Читать бесплатно онлайн книгу автора  The Roman Wall

Rev. John Collingwood Bruce

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G. Bouchier Richardson, Delt.John Storey, Lith.
PONS-ÆLII, RESTORED.

THE
ROMAN WALL

A

HISTORICAL, TOPOGRAPHICAL, AND DESCRIPTIVE

ACCOUNT OF THE

Barrier of the Lower Isthmus,

EXTENDING FROM THE TYNE TO THE SOLWAY,

DEDUCED FROM NUMEROUS PERSONAL SURVEYS,

BY THE

REV. JOHN COLLINGWOOD BRUCE, M. A.

LONDON: JOHN RUSSELL SMITH, 4, OLD-COMPTON-STREET, SOHO SQUARE.

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE; WILLIAM SANG, 61, GREY STREET;

G. BOUCHIER RICHARDSON, 38, CLAYTON-STREET-WEST.

M.DCCC.LI.

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE:

IMPRINTED BY GEORGE BOUCHIER RICHARDSON, CLAYTON-STREET-WEST; PRINTER

TO THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES, AND TO THE TYPOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY,

BOTH OF NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.

TO

JOHN CLAYTON, Esquire,

THE PROPRIETOR

OF THE

MOST SPLENDID REMAINS OF THE ROMAN BARRIER

IN NORTHUMBERLAND

WHOSE

ANTIQUARIAN INTELLIGENCE AND CLASSICAL LEARNING

HAVE BEEN MOST PROFUSELY AND KINDLY

AFFORDED TO THE AUTHOR

THIS WORK

ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE MILITARY CHARACTER AND USAGES

OF A GREAT PEOPLE

IS MOST GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED.

PREFACE.

The famous Roman Wall, which, in former times, protected southern Britain from the ravages of the northern tribes, exhibits, at this day, remains more entire, and forms a subject of study more interesting than is generally supposed.

Two authors of great learning have treated of this renowned structure—Horsley, in the Britannia Romana, and Hodgson, in the last volume of his History of Northumberland. Both are treatises of considerable size, and both are, to a certain extent, rare. The Britannia Romana, moreover, describes the Wall, not as it is, but as it was more than a century ago. Hodgson’s work is of recent date, and forms a valuable storehouse of nearly all that is known upon the subject. The mind, however, of that amiable man and zealous antiquary was, at the time of its preparation, bending under the weight of his ill-requited labours, and he has failed to present his ample materials to the reader in that condensed and well-arranged form which distinguishes his previous volumes, and without which a book on antiquities will not arrest the attention of the general reader.

The following work may be regarded as introductory to the elaborate productions of Horsley and Hodgson. The reader is not assumed to be acquainted with the technicalities of archæology; and, at each advancing step the information is supplied which may render his course easy. I have not attempted, in the last part of the work, to enumerate all the altars and inscribed stones which have been found upon the line of the Wall, but have made a selection of those which are most likely to interest the general reader, and to give him a correct idea of the nature and value of these remains.

In the body of the work I have endeavoured to furnish a correct delineation of the present condition of the Wall and its outworks. All my descriptions are the result of personal observation. To secure as great accuracy as possible, I have read over many of my proof sheets on the spot which they describe.

The pictorial illustrations have been prepared with care, and will give the reader, who is not disposed to traverse the ground, a correct idea of the state of the Barrier. The wood-cuts and plates, illustrative of the antiquities found on the line, have, with the exception of a few coins introduced into the first Part of the volume, and copied from the Monumenta Historica, been prepared from original drawings, taken for this work from the objects themselves. I am not without hope that the well-read antiquary will value these delineations for their beauty and accuracy.

The inhabitants of the isthmus are proud of the Wall and its associations; and whatever may have been the case with their forefathers, will not needlessly destroy it. Most kind has been the reception I have met with in my peregrinations, and most valuable the assistance I have received from the gentry and yeomen of the line, and others interested in my labours! Gladly would I enumerate all to whom I am indebted, had it been possible. Some names, however, must be mentioned. His Grace the Duke of Northumberland has not only given me free access to all his antiquarian stores, but directed me to prepare at his expense engravings on wood of all that I thought suitable to my purpose. Would that his Grace knew how much I have been cheered in my course by his notice of my humble labours! To John Clayton, esq., I am obliged for the gift of the wood-cuts illustrative of the numerous and interesting antiquities preserved at Cilurnum, the produce of that station and Borcovicus. To Albert Way, esq., the accomplished and honorary secretary of the Archæological Institute, with whom I had last year the pleasure and advantage of spending a day upon the Wall, I am indebted for the cuts representing the altar and slab discovered at Tynemouth. The suite of wood-cuts illustrative of the hoard of coins found in the ancient quarry on Barcombe-hill, have been engraved at the expense of my tried and valued friend, John Fenwick, esq., of Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and to William Kell, esq., town-clerk of Gateshead, with whom I have traversed the Wall from sea to sea, and some portions of it repeatedly, I am indebted for the beautiful representation of the ancient Pons Ælii fronting the title-page. My former school-fellow, William Woodman, esq., town-clerk of Morpeth, besides otherwise assisting me, has caused surveys to be made for my use of not fewer than eighty of the strongholds of the Britons still existing on the heights north of the Wall. To trace the movements of the brave people whom the Romans drove to the more inaccessible portions of the island, would have been an interesting sequel to the account of the Roman Wall, but I found the undertaking too great for me.

It is with no ordinary emotion that I write the last lines of a work to the preparation of which I have devoted the leisure of three years. The Wall and I must now part company. Gladly would I have withheld the publication of this work for the Horatian period, and have spent the interval in renewed investigations; though even then I should have felt that I had fallen short of

‘The height of this great argument;’

other cares, however, now demand my attention.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1 January, 1851.

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.

The Most Noble Algernon Duke of Northumberland

, Patron of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Quarto and octavo.   The Right Honourable the Earl Grey

, Lord Lieutenant of the County of Northumberland.

The Right Honourable the Earl of Carlisle. The Right Honourable Lord Londesborough. Quarto and Octavo. The Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Durham. The Honourable Henry Thomas Liddell, Eslington, Northumberland. Quarto and octavo. The Right Honourable Sir George Grey, Bart. Sir John Edward Swinburne, Bart.

, Capheaton, Northumberland, President of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Sir John P. Boileau Bart.

, F.R.S., Ketteringham, Norfolk, and Upper Brook-street, London.

Sir Walter Calverley Trevelyan, Bart.

, Wallington, High Sheriff of Northumberland.

Sir William Lawson, Bart.

, Brough Hall.

Sir Francis Palgrave

, K.H., F.R.S. Deputy Keeper of the Public Records, London.

William Armstrong, Esq., Mayor of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The Rev. R. C. Coxe, M.A., Vicar of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  

The University of Edinburgh.

Quarto.

The British Archæological Association.

The Archæological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.

The Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

The Society of Writers to her Majesty’s Signet, Edinburgh.

The Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The Literary and Philosophical Society, North Shields.

The Mechanics’ Institute, Gateshead.

The Mechanics’ Institute, South Shields.

The Scientific and Mechanical Institution, Alnwick.

The Edinburgh Select Library.

The Wansbeck Book Club.

 

Richard Abbatt, esq., Stoke Newington, London.

John Adamson, esq., one of the Secretaries of the Society of Antiquaries, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and one of the Secretaries of the Literary and Philosophical Soc., of the same town.

R. Addison, esq., The Friary, Appleby.

Joshua Alder, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

John Anderson, esq., Coxlodge, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Thomas Annandale, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Arthur Ashpitel, esq., F.S.A., 5, Crown-court, City, London.

George Clayton Atkinson, esq., Denton, Northumberland.

Charles Austin, esq., Brandeston Hall, Suffolk.

William Austin, esq., Egerton House, Berkhampstead.

 

J. C. Backhouse, esq., Blackwell, Darlington.

Charles Baily, esq., F.S.A., one of the Honorary Secretaries of the British Archæological Association, Gracechurch-street, London.

J. Bailey, esq., Wood-street, Cheapside, London.

The Rev. Thomas Baker, M.A., Rector of Whitburn, Durham.

Thomas Baker, esq., Official Assignee of the Court of Bankruptcy, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The Rev. E. A. Barker, Ludlow.

Thomas Barnes, esq., M.D., Bunker’s-hill, Carlisle.

Thomas Bateman, esq., M.D., Yolgrave, Bakewell.

Nathaniel Bates, esq., Milbourne Hall, Northumberland.

William Beamont, esq., Warrington.

William Beamont, junior, esq., Trin. Coll. Camb.

Matthew Bell, esq., M.P., Wolsington, Northumberland.

The Rev. Meyrick Beebee, Simonburn.

George Bell, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

John Lee Bell, esq., Brampton.

Robert Bell, esq., Nook, Irthington.

Mr. Robert Bell, Dean-street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Thomas Bell, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

James Beman, esq., Cheltenham.

William Bennett, esq., Newport, Salop.

John Brodribb Bergne, esq., F.S.A., Treasurer of the Numismatic Society, London.

The Rev. John Besly, D.C.L., Vicar of Long Benton, Northumberland, and Rector of Aston-sub-edge, Gloucestershire.

The Rev. Frederick Betham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Charles William Bigge, esq., Linden, Northumberland.

Matthew R. Bigge, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Quarto.

The Rev. John Frederic Bigge, Stamfordham, Northumberland.

The Rev. H. J. Bigge, Rockingham, North Hants.

John Cass Birkinshaw, esq., Whickham, Durham.

William Bolam, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Whitburn.

James Bogle, esq., Glasgow.

Quarto.

William Henry Brockett, esq., Gateshead.

Stamp Brooksbank, esq., The Hermitage, Hexham.

E. J. J. Browell, esq., East Boldon.

Mrs. Bruce, senior, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Two copies.

Mrs. Bruce, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Quarto.

Miss Williamina Bennett Brace, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Quarto.

George Barclay Bruce, esq., M. Inst. C.E., Alston.

Mr. Gainsford Bruce, University, Glasgow.

Quarto.

Mr. Thomas Bruce, Leghorn.

John Buchanan, esq., Western Bank of Scotland, Glasgow.

James Buckman, esq., F.L.S., F.G.S., Cirencester.

Thomas Burnet, esq., Summerhill-terrace.

Quarto.

Robert Busby, esq., Alnwick.

 

Richard Cail, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Duncan Campbell, esq., Lesmahago, Lanarkshire.

Ralph Carr, esq., Dunston-hill, Durham.

Quarto.

John Lowry Carrick, esq., Sandysike, Cumberland.

William Chaffers, jun., esq., F.S.A., London.

Edward Charlton, esq., M.D., one of the Secretaries of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

William Henry Charlton, esq., Hesleyside.

Mr. Emerson Charnley, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

William Chartres, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The Rev. Henry Christopherson, Bowdon, near Manchester.

Miss Anne Clayton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

John Clayton, esq., Town-clerk of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Six copies, Quarto.

Matthew Clayton, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Quarto.

Miss Clayton, Chesters, Northumberland.

Nathaniel Clayton, esq., Chesters, Northumberland.

Quarto and octavo.

The Rev. Richard Clayton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

William Clayton Clayton, Esq., Lincoln’s Inn, London.

Quarto.

Mr. Thomas L. Colbeck, Denton, Northumberland.

The Rev. John Collinson, Rector of Boldon, Durham.

Ralph Compton, esq., Church-court, Old Jewry, London.

John Coppin, esq., North Shields.

Capt. Gustavus Hamilton Coulson, R.N., Newbrough, Northumberland.

John Blenkinsop Coulson, esq., Ochtertyre, Crieff.

John Ross Coulthart, esq., Croft House, Ashton-under-Lyne.

Robert Cowen, esq., Carlisle.

George Cowen, esq., Dalston, Carlisle.

Joseph Crawhall, esq., Stagshaw.

William Crighton, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

James Crosby, esq., Church Court, Old Jewry, London.

 

William Daggett, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Mr. John Daglish, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Mrs. Daglish, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The Rev. William Nicholas Darnell, Rector of Stanhope, Durham.

Matthew Dawes, esq., F.G.S., Westbrooke, Bolton.

James Dearden, esq., F.S.A., The Manor, Rochdale.

Robert Richardson Dees, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

William Dickson, esq., F.S.A., Clerk of the Peace for Northumberland, Alnwick.

Dixon Dixon, esq., Unthank, Northumberland.

Quarto.

J. P. Dodd, esq., LL.D., North Shields.

Mrs. Dodd, Greenwood Manse, Wigton.

The Rev. Isaac Dodgson, Incumbent of Lanercost.

James Menteith Douglas, esq., Stonebyers, Lanarkshire.

Quarto.

The Rev. G. J. Duncan, North Shields, Northumberland.

Alfred John Dunkin, esq., Dartford, Kent.

 

Samuel Edgar, esq., M.D., Berwick.

Robert Elliot, esq., M.D., Carlisle.

Miss Ellis, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Nathaniel Ellison, esq., Commissioner of the Court of Bankruptcy, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Mr. John Ellison, Manchester.

Dennis Embleton, esq., M.D., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

John Errington, esq., High Warden.

Two copies.

The Very Rev. Monsignor Charles Eyre, Haggerston Castle.

Joseph Walter King Eyton, esq., F.S.A., Lond. and Scot.

Quarto.  

Frederick William Fairholt, esq., F.S.A., Brompton, London.

John Brunton Falconar, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Thomas Faulkner, esq., Chelsea.

R. M. Fawcett, esq., Cambridge.

The Rev. John Fell, M.A., Huntingdon.

John Fenwick, esq., Campville, North Shields. (

deceased

)

John Fenwick, esq., one of the Secretaries of the Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Quarto.

John Clerevaulx Fenwick, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Miss Fergus, Hereford-street, Park-lane, London.

William Ferguson, esq., Hill-street, Glasgow.

Robert Ferguson, esq., Shadwell Lodge, Carlisle.

Mr. John Forrest, Ellison-terrace, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

William Finley, esq., Durham.

William John Forster, esq., Tynemouth.

Quarto.

Messrs. Finlay and Charlton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Hugh Watson Friend, esq., Harbut Lodge, Alston.

J. H. Fryer, esq., Whitley House.

 

John Gainsford, esq., Brighton.

Mrs. Gainsford, Cheltenham.

Joseph Garnett, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Mr. Garrett, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Benjamin Gilpin, esq.

Robert Mortimer Glover, esq., M.D., F.R.S.E., Newcastle.

William Glover, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

T. H. Graham, esq., Edmond Castle.

John Graham, esq., M.D., Brampton.

Richard Grainger, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Thomas Gray, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Benjamin Green, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

John Grey, esq., Dilston, Northumberland.

Three copies.

Henry Guy, esq., Gateshead.

 

M. E. Hadfield, esq., Sheffield.

Charles Hall, esq., Ansty, Blandford, Dorset.

Mr. William Hall, Milton Station, Cumberland.

Mr. George Hardcastle, Sunderland.

Quarto.

Mr. Anthony Harrison, Hexham.

Thomas Emerson Headlam, esq., M.P.

Thomas Hedley, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Ions Hewison, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

S. Heywood, esq., Walshaw-hall, Bury, Lancashire.

William Hill, esq., Edinburgh.

John Hodgson Hinde, esq., Acton House, Northumberland.

Quarto.

Robert Hodgson, esq., Salkeld Hall, near Penrith.

Joseph Hope, esq., Carlisle.

John Houseman, esq., M.D., M.R.C.S. L. and E., Newcastle.

Richard Hoyle, esq., Denton Hall, Northumberland.

The Rev. J. Hudson, Incumbent of Hexham.

The Rev. Abraham Hume, LL.D., Liverpool.

Henry Hunt, esq., Birtley, Durham.

 

Mr. W. S. Irving, B.A., Blencow Grammar School, Cumberland.

Robert Ingham, esq., Westoe, Durham.

Henry Ingledew, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Thomas Ions, esq., Mus. Bac., Oxon., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

 

Henry Jackson, esq., Sheffield.

Quarto.

J. M. Jessop, esq., King’s College, London.

Quarto.

George Johnson, esq., Willington, Northumberland.

Quarto.

John Johnson, esq., Killingworth, Northumberland.

Robert Johnson, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Quarto.  

William Kell, esq., Town Clerk of Gateshead.

Quarto and octavo.

Miss Kemp, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Rev. John Kenrick, York.

 

Miss Lamb, Kylesike Hill, Brampton.

Richard Lambert, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Messrs. M. and M. W. Lambert, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Richard Holland Law, esq., Brunswick-square, London.

Robert Leadbitter, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Quarto.

John Leathead, esq., Gallowgate.

Thomas Carr Lietch, esq., Town Clerk of North Shields.

Charles J. Lamb, esq., Ryton, Durham.

William Hylton Longstaffe, esq., Gateshead.

Quarto.

M. A. Lower, esq., Lewes.

Nicholas Lowes, esq., Allansgreen, Northumberland.

 

David Mackinlay, esq., North Shields.

Quarto and octavo.

John Mackinlay, esq., Comptroller of Customs, Whitehaven.

Henry Mac Lauchlan, esq., Printing-house-square, Blackfriars.

J. M'Intosh, esq., Milton Abbey, near Blandford, Dorsetshire.

John M'Intosh, esq., Lansdowne Crescent, Glasgow.

Mr. Luke Mackey, 67, King-street, South Shields.

The Rev. W. H. Massie, Rector of St. Mary-on-the-Hill, Chester.

Joseph Mayer, esq., F.S.A., Liverpool.

Michael Meredith, esq., Finsbury, London.

Samuel Mitchell, esq., The Mount, near Sheffield.

John Moore, esq., West Coker, Yeovil, Somerset.

George Gill Mounsey, esq., Castletown, Carlisle.

