Historical jargon

Plan of the Hadrian's Wall 

Hadrian's Wall run for 80 Roman miles (73 modern miles or 117km) from Bowness-on-Solway to Wallsend (west to east). It was built to mark the north-western frontier of the Roman Empire, to facilitate trade and taxation and to repel invaders.

Permanent conquest of Britain began in AD 43. About AD 100 the northernmost army units lived in forts linked by a road, Stanegate ('the stone road'), between Corbridge and Carlisle. Hadrian came to Britain in AD 122 and ordered the construction of the wall. The route chosen for the Wall largely paralleled the nearby Stanegate, slightly to the north of it. It took the Roman Legions 6 years to complete the wall. 

The curtain wall and milecastles were originally made out of turf, earth and timber. Before the end of Hadrian's reign the Turf Wall was replaced with stone. When Hadrian died in AD 138, the new emperor, Antonius Pius,  largely abandoned Hadrian's Wall and moved the army north to a new fortification, the Antonine Wall. Although neglected, Hadrian's Wall was not destroyed and was fully reoccupied in AD 160. The army remained stationed on Hadrian's Wall until the end of the Roman Empire in Britain in the early 5th century.

Credits: www.photographers-resource.co.uk

Credits: www.castlesfortsbattles.co.uk (edited)

Fighting Ditch (Ditch): V-shaped trench, except where on a sheer drop (crag). The standard fighting ditch was 3m deep and designed to slow an enemy down and put him in an optimum position to be attacked by a throwing spear.

Between the ditch and the wall there is a 6m berm or movement area. 

Curtain wall (Wall): the initial design for the wall was for 3m wide but there are 2.5m width sections. All sections had outer and inner faces of dressed stone set with lime mortar and filled with rubble. Evidence shows that it may have been 5m high toped with a parapet walkway to allow soldiers to patrol. 

Military Road: road connecting the forts, turrets and milecastles.

Vallum: U-shaped massive ditch flanked by two mounds of earth, 5m wide and 3m deep.

Stanegate Road ('the stone road'): the Roman road that pre-dated the Wall and initially acted as a frontier, linking the forts of Corbridge (Corstopitum) and Carlisle (Luguvalium), running through the natural gap formed by the valleys of the rivers Tyne (Northumberland) and Irthing (Cumbria).

Credits: Birdoswald Roman Fort

Forts: 17 forts were built, approximately every 7-8 miles, housing 500 - 1000 soldiers (infantry, cavalry or a mix of the two).

Milecastles: a fortified gateway, approximately every roman mile (about 1.48km), manned by a small garrison of 10-30 troops to control movement through the Wall and to collect taxes. Total of 80 milecastles which, on modern maps, are numbered starting in the east.

Turrets: stone towers spaced two to every Roman mile and providing shelter for a small garrison (about 6 soldiers) who kept watch and patrolled the frontier. They were simple structures and were supplied with just a single entrance to the south, with no gateway through the Wall to the land to the north. Total of 158 turrets. In modern maps, turrets are numbered after the nearest eastern milecastle, e.g. Turrets 37A and 37B lie between Milecastles 37 and 38.

Bridges: carried the Wall across large rivers.

Plan of a Roman Fort (castrum)

Segedunum Roman Fort

Wall (vallum): made of stone, 5m high, backed by an earth rampart (agger) about 4m wide and a large ditch (fossa).

Gates: usually 4 (south, north, east, west), single or double-portalled, flanked by towers.

Guard Towers: in the photo above, 2 towers are seen between each gate.

Headquarters (principia): most important building with a walled forecourt, where the administrative offices were; it had an underground chamber which acted as a strong room where the pay for the soldiers was stored.

Commander's House (praetorium): the Commander of the fort (praefectus) and his family lived here; it would have a few luxuries like a private bath house, a private latrine and a hypocaust (underfloor heating) to keep the house comfortable in Winter.

Soldiers Barracks (strigae): housing for a centuria (80 men) and their Centurion. A barrack block was divided into 8-10 rooms, each housing a contubernium (8 men). Equipment was kept at the front and soldiers slept in the back. The Centurion and family lived in a large room at one end of the block.

Cavalry Barracks (strigae): each cavalry barrack was divided into 9 small spaces and a large room at the end. The large room was for the Decurion, the officer in charge of the group of 27 cavalry soldiers (turma). Each 9 small spaces was further divided into a back room and a front room. The back room housed 3 cavalry soldiers and was used to sleep, cook and store their equipment and belongings. The front room was to keep their horses. 

Granaries (horrea): to house the grain to feed the men; long and narrow buildings with strong buttressed stone walls with air vents, an overhanging roof to keep rain away from the walls and raised floor supported on posts (pilae) to keep the grain dry and prevent rodents getting in.

Forehall: tall building which run across the front of the headquarters building and the granary; archaeologists do not know exactly what this building was used for.

Bath House or Public Bath (thermae): sometimes inside but usually outside the perimeter of the fort because of the risk of fire; main meeting place and social centre.

