crags, 263. - Walton, 287. - Warden-hill, 194. - Wardley, 324. - Water-course, ancient, 161, 257. - Watch-cross, 298. - Whitley-castle, 346. - Wreckendike, 322. - Written rock on the Gelt, 81. - - - Zodiacal tablet, #409.# - - - - - Transcriber’s Note - -On p. 178, footnote 86 appears with no anchor in the text. Judging from -the context, the anchor has been placed at the end of the sentence -beginning ‘The stone pillars are...’, which mentions the balusters -referred to in the note. - -On p. 317, based on the context, the word ‘stones’ in the phrase ‘all -the trifling [stones] put together’, is most likely a misprinting of -‘stories’. - -Lapses and inconsistencies in punctuation and format in tabular matter, -or in the Index have been silently corrected. - -The index entry 'Fosse of the Wall' is out of order, and its position -has been adjusted. - -Errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, and -are noted here. - - p. x. British Archæ[o]logical Association Added. - - p. xx. 16. Section of Works, near eighteenth Transposed. - mile-stone [25/52] - - p. xxiii. 164. Sc[lu]/ul]pture to the Deæ Matres Transposed. - - p. 8 f[ri/ir]ths Transposed. - - p. 16 that ascend from these marshes.[”] Removed. - - p. 50 T[ih/hi]s portion Transposed. - - p. 62 wh[i]ch is thus inscribed Added. - - p. 65 n. 34 and in the neig[h]bourhood Added. - - p. 103 n. 54 a native of No[r]thumberland Added. - - The mi[l]liary which told to Hadrian’s Added. - soldiers - - p. 134 suc[c]essor Added. - - p. 150 so that a [a ]greater portion Line break - repetition. - - p. 204 have bee[e]n widely diffused Removed. - - p. 258 artific[i]al mound Added. - - Wher[e]ever line break - hyphenation - error. - - p. 310 circu[cu]lar Removed. - - p. 362 The body of [of] the road Removed. - - p. 380 n. 135 is now known in the [p/d]istrict Corrected. - - p. 407 dis[c]ipline Added. - - p. 423 _deserve[r]dly_ Removed. - - p. 430 vi[n]cinity Removed. - - p. 447 f[n/u]rnace Corrected. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Roman Wall, by Rev. 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