J. B. Musgrave, esq., London.

 

The Rev. G. M. Nelson, Bodicot Grange, Banbury.

Joseph Nelson, esq., Waterloo, Oldham.

The Rev. Robert Nelson, Edinburgh.

George Nelson, esq., Fernhill, Pendleton, Manchester.

Charles H. Newmarch, esq., Cirencester.

The Rev. William Nichol, Jedburgh.

Quarto.  

M. O'Connor, esq., 4, Berners street, Oxford-street, London.

Messrs. Ogle and Son, Glasgow.

Mr. George A. Oliver, Rye-hill, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Mrs. W. H. Ord, Riding, Gateshead.

Robert Ormston, esq., Saville-row, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

 

The Rev. Lewis Paige, M.A., Newcastle.

Mr. Joseph Parker, Brampton.

George Paton, esq., A.R.A., London.

Hugh Lee Pattinson, esq., Scots House, near Boldon.

William Pattinson, esq., Wigton.

Mrs. Peart, North Shields.

George Hare Philipson, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Robert Plummer, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The Rev. James Pringle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Mr. Edward Pruddah, Hexham.

Mr. William Pruddah, Hexham.

Henry Glasford Potter, esq., F.L.S., F.G.S., etc., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Jonathan Priestman, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

 

William Ramsay, esq., M,A., F.S.S., F.P.S., Professor of Humanity in the University of Glasgow; Corresponding Member of the Archæological Society of Athens.

Thomas Ramshaw, esq., Brampton.

Robert Rawlinson, esq., Superintending Inspector of the General Board of Health, Gwydyr House, Whitehall.

Quarto.

The Rev. Wm. Rees, M.A., Carlisle.

Mr. C. F. Reid, Grey-street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Mr. Christian Bruce Reid, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Mr. Edw. Richardson, Summerhill Grove, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Thos. Riddell, esq., Felton Park.

Quarto.

Mr. George Bouchier Richardson, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Jonathan Richardson, esq., Benwell House.

Thomas Richardson, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

George Rippon, esq., North Shields.

Thomas Robertson, esq., Alnwick.

Mr. Thomas Robinson, Collingwood-street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Mr. Robert Robinson, Pilgrim street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

William Robson, esq., Paradise, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

 

Mr. Robert Stephen Salmon, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Richard Burdon Sanderson, jun., esq., West Jesmond, Newcastle.

Mr. William Sang, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

John Sang, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Master John Fenwick Schofield, 11, Ellison-place, Newcastle.

Miss Agnes Percy Schofield, 11, Ellison-place, Newcastle.

The Rev. T. H. Scott, Canon of Durham, Rector of Whitfield.

Mr. Hudson Scott, Carlisle.

J. S. Donaldson Selby, esq., Cheswick House, Northumberland.

George Selby, esq., Belle Vue, Alnwick.

Isaac Sheffield, esq., London.

John Sheffield, esq., Carlisle.

Thomas Sheffield, esq., Exeter.

Mr. George Robertson Shield, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Charles Roach Smith, esq., F.S.A., Lond., and Scot., Honorary Secretary of the Numismatic Society, Liverpool-street, City.

William George Smith, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The Rev. George Hunt Smyttan, Charlton Hall, Alnwick.

S. Reynolds Solly, esq., M.A., F.R.S., F.S.A., Serge Hill, Herts.

Thomas Sopwith, esq., F.R.S., F.L.S., Allenheads, Northd.

Quarto.

Philip Holmes Stanton, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Thomas Stephens, esq., North Shields.

Robert Stephenson, esq., M.P., F.R.S., London.

Quarto.

James Cochrane Stevenson, esq., South Shields.

George Waugh Stable, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Quarto.

John George Stoker, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Robert Stokoe, esq., Hexham.

John Storey, esq., F.B.S.E., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Quarto.

Mr. John Storey, jun., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

R. W. Swan, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

 

George Tate, esq., F.G.S., Alnwick.

John Taylor, esq., M.A., Edinburgh.

Mr. John Thompson, Bloomfield-terrace, Gateshead.

Thomas Thorp, esq., Alnwick, Northumberland.

John Thurnam, esq., M.D., London.

Mr. Charles Thurnam, Carlisle.

Arthur Trollope, esq., Lincoln.

Charles Tucker, esq., F.S.A., one of Honorary Secretaries of the Archæological Institute, 26, Suffolk-street, London.

W. B. D. D. Turnbull, esq., Sec. Society of Antiquaries, Scotland.

Mr. Robert Turner, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

 

Mr. John Ventress, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Quarto.

Mr. Robert Vint, Sunderland.

 

John Waldie, esq., Hendersyde Park, Kelso.

Ralph Walters, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Robert Walters, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

James Wardell, esq., Leeds.

Charles Warne, esq., Milbourne St. Andrews, Blandford, Dorset.

Mr. Christopher Watson, Marsh House, Easton, Cumberland.

Joseph Watson, esq., Gresham-place, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Albert Way, esq., M.A., F.S.A., one of the Hon. Secretaries of the Archæological Institute, 26, Suffolk-street, Pall-Mall-East.

Captain James Dent Weatherley, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Thomas Weddell, esq., F.R.A.S., Addiscombe.

Robert M. Weeks, esq., Ryton, Durham.

Matthew Wheatley, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Mr. Richard Cuthbertson Whinfield, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Mr. G. H. Whinfield, Pilgrim-street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Alfred White, esq., Curator and Registrar of the British Archæological Association, Tyndale-place, Islington.

Robert White, esq., Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The Rev. Robt. Hopper Williamson, Rector of Hurworth.

Quarto.

John Williamson, esq., Glasgow.

Mr. John Heron Wilson, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Daniel Wilson, esq., Hon. Sec. Soc. of Antiquaries, Scotland.

Mr. David Hamilton Wilson, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Quarto.

Charles Winn, esq., Nostell, Wakefield.

Quarto.

William Woodman, esq., Town-clerk, Morpeth.

M. Wright, esq., Trinity House, London.

Thomas Wright, esq., M.A., F.S.A., Corresponding Member of the National Institute of France, etc. 24, Sydney-street, Brompton.

 

Edgar Garston, K.S., Liverpool.

Mrs. Grey, Dilston House, Northumberland.

George Patten, esq., A.R.A., London.

Mr. William Richardson, 71, Percy-street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

CONTENTS
AND
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page.

1.

Frontispiece

—

Pons Ælii

restored.

The site of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the

Pons Ælii

of the Romans, is here shewn. The ground on which it stands, rising abruptly from the bed of the river Tyne, to the height of about an hundred feet, is cut into three very remarkable tongues of land by four ravines, permeated by as many streams, which all disembogue in the Tyne. The easternmost and largest of these tongues of land is that formed by the Ouseburn and Pandon-dean; the smallest by Pandon-dean and the Lort-burn; and the westernmost, wheron stands the castle, and formerly the Roman station, by the Lort-burn and Skinner-burn. Extensive suburbs probably occupied all these eminences.

2.

Title

—Modern Buildings on the site of

Pons Ælii

.

The Norman keep of the Castle of Newcastle-upon-Tyne; the Church of St. Nicholas; and the court-house for the county of Northumberland, built upon the site of the south-east corner of the station of

Pons Ælii

.

3.

Plan of the course of the Roman Wall

facing 1  

PART I.—AN EPITOME OF THE HISTORY OF ROMAN OCCUPATION IN BRITAIN.

1  

4.

Initial letter—altar from Corbridge

1

5.

Coin of Claudius—

DE BRITANNIS 4

6.

Coin of Vespasian—

ROMA RESURGES 6

7.

Coin of Hadrian—

ADVENTUS BRITANNIÆ 11

8.

Coin of Hadrian—

BRITANNIA 12

9.

Coin of Severus—

VICTORIÆ BRITTANICÆ 19

10.

Coin of Carausius—reverse, a galley

22

11.

Coin of Carausius—reverse, a lion

22

12.

Coin of Magnentius—reverse, Christian monogram

24

13.

Base of column—Housesteads

24  

PART II.—A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE LINE OF THE WALL.

43  

14.

Initial Letter—Roman Nails

43

15.

Plan of Barrier between

Cilurnum

and

Magna

—Plan of

Cilurnum[1]

and contiguous Works—Plans of individual Stations

facing 45

16.

Section of Works, near eighteenth mile-stone

52

17.

Section of Works, west of Carraw

52

18.

Mural Slab—

Ala II. Asturum 61

19.

Altar to Fortune—

Coh. I. Batavorum 62

20.

Altar to Jupiter—

Coh. I. Tungrorum 63

21.

Written-Rock, on the river Gelt

facing 81

22.

Letters on the Written-Rock

82

23.

Form of Wall-Stone

83

24.

Junction of the west wall of Birdoswald with the Wall

84

25-27.

Broaching of the Wall Stones

85

28-31.

Marks on the Stones

86

32.

Sections and Elevations of the Masonry of the Wall

facing 89

33.

Herring-bone Masonry

91

34.

Written-Rock at Fallow-field-fell

102  

PART III.-LOCAL DESCRIPTION OF THE WORKS.

103  

35.

Initial Letters—Balusters from the Wall

103

36.

Altar to Jupiter—

Coh. IV. Lingonum 109

37.

Plan of Wallsend,

Segedunum

; Section of Mountain and Works at Bradley

facing 113

38.

Wallsend, looking East

facing 115

39.

Plan of

Pons Ælii facing 126

40.

Mercury,

Pons Ælii 129

41-44.

Coins of Hadrian found in the Bridge,

Pons Ælii 131

45.

Coin of Severus found in Bridge,

Pons Ælii 131

46.

Slab to the Campestral Mothers

140

47.

Altar to Mars

142

48.

Altar to Mars

143

49.

Fragment of the Wall, near Denton

145

50.

The Works at Heddon-on-the Wall

facing 149

51.

The Works near Carr-hill

facing 156

52.

Mural Slab—

Leg. II. Aug. 163

53.

Slab—

Fulgur Divom 164

54.

The Wall at Brunton

facing 169

55.

Remains of Roman Bridge over North Tyne

facing 170

56.

Miscellaneous Antiquities, Chesters,

Cilurnum facing 170

57.

Vault at

Cilurnum 173

58.

Hypocausts at

Cilurnum 174

59.

Ground Plan of Hypocausts,

Cilurnum 175

60.

River God,

Cilurnum 178

61.

Hypocaust,

Cilurnum facing 178

62.

Funereal Slab,

Cilurnum 184

63.

Funereal Slab of Horse Soldier,

Cilurnum 185

64.

Slab—

Ala II. Asturum 186

65.

Statue of Cybele,

Cilurnum 189

66.

Group of Carved Stones,

Cilurnum 190

67.

Miscellaneous Antiquities,

Cilurnum facing 191

68.

Samian Ware

facing 192

69.

Roman Spears, etc.

facing 192

70.

The Works, Tepper-moor

facing 197

71.

Slab—

Coh. I. Batavorum 198

72.

Approach to Sewingshields

facing 200

73.

Busy Gap

208

74.

Junction of West Wall of Housesteads,

Borcovicus

, with the Wall

216

75.

Ground Plan of Gateway, Housesteads

216

76.

Outside View of the West Portal, Housesteads

217

77.

Inside View of West Portal, Housesteads

217

78.

Housesteads,

Borcovicus

, from the East

facing 220

79.

Broken Columns,

Borcovicus facing 225

80.

Sculptured Figures,

Borcovicus facing 225

81.

Sculptured Figures, etc.

facing 225

82.

Figure of Victory

226

83.

Sepulchral Slab to a young Physician

227

84.

Slab to Hadrian, Bradley

232

85.

Slab to Hadrian, Milking-gap

234

86.

Altar to Fortune, Chesterholm

237

87.

Hypocaust Pillar

238

88.

Milestone at Chesterholm,

Vindolana facing 239

89.

Altar to Genius of the Pretorium

240

90.

Symbol,

Leg. XX. 241

91.

Part of Slab to Hadrian

241

92.

Coping-stone, Roman ‘broaching’

242

93.

The Crags, West of Craglough

facing 243

94.

The Wall at Steel-rig

facing 244

95.

Mural Stone,

Leg. XX.

V.V.

247

96.

Mile-castle at Cawfield

facing 248

97.

Part of Slab to Hadrian

251

98.

Tablet to Hadrian

256

99.

Plan of ancient Water-course, Great Chesters,

Æsica facing 257

100.

Nine-nicks of Thirlwall

265

101.

Lamp, Fibula, Shears, and Compasses

facing 268

102.

Stone Effigy

272

103.

Section of Works near Wallend

273

104.

Slab to Hadrian, by

Leg. XX.

V. V.

274

105.

Altar to Jupiter, by

Coh. I. Ael. Dac. 278

106.

West Gateway, Birdoswald,

Amboglanna 280

107.

Mural Stone,

Leg. VI.

V. F.

281

108.

Birdoswald, western Rampart

facing 282

109.

Section of Works, Wallbours

283

110.

Coin of Severus,

Julia 289

111.

Coin of Caracalla

289

112.

Coin of Geta

289

113.

Altar to Jupiter,

Coh. II. Tungr. 290

114.

View of Pigeon Crag

292

115.

Mural Stone,

Leg. II. Aug. 294

116.

Altar—

ob res trans vallum prospere gestas 302

117.

Bowness

facing 313

118.

Monument to Edward I.

314  

PART IV.—THE SUPPORTING STATIONS OF THE WALL.

315  

119.

Initial A, and Mural Slab, Risingham

315

120.

Tablet,

Gyrum Cumbas 319

121.

Tablet found at Jarrow

323

122.

Corbridge Lanx

335

123.

Altar to Astarte

338

124.

Crypt of Hexham Abbey Church

339

125.

Slab to Severus at Hexham

340

126.

Genius of the Wall

353

127.

Altar to Jupiter for the safety of Severus

360

128.

Altar to Jupiter, Maryport

363

129.

Slab to Hadrian, Moresby

367

130.

Symbol of

Leg. XX. 368  

PART V.—THE QUESTION—WHO BUILT THE WALL?—DISCUSSED.

369  

131.

Initial O, bronze ornament found at

Borcovicus 369

132.

Slab,

Leg. II.

and

Leg. XX. 392  

PART VI.—MISCELLANEOUS ANTIQUITIES FOUND ON THE LINE OF THE WALL.

393  

133.

Initial M, bronze ornament, an Eagle, found at

Magna 393

134.

Altar,

Deo Vetri 395

135.

Large Altar to Jupiter

397

136.

Altar,

Genio Loci

, etc.

399

137.

Altar,

Deo Cocidio 401

138.

Altar,

Deo Belatucadro 401

139.

Altar to Minerva

402

140.

Altar to Fortune

403

141.

Altar to Mithras

404

142.

Altar to the Sun

405

143.

Attendant of Mithras

406

144.

Altar to Mithras

407

145.

Zodiacal Tablet,

Borcovicus 409

146.

Pine-apple Ornament, etc.,

Cilurnum 410

147.

Presumed Mithraic Sculpture,

Cilurnum 410

148.

Altar to Apollo, Cawfield mile-castle

411

149.

Inscription to the Syrian Goddess,

Magna 412

150.

Altar to Silvanus,

Amboglanna 413

151.

Altar to the Nymphs,

Habitancum 414

152.

Altar to the Gods of the Mountains,

Vindobala 415

153.

Altar to Epona,

Magna 415

154.

Altar, sculptured with a Toad,

Cilurnum 416

155.

Altar to Viteres, Thirlwall-castle

416

156.

Altar to Viteres,

Condercum 417

157.

Altar to the Dea Hamia, Thirlwall-castle

417

158.

Altar to the Three Lamiæ,

Condercum 418

159-60.

Egyptian Idols

418

161.

Altar to the Transmarine Mothers,

Habitancum 419

162.

Sculpture to the Deæ Matres, at Netherby

420

163.

Sculpture to the Deæ Matres, at Netherby

420

164.

Sculpture to the Deæ Matres, at Netherby

420

165.

Sculpture to the Deæ Matres, at Nether-hall

421

166.

Sepulchral Altar to the Manes of Fabia Honorata,

Cilurnum 426

167.

Sepulchral Slab to the Manes of Aurelia Faia,

Magna 428

168.

Sepulchral Slab to the Memory of Cornelius Victor,

Vindolana 429

169.

Centurial Stone,

Coh. V. Cæcilii Proculi

,

Cilurnum 430

170.

Centurial Stone,

Cilurnum 430

171.

Vessel, in which the Thorngrafton Coins were found

434

172-224.

The Thorngrafton Coins, imperial, consular, and others

435

-441

225.

Samian Ware, from Wallsend and Lanchester

facing 445

226.

Bronze Vessels

facing 445

227.

Iron Pot, Bronze Vessel, Tongs, etc.

facing 445

228.

Soles of Sandals, etc.

facing 445

229.

Tail piece—

Romæ Æternæ Fortunæ Reduci 450

PLATE I

A. Reid, Sc 117, Pilgrim S^t. Newcastle.
Plan
OF THE COURSE OF THE
ROMAN WALL
FROM THE
TYNE TO THE SOLWAY.

The Roman Barrier of the

Lower Isthmus.

PART I.
AN EPITOME OF THE HISTORY OF ROMAN OCCUPATION IN BRITAIN.

IN no country of the world are there such evident traces of the march of Roman legions as in Britain. In the northern parts of England especially, the footprints of the Empire are very distinct. Northumberland, as Wallis long ago remarked, is Roman ground. Every other monument in Britain yields in importance to The Wall. As this work, in grandeur of conception, is worthy of the Mistress of Nations, so, in durability of structure, is it the becoming offspring of the Eternal City.

