Segedunum Read online

  SEGEDUNUM

  Published in the United Kingdom in 2016 by

  OXBOW BOOKS

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  and in the United States by

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  © Oxbow Books and the individual authors 2016

  Hardcover Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-026-2

  Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-027-9

  Mobi Edition: ISBN 978-1-785700-28-6

  A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Rushworth, Alan. | Daniels, Charles (Charles M.) | Bishop, M. C. | Caruana, I. D. (Ian D.) | Moffat, P. (Pete)

  Title: Segedunum : excavations by Charles Daniels in the Roman fort at Wallsend (1975-1984) / by A. Rushworth ; with contributions by M.C. Bishop, I.D. Caruana, C.M. Daniels, P. Moffat ; illustrated by C. MacRae, M. Johnstone.

  Description: Oxford : Oxbow Books, 2015- | Includes bibliographical references and index.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2015039327| ISBN 9781785700262 (volume 1 : hardcover) | ISBN 9781785700279 (volume 1 : digital)

  Subjects: LCSH: Segedunum Roman Fort Site (Wallsend, England) | Excavations (Archaeology)--England--Wallsend. | Fortification--England--Wallsend. | Material culture--England--Wallsend. | Animal remains (Archaeology)--England--Wallsend. | Wallsend (England)--Antiquities, Roman.

  Classification: LCC DA690.W2214 R87 2015 | DDC 936.2/879--dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015039327

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  Front cover: A 1975 view of Building 1 and the north-east corner of the fort, taken from the roof of Simpson’s Hotel during the first season of Charles Daniels’ excavations at Wallsend.

  Back cover: The latrine in the south-west corner of the hospital, following excavation in 1977.

  SEGEDUNUM

  EXCAVATIONS BY CHARLES DANIELS IN THE ROMAN FORT AT WALLSEND (1975–1984)

  Volume 1: The Structural Remains

  by A. Rushworth

  With contributions by

  M. C. Bishop, I. D. Caruana, C. M. Daniels, P. Moffat

  Illustrated by

  C. MacRae, M. Johnstone

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgements

  Summary

  Résumé

  Zusammenfassung

  Volume 1

  PART 1 INTRODUCTION AND DISCUSSION

  1 Introduction

  2 The History and Development of the Fort

  3 Pre-Roman Cultivation

  PART 2 THE BUILDINGS OF THE CENTRAL RANGE

  4 The Granary (Building 7)

  5 The Hospital (Buildings 21 and 8)

  6 The Timber Buildings Around the Granary

  7 Cistern 1, The ‘Assembly Area’ and Associated Roads

  8 The Principia (Building 14)

  9 The Praetorium (Building 13)

  10 The Forehall (Building AO), Central Roads and Building 15

  11 Workshop Building 16 and the Eastern Via Principalis

  PART 3 THE BUILDINGS IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE FORT

  12 The Evidence for Timber Barracks in the Praetentura

  13 The Second-Century Stone Barracks in the Praetentura

  14 The Third-Century and Later Buildings in the Praetentura

  PART 4 THE BUILDINGS IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE FORT

  15 The Earlier Cavalry Barracks in the Retentura

  16 The Chalet-Barracks in the Retentura

  PART 5 THE DEFENCES

  17 The Western Defences, Intervallum Road and Hadrian’s Wall

  18 The Northern Defences

  19 The South and East Defences

  20 The Defences – an Overview

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Thanks must first go to all those who participated as volunteers, workers or supervisors in the excavations at Wallsend fort reported on here and in particular to Pete Moffat, Ian Caruana and Nigel Neil who were the principal site supervisors at different stages of the project. Pete Moffat and Ian Caruana worked on the initial programme of post-excavation with Charles Daniels, with Pete bearing the brunt of the work, dealing with both the structural report and the finds, and above all the colossal task of assembling, cataloguing and cross-referencing the structural data from such a large and complex site (at a time when computing technology was only just beginning to become widely available). The ordered context databases, phased site plans, preliminary structural analysis and the first parts of the structural report derive from this period. The structural report chapters incorporate sections of text initially compiled by Pete Moffat (Buildings 1, 2 and 4 and northeast defences), Ian Caruana (the north-west angle tower and Mike Bishop (the north-west praetentura). Louise Barker and Rhodri Jones, working on behalf of Newcastle University Archaeological Practice in 1997–8, undertook initial cataloguing work on the archive and assisted with compilation of the postexcavation assessment and project design, whilst Chris Lucas completed the site matrices. Chief illustrators for the Archaeological Practice were Claire MacRae and Marc Johnstone with some preliminary work being undertaken by Tony Liddel. The illustrator during the initial post-excavation period (1984–9) was Sheila Galbraith. Her plans, scanned, modified and adapted as required, form the origin of most of the final detailed building phase plans. The comparative building plans, fort period and summary plans were produced by Claire MacRae and Marc Johnstone.

