Uxelodunum.( Stanwix)
Entry posted by Pertinax
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Quite a trip to Luguvallum (Carlisle). I stayed in Stanwix , that is the suburb just North of the River Eden Bridge. Stanwix being the possible former tribal capital of the Great( but troublesome) Lady Cartiamandua , client monarch of the Romans , inconstant bedfellow of Venuntius the King.
background is here:
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3575
my location here:
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...=si&img=714
AS you can see almost adjacent to the first of the Hadrianic Wall (proper ) forts at Uxelodunum as given on this map, but now known as Petriana.To the West we have the turf/coastal defence system of the Solway area running down to Alavanna , to the East the central section of Vindolanda and Vircovicium.( Scroll down the blog for previous reports).
Physical remains are negligible, though everytime the ground is touched in Carlisle a wealth of items emerges. I will be posting some gallery items relating to ballistic projectiles and coinage
The Castle in Carlisle is a building with a long medieval-near modern history,David of Scotland ordered it built in 1130 , Mary Queen of Scots was held here, The Jacobites took the Castle then suffered seige and defeat themselves in 1745, the Border (Reiver) conflicts flared constantly around this area and latterly this was and is an infantry barracks with regimental museum.
http://spaces.msn.com/triclinium/
my external blog has a "Carlisle Citadel " gallery (roughly set out so far) showing sundry views and items from a catholic time period (annotation will follow when eyesight permits).Roman items will appear in the gallery here.
I visited Tullie House museum but photography is not allowed , however I am hoping to obtain permission to shoot the specialised medical equipment in the collection-particularly the specialised eye surgery tools . Tullie is very good but I still think Vindolanda is the best collection I have seen so far never mind the actual fort area.
http://www.aldinghamhouse.co.uk/
and that is where to stay if visiting the area.
Soon also there wil be three major Roman re-enactment weekends, Bana , Bremetenacum and Skipton: I have already booked the hotel for the first of these in two weeks time.
Arthurian Legend.
edit: now the other thing that emerged from this trip was regarding Arthur (King of the Britons, Defeater of the Saxons!), at the hotel I read a long document posted from the Isle of Man by an eccentric scholar.Essentially he identified Stanwix and the site of Aldingham as a sub-Roman stronghold (not at all unreasonable if you check the topography).Further more he suggested Arthur as son of the King of Dalradia (Dumfries) , ally of Urens (northern Cumbria), with Merlin coming from modern Eskdailmuir, fatally wounded at the battle of Camelann. Camelann being by my calculations somewhere north of the Wall near Bana . The time frame is 570-595 ish. Arthur was then laid to reast on a barge and his body taken to the Isle of Man, that then being part of Dalradia.
Now virtually every County feels it has an Arthurian claim but I like this tale as it hints at a cavalry mounted sub-Roman Briton (I usually suggest Arthur might have been a Sarmatian/Briton " born in the camp" to a high ranking Auxilliary ) . So I offer you one more possible thread...
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