A dead wall may seem to most a very unpromising subject. The stones are indeed inanimate, but he who has a head to think, and a heart to feel, will find them suggestive of bright ideas and melting sympathies; though dead themselves, they will be the cause of mental life in him. A large part of the knowledge which we possess of the early history of our country has been dug out of the ground. The spade and the plough of the rustic have often exposed documents, which have revealed the movements, as well as the modes of thought and feeling, of those who have slept in the dust for centuries. The casual wanderer by the relics of the Vallum and the Wall, may not succeed in culling facts that are new to the Historian, but he will probably get those vivid glances into Roman character, and acquire that personal interest in Roman story, which will give to the prosaic records of chroniclers, a reality, and a charm, which they did not before possess.

As a natural introduction to the subject, and as a means of preparing for some discussions which are to follow, it may be well briefly to trace the progress of the Roman arms in Britain, from the arrival of Cæsar on our shores, to the eventual abandonment of the island.

EARLIEST NOTICES OF THE BRITISH ISLES.

It is curious to observe, that the curtain of British history is raised by some of the earliest and greatest of profane writers. Herodotus, who wrote about the year B.C. 450, mentions the "Cassiterides, from which tin is procured"; Aristotle, about the year B.C. 340, expressly names the islands of Albion and Ierne; and Polybius, about the year B.C. 160, makes a distinct reference to the "Britannic Isles." To Julius Cæsar, however, we are indebted, for the first detailed account of Britain and its inhabitants. On 26 Aug. B.C. 55, that renowned conqueror landed in Britain, with a force of about ten thousand men. Both on that occasion, and on a second attempt, which, with a larger force, he made the year following, he met with a warm reception from the savage islanders. Tides and tempests seconded the efforts of the natives, and great Julius bade Britain a final farewell, without erecting any fortress in it, or leaving any troops to secure his conquest. Tacitus says, that he did not conquer Britain, but only shewed it to the Romans. Horace, calling upon Augustus to achieve the conquest, denominates it 'untouched'—

Intactus aut Britannus ut descenderet

Sacra catenatus via.

and Propertius, in the same spirit, describes it as ‘unconquered,’ invictus. There is, therefore, little exaggeration in the lines of Shakspere—

... A kind of conquest

Cæsar made here; but made not here his brag

Of, came, and saw, and overcame: with shame

(The first that ever touched him) he was carried

From off our coast, twice beaten; and his shipping

(Poor ignorant baubles!) on our terrible seas,

Like egg-shells moved upon their surges, cracked

As easily 'gainst our rocks.

PLAUTIUS AND CLAUDIUS VISIT BRITAIN.

During the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and Caligula, Britain was unmolested by foreign invasion.

At the invitation of a discontented Briton, Claudius resolved to attempt the reduction of the island. In the year of our Lord 43, he sent Aulus Plautius, with four legions and their auxiliaries, amounting in all to about fifty thousand men, into Britain. It was with difficulty that the troops could be induced to engage in the undertaking. They were unwilling, as Dion Cassius informs us, "to engage in a war, as it were, out of the world." The fears of the soldiery were not without foundation. The Britons, though their inferiors in discipline and arms, were not behind them in valour and spirit, whilst, in a knowledge of the country they had an important advantage.

The year following, Claudius personally engaged in the war. He advanced into the country, as far as Camelodunum (Colchester), and after some sanguinary contests, received the submission of the natives in that vicinity. The estimation in which Britain, even at this time, was held, was such, that the Senate, on learning what he had achieved, surnamed him Britannicus, granted him a triumph, and voted him annual games. The event was of sufficient importance, to be celebrated on the current coin of the day. Several gold and silver pieces have come down to our times, bearing on the reverse, a triumphal arch, on which is inscribed the words DE BRITANNis—Over the Britons. This is the first occasion on which allusion is made to Britain, on the coinage of Rome.

ITS PARTIAL SUBJUGATION. BOADICEA.

On the return of Claudius, the supreme command again devolved upon his lieutenant, Aulus Plautius, who succeeded in bringing into complete subjection, the tribes occupying the southern portion of the island. In this expedition, Vespasian, afterwards emperor, acted as second in command to Plautius. Titus, the son of Vespasian, accompanied his father. Thus was it, in Britain, that the destroyers of Jerusalem were unconsciously trained for inflicting upon God’s chosen, but sinful people, the chastisements of His displeasure.

Ostorius Scapula, A.D. 50, succeeded to the command in Britain. The brave Silures, headed by Caractacus, rendered his progress slow and bloody. Ostorius at length sank under the harassing nature of his duties.

In the reign of Nero, Roman affairs in Britain received a severe check. The Iceni, led on by their enraged queen Boadicea, threw off the yoke and attacked the principal stations of the enemy. London, which was then an important commercial city, fell, upon the first assault, and Verulam (near the modern St. Albans) shared the same fate. The British warrior-queen sullied the splendour of her exploits by her cruelty; seventy thousand Romans, or adherents of the government of Rome, fell under her hands. Suetonius, the Roman governor, collecting his forces, gave battle to the queen and routed her. A frightful carnage ensued; of the amazing number of two hundred and thirty thousand men of which the British forces are said to have consisted, not less than eighty thousand fell.

During the remainder of the reign of Nero, and the short rule of his three successors, Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, no advance was made in the conquest of Britain. In the strifes of the rival emperors, it was however destined to bear its part. Eight thousand soldiers were drafted from it to fight under the banners of Vitellius. Thus early, as Dr. Giles well observes, was this island, whose position in the bosom of the ocean indicates a peaceful policy, induced to bear the brunt of continental quarrels.

VESPASIAN ASSUMES THE PURPLE.

When Vespasian assumed the purple, a new era dawned upon the empire. This fact is well indicated upon a coin struck at this period. In the engraving, taken from a specimen found on the Wall, the emperor is observed raising a prostrate female from the ground (doubtless Rome), whilst Mars looks approvingly on; the inspiring motto “Roma Resurges”—Rome thou shalt rise again,—encircles the group.[2] Vespasian appointed Petilius Cerealis his proprætor in Britain, who in five years succeeded in adding the Brigantes, a powerful tribe, to the subjects of the empire. Julius Frontinus was his successor, who, in the three years of his government, nearly subdued the warlike nation of the Silures.

HIS PROPRÆTORS SUBJUGATE THE ISLAND.

One hundred and thirty-three years had now elapsed since the first descent of Cæsar, and thirty-five years, since Claudius had claimed the honour of conquering Britain, and yet but a fraction of the island was in subjection to Roman power. Nothing, as Dr. Giles well remarks, can more strongly shew the stubborn spirit of the natives, than their protracted resistance to the invaders. Battle after battle had been lost; but many of these tribes were still unsubdued, and several even undiscovered.

THE OPERATIONS OF AGRICOLA.

But the reputation of all preceding governors, was obscured by a greater man than they. Cnæus Julius Agricola had served in Britain under some preceding commanders; so that when he landed as governor in the year 78 he was prepared to act with all the promptitude which a knowledge of the country and the people could give him. During the eight years of his rule, he subjugated the remaining tribes of southern Britain, carried his arms into the northern section of the island, and drove, in successive campaigns, the natives before him, until at length, in the battle of the Grampians, he paralyzed their strength for a while. He circumnavigated the whole island, and planted the Roman standard upon the Orkneys. He built walls and fortresses in all places where they were required, and softened the fierceness of the barbarians, by fostering a taste for letters and the luxuries of the Eternal City. But it is necessary to trace the movements of Agricola, with some of the detail with which they are given in the pages of Tacitus.

The summer of A.D. 78 was far spent when he arrived; yet before going into winter quarters, he attacked and subdued the Ordovices, and brought the sacred isle of Anglesea a second time to obedience. The respite from arms which the following winter afforded, was employed by the general in the most useful and necessary purposes. Being well acquainted with the temper of the inhabitants of the province, and having learnt from the conduct and experience of others, that what is gained by force avails little, where oppressions and grievances follow, he determined to put an immediate end to all the causes of the war. He began by checking and regulating the affairs of his own household, correcting the abuses that had crept into the army, promoting impartially those who deserved it; while at the same time he redressed the grievances of the inhabitants, made an equitable distribution of the public burthens, and abolished all hurtful monopolies. By the prosecution of measures so salutary as these, six months had scarcely elapsed, when affairs in Britain were entirely changed, and assumed a bright and settled aspect.

His second campaign, that of the year 79, was probably occupied in subduing the ancient tenants of the Lower Isthmus of the island.

On the approach of summer, he re-assembled his army, and in advancing, failed not to excite a proper spirit of emulation among the troops, praising those who best observed their several duties, and checking such as were remiss. He himself chose the ground for encamping; the marshes, firths, and difficult places, he always examined first; and, allowing the enemy no respite, he continually harassed them with sudden incursions and ravages. Having alarmed and terrified them sufficiently, he next tried the effect of good usage and the allurements of peace. By this wise and prudent conduct, several communities, which till then had maintained their independence, submitted to the Romans, gave hostages, and suffered garrisons and fortresses to be placed among them. These strongholds he established with such judgment, as effectually secured all those parts of Britain which had then been visited by the Romans.

The following winter was employed in civilizing and polishing the rude inhabitants, who, living wild and dispersed over the country, were thence ever restless and easily instigated to war. At first, they were prevailed upon to associate more together, and for this end were instructed in the art of building houses, temples, and places of public resort. The sons of their chiefs were taught the liberal sciences; hence it was no unusual thing to see those who lately scorned the Roman language, become admirers of its eloquence. By degrees, the customs, manners, and dress of their conquerors, became familiar to them, they acquired a taste for a life of inactivity and ease, and at length were caught by the charms and incitements of luxury and vice. By such as judged of things from their external appearance only, all this was styled politeness and humanity, while, in reality, Agricola was effectually enslaving them, and imperceptibly rivetting their chains.

During the third year of his command, he pushed his conquests northwards, and carried his devastations as far as the mouth of the Tay (Taus.) Here, the enemy were struck with so much terror, that they durst not attack the Roman army, though it was greatly distressed by the severities of the climate. Agricola, in order to secure possession of these advanced conquests, again erected forts in the most commodious situations; and so judiciously was this done, that none of them were ever taken by force, abandoned through fear, or given up on terms of capitulation. Each fort defended itself, and, against any long siege, was constantly supplied with provisions for a year. Thus the several garrisons not only passed the winter in perfect security, but were likewise enabled, from these strongholds, to make frequent excursions against the enemy, who could not, as heretofore, repair the losses they had sustained in summer, by the successes usually attending their winter expeditions.

The forts here referred to, are probably those, which were drawn along the Upper Isthmus of the island, extending from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde, and which were afterwards connected by the wall of Antoninus Pius.

This is rendered apparent from what follows:—

Agricola employed the fourth summer (A.D. 81) in settling and further securing the country he had subdued. Here, had it been compatible with the bravery of the army, or if the glory of the Roman name would have permitted it, there had been found a boundary to their conquests in Britain; for the tide, entering from opposite seas, and flowing far into the country by the rivers Glotta and Bodotria, their heads are only separated by a narrow neck of land, which was occupied by garrisons. Of all on this side, the Romans were already masters, the enemy being driven, as it were, into another island.

AGRICOLA IS RECALLED.

It is not necessary to pursue the operations of Agricola further. In the seventh summer he defeated Galgacus on the flanks of the Grampians. The Roman power was now at its height. Agricola, probably from motives of jealousy, was recalled by the emperor Domitian, and as his successors were not men of the same vigour as himself, the barbarians were in a condition, at least to dispute the pretensions of their conquerors.

HADRIAN ARRIVES IN BRITAIN.

In the year 120—thirty-five years after the recall of Agricola—affairs in Britain had fallen into such confusion, as to require the presence of the emperor Hadrian, who had assumed the imperial purple three years before. He did not attempt to regain the conquests which Agricola had made in Scotland, but prudently sought to make the line of forts, which that general had constructed in his second campaign, the limit of his empire. With this object in view, he drew a wall across the island—the Barrier of the Lower Isthmus. The testimony of Spartian, the historian of his reign, though brief, is decisive. Hadrian, says he, visited Britain, when he corrected many things, and first drew a wall (murus) eighty miles in length, to divide the barbarians from the Romans.

The arrival in Britain, of Hadrian, one of Rome’s greatest generals, was thought an event of sufficient importance to be commemorated in the currency of the empire. The large brass coin, here represented, was struck by decree of the Senate in the year 121.[3]

THE BARRIER OF THE UPPER ISTHMUS.

The plans and the prowess of the emperor were thought to have effectually secured those portions of the island, which it was prudent to retain in the grasp of Rome. This circumstance was announced to the world in another coin, bearing, on the reverse, a name destined to sound through regions Hadrian never knew—Britannia—and representing a female figure seated on a rock, having a spear in her left hand, and a shield by her side.[4]

About twenty years after Hadrian’s expedition, Lollius Urbicus took the command in Britain. He was not satisfied with the limits which Hadrian had prudently assigned to the empire in Britain. Forcing back the Britons, he raised an earthen rampart across the isthmus between the Forth and the Clyde. Graham’s Dike, in Scotland, is the wall which was built by Lollius Urbicus. This is proved by the numerous sculptures which have, at different times, been discovered among its ruins.

DECLINE OF THE ROMAN POWER.

The remaining history of the Romans, on the northern frontier of England, is fraught with disaster. The tide of war sometimes broke upon the northern, and sometimes on the southern boundary; but its roar and its devastation ceased not, until the Roman intruder had been driven altogether from the island—or, rather, until the successive strifes of Romans and Picts, Normans and Saxons, Border reavers and Scottish troopers, had been hushed, under the vigorous rule of the last of the Tudors. What Hadrian could not do, for the inhabitants of the North of England; what Severus failed to accomplish; what the great Alfred—the Norman oppressor—the Plantagenets—the despotic Henry VIII., attempted in vain, was accomplished under what John Knox calls ‘the monstrous regiment of a woman.’ Then, a ‘bright occidental star’ beamed upon these Northern Parts, and Law began to assert its supremacy.

Marcus Antoninus, who succeeded Antoninus Pius, was far from enjoying the tranquillity which the northern rampart was expected to give. He was obliged to carry on very troublesome wars with the Britons, and with much difficulty kept them in check.

THE BRITONS PREVAIL.

In the reign of Commodus, who became sole emperor A.D. 180, the Britons, as we are told by Xiphiline, who abridged the history of Dion, broke through the wall which separated them from the Roman province, killed the general, ruined the army, and, in their ravages, carried everything before them. The wall referred to, was probably that of the Lower Isthmus; for, as Horsley conjectures, "the Caledonians had broken through the wall of Antoninus Pius not long after it was erected," and certain it is, "that we meet with no inscriptions on the wall of Antoninus but what belong to his reign."

The circumstance, that the loathsome and ferocious Commodus assumed the title of Britannicus, is no proof that success attended his arms. He was the first person who had ascribed to him the conjoined titles of Pius and Felix; but, as Lampridius satirically observes, "When he had appointed the adulterer of his mother a consul, he was called Pius; when he had slain Perennis, he was called Felix; and when the Britons were ready to choose another emperor, he was flattered with the title of Britannicus."

During the time that Septimius Severus, Pescennius Niger, and Clodius Albinus contended with each other for the empire, the northern Britons were held feebly in check. At length, A.D. 197, Severus prevailed, and became sole master of the world. Virius Lupus became his proprætor in Britain. Unable to resist the attacks of the Caledonians in the field, and having in vain attempted to purchase their submission with money, his lieutenant sent hasty letters to the emperor, entreating succour, and, if possible, his presence.

It is stated by Richard of Cirencester, that about this time the Picts, a tribe to which reference will presently be made, first landed in Scotland. The extraordinary successes, as Dr. Giles remarks, which the Caledonians gained, prior to the arrival of Severus, confirm the supposition that they received considerable reinforcements from abroad.

THE ARRIVAL OF SEVERUS.

Severus came at the call of his lieutenant. Both Herodian and Xiphiline give us an account of the proceedings of this renowned emperor in Britain, and as their narratives are not only interesting in themselves, but important in the investigation of some subsequent questions, it will be well to avail ourselves of their statements. Herodian says—

Whilst Severus was under a mighty concern about the conduct of his two sons, he received letters from the governor of Britain, informing him of the insurrections and inroads of the barbarians, and the havoc they made far and near, and begging, either a greater force, or that the emperor would come over himself. Severus, for several reasons, was pleased with the news, and, notwithstanding his age and infirmity, resolved to go over in person. And though, by reason of the gout upon him, he was forced to be carried in a litter, yet, he entered upon the journey with a juvenile briskness and courage, and performed it with great expedition. He quickly crossed the sea, and as soon as he came upon the island, having gathered a very great force together, he made ready for war. The Britons, being alarmed and terrified, would fain have excused themselves, and treated about peace. But Severus, unwilling to lose his labour, or to miss the glory of being called Britannicus, dismissed their ambassadors, and carried on his military preparations. Particularly, he took care to make bridges or causeys through the marshes, that the soldiers might travel and fight upon dry ground.

Herodian next gives a short description of the inhabitants, and says that—

Many parts of Britain were become fenny, by the frequent inundations of the sea. The natives swim through those fens, or run through them up to the waist in mud; for, the greatest part of their bodies being naked, they regard not the dirt. They wear iron about their necks and bellies, esteeming this as fine and rich an ornament as others do gold. They make upon their bodies the figures of divers animals, and use no clothing, that they may be exposed to view. They are a very bloody and warlike people, using a little shield or target, and a spear. Their sword hangs on their naked bodies. They know not the use of a breastplate and helmet, and imagine these would be an impediment to them in passing the fens. The air is always thick with the vapours that ascend from these marshes.

THE OPERATIONS OF SEVERUS.