  The excavations were funded on a rescue basis by North Tyneside Council, the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (through Charles Daniels’ salary) and, between 1983 and 1984, the Manpower Services Commission. English Heritage has generously funded the post-excavation work and publication. Thanks are also due to the English Heritage monitors, successively Tony Wilmott, Alex Gibson, Pete Wilson, Jonathan Last and most recently Andrew Lowerre, for their patient forbearance in steering the project through to completion. John Dore and Richard Carlton also provided much valuable advice and support during the course of the project.

  Permission to reproduce extracts from the 1740 Dean and Chapter estate map of Wallsend (DCD E/AA/23) and the 1801 Bell survey of Wallsend township (DCD/E/CC – shelf 85a) as Figs 2.10 and 2.11 respectively has kindly been granted by Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections. Figs 1.01, 1.02, 2.08, 6.02–6.05 and 16.30 are reproduced here by kind permission of Nick Hodgson and Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums.

  Many thanks are due to Paul Bidwell, who was involved in the study of the pottery at all stages. The chief illustrators for Part 6, working on behalf of Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums, were Graham Hodgson and Dave Whitworth, with the help of Roger Oram and Dave Nelson amongst others. The intaglio photographs are by R. L. Wilkins, F.S.A. of the Institute of Archaeology, University of Oxford.

  SUMMARY

  Between 1975 and 1984 almost the entire area of the Roman fort of Segedunum in Wallsend was excavated under the direction of Charles Daniels, senior lecturer in the Department of A
rchaeology at Newcastle University. This represented one of the most ambitious and prolonged programmes of fieldwork attempted on the northern frontier up to that point and has made Wallsend one of the most fully investigated of Roman forts in Britain. It is these excavations which form the subject of this publication.

  Although the 1975–84 excavations revealed most of the fort interior in most areas the remains were not excavated down to natural and even the primary Hadrianic deposits were often not fully investigated. Moreover the late Roman levels had been severely damaged by medieval and later ploughing as well as colliery activity and residential development from the beginning of the nineteenth century onwards. Accordingly the remains revealed were predominantly those of the second and third centuries, though some late Roman features did survive in little pockets here and there, providing clues as to the character of fourth-century occupation.

  The opening chapters provide an introduction to the project (1), outlining the history of the project, the sequence and methodology of excavation, and the impact of renewed excavation by Tyne and Wear Museums in 1997–8 on Daniels’ initial interpretations of the results. It also offers an assessment of the significance of Charles Daniels’ work at Wallsend. Chapter 2 summarises the structural history of the fort as revealed by the excavations. In particular it shows how the structural phases of individual buildings relate to the overall periods of activity within the fort, and thus the way in which construction in the one part of the fort corresponded with and affected that in another. Full Period and Phase concordance tables are included. A summary of the post-Roman history of the site is also provided. Chapter 3 then presents the data gathered by the 1975–84 excavations regarding pre-Roman agricultural features within the fort.

  Part 2, comprising Chapters 4–11, covers the buildings of the fort’s central range, namely the granary (Chapter 4), hospital (5), headquarters (principia) (8), commanding officer’s house (praetorium) (9), the forehall fronting the principia and granary (10), and a long narrow building, perhaps a workshop, on the north side of the eastern via principalis (11). In the case of all but the praetorium these buildings were fully exposed. The surviving remains are largely of the second and third centuries, the hospital, and perhaps the praetorium, being demolished by the later third century. Remains of a timber building, perhaps associated with the fort’s construction phase, were found underlying the principia, plus two sets of abortive foundations for a south range of offices in that building, perhaps hinting at a prolonged period of construction. The remains of the forehall are particularly significant as this type of structure has only rarely been found in forts in Britain and a number of internal features as well as an external timber portico were identified. An assortment of smaller buildings lining the via quintana, along the south side of the range, are also covered in this section. These include a trio of multi-phase timber buildings, tucked into the recess at the south end of the granary, between the hospital and headquarters, which belong to the third century (Chapter 6). Following re-excavation in 1997–8 these were interpreted as a row of contubernia for irregular troops (Row 20), however it can now be determined that a further group of timber buildings, overlying the hospital, were contemporary only with the latest phase of Row 20. Further east, another group of three buildings, this time built of stone, was strung along the south side of the praetorium (9). There is no indication that these served as supplementary contubernia, however, and some ancillary function is more likely. The fragmentary remains of yet another stone building of similar size and form attached to the south face of the principia suggests this may have been a relatively widespread pattern along the via quintana.

