Showing posts with label Tyne and Wear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tyne and Wear. Show all posts

Tuesday 30 July 2024

Skulferatu #124 - Segedunum Roman Fort, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear


When I’m down in Newcastle, I like to zoom round to various places on the Metro and then have a wander around them.  On my latest visit I decided to go to Wallsend, a town I don’t think I’ve visited since the early 1970s, when I was just a wee sprog.  Since I was last there the remains of a Roman Fort have been uncovered, so I headed off to that.

 

Segedunum is the name of the Roman Fort, and it sits at the eastern end of Hadrian’s Wall in Wallsend.  And those of you with a quick mind, unlike me, will realise that the town of Wallsend takes its name from being at the walls end. 

 

The building of Hadrian’s Wall was started in AD 122, when the Roman Emperor, Hadrian came to inspect one of the far flung lands of his empire.  While he was here, it was decided that a wall should be built to protect the Romans from the Barbarians in the North.  So, those nifty little Romans built a great big wall that ran from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway in Cumbria.  A wall that was around 73 miles (117.5 kilometres) long, or 80 Roman miles long, their measurement of a mile being slightly shorter than ours.

 

A photo of a rust red iron statue of a Roman Centurion.  Behind it is a red brick building with a flat roof.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Sentius Tectonicus – sculpture by John O’Rourke


A view over a flat and fenced off piece of land on which can be seen some square areas of stone.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
View over the site from the museum viewing tower

 

A view over an area of flat land with a white building with a red tiled roof standing on the left, this is the reconstructed bath house.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
View over the site from the museum viewing tower

 

The fort at Segedunum was built at around the time the wall was being constructed, and was in use for around three hundred years, up until around 400 AD. It sat on a plateau overlooking the River Tyne with a commanding view of a mile or two, up and down the river.  Within the fort there were barracks for the infantry and cavalry, a headquarters building, a house for the commanding officer, a hospital, and various other buildings.  A high defensive parapet wall surrounded the fort with a walkway running around it.  There were also several observational towers along the wall to keep an eye out for any of those pesky barbarians. 

 

Outside the fort, evidence has been found that there was a large village along with a temple complex and a bathhouse.  The village stretched all the way down to the river where it is likely there would have been some sort of harbour.  In the village dwelled various craftsmen and tradesman from local areas and further afield, who made their living trading with the soldiers based in the fort. 

 

A photo of a white building with a red tiled roof - the reconstructed Roman bath house.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The Bath House

 

A view over a flat piece of land with various shapes marked out on it.  In the background is a building with a tower and a viewing room on it - the museum.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
View over the fort site to the museum

 

A photo of a carboard Roman soldier standing on the stony ground of the Segedunum site.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Last man standing

 

A photo showing two square areas in the ground full of pebbles.  In the distance is a row of red brick buildings.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
View over the fort site

 

A photo of a stone drain with a flat rock covering a part of it.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Romans pooped here

 

A view of marked out areas full of pebbles, used to show where the buildings of the fort at Segedunum once stood.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
View towards the Bath House

 

In AD 409, Britain was basically dumped by Emperor Honorius, who had bigger problems to deal with as the Roman Empire began to collapse around him.  It appears that the fort was abandoned at some point around then, and much of the stone from it was taken away to be used for other buildings.

 

The fort and the area around it then became farmland for many years, before Wallsend Colliery was established nearby, and housing was built over where the fort had stood.  Excavations were carried out on the site at various times and then in the 1990s a major project was undertaken to turn it into a visitor attraction.  Now, sitting by the fort there is a museum with a viewing tower that overlooks the site, and opposite that a reconstruction of a Roman bath house.   

 

While wandering around the museum, I introduced my Skulferatu to one of the exhibits there, a replica skull grinning out at the visitors.  The replica was of a skull found with a healing sword wound in it.  Hmm, that must have hurt.

 

A photo of a human skull.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
A winning smile

 

After walking around the remains and outlines of the fort at Segedunum, I left the Skulferatu that had accompanied me in amongst the stones marking the cavalry barracks.

 

A photo of a flat area of land with a circle marked out in it.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Site of the cavalry barracks

 

A photo showing a small ceramic skull (Skulferatu 124) being held up with the museum viewing tower in the background.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #124

 

A photo showing a small ceramic skull (Skulferatu 124) lying amongst pebbles and boulders.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #124 in amongst the stones

 

A close-up photo showing a small ceramic skull (Skulferatu 124) lying amongst pebbles and boulders.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #124 in amongst the stones

 

TomTom Map showing the location of Skulferatu #124
Map showing the location of Skulferatu #124

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are -

 
Latitude 54.987535

Longitude -1.532107

 
what3words: hotels.move.page

 

I used the following sources for information on Segedunum –

 
Tourist info at the site
 
Segedunum booklet – available from the museum