The historian proceeds with his story—

Severus provided everything which might be of service to his own people, and distress the enemy. And when all things were in sufficient readiness, he left Geta, in that part of the island which was subject to the Romans, to administer justice and manage civil affairs, appointing some elderly friends to be his assistants. His son Antoninus, better known by the name of Caracalla, he took with him when he marched against the barbarians. The Roman army passing the rivers and trenches, which were the boundaries of the empire, skirmished often in a tumultuous manner with the barbarians, and as often put them to flight. But it was easy for them to escape and to hide themselves in the woods and fens, being well acquainted with the country, whereas the Romans laboured under the opposite disadvantages. By these means the war was prolonged. Severus, being old and infirm, and confined at home, would have committed the management of the war to his son Antoninus. But he, neglecting the barbarians, endeavoured to gain the Roman army, with a view to the empire. During his father’s lingering sickness he endeavoured to prevail with the physicians and servants to despatch him. At last Severus died, worn out with sorrow, more than disease.

It will be observed, that in this detailed account of the proceedings of Severus in Britain, not the least allusion is made to the construction of a wall.

THE NARRATIVE OF DION CASSIUS.

Dion Cassius was contemporary with Severus. That portion of his work which narrates the transactions of this emperor in Britain, is unfortunately lost, but an epitome of it, prepared by Xiphiline, remains. From this abridgment the following extracts are taken.

Severus, observing that his two sons were abandoned to their pleasures, and that the soldiers neglected their exercises, undertook an expedition against Britain, though he was persuaded, from his horoscope, that he never should return from thence to Italy. Nor did he ever return from this expedition, but died three years after he first set out from Rome. He got a prodigious mass of riches in Britain. The two most considerable bodies of the people in that island, and to which almost all the rest relate, are the Caledonians and the Mæatæ. The latter dwell near the barrier wall which separates the island into two parts; the others live beyond them. Both of them inhabit barren uncultivated mountains, or desert marshy plains, where they have neither walls nor towns, nor manured lands, but feed upon the milk of their flocks, upon what they get by hunting, and some wild fruits.

The mode in which he speaks of the Wall, in this passage, implies its existence at the time of the arrival of Severus. The historian, after giving an interesting account of the manners of the inhabitants, proceeds:—

We are masters of little less than half the island. Severus, having undertaken to reduce the whole under his subjection, entered into Caledonia, where he had endless fatigues to sustain, forests to cut down, mountains to level, morasses to dry up, and bridges to build. He had no battle to fight, and saw no enemies in a body; instead of appearing, they exposed their flocks of sheep and oxen, with design to surprise our soldiers that should straggle from the army for the sake of plunder. The waters, too, extremely incommoded our troops, insomuch that some of our soldiers being able to march no farther, begged of their companions to kill them, that they might not fall alive into their enemies’ hands. In a word, Severus lost fifty thousand men there, and yet quitted not his enterprise. He went to the extremity of the island, where he observed very exactly the course of the sun in those parts, and the length of the days and nights both in summer and winter. He was carried all over the island in a close chair, by reason of his infirmities, and made a treaty with the inhabitants, by which he obliged them to relinquish part of their country to him.

The peace thus purchased, by the cession of the northern portion of the island, was badly observed. The inhabitants having taken up arms, contrary to the faith of treaties, Severus commanded his soldiers to enter their country, and to put all they met to the sword. He is said to have signified his savage intention, by quoting, from Homer, the lines which Cowper thus translates:

.... Die the race!

May none escape us! neither he who flies,

Nor even the infant in the mother’s womb

Unconscious.

THE DEATH OF SEVERUS.

But in the midst of his enterprise he was taken off by a distemper, to which, it was said, Antoninus, by his undutiful conduct, had very much contributed. He died at York, Feb. 4th, A.D. 211.

THE RECORDS OF HIS VICTORIES.

The coins of Severus record his victories. One of them is represented beneath. On the obverse is the laureated head of the ferocious African—on the reverse are two winged victories, attaching a buckler to a palm tree, at the foot of which two captives mournfully sit. The legend, VICTORIAE BRITTANNICAE, declares who these captives are. Times are changed! wide as ocean rolls, the burden of Britannia’s song exultingly declares, 'Britons never will be slaves,'—and, better still, Britain has long been actively engaged in rescuing from chains the sable sons of that continent in which Severus first drew breath.

Another curious record of the wars of Severus is found in the poems of Ossian. The Caracul, son of the ‘King of the World,’ in the dramatic piece ‘Comala,’ is supposed to be Caracalla.

Dersagrena. These are the signs of Fingal’s death. The King of shields is fallen! and Caracul prevails.

Comala. Ruin overtake thee, THOU KING OF THE WORLD! Few be thy steps to the grave; and let one virgin mourn thee!

Melicoma. What sound is that on Ardven? Who comes like the strength of rivers, when their crowded waters glitter to the moon?

Comala. Who is it but the foe of Comala, THE SON OF THE KING OF THE WORLD! Ghost of Fingal! do thou from thy cloud, direct Comala’s bow....

Fingal. Raise ye bards, the song! Caracul has fled from our arms along the fields of his pride.

After the death of Severus, a long period elapsed, in which the Roman historians observe a profound silence respecting the affairs of Britain. Local records and native historians supply but feebly the deficiency. During the reign of Gallienus, which extended from A.D. 260 to 268, a large number of usurpers arose, who are commonly denominated the Thirty Tyrants. Of these Lollianus, Victorianus, Postumus, the two Tetrici, and Marius, are supposed to have assumed the sovereignty in this island; for their coins have been dug up more abundantly here than elsewhere.

BRITAIN REVOLTS.

Diocletian commenced his reign in the year 284. Though he was a man of energy and ability, the care of a crumbling empire was too much for him, and he divided his honours and anxieties with Maximian. Increasing perplexities a few years afterwards induced the emperors to appoint two Cæsars. Diocletian chose Galerius Maximianus, and Maximian nominated Constantius Chlorus. To Constantius was assigned the charge of Britain, where he eventually found a grave. He was the father of Constantine the Great.

CARAUSIUS ATTAINS THE SOVEREIGNTY.

During a portion of the united reign of Diocletian and Maximian, Britain assumed an independent position. In order to repress, in the northern seas, the ravages of the Franks and Saxons, who about this period began to demand a place in the world’s history, Carausius was appointed to the command of ‘the channel fleet.’ Gesoriacum, the modern Boulogne, was his place of rendezvous. Carausius, who was an expert seaman, exerted himself, at first, with extraordinary success, against the pirates. Afterwards, it was observed that he consulted his own interest, rather than the public service. The emperors resolved upon his destruction. Carausius, stimulated by self-preservation, as well as ambition, entered into an alliance with his former foes, the Franks and Saxons, and declared himself emperor of Britain. He was favourably received by the natives of the island, and for seven years wielded the sovereignty of his empire with vigour and ability. He repelled the Mæatæ and the Caledonians, and having subdued these tribes, attached them to his interest. Nothing, observes Mr. Thackeray, can more fully prove the maritime strength and resources of Great Britain, under an able ruler, than the fact, that Carausius for seven years bade defiance to the Roman power; and at the end of that time fell, not overcome by the imperial forces, but by private treachery. Never before, nor until several hundred years after this period, was the country firmly united under the government of one sovereign.

Constantius was preparing to invade Britain with a fleet of a thousand ships, when Carausius was murdered by Allectus, whom he had trusted as his dearest friend. For about three years the assassin held, though with a less firm grasp, the power formerly possessed by his victim.

THE SUCCESSES OF CARAUSIUS.

A very numerous suite of coins commemorates the successes of Carausius, and vindicates his claim to a share in the empire of the world. Two coins are represented here. On the reverse of one is a galley, which indicates the chief source of his strength, and on the reverse of the other is a lion with a thunderbolt in its mouth, significative, not only of the bold bearing which the ancient sea-king assumed, but of that which his successors in modern times have maintained.

Carausius, according to Macpherson, is the Caros of Ossian. The following extract, upon this supposition, contains a remarkable allusion to the Wall.

Who comes towards my son, with the murmur of a song! His staff is in his hand, his grey hair loose on the wind. Surly joy lightens his face. He often looks back to Caros.

It is Ryno of Songs, he that went to view the foe. "What does Caros, King of ships?" said the son of the now mournful Ossian; "spreads he the wings of his pride,[5] bard of the times of old?"

"He spreads them, Oscar," replied the bard, "but it is behind his GATHERED HEAP. He looks over his STONES with fear. He beholds thee terrible, as the ghost of night, that rolls the wave to his ships!"

BRITAIN UNDER DIOCLETIAN AND SUCCESSORS.

It would be improper to leave the reign of Diocletian without remarking, that under it, the church of Christ endured the last and most terrible of the ten persecutions, which pagan Rome inflicted upon the followers of the cross. Britain did not escape. Alban and many others, as Gildas and Bede inform us, were martyrs for the faith.

On the withdrawal, in the year 305, of Diocletian and Maximian from the cares of empire, Galerius and Constantius became the rulers of the world.

Constantine, afterwards surnamed the Great, was proclaimed emperor, on the death of his father Constantius, at York. After a protracted struggle with several rivals, he became, A.D. 313, sole possessor of the imperial power. He was the first Christian Emperor, and, in token of his faith, inscribed the monogram of the Redeemer upon his banner, and his coin. The circumstances under which he adopted this step are thus detailed—

Constantine was in Gaul, and having heard of the opposition of his rival, who was in possession of Rome, he immediately crossed the Alps, and proceeded against him. When near Verona, on his march, and meditating the difficulties of his situation, he was roused from deep thought by a bright light, which suddenly illumined the sky, and, looking up, he saw the sun, which was in its meridian, surmounted by a cross of fire, and beneath it this inscription, τουτῳ νικα—"IN THIS CONQUER." He immediately adopted the cross as his ensign, and formed on the spot the celebrated Labarum, or Christian standard, which was ever after substituted for the Roman eagle. This, as Eusebius describes it, was a spear crossed by an arrow, on which was suspended a velum, having inscribed on it the monogram, ☧ formed by the Greek letters Chi and Rho, the initials of the name of Christ. Under this he marched forward, and rapidly triumphed over all his enemies; and, struck with the preternatural warning he had received, and its consequences, he now publicly embraced the doctrines of that religion under whose banner he had conquered.[6]

The monogram is well displayed on the reverse of a coin of Magnentius,[7] which is here represented. The Alpha and Omega, which accompany the symbol, indicate the faith of the emperor in the divinity of Christ—‘the beginning and the ending, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.’

Constantine removed the imperial seat from Rome to Constantinople.

BRITAIN OVER-RUN BY THE PICTS.

During the life-time of Constantine, Britain partook of the civil tranquillity of the rest of the world; but in the reign of his immediate successors, the Picts and Scots renewed their incursions into the lower province. This was not the only evil which Roman Britain had to endure. Magnentius, a native of the isle, entered into a contest with Constantius II. for the empire of the world, and in support of his claims, collected an army, (chiefly drawn from Britain) with which he three times met his foe. On the death of Magnentius, by his own hands, in the year 353, his successful rival inflicted a bloody revenge upon the Britons for having supported their countryman: meanwhile the Picts and Scots harassed them, on the north, with redoubled fury.

THEODOSIUS REPAIRS THE WALL.

Little is recorded of Britain in the reign of Julian the Apostate. In the time of Jovian his successor, the Picts, Saxons, and Scots, vexed it by increasing calamities. Valentinian obtained the purple A.D. 364, when the state of the country was so alarming as to require immediate attention. Even London seems to have been menaced by the enemy, if it was not actually in their hands. Theodosius, the ablest general of his time, went to the assistance of the Britons, drove the enemy before him, and recovered the provincial cities and forts. He then repaired the cities and prætenturæ and erected some new forts. Horsley thinks that the Wall in the North of England, and the stations upon it, are the prætenturæ referred to.

Valentinian, having, in 367, united with himself in the government of the empire, Gratian his son, died, A.D. 375. Six days afterwards, his second son, Valentinian II. was proclaimed his successor. The two brothers reigned together, Theodosius the Great presiding at the same time in the Eastern provinces, until Gratian was killed A.D. 383. Four years afterwards, Valentinian was robbed of the purple by Maximus, but applied for assistance to his eastern colleague, Theodosius, and once more entered Rome with imperial dignity. The sovereignty of Britain, Gaul, and Spain was, however, still conceded, for the present, to Maximus, who adopted Treves as the seat of his government.

THE ISLAND DRAINED OF ITS YOUTH.

In this struggle Britain suffered severely. Maximus, having served in the island under the elder Theodosius, was a favourite with the Romanized Britons. They flocked to his standard in such numbers that the island seemed drained of its youth. More than a hundred thousand persons are said to have accompanied him from Britain to the continent.

The loss of the native soldiery was severely felt in the North of England, where the ruthless barbarians renewed their ravages without molestation. The whole island, in the querulous language of its first historian, Gildas,[8] "Deprived of all her armed soldiers and military bands, was left to her cruel tyrants, deprived of the assistance of all her youth who went with Maximus, and ignorant of the art of war, she groaned in amazement for many years under the cruelty of the Picts and Scots."

Theodosius died A.D. 395. He left his dominions to his sons Arcadius and Honorius, who permanently divided them into the empires of the East and West. In the early part of the reign of Honorius, the province of Britain, by the prudence of the emperor’s minister Stilicho, had comparative rest from the incursions of the enemy. But when the Gothic war diverted the attention of the government from so remote a province, and the legions of Britain were called away to defend the seat of the empire from the attacks of Alaric, the troubles which before distracted the province, were again called into fearful operation. A spirit of disaffection and revolt increased the evil. Marcus and Gratian were successively declared emperors by the islanders, but were both speedily murdered. Constantine was next raised to the sovereignty, an honour for which he was indebted to his name, not his rank or fitness for the office. Instead of endeavouring to secure the peace of Britain, he transported his army to Gaul and made a successful stand against Honorius. He was assassinated in the year 411.

BRITAIN BECOMES INDEPENDENT.

Whilst Honorius was struggling with the usurper Constantine, he wrote letters to the cities of Britain, conceding the independence of the island, and urging them to adopt measures for their own government and protection. The gift of liberty was to them a fatal boon. Their implacable enemies, finding that the military science of the Romans no longer protected the south, rushed forth to invade the undefended province. The natives, in despair, turned to the still powerful name of Rome, and dispatched messengers to entreat help from the emperor.—But let Gildas ‘the wise,’ depict the closing scene of ancient Britain’s history—

THE NARRATIVE OF GILDAS.

The Britons, impatient at the assaults of their enemies, send ambassadors to Rome, entreating, in piteous terms, the assistance of an armed band to protect them. A legion is immediately sent, provided sufficiently with arms. When they had crossed over the sea, and landed, they came at once to close conflict with their enemies, and slew great numbers of them. All of them were driven beyond the borders, and the humiliated natives rescued from the bloody slavery which awaited them. By the advice of their protectors, they now built a wall across the island, from one sea to the other, which, being manned with a proper force, might be a terror to the foes whom it was intended to repel, and a protection to their friends whom it covered. But this wall being made of turf, instead of stone, was of no use to that foolish people, who had no head to guide them.

The Roman legion had no sooner returned home in joy and triumph, than their former foes, like hungry and ravening wolves, rushing with greedy jaws upon the fold, which is left without a shepherd, are wafted, both by the strength of oarsmen and the blowing wind, break through the boundaries, and spread slaughter on every side.

And now again they send suppliant ambassadors, with their garments rent, and their heads covered with ashes, imploring assistance from the Romans, like timorous chickens crowding under the protecting wings of their parents. Upon this, the Romans, moved with compassion, send forward, like eagles in their flight, their bands of cavalry and mariners, and planting their terrible swords upon the shoulders of their enemies, mow them down like leaves which fall at their destined period. Having driven their enemies beyond the sea, the Romans left the country, giving them notice, that they could no longer be harassed by such laborious expeditions, but that the islanders, inuring themselves to warlike weapons, should valiantly protect their country, their property, their wives, and children; that they should not suffer their hands to be tied behind their backs, by a nation, which, unless they were enervated by idleness and sloth, was not more powerful than themselves, but that they should arm those hands with buckler, sword, and spear, ready for the field of battle; and, because they thought this also of advantage to the people they were about to leave, they, with the help of the miserable natives, built a wall, different from the former, by public and private contributions, and of the same structure as walls generally are, extending in a straight line from sea to sea, between some cities, which, from fear of their enemies, had then by chance been built.

THE DISTRESSES OF THE BRITONS.

No sooner were they gone, than the Picts and Scots, like worms, which in the heat of mid-day, come forth from their holes, hastily land from their canoes, differing one from another in manners, but inspired with the same avidity for blood, and all, more eager to shroud their villainous faces in bushy hair, than to cover with decent clothing those parts of their body which required it. Moreover, having heard of the departure of our friends, and their resolution never to return, they seized, with greater boldness than before, on all the country towards the extreme north, as far as the Wall. To oppose them, there was placed on the heights, a garrison, equally slow to fight, and ill adapted to run away, a useless and panic-struck company, which slumbered away days and nights on their unprofitable watch. Meanwhile the hooked weapons of their enemies were not idle, and our wretched countrymen were dragged from the Wall, and dashed against the ground. Such premature death, however, painful as it was, saved them from seeing the miserable sufferings of their brothers and children. But why should I say more? They left their cities, abandoned the protection of the Wall, and dispersed themselves in flight more desperately than before.

Whilst the enemy butchered them like sheep, they increased their own miseries by domestic feuds—

They turned their arms upon each other, and for the sake of a little sustenance, imbrued their hands in the blood of their fellow countrymen.

Again, in their distress, they applied to the Romans. In the address, entitled ‘The Groans of the Britons,’ our author represents them as saying:—

The barbarians drive us to the sea, the sea throws us back on the barbarians: thus two modes of death await us, we are either slain or drowned.