  Chapters 12, 13 and 14 cover the buildings in the northern third of the fort, revealed to be a group of six infantry barracks. There is a little evidence for the existence of an entirely timber phase of barrack blocks here, relating to the initial Hadrianic period of occupation, though the remains are not as conclusive as thoset uncovered in relation to the cavalry barrack blocks in the southern part of the fort during 1998 (Chapter 12). These were followed in the mid-second century by a series of blocks with stone external walls (13). Internal details revealed in the contubernia include timber partitions, hearths, side entrance passageways and thresholds with pivot holes for the doors. These blocks underwent rebuilding in the early decades of the third century (14), which involved the substitution of stone partition walls for timber ones but retained the form of a conventional barrack block in contrast to the chalet-barrack ranges erected in the southern part of the fort. Most intriguing was the evidence for a significant reduction in the unit strength in this period. Thus in the north-east corner one of the three barracks was replaced by a stable block. Survival of the comparable third-century remains in the north-western quarter of the fort was much more fragmentary, but the buildings there were clearly laid out on a different footprint from their predecessors and the most plausible restoration of that layout can likewise only comfortably accommodate two barrack blocks.

  In Part 4 Chapters 15 and 16 respectively examine the second- and third-century cavalry barracks in the southern part of the fort (retentura). Two of the second-century barracks (9 and 12) were previously analysed in the report on the 1998 excavations where they were first interpreted as cavalry stablebarracks. Chapter 15 summarises the related features revealed by the Daniels excavations and integrates the remains of the other two barracks into the same framework. In Chapter 16 a clearer understanding is provided of aspects of the third-century chaletbarracks, which were better preserved when first uncovered by Daniels in 1978–9. Structural details in one of the chalet-barracks (9) suggest the original intention was to lay the third-century cavalry barracks out as conventional barrack blocks, resembling the roughly contemporary infantry barracks, but perhaps arranged back to back. The reduced number of contubernia in the chalet-barracks by comparison with the second-century stable-barracks again points to a reduction in the size of the overall garrison in the third century.

  Part 5 (Chapters 17–20) covers the excavations which were undertaken to examine the defences, looking in turn at the western (17), northern (18) and southern and eastern (19) sides of the fort. Much of this work was restricted to investigating discrete structures such as towers and gates, and in the case of the towers around the south-eastern corner of the circuit little remained apart from the primary foundation levels so severe was the post-Roman disturbance in this area. However the western and northern stretches were more extensively explored with two successive revetment walls being traced behind the north rampart, whilst the remains of Hadrian’s Wall were also uncovered adjoining the west gate, revealing two successive layers of cobble foundations. Chapter 20 provides an overview of the development of the defences at Wallsend, summarising the evidence for modifications to the gates, the presence of ovens and rampart buildings and late refurbishments of the curtain wall, for example, and comparing these sequences with those identified in other frontier forts.

  The chapters on the material culture from the site looks at the stonework, pottery, coins and small finds recovered. The finds come from across the site and from all phases, but due to the post-Roman history of the site almost half of them are unstratified.

  The stonework and ceramic building material catalogued in Chapter 21 provides information on the appearance of the fort, including a noticeable proportion of poorly made tiles. The finds include a very rare stone latrine seat and a bench support.

  The site produced almost 1100kg of pottery, over half of which was unstratified. Chapter 22 consists of reports on the samian, mortaria, amphorae and coarse wares. The mortaria includes a large collection of vessels stamped by Anaus, making the site one of his largest markets. There is a general overview of the pottery from the site, but the report concentrates on the study of a number of large assemblages of interest, including two second-century groups from an alley deposit (Alley 1) and from a possible rampart building, as well as a group closely dated to c.270 from the infilling of Ciste
rn 1.

  The assemblage of vessel glass in Chapter 23 is small, and fourth-century material is poorly represented, but it includes a good collection of colourless tablewares of the second and third centuries. The same chapter also looks at the lead sealings and graffiti from the site. Chapter 24 catalogues the coins from the site. This is a small assemblage of only 295 coins, with the fourth-century coinage under-represented due to the post-Roman disturbance of the site.

  The small finds are studied in Chapter 25. This is a large assemblage, with a catalogue of over 1000 finds. Most are second or third century in date, but there are a few first-century items and some fourthcentury material. The finds are studied by material, and then by building and themes such as ritual and cavalry fittings. The distribution pattern of a number of categories is discussed. There is a small collection of post-Roman material, including Anglo-Saxon pieces.

  The report on the animal bone in Chapter 26 looks in detail at two assemblages, from Cistern 1, which had an unusual deposit resulting from an episode of specialised meat processing, and from the Commanding Officer’s house, which had a wider species list than the fort as a whole, including evidence for hunting.

  RÉSUMÉ

  Entre 1975 et 1984 presque toute la zone du fort romain de Segedunum à Wallsend fut fouillée sous la direction de Charles Daniels, maître de conférence à la faculté d’archéologie de l’université de Newcastle. Cela constituait l’un des plus ambitieux et des plus longs programmes de travaux de terrain jamais entrepris sur la frontière nord à ce moment-là et a fait de Wallsend l’un des forts romains de Grande-Bretagne les plus minutieusement fouillés. Ce sont ces fouilles qui font l’objet de cette publication.