We hit the wall

Hexham Abbey, since 674. Notice the different types of stone.

Alas, for the best laid plans of mice and men (or women), as we were unable to board the overnight train to Carlisle! We experimented with alternate routings that involved a terrible journey with an enormous party of fantastically drunken youth to and return from Peterborough. This didn’t help in any way, and we ended up on the first train out from King’s Cross to Hexham in the morning.

Hexham is a beautiful village dominated by its remarkable abbey. All the narrow twisting roads and alleyways lead you up to the medieval market square.A church was first built at Hexham Abbey in 674 and there has been one there ever since. The original structure was built from stones scavenged from Roman ruins like the nearby sites along Hadrian’s Wall. In the crypt, the only part of the original building left there are stones on which Roman inscriptions can be read. In 875 the church was destroyed by the Danes (sounds familiar I think). Most of the present building dates from early Norman times, but even from the outside it is possible to see evidence of later additions in different colored stone and building styles. We were unable to examine this church in detail because we arrived about 15 minutes ahead of a wedding service.

What brought us here is the easy access to Hadrian’s Wall. There is a marvelous bus service (AD122 is the bus, naturally) that stops at various key sites all along the wall – Chesters, Housesteads, Vindolanda, and the Roman Army Museum. The wall stretches 80+ miles long and is a popular hiking trail. Our original plans called for us to hike the length of it, but the desperate need to scrape out time to get to Skara Brae in the Orkneys precluded the extra time it would have taken. Nevertheless, we had splendid time poking around the ruins and excavation sites in our selected locations.

Our first stop was Vindolanda. It was a Roman castrum (auxiliary fort) set a short distance south of Hadrian's Wall.  Its primary function was to guard the Roman road from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth. What is visible today are the remnants of the last of at least 5 wooden and 2 stone forts on the site, the first of which was built around 85. A large amount of the stone from Vindolanda, and indeed, from all of the Roman sites in the area has been carted away over the centuries. Driving through the countryside there it is obvious that the stones one sees in the farm buildings and walls around are the latest use to which those Roman worked stones have been put. One of the interesting things at Vindolanda is that part of the site is still an active archaeological dig. You can walk around in the part that has been excavated, it is the low remnants of the Roman walls and the lush, green grass that grows in England. The active dig area is fenced off and resembles a muddy rock pile. One can make out the walls, drains, and streets, but you have to look carefully through the rubble that has not yet been moved. Vindolanda’s greatest gift to posterity are the wooden diptychs known as the Vindolanda Tablets, examples of which we saw housed in the British Museum. These contain the oldest examples of handwriting in Britain. These documents record military matters and other official business as well as personal matters. One is an invitation to a birthday party.

After excavation is complete

Before the excavations are complete

There is no surviving section of Hadrian’s Wall visible at Vindolanda (they do have a reconstruction), but there is at Housesteads, which was where we went next. The Roman name of the fort was Vercovicium, and like Vindolanda, it was built to secure the northern frontier of the empire. However, Housesteads (to use its modern name) was built later, around 124, shortly after the beginning of construction of Hadrian’s Wall in 122. Housesteads sits on high hill overlooking a pass between two ridges through which Hadrian’s Wall runs, and where there is a commanding view of the surrounding country. Though this probably wasn’t the case in the Romans’ day, today the approach to Housesteads is a tiring climb through a field full of sheep and their many leavings, so you really need to watch where you step. It is ideally placed to keep an eye on unfriendly natives. Today, the site offers a sweeping view of rolling green hills flecked with the fleecy white specks of sheep.

The granary at Housesteads. These posts elevated the floor
to keep food dry and away from vermin.

The view from Housesteads along Hadrian's Wall