The Romans could not assist them, and, unwilling to assist themselves, they sought and obtained the help of those ‘wolves’, as Gildas calls them, the fierce and impious Saxons. The result is known to all—Celtic Britain became Saxon England—and England, with all its faults,—has it not been a blessing to the world?

The picture drawn by Gildas of the misery of the southern Britons, and of the ravages of the northern barbarians, is doubtless correct; but, in ascribing the erection of the earthen rampart, and the stone wall of the Lower Barrier to the period of the departure of the Romans, he probably leans upon the erring traditions of his own times. His statement is devoid of probability. A work so bold in its design, so skilfully planned, and involving so much labour in its execution, cannot have been the result of the expiring energies of Rome in Britain. Its very ruins bespeak the masculine vigour of Rome’s maturity.

Besides, if we receive the testimony of Gildas upon this point, we must either suppose that several walls have been drawn across the island, or we must reject the assertions of those classical writers who ascribe the works to Hadrian or Severus. The former supposition cannot be maintained, for we meet with no traces of more than one earthen vallum, and one stone wall, in the region in question; and with reference to the latter alternative, it is more likely that Gildas should err in his dates, than that Dion Cassius, and Herodian, and Spartian, should describe, as existing in their day, that which was not to be for centuries.

THE BRITONS SUPINE IN YIELDING TO THE PICTS.

Another question will arise in the mind of the thoughtful reader;—how was it that the Britons suffered themselves to become so easy a prey to the Picts and Scots? Roman civilization could not, greatly at least, have enervated them. The cultivation of the liberal arts removes from the minds and manners of men their unsightly asperities, but it brings out in bolder relief their more valuable qualities. The vices of the Romans, when grafted upon the previously polluted life of the Britons, would indeed have a tendency to unman them, but why should it have sunk them beneath the level of the Romans themselves? We do not find, moreover, that the Britons who fought in foreign parts were deficient in courage.

THE BRITONS HAD BREATHING-TIME.

An acquaintance with Roman discipline, a knowledge of the Roman art of war, ought to have given them great advantages over their less civilized neighbours on the north of the Wall, and enabled them easily to have retained that great structure as a boundary fence.[9] It is true that great numbers of their youth had from time to time been drafted off by successive emperors, to engage in foreign quarrels, and that thus the land was deprived of its natural defenders. This accounts for a part of their distress, but not all. In a rude state of society, every man is a soldier, and it was an essential part of the policy of Rome to inure every citizen to the practice of arms. There surely would be men enough left to defend their homes, their liberties, and lives! Besides, half a century elapsed between the time when the Romans began to leave Britain to its own resources, and their final refusal of all succour. There was thus time enough to have nurtured a whole generation of veterans; and there was time enough—if the energy had been in them—to have shaken off those feelings of dependence upon Rome, which the presence of their conquerors had fostered. The opportunity, however, was lost; they entreated, and wept, and groaned—and passed off the stage of this world’s history. How are we adequately to account for this circumstance? |THE GENEALOGY OF THE PICTS AND SCOTS.|This is not the place to discuss the genealogy of the Picts, but if we adopt the theory of their Germanic origin,[10] the enigma, if not made quite plain, will appear less difficult than before. However great the valour, and however estimable the other qualities of the Celtic race, they did not possess the patience, the perseverance, the capacity for united action, and the power of command, which characterized the Teutonic tribes; hence they would fall before them in any contest which required sustained exertion. |THE TEUTONES SUPPLANT THE CELTS.|Gibbon’s estimate of the character of the ancient Britons is probably correct—‘The various tribes possessed valour without conduct, and the love of freedom without the spirit of union. They took up arms with savage fierceness, they laid them down, or turned them against each other with wild inconstancy; and, while they fought singly, they were successively subdued.’

ANTAGONISM OF THE RACES.

The Picts, without the artificial advantages which the Romanized Britons possessed, doubtless had the usual characteristics of the Gothic tribes. By these they were enabled, in defiance of the desultory attempts of the previous occupants of the soil, to ravage the land, until, through the efforts of Vortigern, they were confronted with foes of their own kith and kin. In our sister island, we unhappily witness, though in a subdued form, much of that animosity of race which led to the devastation and bloodshed that Gildas deplores. When will Saxon and Celt lay aside their differences, and unite for the common weal of Britain! Why should they regard each other with mutual suspicion? Why should the one triumph, and the other sink into hopeless, helpless despair? Creation groans—a prostrate world looks to united Britain and its offshoots, for that balm which may heal its woes—let it, strong in the confidence and love of its various constituent parts, faithfully fulfil its duty!

THE ROMAN ESTIMATION OF BRITAIN.

On reviewing this sketch of the proceedings of Rome, in relation to this distant portion of her great empire, the reader will perhaps be struck with the amount of attention which the Imperial City bestowed upon it.

The classic authors speak most disparagingly of the land, and its inhabitants—

Et penitus toto divisos orbe Britannos.

Virg. Ec. I.

Serves iturum Cæsarem in ultimos

Orbis Britannos.

Hor. Od. I. 35.

Visam Britannos, hospitibus feros.

Hor. Od. III. 4.

Te belluosus qui remotis

Obstrepit oceanus Britannis.

Hor. Od. IV. 14.

—and yet Britain, which, according to these authorities, scarcely formed a portion of the habitable earth, which was perpetually lashed by a stormy ocean, and whose inhabitants, unlike many barbaric tribes, were inhospitable to strangers, was the resort, not only of numerous legionary and auxiliary troops, but of very many of the emperors themselves. Great Julius came. Claudius fought upon our soil. Vespasian entered into conflict thirty-two times with the southern Britons. Titus shared in his toils and triumphs. Hadrian was here, and left the impress of his mighty mind behind him. Septimius Severus ended his days in Britain; his sons Geta and Caracalla first assumed the purple in Britain. The emperor Maximinus breathed, sixteen centuries ago, the sea-borne gales of Tynemouth. Britain, with its seas, was the chief scene of the exploits of the emperor Carausius. Allectus reigned three years over it. Constantius was long in the island, and his son, Constantine the Great is said to have first drawn breath upon our soil. Both Constans and Magnentius were here. Theodosius the Emperor fought under his father in Britain. Maximus, who had previously married a British lady, was invested by his soldiers with the purple at York—How comes it that so many of those who boasted of the mastery of this wide world, were induced personally to visit this little isle?—how was it, but that

Coming events cast their shadows before.

ROME FORESHADOWS BRITAIN’S DESTINY.

It seems as though there was an affinity between England and Earth’s rulers—and that thus early it was pointed out as the spot in which, of all others, save one—Jerusalem—mankind had the greatest interest.

The importance of Britain, in the estimation of the Romans, is further shewn by the fact, that, of the different coins struck by the imperial government in the short period extending from the reign of Claudius to that of Caracalla, at least fifty-six relate to this country. Of these, two were struck in the reign of Claudius, five in that of Hadrian, seventeen bear the impress of Antonine, ten of Severus, twelve of Caracalla, and ten of his brother Geta.[11]

CAUSE OF THE ROMAN OCCUPATION.

Whilst however we maintain that Rome was led to Britain by the impulse of a power of which she was not conscious, and whilst we willingly acknowledge that the conquest of Britain by the Romans was the first of that series of signal providential arrangements, by which, from the dawn of history to the present hour, ‘the Governor among the nations’ has prepared this island for performing that important part in the drama of history, which she now sustains,—the enquiry yet remains, by what motive were the conquerors more immediately impelled to settle in so remote an island? Such toils would not have been endured, such sacrifices would not have been made, victories over tribes so savage would not thus have been gloried in, except the question ‘cui bono?’ could have been satisfactorily answered. ‘I confess,’ says Horsley, 'that when I view some part of the country in the north of England, where the Romans had their military ways and stations, that question naturally arises, which has been often proposed: What could move them to march so far to conquer such a country? It appears wild and desolate enough at present, but must have been more so at that time, from the accounts the Roman historians have given us of it. I shall leave the Caledonian Galgacus, or Tacitus for him, to return the answer—If the enemy was rich, their covetousness moved them; if poor, their ambition. And when they added further desolation to a desolate country, this was their peace.' Ambition was doubtless the leading motive. From the earliest periods of Roman history we find her bent upon conquest. Incessant wars engendered a thirst for victory, and military glory became the ruling passion of the people. The wide grasp of their ambition gave to the features of Roman character harder, but grander lineaments than those which their more polished neighbours of Greece possessed. Flattered, as the lords of the world, by their favourite poets and historians, they gloried in their proud pre-eminence, and thought that they were but fulfilling their destiny in asserting a claim to universal dominion. Candidates for public favour knew well that to fan the popular passion was the readiest way to succeed in their aims. None understood this better than Julius Cæsar; and the later emperors, who possessed not the power to strike an energetic blow, found it necessary to maintain the show at least of conquest and of triumph.

WEALTH OF ANCIENT BRITAIN.

Less worthy inducements were, however, not wanting. There are few evils in the fibres of whose roots the love of money will not be found. Gold was another secret but powerful cause of the hardships which the Romans themselves underwent, and of the countless ills which they mercilessly inflicted upon the miserable islanders. The British chiefs in general appear to have had considerable riches among them. Cæsar, according to Strabo, acquired a large booty in his two descents upon our shore. Prasutagus, the king of the Iceni, died possessed of very great wealth. To a few states in the south, and within a few years after their first subjection, the philosophical Seneca lent more than four hundred and eighty thousand pounds of our money upon good security, and at exorbitant interest.[12] Severus got a prodigious mass of riches in this land. Gold is not now an article of mineral wealth in Britain. We are not from this to infer that it was not so when it was first invaded. The precious metal is not met with in veins or strata, but is diffused over the alluvial soil, or mixed with the sand of rivers in grains or lumps. When the commercial value of the glittering dust is discovered, it is speedily picked up, and a country, once rich in it, becomes, in the course of ages, impoverished. The number of massive golden torques and armillæ of the ancient Britons, which even yet are from time to time being brought to light, favours the idea that the metal was, in ancient days, tolerably abundant. Whatever the secret motives, Cæsar came and conquered—

The Roman taught thy stubborn knee to bow,

Though twice a Cæsar could not bend it now.

THE FATE OF ROME.

In passing from the contemplation of the Roman occupation of Britain to our examination of the remains of the chief monument of imperial power which time has left us, the mind will experience a great transition. In the Wall, we have evident traces of the might of Rome, but it is the might of a giant laid prostrate—

. . . . . Her haughty carcass spread,

Still awes in ruins, and commands when dead.

Centuries have elapsed since the vast fabric was upreared, but they have been centuries rife with the fate of empires.

The most ardent lover of the olden time cannot but startle, as he treads the deserted streets, or enters the unbarred portals of Borcovicus, and other cities of the Wall, at the thought that the Mistress of Nations is now no more,[13] and that the Eternal City is buried in her own debris. The broken column, the prostrate altar, ever and anon obtrude the fact upon him. Another empire has sprung into being of which Rome dreamt not. In a sense different from that which Virgil intended, the words in his third Georgic are peculiarly striking—

Vel scena ut versis discedat frontibus, utque

Purpurea intexti tollant aulæa Britanni.

Or see how on the stage the shifting scenes

In order pass, and pictured Britons rise

Out of the earth, and raise the purple curtain.

PROSPECTIVE FATE OF BRITAIN.

In that island, where, in Roman days, the painted savage shared the forest with the beast of prey—a lady sits upon her throne of state, wielding a sceptre more potent than Julius or Hadrian ever grasped! Her empire is threefold that of Rome in the hour of its prime. But power is not her brightest diadem. The holiness of the domestic circle irradiates her. Literature, and all the arts of peace, flourish under her sway. Her people bless her.

Will Britain always thus occupy so prominent a position in the scene of this world’s history?

... Valet ima summis

Mutare, et insignem attenuat Deus

Obscura promens.

The power that did create, can change the scene

Of things; make mean of great, and great of mean.

LESSON INCULCATED.

Is the fate of Persia, Macedon, and Rome, never to be hers? ‘O Thou, that didst build up this Britannic empire to a glorious and enviable height, with all her daughter islands about her; stay us in this felicity!’ What would Britain at this moment be without the Bible? Let the seven-hilled city say! If Britain herself obey the inspired word, and give it to the nations, then she needs not fear the shock of empires. If not, at a future day the native of a distant isle, or obscure nation, then newly risen into greatness, moralizing over the reedy docks and grass-grown streets of London, may exclaim—How true the words of their own Milton! 'But if ... as you have been valiant in war, you should grow debauched in peace, you that have had such visible demonstrations of the goodness of God to yourselves, and his wrath against your enemies ... you will find that God’s displeasure against you, will be greater than it has been against your adversaries, greater than his grace and favour has been to yourselves, which you have had larger experience of than any other nation under heaven.'

Base of Column at Borcovicus.

The Roman Barrier of the

Lower Isthmus.

PART II.
A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE LINE OF THE WALL.

Numerous are the appellations which the Great Barrier of the Lower Isthmus has obtained. 'It was called by ancient writers vallum barbaricum, prætentura and clusura; by Dion διατειχισμα; by Herodian χωμα; by Antoninus and others vallum; by some of the Latin historians murus; by the English the Picts’-wall, or the WALL; and by the Britons gual Sever, gal Sever, and mur Sever. The names prætentura and clusura are given to it upon account of its being stretched out against, and excluding the enemy.' To the names thus enumerated by Camden, must be added, the Thirl Wall, the Kepe Wall, and that by which it is best known at present, the Roman Wall.

GENERAL VIEW OF THE WORKS.

This great fortification consists of three parts.

I. A Stone Wall, strengthened by a ditch on its northern side.

II. A Turf Wall or Vallum, to the south of the stone wall.

III. Stations, Castles, Watch-towers, and Roads, for the accommodation of the soldiery who manned the Barrier, and for the transmission of military stores. These lie, for the most part, between the stone wall and the earthen rampart.

The whole of the works proceed from one side of the island to the other in a nearly direct line, and in comparatively close companionship. The stone wall and earthen rampart are generally within sixty or seventy yards of each other.[14] The distance between them, however, varies according to the nature of the country. Sometimes they are so close as barely to admit of the passage of the military way between them, whilst, in one or two instances, they are upwards of half-a-mile apart. It is in the high grounds of the central region that they are most widely separated. Midway between the seas, the country attains a considerable elevation; here the stone wall seeks the highest ridges, but the vallum, forsaking for a while its usual companion, runs along the adjacent valley. Both works are, however, so arranged as to afford each other the greatest amount of support which the nature of the country allows.

PLATE II.

PLAN of the BARRIER between CILURNUM and MAGNA AFTER HORSLEY.

A PLAN of CILURNUM after WARBURTON with part of the PLAN of the STONE WALL and VALLUM.
Shewing how they are connected at the Stations, and by their mutual relation to one another must have been one entire united Defence or Fortification.

Reid Litho. 117 Pilgrim Street Newcastle

The stone wall extends from Wall’s-end on the Tyne, to Bowness on the Solway, a space which Horsley estimates at sixty-eight miles and three furlongs—the turf wall falls short of this distance by about three miles at each end, terminating at Newcastle on the east side, and at Drumburgh on the west.

GENERAL VIEW OF THE WORKS.

The Map of the Wall, the more detailed Plans of several parts of it in Plate II, and the Sections given in a subsequent page, will afford a pretty correct idea of the general arrangement of the works.

Most writers who have treated of the Roman remains in Britain, have considered that the two lines of fortification are the works of different periods. The earth-wall, or Vallum, has generally been ascribed to Hadrian, but the stone wall, or Murus, to Septimius Severus. This is the opinion of Horsley, whose judgment is always deserving of the highest consideration. Deferring to a subsequent period the discussion of this question, it will be convenient, meanwhile, to speak of the works as being but different parts of one great engineering scheme.

THE COURSE OF THE WALL.

The most striking feature in the plan, both of the Murus and the Vallum, is the determinate manner in which they pursue their straight-forward course. The Vallum makes fewer deviations from a right line than the stone Wall; but as the Wall traverses higher ground, this remarkable tendency is more easily detected in it than in the other. Shooting over the country, in its onward course, it only swerves from a straight line to take in its route the boldest elevations. So far from declining a hill, it uniformly selects it. For nineteen miles out of Newcastle, the road to Carlisle runs upon the foundation of the Wall, and during the summer months its dusty surface contrasts well with the surrounding verdure. Often will the traveller, after attaining some of the steep acclivities of his path, observe the road stretching for miles in an undeviating course to the east and the west of him, resembling, as Hutton expresses it, a white ribbon on a green ground. But if it never moves from a right line, except to occupy the highest points, it never fails to seize them, as they occur, no matter how often it is compelled, with this view, to change its direction. It never bends in a curve, but always at an angle. Hence, along the craggy precipices between Sewingshields and Thirlwall, it is obliged to pursue a remarkably zig-zag course; for it takes in its range, with the utmost pertinacity, every projecting rock.

This mode of proceeding involves another peculiarity. It is compelled to accommodate itself to the depressions of the mountainous region over which it passes. Without flinching, it sinks into the ‘gap,’ or pass, which ever and anon occurs, and, having crossed the narrow valley, ascends unfalteringly the steep acclivity on the other side. The antiquary, in following it into these ravines, is often compelled to step with the utmost caution, and in clambering up the opposite ascent, he is as frequently constrained to pause for breath. After crossing the river Irthing, in Cumberland, the Wall is opposed in its course westward by a precipice of upwards of one hundred feet in height. It cannot now be ascertained, whether or not the Wall was taken up the edge of this cliff, for the stratum is of a soft and yielding nature, and is continually being removed by the river below. Certain, however, it is, that the Wall, accompanied by its ditch, is still to be seen on the very brink of its summit. If it did not climb this steep, it is the only one which, in the course of the line from sea to sea, it refused—and if it did ascend it, it would more nearly resemble a leaning tower than a barrier wall.

