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Day 8:
July 9th, 2003
BIRDOSWALD
ROMAN FORT
Located
Along
HADRIAN’S
WALL

This is a
post card scan,
showing an
aerial view of
the present day
site of
Birdoswald
Roman Fort
and
Hadrian’s Wall.

If you want to
SKIP
the upcoming
(really brief!)
“history lesson,”
Click Here
to go right to
MY pix.

HADRIAN'S WALL was built by order of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, probably given during his visit to Britain in AD 122. Over the next six years, professional soldiers (Roman Legionaries) built a wall 80 Roman miles long (117 kilometers, or 73 modern miles), spanning the entire width of the British Isle: from Wallsend-on-Tyne in the east, to Bowness-on-Solway in the west.
As with most building work, modifications carried on long after this.

Hadrian’s Wall is the most important monument built by the Romans in Britain, and the best known frontier in the entire history of the Roman Empire. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1987, Hadrian's Wall ranks alongside the Taj Mahal and other treasures as one of
THE GREAT WONDERS OF THE WORLD.

WHY BUILD A WALL?
There are many theories about why the Wall was built. A Roman biographer of Hadrian states that the Wall was built "to separate the Romans from the Barbarians." (NOT to separate them from the Picts and the Scots – they arrived later!) But it is generally agreed by most historians that Hadrian wanted the Wall to mark the Northern Boundary of his Empire. Expansion further north came later, when from AD 140 to AD 163, Hadrian's Wall was briefly replaced by the Antonine Wall. But, the “frontier” soon moved back south again, to Hadrian's Wall. Interestingly, there is little evidence of any major conflict occurring at Hadrian's Wall.

The Wall was a sophisticated piece of engineering.
Every Roman mile there was a milecastle guarded by at least eight men. Between milecastles were two equidistant turrets where sentries kept watch. Thus a close check could be kept on the movement of goods, people and animals, crossing the frontier. During building, control was strengthened by the construction of large FORTS along the Wall. These (and other supply forts to the south) housed auxiliary soldiers, many from Belgium, Germany and Yugoslavia. The forts also served as crossing points in the Wall. And, around the forts grew civilian settlements.

Birdoswald Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall

Birdoswald Roman Fort was known in the Roman period as ‘Banna’ and was one of sixteen forts situated along the Hadrian’s Wall frontier system, now designated as a World Heritage Site.

The site is unique. You can see remains of all the components of the Roman frontier system within the estate. The curtain walls and three gateways of the fort are excavated and can be clearly seen; the east gateway is said to be the best preserved along the line of the Wall. A superb stretch of Hadrian’s Wall adjoins the fort for 1/3 of a mile, to Harrow Scar Milecastle.

The fort originally would have had granaries, a large basilica (aisled exercise hall), a hospital, barrack blocks, commandant’s house and a headquarters building. Beyond the curtain walls lay a parade ground, civilian settlement and graveyard. Remains of the granaries and basilica can still be seen today.

Although Birdoswald is centered around the Roman period, the site’s history spans 2,000 years: from the Romans, through to the occupation of a Dark Age Hall in the 4th Century (possibly by a local chieftain), to the medieval period when a fortified tower was built on the site. Birdoswald also played its part in the Border Raids when a ‘Bastle’ house was erected to protect the inhabitants from the notorious ‘Border Reiver families’. Built within the walls of the fort, the Birdoswald farmhouse dates back to the17th Century and has been extended on at least two other occasions, creating the imposing façade you can see along the Wall today.

BIRDOSWALD EXHIBIT CENTER

In 1984 Cumbria County Council acquired
the Birdoswald estate and embarked upon
an archaeological excavation programme,
and subsequent development of the site,
as one of the leading visitor attractions
on Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site.