Workshops (fabricae): blacksmiths, carpenters, butchers, shoemakers.

Hospital (valetudinarium): consisted of a series of small rooms built around a courtyard; rooms probably included a theatre, wards, latrines and stores.

Water tank: they were filed with rain water or water from springs channelled using aqueducts.

Public Latrines (latrina): benches with holes to form multiple toilet seats over a channel of running water; water was fed from a cistern into a channel at foot level to wash the excrement away through a duct in the walls.

Vicus: civilian settlement outside of the fort. In the photo below, the vicus are the houses outside both gates.

The basic ideal configuration of a fort (castrum): 

Credits: Wikipedia.

1. Principia (headquarters)
2. Via Praetoria (main street)
3. Via Principalis 
4. Porta Principalis Dextra ('right principal gate')
5. Porta Praetoria (main gate)
6. Porta Principalis Sinistra ('left principal gate')
7. Porta Decumana (back gate)

 

Plan of a Bath House (thermae)

Credits: Vindolanda

Bather's route in the Bath House:

1. Changing hall (apodyterium) - with niches for clothes.
2. Cold room (frigidarium) - cold room often with a large pool (piscina).
3. Warm room (tepidarium) - medium-heat room with a lukewarm bath.
4. Hot dry room (laconicum or sudatorium) - like a sauna in a modern spa.
5. Hot steam room (caldarium) - like a Turkish bath with a piscina of hot water.
6. Plunge into the cold bath.

The baths relied on a heating system called hypocausto. A furnace produced very hot air that passed through a tiled conduit into the building and under the floor which was raised on stone pillars. In the laconicum, concealed hollow tiles carried the heat up the walls and over the ceiling, above which a hollow vault insulated the building. The closer a room was to the furnace, the hotter it was.

Roman Army

Contubernium: smallest unit in a legion with 8 men; they marched, fought, worked and camped together.

Centuria (century): unit of 80 men or 10 Contubernium. They were under the command of a Centurion. Each centuria had its own Signum (Standard bearer).

Cohort: unit of 6 centurie of 480 men and 6 centurions. A Primus Pilus (Senior Centurion) commanded the Cohort. Each cohort had its own Signum.

Legio (Legion): 5000 men or 10 cohort. The first cohort had extra men, the engineers and all the other helpers that did not fight, about 800 men. Each legion had a name, number and badge. The commanding officer of a Legio is called a Legate or Legatus Legionis. Each Legio had its own Signum.

Eques legionis: each Legio had a cavalry unit of 120 attached to them.

Hadrian's Wall Path Day 8: Carlisle to Bowness-on-Solway

Monday, 7th June 2021

Weather: 15⁰C, sunny
Distance: 27.3km
Time: 7h 44min (5h 57min walking time)

Average moving speed: 4.6km/h

Max elevation: 32m

Min elevation: 4m

Elevation gain: 170m

I like Travelodge because you always know what you are getting. The beds are always extremely comfortable and the rooms are spacious and clean. The one we stayed only had a flaw: ginormous windows! The building looks like it used to be a factory of some sort so the bedrooms have those tall and wall to wall windows. Amazing light during the day but the curtain's blackout wasn't enough. Even the eye mask struggled to help me...

I can't believe today is our last day! It has been hard but with such gorgeous weather and magnificent scenery, I wish we would keep going.

We picked up food for lunch from Marks & Spencer and had breakfast al fresco at the Market Square: Espresso Hub Café. Service was slow and it was past 10am when we set off. At least it was very filling!

My calculations pointed to a 23km day. It ended up being 27km. A long day we had ahead of us and we were starting an hour later than we should. However, for the first time, we were not carrying our backpacks. We would be returning to Carlisle tonight so we would be walking light.

The path inside Carlisle is a riverside walk. Trailing alongside river Eden through a tree-lined path, passing greens and even being greeted by a peeking castle tower behind sports grounds.

We also went pass the Sands Centre, where one of the stamp's for the passport is supposed to be. I was happy to have stamped the passport yesterday at Birdoswald as the Centre was closed.

We say goodbye to the river at Grinsdale. At some point amongst the houses, a standalone fridge with cold drinks makes an appearance. The Northerners are so considerate!

Lunch stop at Beaumont, on the grass of St Mary's Church.

Beaumont ('beautiful hill') was named by the Normans. Hadrian's Wall passes through Beaumont and the Normans built a castle in the site of the Roman milecastle, using stone from the fort and Wall. The first church was then built on the same site around 1100 and today's church stands on the same stop.

Further afield we pass Burgh by Sands. I would recommend walking around St Michael's Church. It was built in the 12th century using stone from the Roman fort of Aballava which stood here. In the 14th century a pele tower was incorporated. The tower makes the church look like a castle.

The most important feature of the church is actually the water tap at the back. It has a lot of pressure so any excess water can be drained into the water bowl on the ground. Both humans and canines can quench their thirst.