THE HEIGHT OF THE WALL.

In no part of its course is the Wall entirely perfect, and therefore it is difficult to ascertain what its original height has been. Bede, whose cherished home was the monastery of Jarrow, anciently part of the parish of Wall’s-end, is the earliest author who gives its dimensions. He says—‘It is eight feet in breadth, and twelve in height, in a straight line from east to west, as is still visible to beholders.’ Subsequent writers assign to it a greater elevation. It is not unlikely that the venerable monk, who was no traveller, describes it as it existed in his own neighbourhood; and we can readily conceive that in a flat country, and upon the border of a navigable river, it would, even then, have suffered more from the hand of the spoiler than in the wilder regions of the West.

In a letter written by Sir Christopher Ridley, is an account of the Wall as it stood about the year 1572. The writer says—

Rycht worschipfull, where as you spake unto me for a certayn knowledge of one wall builded betwyxt the Brittons and Pightes (which we call the Kepe Wall) builded by the Pightes, sure theyr is one. The length whereof is about, I think, almost a C myles, bilded alwayis whar they cold upon the hyghtes, whereon about the greatest cragis was, and whare theyr was no cragis or hy placis theyr was a great stank cast of other syd, the bredth iij yardis, the hyght remanith in sum placis yet vij yardis, it goith from Bowlness in Cu'berland viij myles beyond Carlell upon the west sea cost till it comes to a town called the Wallis end besyd Tynemouth on the est sea.[15]

Samson Erdeswick, an English antiquary of some celebrity, visited the Wall, in the year 1574.[16] His account is here given—

As towching Hadrian’s[17] Wall, begyning abowt a town called Bonus standing vppon the river Sulway now called Eden. The sea ebbeth and floweth there. The forsaid Wall begynning there, and there yet standing of the heyth of 16 fote, for almost a quarter of a myle together, and so along the river syde estwards, they space of an eight myle by the shew of the trench, as certayne ruynes of castills in that wall, tyll a qwarter of a myle of Carlyole, and there passeth ower the river of Eden; and then goeth straight estwards hard by a late abbey called Lanvercost, and so crossing ower the mowntaynes toward Newcastell.

THE WIDTH OF THE WALL.

Camden, who visited the Wall in 1599, says—

Within two furlongs of Carvoran, on a pretty high hill the Wall is still standing fifteen feet in height, and nine in breadth.

These statements leave upon the mind an impression that the estimate of Bede is too low.

In all probability, the Wall would be surmounted by a battlement of not less than four feet in height, and as this part of the structure would be the first to fall into decay, Bede’s calculation was probably irrespective of it. This, however, only gives us a total elevation of sixteen feet. Unless we reject the evidence of Ridley and Erdeswick, we must admit, even after making due allowance for error and exaggeration, that the Wall, when in its integrity, was eighteen or nineteen feet high. This elevation would be in keeping with its breadth.

The thickness of the Wall varies considerably; in some places it is six feet, in others nine feet and a half.[18] Probably the prevailing width is eight feet, the measurement given by Bede.

The frequency with which the thickness of the Wall varies, favours the idea that numerous gangs of labourers were simultaneously employed upon the work, and that each superintending centurion was allowed to use his discretion as to its width. The northern face of the Wall is continuous, but the southern has numerous outsets and insets measuring from four to twelve inches, at the points, doubtless, where the sections of the different companies joined.

THE NORTH FOSSE.

Throughout the whole of its length, the Wall is accompanied on its northern margin by a broad and deep Fosse, which, by increasing the comparative height of the Wall, would add greatly to its strength. This portion of the Barrier may yet be traced, with trifling interruptions, from sea to sea. Even in places where the Wall has quite disappeared, its more lowly companion, the fosse, remains. In some fertile districts the plough has been carried over it in vain; owing to the moisture of the site, the corn sown upon it springs up with undue luxuriance, and is almost uniformly laid prostrate before it can ripen. From this circumstance the ground is frequently retained in grass, while the neighbouring parts are under tillage.[19] The fosse thus more readily catches the eye, and is likely longer to retain its groove-like form than if subjected to the ordinary process of cultivation.

When the ditch traverses a flat or exposed country, a portion of the materials taken out of it has frequently been thrown upon its northern margin, so as to present to the enemy an additional rampart. In those positions, on the other hand, where its assistance could be of no avail, as along the edge of a cliff, the fosse does not appear.

No small amount of labour has been expended in the excavation of the ditch; it has been drawn indifferently through alluvial soil, and rocks of sandstone, limestone, and basalt. The patient exertion which this involved is well seen on Tepper Moor, where enormous blocks of whin lie just as they have been lifted out of the fosse. The fosse never leaves the Wall to avoid a mechanical difficulty.

The size of the ditch in several places is still considerable. To the east of Heddon-on-the-Wall, it measures thirty four feet across the top, and is nearly nine feet deep; as it descends the hill from Carvoran to Thirlwall, it measures forty feet across the top, fourteen across the bottom, and is ten feet deep. Westward of Tepper Moor is a portion which, reckoning from the top of the mound on its northern margin, has a depth of twenty feet.

The dimensions of the fosse were probably not uniform throughout the line; but these examples prepare us to receive, as tolerably correct, Hutton’s estimate of its average size. ‘The ditch to the north,’ he says 'was as near as convenient, thirty-six feet wide and fifteen feet deep.'[20]

The care with which the fosse was dressed, has varied with the taste of the overseer and the forbearance of the enemy. In some tracts, the work presents as smooth and trim an aspect as a modern railway cutting; in others, marks of haste, carelessness, or sudden surprise, appear. The curious circumstance which Hodgson describes in the following paragraph may be seen in more than one locality:—

'A little west of Portgate, the appearance of the fosse is still, to the eye that loves and understands antiquity, very imposing and grand. The earth taken out of it lies spread abroad to the north, in lines just as the workmen wheeled it out and left it. The tracks of their barrows, with a slight mound on each side remain unaltered in form.'[21]

The works near the 18th mile-stone West of Newcastle.

The works half a mile west of Carraw.

THE VALLUM.

The Vallum or Turf Wall, is uniformly to the south of the stone Wall. It consists of three ramparts and a fosse. One of these ramparts is placed close upon the southern edge of the ditch, the two others of larger dimensions[22] stand, one to the north, and the other to the south of it, at the distance of about twenty-four feet. The annexed sections of the works exhibit their present condition. They are drawn to the scale of seventy-five feet to the inch. The Wall is in these parts, unhappily, entirely removed.

The ramparts, in some parts of the line, stand, even at present, six or seven feet above the level of the neighbouring ground.[23] They are composed of earth, mingled, not unfrequently, with masses of stone. Occasionally, the stone preponderates to such an extent as to yield to the hand of the modern spoiler, ready materials for the formation of stone dikes. In several places they are being quarried with this view.

The fosse of the Vallum is of a character similar to the fosse of the stone Wall; but, judging from present appearances, its dimensions have been rather less. It, too, has been frequently cut through beds of stone.

The question will occasionally occur to the wanderer by the Wall, whence were the materials obtained for constructing the mounds of the Vallum? With the exception of the fosse, there are no marks of excavation in the neighbourhood, and that the fosse of the Vallum would not yield materials sufficient for the purpose, is abundantly evident.[24]

USE OF THE VALLUM.

The contents of the ditch on the north of the Wall have probably gone to assist in the formation of these lines. This statement of course proceeds upon the supposition that the Wall and the Vallum were contemporaneous works. Upon the same assumption, it may be added that the ramparts of the Vallum are probably indebted for some portion of the stone which they contain, to the chippings of the Wall.

Although the distance between the stone Wall and the Vallum is, as already observed, perpetually varying, the lines of the Vallum maintain amongst themselves nearly the same relative position throughout their entire course.

No apparent paths of egress have been made through these southern lines of fortification. The only mode of communication with the country to the south, originally contemplated, seems to have been by the gateways of the stations.

If we adopt the theory that the Wall and the Vallum exhibit unity of design, a question of some importance arises—With what view was the Vallum constructed? Hodgson, with much probability, conceives that, whilst the Wall undertook the harder duty of warding off the professedly hostile tribes of Caledonia, the Vallum was intended as a protection against sudden surprise from the south. The natives of the country on the south side of the Wall, though conquered, were not to be depended upon; in the event of their kinsmen in the north gaining an advantage, they would be ready to avail themselves of it. The Romans knew this, and with characteristic prudence made themselves secure on both sides.

PECULIAR CONSTRUCTION OF THE VALLUM.

But, whatever we may conceive to have been the design of the Vallum, the peculiarity of its form will excite the attention of the enquirer, though probably without his arriving at any satisfactory explanation. Supposing, according to the common theory, that the Vallum was an independent fortification, erected long before the Wall, to resist a northern foe, why was not the ditch, as in the case of the stone Wall, drawn along the northern edge of the northern agger? I cannot supply an answer. A similar difficulty meets us on the supposition that it was meant to guard against attack from the other side. Again, what part did the smaller rampart on the south edge of the fosse perform? Possibly it may have been intended as a foot-hold for the soldiers when fighting on this platform against the revolted Britons south of the barrier.

The third, and perhaps the most important, part of the barrier line consisted of the structures that were formed for the accommodation of the soldiery, and for the ready transmission of troops and stores. Neither stone walls, nor ditches, nor earthen ramparts, would alone have proved material impediments to the incursions of the Caledonians—

An iron race, ...

Foes to the gentler genius of the plain.

It is reported that Agesilaus, when asked where were the walls of Sparta, pointed to his soldiers and said, ‘There.’ The Romans placed their chief reliance on the valour and discipline of their armies, though they did not despise the assistance of mural lines. In a foreign country, to which it was difficult to transmit relays of troops, it became a matter of great importance to economize the lives of the soldiery. Hence arose the Wall.

Those portions of the great barrier which yet await our consideration, are the Stations, the Mile-castles, the Turrets, and the Roads.

THE STATIONS.

At distances along the line which average nearly four miles, Stationary Camps (stationes or castra stativa) were erected. These received their distinctive appellation, in contradistinction from those temporary ramparts, which were thrown up when an army halted for a night or for some brief period.

The stations on the line of the Wall were military cities, adapted for the residence of the chief who commanded the district, and providing secure lodgment for the powerful body of soldiery he had under him. Here the commandant held his court; hence issued decrees which none might gainsay; here Roman arts, and literature, and luxury, struggled for existence, when all around was ignorance and barbarity.

Some of the stations, though connected with the Wall, have evidently, as will afterwards be shewn, been built before it: this does not prove that they did not form part of the great design. To secure a safe retreat for the soldiers employed upon the work would necessarily be the first care of the builder.

The stations are uniformly quadrangular in their shape, though somewhat rounded at the corners, and contain an area of from three to five acres. A stone wall, five feet thick, encloses them, and has probably in every instance been strengthened by a fosse, and one or more earthen ramparts. They usually stand upon ground which slopes to the south, and are naturally defended upon one side at least.

THE PLACE OF THE STATIONS.

The Wall, when it does not fall in with the northern wall of a station, usually comes up to the northern cheek of its eastern and western gateways. The Vallum, in like manner, usually approaches close to the southern wall of the station, or comes up to the defence of the southern side of the eastern and western portals. Examples of these arrangements are given in Plate II. At least three of the stations, it must, however, be observed, are quite detached from both lines of fortification, being situated to the south of them. They may have been members of Agricola’s chain of forts.

Probably all the stations have, on their erection, been provided, after the usual method of Roman castrametation, with four gateways; in several instances one or more of these portals have been walled up at an early period, in consequence, probably, of some natural weakness in the situation.

Narrow streets, intersecting each other at right angles, occupy the interior of the stations, and abundant ruins, outside the walls, indicate the fact that extensive suburbs have, in every instance, been required for the accommodation of the camp-followers.

THE FERTILITY OF THE STATIONS.

In selecting a spot for a station, care has been taken that an abundant supply of water should be at hand. The springs, rivulets, wells, and aqueducts, whence they procured the needful fluid, are still, in many places, to be traced; and never did water more limpid, more sparkling, more invigorating, lave the lips of man, than that which flows from these sources.

For the most part, the stations—cities which for centuries were the abodes of busy men, and which resounded with the hum of multitudes, and the clash of arms,—now present a scene of utter desolation. The wayfarer may pass through them without knowing it; the streets are levelled, the temples are overthrown, and the sons and daughters of Italy, Mauritania, and Spain, whose adopted homes they were, no longer encounter him. The sheep, depasturing the grass-grown ruins, look listlessly upon the passer-by, and the curlew, wheeling above his head, screams as at the presence of an intruder. Whether, or not, sites naturally fertile were chosen for the stations does not appear; but certain it is, that they are now for the most part coated with a sward more green and more luxuriant than that which covers the contiguous grounds. Centuries of occupation have given them a degree of fertility which, probably, they will never lose.[25] One can scarcely turn up the soil without meeting, not only with fragments of Roman pottery and other imperishable articles, but with the bones of oxen, the tusks of boars, the horns of deer, and other animal remains. The debris of some of these cities is considered to be more valuable for farm purposes, than the recent produce of the fold-yard, and is used as such.

THE NAMES OF THE STATIONS.

It is not a little remarkable that the names of the stations, which must have been household words in the days of Roman occupation, have for the most part been obliterated from the local vocabulary; they are now only to be recalled, and that with difficulty, by exhuming the stony records of the past, and comparing them with the notices of contemporaneous geographers. The truth is, that military reasons dictated the choice of the stations,—commercial facilities gave rise to modern cities. Long may the mere military outpost be consigned to the shepherd’s use, whilst the wharf and the warehouse are beset by the busy crowd!

According to Horsley, the stations on the line of the Wall, were eighteen in number, besides some that were placed in its immediate vicinity, and lent to it important aid. Hodgson, conceiving that Horsley has in one instance mistaken a mere summer fortification for a stationary camp, reduces the number of stations on the line itself to seventeen.

THE STATIONS ACCORDING TO THE NOTITIA.

In ascertaining the number and the names of the stations, a most valuable document has come down to our times from the period of Roman occupation. The ‘Notitia Imperii’ was probably written about the end of the reign of Theodosius the younger, and was certainly composed before the Romans abandoned this island. It is a sort of list of the several military and civil officers and magistrates both in the eastern and western empires, with the places at which they were stationed. It may, in fact, be regarded as the roll-call of the Roman army. The sixty-ninth section of the work contains a list of the prefects and tribunes under the command of the Honourable the Duke of Britain. The portion of the section in which we are at present interested is headed, Item per lineam valli—Also along the line of the Wall—and contains the following list:—

• The Tribune of the fourth cohort of the Lingones[26] at Segedunum.
• The Tribune of the cohort of the Cornovii at Pons Ælii.
• The Prefect of the first ala, or wing, of the Astures[27] at Condercum.
• The Tribune of the first cohort of the Frixagi at Vindobala.
• The Prefect of the Savinian ala at Hunnum.
• The Prefect of the second ala of Astures at Cilurnum.
• The Tribune of the first cohort of the Batavians at Procolitia.
• The Tribune of the first cohort of the Tungri at Borcovicus.
• The Tribune of the fourth cohort of the Gauls at Vindolana.
• The Tribune of the first cohort of the Astures at Æsica.
• The Tribune of the second cohort of the Dalmatians at Magna.
• The Tribune of the first cohort of Dacians, styled Ælia, at Amboglanna.
• The Prefect of the ala, called Petriana, at Petriana.
• The Prefect of a detachment of Moors, styled Aureliani, at Aballaba.
• The Tribune of the second cohort of the Lergi at Congavata.
• The Tribune of the first cohort of the Spaniards at Axelodunum.
• The Tribune of the second cohort of the Thracians at Gabrosentis.
• The Tribune of the first marine cohort, styled Ælia, at Tunnocelum.
• The Tribune of the first cohort of the Morini at Glannibanta.
• The Tribune of the third cohort of the Nervii at Alionis.
• The Cuneus of men in armour at Bremetenracum.
• The Prefect of the first ala, styled Herculean, at Olenacum.
• The Tribune of the sixth cohort of the Nervii at Virosidum.

THE CORROBORATION OF LETTERED STONES.

It is not said, nor does it appear, that all these twenty-three stations were exactly upon the line of the Wall itself. It is very plain indeed, says Horsley, that according to the Notitia, Segedunum was the first, for that immediately follows the title per lineam valli; but he has not told us expressly at what place or station they end.[28] Those stations which were not on the Wall were probably in its vicinity, and were connected with it by military ways. The stations in this list are manifestly, as this writer also observes, set down in some order, and those that were near to each other are placed together;[29] so that if we ascertain the identity of some of them, we may form a pretty correct estimate of the position of the intermediate or neighbouring stations.

When, in the ruins of a station, inscribed stones are found bearing the name of a cohort mentioned in the Notitia, the inference is natural, that, in most cases at least, the imperial Notitia will furnish us with a key to the ancient designation of the station. The argument becomes irresistible, when, in several successive instances the designations thus obtained correspond exactly with the order of the places as given in the Notitia. Let us take an example. At the station of Chesters, on the North Tyne, several slabs have been found, bearing the name of the second ala, or wing, of the Astures. One of these is here represented.[30] It is a sepulchral stone, and bears at the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth lines the words—

· · · · · · ALAE

II ASTVR[UM]· · · ·

CILURNUM APPROPRIATED.

Now, as the Notitia represents this ala, or troop of cavalry, to have been stationed at Cilurnum, the probability is, that the camp on the west bank of the North Tyne is the Cilurnum of Roman Britain.

