Sources over Hadrian's Wall?

[longshotgene]

Does any one know of any key sources that discuss events that transpired along Hadrian's Wall? I am looking for information that talks about battles that took place there, and anything of interest and importance. I know when I was there, Chesters Fort or Great Chesters I believe was attacked and overran. Unfortunately no one in the gift shop knew anything about it, and no one had any books on it.

[Gaius Octavius]

This might help a little:

 

"Hadrian's Wall"; David J. Breeze and Brian Dobson; Penguin Books.

[Northern Neil]

Some of the forts on Hadrians Wall, on excavation, show a charcoal layer dated to the mid-late 4th century. A period of reconstruction followed this, but wether or not these forts were sacked and rebuilt, or demolished and rebuilt is a matter of conjecture. On the one hand, the abandonement of the Vici and the transformation of barrack buildings into a kind of hybrid barrack - come - housing block would suggest they had been attacked. The civilian population was subsequently moved into the fort, to live in what had become a fortified village, alongside the limitaneii garrison.

 

On the other hand, military reorganisation and the demise of the traditional auxilliary COHORS meant that military units were smaller - somewhere in the order of 300 men, rather than the 480 in the standard quingenary cohort. Thus, the Vicus becomes superfluous, as there is ample space within the fort itself for the families of the garrison. In either case, there would be demolition by burning, as often happened when a Roman installation embarked upon a rebuilding.

 

Maybe both explanations have a ring of truth - increased insecurity, together with a reduction of garrison strength, could have meant that it was an expedient to move the civilian settlement within the fort walls. No 'formal' battle site has been attributed to Hadrians Wall and its immediate surroundings. However, Arthur's last battle - against the Picts - was said to have been fought at a place called CAMLANN. The Hadrians Wall fort at Castlesteads bears the name of CAMBOGLANNA - a British name. In Middle Welsh, this indeed transmutes to CAMLANN. The same place, maybe? A fort at the western end of Hadrians wall, Burgh by Sands, or ABALLAVA to give its Roman name, has been suggested as the burial place of Arthur - AVALON. Its situation on a salt marsh fits with the legend. Impossible to prove of course, but nonetheless thought provoking. These events do, of course, occur at the very end of the period in which Hadrians Wall was operational, if not several decades after - but then, this was a time when Roman power was waning fast and central control quickly disintegrating.

 

Although written some time ago (1971), Leslie Alcock's 'Arthurs Britain' discusses some of this.

Edited May 23, 2008 by Northern Neil

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

THIS is an excellent site with lots of info on not only Hadrian's Wall but Roman Britain as well.

[WotWotius]

-'Ergo conversis regio more militibus Britanniam petiit, in qua multa correxit murumque per octoginta milia passuum primus duxit, qui barbaros Romanosque divideret.'

 

-'And so, having reformed the army quite in the manner of a monarch, he set out for Britain, and there he corrected many abuses and was the first to construct a wall, eighty miles in length, which was to separate the barbarians from the Romans.'

 

(S. H. A. Hadr. 11.2)

 

Our only literary source for the existence of Hadrian's Wall.

[caldrail]

The vicus of a roman fort is a settlement next to the roman military and serving their needs as the basis of their economy. It contains ordinary citizens, artisans, merchants, and prostitutes, besides any unofficial family of the serving soldiers. It was therefore a small community in ts own right rather than married quarters just off base.

[Northern Neil]

The vicus of a roman fort is a settlement next to the roman military and serving their needs as the basis of their economy. It contains ordinary citizens, artisans, merchants, and prostitutes, besides any unofficial family of the serving soldiers. It was therefore a small community in ts own right rather than married quarters just off base.

..in the more formal setting of the Imperial period army this is the case. Fourth century barrack buildings resemble Terraced houses rather than the sleek, long military buildings of earlier times. The introduction of this more chaotic arrangement coincides with the abandonement of Vici on the Wall itself, a period of increased insecurity (possibly linked to lack of resources) and the introduction of Limitaneii units about 300 strong, replacing the old style COHORS. These new units were less regular than the old ones, and were more of a part time militia than a regular unit. It has been mentioned in more than one source that the fourth century Auxilliary fort became more of a fortified village than a military instllation. Obviously this change did not happen overnight, but it meant that the auxilliary fort underwent subtle changes. Here I have juxtaposed two scannings of the same barrack block, the one on the left is the familiar 2nd century layout, the one on the right a fourth century plan of the same barrack building. Whilst some of the dividing walls of the contuburnia have been retained, some have been dispensed with altogether to make a larger room, and gone are the vestibules of the earlier block. Items of civilian - and female use have been found in the later barrack blocks.

 

 

This example is from Housesteads. Some of these rooms, it has been postulated, were more like individual houses - some of the walls are stone, some are timber. A reconstruction of a fourth century barrack building, adapted for semi - civilian use rather than a solely military role, would probably look very iregular indeed. Fourth century barrack at Great Chesters and High Rochester depart from the plan altogether, and rows of free-standing chalet type buildings seems to have been built, simply using the flattened 2nd century barrack as a hardcore foundation.

[Gaius Octavius]

N.N., might this have anything to do with the limitaneii coming from other parts of the Empire?

[Northern Neil]

N.N., might this have anything to do with the limitaneii coming from other parts of the Empire?

Maybe, but then so did the auxillia of earlier times - A unit of Hamian Archers from what is now the Lebanon was based on the next fort along from Housesteads, during the period when Barracks were regular and contained 10 identical rooms. I think the irregular form of the later barracks is a sign that they had become more like houses than barracks limited to military use only.

[ASCLEPIADES]

Does any one know of any key sources that discuss events that transpired along Hadrian's Wall? I am looking for information that talks about battles that took place there, and anything of interest and importance. I know when I was there, Chesters Fort or Great Chesters I believe was attacked and overran. Unfortunately no one in the gift shop knew anything about it, and no one had any books on it.

Salve, Amici.

 

You can additionally check on the British Museum Hadrian's exposition introductory video page.