From Dykesfield onward we enter salt marshland. It's exposed to the wind and the sun no longer warms us.

At exceptionally high spring tides the whole area can be under many feet of water. The guidebook for the walk advises checking the tidal predictions for Silloth, the nearest port for which they are available. The National Trail Officers post monthly forecasts on noticeboards at the eastern entrance of the marshland (marked with a cattle grid) and at the edge of Bowness-on-Solway.

By this time I was tired and my feet were seriously aching. We stopped a couple of times for rest but the wind was making me feel cold so I had no option but to continue.

The area is flat so views are far reaching. Fells to the south and salt marshes and sandbanks to the north. Cattle graze the marshland and the Solway Firth is a bird haven.

The symbol of the Solway Coast is the oystercatcher which can be seen looking for food in the marshes. It has a distinct look but I did not manage to take a picture. It has black and white plumage, orange beak and pink legs.

credits: www.livingseasnw.org.uk

When we reached Bowness-on-Solway I was more than ready to call it a day. Jorge looks much better than me!

Into the village we walked to find the official end / start of the Hadrian's Wall Path, the Romanesque wooden shelter at The Banks Promenade, overlooking the Solway. 

Here we also completed our passport by adding the last stamp, which can be found at the wooden shelter. There are other two locations where the stamp can be obtained: The King's Arms (local pub) and Lindow Hall (accommodation). Challenge completed, passport fully stamped!

A cold drink at the King's Arms, waiting for the bus which would take us back to Carlisle. 

We managed to arrive on time for the last bus of the day at 18h50. I greeted the bus driver with 'You have no idea how happy I am to see you!'. He smiled with a knowing look. We were the only passengers almost all the way to Carlisle.

I dragged myself to the hotel, sprawled on the bed and refused to get up. Jorge got us dinner from the local Tesco's as my arms were all I could move.

Remember when I said this morning that I wished we kept going? At the end of the day I was exhausted, I had very achy feet and tired legs and I couldn't go any longer. Nope, this was it. I'm ready for a holiday now. 

Hadrian's Wall Path Day 7: Newtown to Carlisle

Sunday, 6th June 2021

Weather: 18⁰C, sunny
Distance: 15km
Time: 4h 22min (3h 35min walking time)

Average moving speed: 4.2km/h

Max elevation: 70m

Min elevation: 13m

Elevation gain: 119m

Today wasn't going to be a long day so we slept in and had a leisurely late breakfast. We bagged our packed lunch (£5 each) that our host delivered this morning and headed out when we were ready.

The path is pretty flat from now.

At Crosby-on-Eden we stop to admire the local church, St John's Church.

Lunch stop in front of Eden Grove, a Grade II listed house not far from the river Eden.

On arrival to Linstock a tower appears on the right-hand side. Linstock Castle it is called but it actually is a pele tower.

After walking for a while north of the river Eden, we enter Rickerby Park and finally cross the river at the Memorial Bridge (built in 1922) and enter Carlisle. Being a warm day, children and dogs play in the river below.

Here we leave the path and head to our accommodation for the next two days: Travelodge Carlisle Central (£60.98 for 2 nights, no breakfast). We are 1 hour earlier than the check-in time but hopeful that we can drop our bags and head to explore the city a bit lighter.

No such luck! There is no one at reception and it finally dawns on me why there was a £10 fee for an earlier check-in... Carrying heavy bags and with tired feet, we decide to lay down on the grass of the nearby Portland Square whilst we wait and I have an hour nap.

After the check-in is done we head out for a walk in the city and to visit Carlisle Castle.

Carlisle Castle

The oldest visible part  of the castle was built under Henry I in the 1120s and completed shortly after by David I of Scotland. It has been alternated between English and Scottish hands as a reminder that Carlisle is a frontier city.

Admission costs £11.30.

Carlisle Cathedral

Originally Norman but only two bays near the chancel are original. The rest was demolished following Scottish attacks in the wars of 1645 and 1652 and rebuilt afterwards.

Behind the cathedral a street called Paternoster Row. There is a pattern coming all the way from Newcastle...

Carlisle's main square (Market Square) with the Market Cross Monument (traditional 17th century columnar monument on circular steps marking a market square) and the old Guildhall building which today has the Tourist Information Centre and coffee shops and restaurant. The square is surrounded by shops and leads onto a main pedestrian street. 

Carlisle city centre would look much better if not for the bird droppings splattered on almost every single building and under every single tree. Filthy!

After a shower and a rest, we headed out looking for dinner. We settled at The Print Yard, where we had a delicious dinner and cocktails for £66.11.

After dinner we walked a bit more before retiring for the night. It was very quiet.

West Walls, the only remaining part of the medieval walls built in the latter half of the 12th century.

Citadel or Court Houses. The medieval citadel was almost destroyed by the Scots and the remains demolished in 1807. A new citadel as two oval towers was rebuilt in 1810 housing the Civil Courts in the East Tower and the Criminal Courts in the West Tower.