Immediately following ‘The second wing of the Astures at Cilurnum,’ on the Notitia list, is, ‘The first cohort of the Batavians at Procolitia.’ Now the station immediately west of Chesters is Carrawburgh, and here a slab and an altar have been found, inscribed with the name of this very cohort. The woodcut represents one of them,[31] an altar to Fortune, which is thus inscribed—

FORTVNAE

COH I BATAVOR[UM]

CVI PRÆEST

MELACCINIVS

MARCELLUS PRÆ[FECTUS]

To Fortune

The first cohort of the Batavians

Commanded by

Melaccinius

Marcellus, Prefect.

The conclusion is natural,—Carrawburgh is the Procolitia of the Notitia.

BORCOVICUS ASCERTAINED.

Moving westward, the next station we come to is Housesteads; here numerous inscribed stones have been discovered, which mention the first cohort of the Tungri. One of these, an altar to Jupiter, which is now in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and is preserved in their museum, is accurately given in the accompanying engraving.

I[OVI] O[PTIMO] M[AXIMO]

ET NVMINIBUS

AVG[USTI] COH[ORS] I TV-

NGRORVM

MIL[LIARIA] CVI PRÆE-

ST Q[UINTUS] VERIVS

SVPERSTIS

PRÆEFECTVS

To Jupiter, the greatest and best,

And the Deities

Of Augustus; the first cohort of the

Tungri,

A milliary one,[32] commanded by

Quintus Verius

Superstis,

Prefect.

The correspondence between the Notitia and the sculptures derived from this station, is again too striking to admit a doubt, that the Housesteads of the modern shepherd is the Borcovicus of the Roman hosts.

THE FATE OF LETTERED STONES.

In this way, the ancient designations of the stations from Segedunum, Wall’s-end, to Amboglanna, Birdoswald, have been accurately ascertained; but no stony memorial of the past has arisen to confirm the Notitia account of the stations westward of this point. The peculiarly fertile nature of the soil between the river Irthing and the Solway has been inimical to the preservation of the Wall and its antiquities. The wants of a numerous population rendered stones of every kind valuable; and in an ignorant age, when anything in the shape of a letter was regarded as a thing of evil omen, those most precious to the historian were the first to be sacrificed.[33] |THE STATIONS WEST OF AMBOGLANNA.|Since the accuracy of the Notitia has been confirmed in so many instances, it is but fair to conclude, that it may be safely taken as a guide in fixing the Roman designations of the remaining stations along the line. Cambeck Fort is the station next to Birdoswald; the Notitia places Petriana next in order to Amboglanna, which has been ascertained to be Birdoswald—doubtless, according to this reasoning, Cambeck Fort is the ancient Petriana. In this way, could it be certainly ascertained which were the stations per lineam valli, each station might have its Roman name restored, though not a syllable of the ancient designation be retained in the modern cognomen. We should have but to read over the roll-call, and let each camp in succession answer to its name. Unhappily, there is some doubt as to which are the stations along the line of the Wall. Horsley conceives that Watch Cross is the station next in order to Cambeck Fort, and, accordingly, calls it Aballaba; Stanwix, Burgh, Drumburgh, and Bowness, he successively denominates, after the Notitia, Congavata, Axelodunum, Gabrosentis, and Tunnocelum. Subsequent inquirers, and, in particular, the Rev. John Hodgson, have seen reason to suspect that Watch Cross was not a station per lineam valli. It probably was destitute of stone walls, and was surrounded only by a rampart of earth.[34] It seems to have been a mere castra æstiva—a summer encampment, and consequently, was not entitled to rank with those strongholds that were intended to withstand all foes at all seasons. Should Watch Cross be laid aside, the whole of Horsley’s subsequent allocation of the Notitia names is thrown out of course. It is much to be desired that some ‘Witch Stone’ would start from its hiding-place in the foundation of some cottage or castle in the neighbourhood of any one of the stations west of Cambeck Fort, and resolve the interesting question. Until such an event does occur, some doubt must hang upon the subject. The reader will now understand how it is, that, according to some authorities, the stations immediately dependent upon the Wall are said to be eighteen in number, and according to others only seventeen. For the reason just referred to, the Notitia names of the stations are not given on the Map of the Wall westward of Petriana.

The remainder of the stations of the Notitia were probably out-posts, intended to give support to the whole structure. The difficulty of rightly appropriating the Notitia appellations to such of these as have not yielded inscribed stones, is even greater than in the case of those which follow more closely the line of the Wall.

THE EXTINCTION OF ROMAN NAMES.

Before leaving this subject, the reader will do well to compare the ancient with the modern names of the stations, as far as they are ascertained; in doing so, he will be struck with the almost total absence of any similarity between them. So complete, it would appear, has been the subversion by Pict, and Saxon, and Dane, of the Roman domination in the north of England, that the very names of the cities which were occupied by the empire for centuries have perished,

And, like this unsubstantial pageant faded,

Leave not a rack behind.

THE CASTELLA OR MILE-CASTLES.

In addition to the Stations, Castella or Mile-Castles were provided for the use of the troops which garrisoned the Wall. They derive their modern name from the circumstance of their being usually placed at the distance of a Roman mile from each other. They were quadrangular buildings, differing somewhat in size, but usually measuring from sixty to seventy feet in each direction. With two exceptions, they have been placed against the southern face of the Wall; the castle at Portgate, every trace of which is now obliterated, and another near Æsica, the foundations of which may, with some difficulty, still be traced, seem to have projected equally to the north and south of the Wall. Though generally placed about seven furlongs from each other, the nature of the ground, independently of distance, has frequently determined the spot of their location. Whenever the Wall has had occasion to traverse a river or a mountain pass, a mile-castle has uniformly been placed on the one side or other to guard the defile. The mile-towers have generally had but one gate of entrance, which was of very substantial masonry, and was uniformly placed in the centre of the south wall; the most perfect specimen now remaining, however, has a northern, as well as a southern gateway. It is not easy to conjecture what were the internal arrangements of these buildings; probably they afforded little accommodation beyond what their four strong walls and well-barred gates gave. Hodgson states that when the foundations of the castle northeast of Housesteads were removed in 1832, the remains of an inner wall were seen, all round, parallel to the outer walls. He hence infers that the space between the walls has been roofed, and the centre uncovered. Deferring the further discussion of this subject until, in the course of our local description, we arrive at the most perfect specimen remaining—the mile-castle near Cawfields—the reader is meanwhile referred to the lithograph which depicts this interesting remain.

THE TURRETS OR WATCH TOWERS.

Between the mile-castles, four subsidiary buildings, generally denominated Turrets or Watch Towers, were placed. They were little more than stone sentry-boxes. It is with much difficulty that they can now be traced. Horsley, in his day, complained that ‘scarce three of them could be made out in succession.’ Would that the modern antiquary could make the same lamentation! Scarcely one along the whole line can with certainty be determined. They contained an interior space of eight or ten feet square. Horsley states the distance between them to have been three hundred and eight yards—the whole number would consequently be three hundred and twenty. Though small buildings, they were, like all the works of the Romans, built for perpetuity. Hodgson found the walls of one near Birdoswald to be nearly three feet thick. Such were the buildings provided for the lodgement and security of the cohorts, whose hard lot it was to guard this frontier barrier. A plan of Cilurnum, and the works in its vicinity, taken from Warburton’s Vallum Romanum, in Plate II., exhibits these arrangements, and shews, as he remarks, how the Wall and the Vallum, the stations, turrets, and castles, yielded mutual assistance to each other.

THE MILITARY WAY.

But all these arrangements were not enough; without Roads, one important element in the strength of the Great Barrier would have been wanting. Nothing economizes military force more effectually than the possession of means for quickly concentrating all available resources upon any point that the enemy may select for attack. The advance of Roman armies, and the formation of roads, were uniformly contemporaneous. The Barrier had its Military Way. It is impossible to over-estimate the importance of this part of the works. Without it, all the rest would have been useless. It would not, perhaps, be incorrect to say that both Vallum and Wall were subsidiary to it, and that the chief use of these structures was to guard the road, and to protect and conceal from view, both on the north and south, the troops that marched along it. The modern history of the district traversed by the Wall furnishes a singular corroboration of this opinion. In the rebellion of 1715, the operations of the royalist forces were greatly impeded by the absence of a good road between Newcastle and Carlisle. In the rebellion of 1745, a similar inconvenience was experienced. Marshal Wade was at Newcastle when the Pretender appeared before the city of Carlisle. The commandant of the city immediately sent an express to inform him of his position. The general’s answer contained these words:—

Newcastle, November 10th, 1745, 7 o’clock.

Gentlemen,

I have just now the favour of your letter by express, with an account of the Rebels’ approach near your city. The spirit and resolution with which you exert yourselves is very commendable, and I hope will contribute to disappoint the Rebels of any design they may have formed against you. ..... I cannot follow them, the way they may probably take being impassable for Artillery ..... but I hope to meet them in Lancashire, and make them repent of their rashness. ... I wish you all imaginable success,

And am, Gentlemen, your

Most obedient humble servant,

George Wade.[35]

THE IMPORTANCE OF MILITARY ROADS.

Thus, for want of a military road across the Isthmus, the importance of which had been perceived by the Romans sixteen centuries previously, the safety of the kingdom was perilled, and a hostile force permitted to pour itself into the heart of England. After such terrible warnings, government at last interfered, and an act of Parliament was passed which set forth in the preamble:—

Whereas the making and keeping a free and open communication between the city of Carlisle and the town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, by a road for the passage of troops, horses, and carriages, at all times of the year, would be of great use and service to the public, and it hath been found by experience, that the want of such road, passage, and communication, hath been attended with great inconvenience and danger to this kingdom. ....: Be it enacted, &c.

The road now known in the district by the name of the Military Road was accordingly made at the public expense. It is not a little remarkable that it takes precisely the track which the engineers of Rome had so many centuries before selected. In the map of the Wall which accompanies this work, the modern military road is delineated.

The importance of a good road, protected by military posts at short intervals, in securing the tranquillity of a turbulent district, is strikingly shewn in another instance. That part of the great highway between Madrid and Cadiz which crosses the wild hills of the Sierra barrier, was formerly left to the robber and the wolf, without roads or villages. A road, admirably planned, was at length executed by Charles Le Maur, an able engineer in the service of Charles III. The task of guarding it was the difficulty next to be overcome. For this purpose, Spain, who had colonized the new world, and expelled her rich Jews and industrious Moors, was compelled to resort to foreign assistance. In 1768, a colony of Germans and Swiss settled upon the line on condition of maintaining a constant guard.[36] This is done to the present day. Several consecutive towns, such as Carolina, in Andalusia, are occupied by people speaking nothing but the German language, and regular patrols are constantly on the move from one town to another. These Germans have their land in better order and cultivation than the Spaniards. This Spanish highway, with its stations at regular intervals, with its foreign guards, who from generation to generation maintain the tongue and the habits of their fatherland, presents too many points of resemblance to the manner in which the northern frontier of Roman power in Britain was defended, to be passed over without obtaining at least this brief notice.

MILITARY ROADS.

Gordon, in his Itinerarium Septentrionale, says, that two military ways belonged to the Barrier; a small Military Way a little to the south of the Wall, and, beyond it, the Great Military Way. In addition to these, Horsley enumerates a third, which he calls the Old Military Way. Horsley conceives that the north rampart of the Vallum constitutes the road which was used by Agricola and Hadrian in transporting their troops from station to station, and that when Severus built the Wall, he formed a new road—the great military way—which pursued an independent course, sometimes coinciding with the old road, but more frequently keeping nearer to the Wall. That there may have been a path-way immediately under the Wall which went from turret to turret, on which the Roman sentries marched with slow and measured pace, when they did not choose to expose themselves upon the parapets of the Wall, is not improbable; though we now look in vain for any traces of it. But that the north agger of the Vallum was thrown up either by Agricola or Hadrian to serve the purposes of a road, is a proposition too startling to be received even on the authority of the learned Horsley. In some places, indeed, it is sufficiently flattened to admit of the passage of traffic along it, but in the greater part of the course where the works of the Vallum are not under cultivation, the rampart is too conical, too narrow, and too ragged, to admit of such a use. Excepting in those situations, where stones are mingled with the whole mass of the agger, it exhibits no signs of having been paved.[37] The manner in which all the ramparts of the Vallum on Tepper Moor are encumbered with blocks of basalt, clearly shews, that here at least there has been no road. Besides, few who trace the lines of the Vallum from sea to sea, and observe their complete parallelism, will be able to resist the conclusion, that the whole of the works were contemporaneous; whereas, Horsley’s theory ascribes part to Agricola, and part to Hadrian: moreover, it may be added, that so much do the northern and the southernmost aggers resemble each other, that unbiassed observers will scarcely entertain a doubt, that they have been thrown up to serve a precisely similar purpose.

THE MILITARY WAY.

Happily, there is no room for doubt respecting the other road, which Horsley calls Severus’ Greater Military Way, as in the untilled districts of the country it may be traced for several consecutive miles; and if we receive the theory, that the Murus and Vallum are one work, there is no need to seek for any other.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE ROAD.

The Military Way is usually about seventeen feet wide, and is composed of rubble so arranged as to present a rounded surface, elevated in its centre a foot or eighteen inches above the adjoining ground. When carried along the slope of a hill, the hanging side is made up by large kerb-stones. In most places where it still remains, it is completely grass-grown, but may, notwithstanding, be easily distinguished from the neighbouring ground by the colour of its herbage, the dryness of its substratum allowing the growth of a finer description of plant. For the same reason, a sheep-track generally runs along it. For the accommodation of the soldiery, the road went from castle to castle, and so, from station to station. In doing this, it did not always keep close to the Wall, but took the easiest path between the required points. In traversing the precipitous grounds between Sewingshields and Thirlwall, the ingenuity of the engineer has been severely tried; but most successfully has he performed his task. Whilst, as previously observed, the Wall shoots over the highest and steepest summits, the road pursues its tortuous course from one platform of the rock to another, so as to bring the traveller from mile-castle to mile-castle by the easiest possible gradients. Often has it been my lot to notice how naturally, towards the close of a fatiguing day’s march, the less zealous of our exploring party, more anxious to select an easy track than to keep close companionship with the Wall, have, most unconsciously, pursued the route of the Roman way. But, notwithstanding all the art of the engineer, the steepness of the road in some places is such, that most of our modern carmen, with all their boasted skill, would be greatly puzzled if required to traverse it with a waggon laden with military stores.[38]

ADDITIONAL ROAD.

Although the road now described has probably been the only carriage-way between the two great lines of fortification, another, situated to the south of them, has afforded direct communication between some of the inland stations. From Cilurnum to Magna, the Wall forms a curved line, in order to gain the highest hills of the district. For the accommodation of those whose business did not require them to call at any intermediate point, a road went, like the string of a bow, direct from the one station to the other. This road, which is shewn in Plate II., went near the modern village of Newburgh, where Roman remains are occasionally found, and passed by the north gate of Vindolana, Chesterholm, near to which a Roman mile-stone still stands. Some portions of the ancient pavement still remain near Morwood. It is probable that this Roman Military Way was further continued, south of the Wall, direct to Stanwix.

SPEAKING TUBES IN THE WALL.

If tradition is to be credited, the Romans were not satisfied with roads as a means of rapidly communicating information; speaking-trumpets or pipes, we are told, ran along the whole length of the Wall. Of this, Drayton, long ago, sang in his Polyolbion—

Townes stood upon my length, where garrisons were laid Their limits to defend; and for my greater aid, With turrets I was built, where sentinels were plac’d To watch upon the Pict; so me my makers grac’d With hollow pipes of brasse, along me still they went, By which they in one fort still to another sent, By speaking in the same, to tell them what to doe, And soe from sea to sea could I be whispered through.

Sir Christopher Ridley, in his letter tells us, that—

In this Wall was theyr a trunck of brass, or whatever kynd of mettal, which went from one place to another along the Wall, and came into the Captaynes chamber, whereat they had watchers for the same, and yf theyr had bene stryfe or business betwyxt the enemies, and that the watchmen did blow a horn in at the end of the truncke that came into the chamber, and so from one to one; there was certayn money payed yearly to the mantenance of this trunck by the inhabitants theyrabout, and doith yet pay to some gentilmen in Northymberland, the which money is called horn-geld money.[39]

THE THEORY PROBABLY INCORRECT.

Camden also refers to this curious tradition. Once, but only once, have I met with this story in my own rambles. Such myths will not long outlive the introduction of the electric telegraph. ‘There are no old people upon the Wall now,’ as a man of three-score lately said to me, when I was endeavouring to persuade him to gather up from his still more ancient neighbour the fire-side lore of by-gone times.

It is curious to observe that a similar statement is made respecting the Barrier of the Upper Isthmus. A correspondent writes—

One old man told me, that when he was young, on digging through one of the wall stations—at Upper Croy—they came upon stone pipes, laid horizontally in the soil, and joined at the ends like those for water. From the elevation of the place, it is quite obvious that they could not be water conduits. This old person said that the idea he had heard ‘learned people’ give of these pipes, was, that they were for speaking through. That the pipes were found, and made of stone, not clay, is certain.

Pipes of lead are occasionally met with in the ruins of the stations, and pipes of burnt clay are of very frequent occurrence. To this circumstance the tradition probably owes its rise. They are not, however, found in the Wall, and when placed in the stations, seem to have served a different purpose. One use to which the tile-tubes have been put has been the transmission of warm air throughout an apartment. The walls of one of the chambers of the ‘baths’ at Hunnum were lined with them. Others may have been used, especially in high situations, for collecting rain-water from the roofs of the dwellings, and conveying it to cisterns. Besides, the inutility of the contrivance militates against the probability of its adoption: the sentinels at their posts could easily transmit hasty intelligence from end to end, by the voice or by horns, without pipes imbedded in the Wall, which, even if constructed, would probably be useless for such a purpose.

This traditionary fiction is probably of more than mediæval antiquity. Xiphiline, in his life of Severus, tells some such marvellous tale about the towers of Byzantium.

THE MASONRY OF THE WALL.

A description of the Masonry of the erections which have passed in review before us will conclude this general examination of the Barrier.

The following extract of a letter with which I have been favoured by Robert Rawlinson, esq., Inspector of the Board of Health, will form an excellent introduction to the subject.

I have several times thought over the subject of the Roman Wall since I had the pleasure of seeing you. The Romans constructed works with many different kinds of masonry; no doubt all chosen to suit the material used, the place, and the skill of the builders. In Rome, and Italy generally, works of great magnificence were constructed, when the art displayed was equal to the grandeur of the design. Such a work was the famed Arch of Trajan, the Arch of Septimius Severus, the Arch of Constantine, the Baths of Diocletian, and others. In these works, construction of the highest order was used, and the sculptor emulated the architect. The lettered altars and sculptured figures found on the line of ‘the Wall’ must not be compared with the best workmanship of Rome.

NATIVE LABOURERS EMPLOYED.

I am quite satisfied, in my own mind, that the general character of the work on the Wall was adapted to suit the time, the country, and more especially, the labourers employed on the work. The Wall, being a work of defence, had to be constructed in haste; the country was wild, rude, and without roads, excepting such as the Romans caused to be made. This ‘caused to be made’ is I think, the key to the character of the masonry chosen.... The form of construction is the easiest and strongest which rude, uneducated men could accomplish; and, with good mortar, such as the Romans knew so well how to make, is the kind of work calculated to endure for centuries, as we find it has done.... The works of the Wall I consider to have been chiefly constructed by the natives, under the armed superintendence and teaching of the soldier. The Roman knew no right but that of the conqueror; his object was conquest for use; use of the land, and the labour that was upon it. The Roman soldier was a fighting animal, and was so far civilized as to know how to make the comparative savage do his work upon his plan, and this was shaped to suit the labour used. Consider the length of the Wall, and the extent of the works upon it, and it will be seen that for the army to have constructed it, would have been to have kept them constantly working instead of watching and fighting.

Some years ago I had a large quantity of heavy masonry to construct on one of the railways. It was not unlike the Roman Wall in character. I found a difficulty in dealing with the regularly educated mason, and bought several scores of trowels and hammers; these I placed in the hands of uneducated labourers, set them to work under the superintendence of educated foremen, looking after the whole myself. This is a case similar to the one I have imagined for the great Wall; only the work my labourers performed had more difficulties about it than the Wall, and yet, these uneducated men performed the work perfectly.[40]

Think of the Roman bringing in at the sword’s point, hundreds of captive natives, placing for the first time tools in their hands, indicating the work to be done, and compelling the trembling slaves to do it![41]

The stones employed in building the Wall and stations were very carefully selected. When good stones were to be had near at hand, they were taken; but those of inferior quality were never used to avoid the labour of bringing better from a distance. In some parts of the line, in Cumberland especially, the stone must have been brought from quarries seven or eight miles off. A quartzose grit was generally selected not only on account of its hardness, but because its rough surface gave it a firmer adhesion to the mortar. The stone which has been used in the works at Wallsend is of a much coarser grit than any that is found in the neighbourhood.

THE QUARRIES USED.

The quarries from which the stone has been procured can in many instances be precisely ascertained. At Fallowfield, not far from Cilurnum, is an ancient quarry on the face of which the words,

[P]ETRA FLAVI CARANTINI,

the rock of Flavius Carantinus—are still to be traced. The vignette at the close of this part represents its present condition. On opening out, in the year 1837, some old quarries on the high, brown hill of Borcum, near Thorngrafton, a small copper vessel was found, containing a large number of coins, all of the upper empire. Another Roman quarry existed on Haltwhistle Fell. In a paper recently read before the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Mr. John Clayton says—

In riding over Haltwhistle Fell, before its enclosure, in the summer of 1844, I came upon some workmen employed in re-opening an old quarry. They told me they had met with a ‘written stone’; I dismounted, and climbed the face of the rock, when I found inscribed in letters clear and fresh

LEG. VI. V.

From its position on a wide waste, far removed from any abode, but in the immediate vicinity of the Roman Wall, this quarry could not possibly have been used for any other purpose than to supply stones for the building of the Wall; and from the freshness of the letters of the inscription, it must have been filled up with earth soon after the soldiers ceased to use it. The workmen promised to spare the ‘written rock,’ but the next time I rode that way it had been shivered to atoms.

Drawn & Lithographedby John Storey
WRITTEN ROCK ON THE RIVER GELT.

INSCRIPTIONS ON THE QUARRIES.

In Cumberland, there are several Roman inscriptions on the face of the ancient quarries. About a mile west of Birdoswald, and little more than a quarter of a mile south of the road, is Coome Crag, which, besides other markings, presents the following inscription—

SE · · RVS

AI · · · ·

· · · VSTUS

This perhaps may be read—Severus Alexander Augustus. The most remarkable of this class of Antiquities, however, is the ‘Written Rock of the Gelt,’ near Brampton. The lithograph on the opposite page is a very accurate representation of this curious relic of antiquity. As the scar is nearly perpendicular, and the river Gelt washes its base, it is not without some difficulty that the inquiring visitor can give it a satisfactory examination; it will, however, well reward his exertions, and the beauty of the surrounding scenery will give additional zest to the ramble. |INSCRIPTIONS ON THE QUARRIES.|The inscribed part of the rock is fully fifty feet above the water. The letters seem to have been made by connecting with a chisel or pick a

number of holes drilled in the rock in the required order; at all events, the terminations of the strokes have been thus formed. Some doubt exists as to the precise reading of the inscription, but the general purport of it is this:—The vexillarii of the second legion under an optio called Agricola, were, in the consulship of Flavius Aper and Albinus Maximus (A.D. 207), employed to hew stone here for the Romans.[42] It is piteous, when surveying so interesting a relic of antiquity, and one which has outlived the accidents of upwards of sixteen centuries, to observe that it has been approached by men who cannot sympathize with the mighty dead, and who care not what violence they do to the feelings of those who can. To the defacement, as I believe, of some portion of the inscription, the names of F. GRAHAM, W. HARDCASTLE, T. THOMPSON, W. NELSON, have been carved upon the rock. Notoriety is easily earned, but it is not always of an enviable character.

CHARACTER OF THE FACING-STONES.

The exterior masonry of the Wall consists, on both sides, of carefully squared free-stone blocks[43]; the interior, of rubble of any description firmly imbedded in mortar. The character of the facing-stones is peculiar, yet pretty uniform. They are eight or nine inches thick, and ten or eleven broad; their length, which is perhaps their characteristic feature, not unfrequently amounts to twenty inches. The part of the stone exposed to the weather is cut across ‘the bait,’ so as to avoid its scaling off by the lines of stratification; the stone tapers towards the end which is set into the Wall, and has a form nearly resembling that of a wedge. The cut shews its usual form. Owing to the extent to which the stones are set into the Wall, the necessity of bonding tiles—so characteristic of Roman masonry in the south of England—is altogether superseded. There does not appear to have been a single tile used in any part of the Wall. Stones of the shape and size which have now been described were just those which could be most easily wrought in the quarry, most conveniently carried on the backs of the poor enslaved Britons to the Wall, and most easily fitted into their bed. The uniformity in their appearance is such as to enable us, after a little practice, at once to recognize them in the churches, castles, farm-buildings, and fences of the district through which the Wall runs.

MASONRY OF THE STATIONS.

In Cumberland, the stones are rather larger than in the eastern portion of the line, a thickness of twelve inches not being uncommon, with a corresponding breadth. The blocks in the north face of the Wall, also, are not unfrequently larger than those in the south. The stones of which the walls of the stations are composed are smaller than those of the main Wall. Their average thickness is from five to seven inches, and their breadth from six to eight. The woodcut which is here introduced, depicts the junction of the west wall of the station of Amboglanna with the Wall, and well displays the different character of the stones used in two erections. As already observed, the stations appear to have been built before the Wall, and as the necessity of the case required that they should be run up as quickly as possible, a smaller class of stone was allowed to pass muster here than was used in the Wall. The workmanship also is of inferior quality.

THE TOOLING OF THE STONES.

The front of the stones, both of the Wall and stations, is roughly ‘scabbled’ with the pick. In some parts of the line, this tooling takes a definite form; when this is the case, the marking called the diamond broaching is most common. Sometimes the

stone is scored with waved lines, or with small squares, or with nearly upright lines. The woodcuts illustrative of the masonry at Chester Holm, and of the Crypt at Hexham, to be introduced along with the account of these places, will exemplify some of these kinds of broaching. It was not until I had become tolerably familiar with the Wall, that my attention was called to this peculiar kind of tooling. A visit to Habitancum and Bremenium, where the stones are nearly all broached in the diamond fashion, induced me to inspect the Wall more narrowly in this respect. I have since frequently detected it, especially in Cumberland. It is rare in the Northumbrian portion. Is this broaching peculiar to a particular legion, or to a certain period? The station of Habitancum is understood to have been rebuilt by Caracalla—can the other stations, and those parts of the Wall where this kind of marking appears, have also undergone repair at the same time, or is it the work of some particular legion? The same kind of broaching may be noticed in some of the stones at Chester, the Deva Icenorum of the Romans, which was for a long time the head quarters of the 20th legion. Though unable to resolve the doubt, I think that the prosecution of the inquiry may lead to some worthy result.

MASONS' MARKS.

Cuttings resembling masons’ marks occasionally occur. Sometimes they consist of a single or double stroke; sometimes of a diagonal cross, sometimes of a rectangular. The other marks which are here represented are less frequently met with.[44]

ROMAN MORTAR.

The tenacity of the mortar which was used, forms an important element in the strength of the whole fabric. That which is in use now is generally spoiled, from a variety of circumstances. The prevailing practice is, first of all, to slack the lime by pouring a quantity of water upon it when lying in a heap; in most cases this does not sufficiently pulverize it: it is then mixed with any earth bearing the least resemblance to sand, and the two are worked together very imperfectly with a shovel. The mortar thus made often stands and hardens, so as to require to to be once and again mixed with water, and worked up before it is used. It thus becomes quite impoverished; and, after all, for the convenience of the mason, it is employed in so dry a state that the stone soon takes all the moisture from it, and it becomes little better than powder. The gigantic railway operations of recent times have driven men out of the beaten track, and compelled them afresh to discover the Roman method of preparing mortar. On the authority of engineers well acquainted with the Roman Wall, I am enabled to state, that the mortar of that structure is precisely similar to the grout and concrete[45] of the railway mason of the present day. Specimens of the ancient and modern grout are before me, and there cannot be a doubt as to the identity of their preparation.

The following is the mode in which the railway engineer prepares his mortar. The lime, in the state in which it comes from the kiln, is first ground to powder, and is then mixed with sand and gravel, and chippings of stone. The purposes for which the mortar is required indicate the coarseness and quantity of the intermingling gravel. When wanted as concrete, to form, independently of other materials, the foundation of some heavy structure, stony fragments of larger size are mingled with the lime than when the mortar is to be used to cement chiselled stones, or even than when wanted to constitute with rubble the interior of a wall. The mixture of pounded lime and gravel, when made, is not mingled with water, until the moment of its application to the work for which it is required, but it is then intimately united with an abundant quantity of it. When used as concrete, the mass will, in three hours, have solidity sufficient to bear the weight of a man, and in about three days it will have acquired a rock-like firmness.

Such, doubtless, is the way[46] in which the mortar of the Roman Wall was prepared, and it would have this very important advantage over that generally used at present, that, in a very short time, the work would acquire a massiveness and strength, sufficient to resist the attacks of an enemy. The mortar of the Saxon and Norman periods is of the same character.

Occasionally, but by no means frequently, small pieces of charcoal are mixed with the mortar. These have evidently been derived from the wood used in burning the lime. Excepting in the buildings of the stations, pounded tile, so characteristic of the Roman mortar in the south of England, is by no means a common constituent of the mortar of the Wall. Limestone is abundant in most parts of the district through which the Wall passes. The Romans probably burnt it in ‘sow kilns.’ The limestone and fuel being arranged in alternate layers, the whole was carefully covered with turf and ignited. This simple method is still much resorted to when the lime is wanted for farm purposes.

PLATE III

Sections and Elevations of the Masonry of the Wall

THE MODE OF BUILDING.

Supposing the stones to be now quarried and squared, the lime burnt and mixed with sand and gravel, the next point to be attended to is the method of using them. The foundation has been prepared by the removal of the natural soil to the width of about nine feet. In the hill district, a very scanty portion of earth covers the rocks; in the richer regions an excavation of from fifteen to eighteen inches has been made before the subsoil was reached. On the outer and inner margins of the ground thus bared, two rows of flags of from two to four inches in thickness, and from eighteen to twenty in breadth, were generally laid; no mortar was placed under them.[47] On these lay the first course of facing-stones, which were usually the largest stones used in the structure. In higher courses the facing-stones are uniformly of free-stone, on the ground course a ‘whin-stone’ is occasionally introduced. The flagstones of the foundation usually project from one to five inches beyond the first course of facing-stones, and these again usually stand out an inch or two beyond the second course, after which, the wall is taken straight up. In some parts of the line the flagstones do not appear in the foundation—the first course of facing-stones being laid directly upon the ground. In the neighbourhood of Sewingshields, where large tracts of the Wall have been recently removed, a careful observer informs me, that the entire foundation has for some distance been laid upon a bed of clay of three or four inches thick.

THE RUBBLE OF THE WALL.

One or two courses of facing-stones having been placed in their beds and carefully pointed, a mass of mortar in a very fluid state was poured into the interior of the wall, and stones of any kind or shape that were of a convenient size were ‘puddled’ in amongst it. Whin-stones, as being most abundant in the district, are generally used for the filling. Course after course was added, and one mass of concrete imposed upon another, until the Wall reached the required height. When the whole was finished it formed a solid, compact mass, without any holes or crevices in the interior, and in a short time became as firm as the unhewn rock.

In some parts of the line the mortar has been ‘hand-laid.’ The rubble of the interior having been first disposed in its place, the mortar has been laid upon it with a trowel. In this case the mortar never penetrates the interstices of the mass, and does not make such solid masonry as the method generally pursued. When, however, this plan is adopted, the rubble stones are often laid upon their edges in a slanting position; and when those of the next layer, as occasionally occurs, are made to lean in the opposite direction, we have the kind of

masonry represented in the adjoining diagram, which is appropriately called herring-bone work. The nearest approach to this that I have seen upon the line of the Wall is at Steel-rig, and Hare-hill. In Hodgson’s Northumberland[48] a section of the Wall on Walltown crag is given, exhibiting herring-bone masonry. In this instance the stones are disposed transversely to the Wall, at Steel-rig and Hare-hill they are disposed longitudinally; the latter method is the easier of the two.[49]

On wavy ground the courses of the Wall follow the undulations of the surface, but on steep inclines the stones are laid parallel to the horizon. The Wall, in this case, must have been built up from the bottom of the defile, where also, in order the better to resist the superincumbent mass, it not unfrequently has a greater breadth than usual. As shewing that different sections of the Wall have been erected under distinct superintendents, it may occasionally be observed that, whilst on one slope of a ‘gap’ the stones are laid parallel to the horizon, on the other, differing little perhaps in inclination, they are laid even with the ground.

DURABILITY OF THE STRUCTURE.

We must now take leave of this important part of our subject, the masonry of the Wall. Judging from those portions of it which remain, it may safely be asserted, that no structure can be conceived to possess greater strength and durability. The first time I happened to visit Bowness (in the year 1831), some portions of the Wall, seven feet high, were in the course of being removed; it was found necessary to resort to the force of gunpowder in order to effect its destruction. In the substantial nature of their works, the Romans have left the impress of their own mighty minds. They built not for the day. They did not conceive that their existence was bound up in the fate of a single generation, but that it was spread over the destinies of succeeding ages. Their works contrast strongly with the efforts of some modern builders. The editor of the pictorial volume, styled ‘Old England,’ seems, in the following passage, to speak from personal observation.

Passing by the fragments of which we have spoken, we are under the north wall [of Richborough]—a wondrous work calculated to impress us with a conviction that the people who built it were not the petty labourers of an hour, who were contented with temporary defences and frail resting places. The outer works upon the southern cliff of Dover, which were run up during the war with Napoleon, at prodigious expense, are crumbling and perishing, through the weakness of job and contract, which could not endure for half a century. And here stand the walls of Richborough, as they have stood for eighteen hundred years, from twenty to thirty feet high, eleven or twelve feet thick at the base, with their outer masonry in many parts as perfect as at the hour when their courses of tiles and stones were first laid in beautiful regularity.

ITS EVENTUAL DECAY.

If the meddling hand of man had been withheld from the Barrier of the Lower Isthmus, the Wall might have stood, even to the present hour, in almost its original integrity. It is necessary to say ‘almost,’ for nothing can be more correct than the observation of Hodgson—

Though man has had the chief labour in effecting its destruction, its whole line and all its stations, castles, and towers, ever since it was deserted by the Romans, have been incessantly suffering prostration by the hand of nature. The feeble roots of grasses, ferns, and shrubs, have been assisted by the more destructive wedges and levers of forest trees in levelling it with the ground; and, in many places in the west of this county, for considerable distances together, the ruins that time has thrown from its brow, lie in a deep green mound at its feet; and thorns, briars, hazel, and mountain ash (entwined with relentless ivy), are still, in the parts that remain above ground, at the labour of demolition in which, for the last fourteen centuries, they have been unceasingly engaged.

In this day, when the Arabic numerals assert an influence quite as potent as that which the lictors’ rods obtained in ancient Rome, the inquiries may not be destitute of interest—What amount of labour was involved in the construction of the Barrier, in what time could it be accomplished, and what, at the present value of labour and materials, would be the cost of its construction?