The Sill

Trip No.140  Entry No.3  Date Added: 25th Jun 2019
Site Type: Museum Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 23rd Jun 2019. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: The Sill, Once Brewed: After visiting Great Chesters/Aesica, we popped over to the Sill for a cup of tea and a bowl of soup. It took three attempts to get our (simple) order correct, although as the Sill was popular with walkers, it meant queuing up each time to get the correct items.

I was curious to see if Tynedale North of the Wall Archaeology Group had their display about their surveys at Edges Green and Cleughfoot. We walked round the very small exhibition, which included a piece of rock art (on loan from the Great North Museum) and an inscribed Roman stone, but could see nothing from the group.

It was difficult to know if the display was aimed at adults or children; having wandered around it, most of it seemed aimed at the younger age group.

A pleasant place for a rest and refreshments, but I had expected more of a museum.

Temple of Mithras (Carrawburgh)

Trip No.140  Entry No.5  Date Added: 23rd Jun 2019
Site Type: Ancient Temple Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 23rd Jun 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Temple of Mithras, Brocolita: This being a Sunday, there was a constant stream of visitors, most of whom ignored the fort and came straight down to the temple. I had hoped for bright blue skies and fluffy white clouds, which there had been at Great Chesters a couple of hours earlier.

Nothing much in the temple had changed since 2014, although I spotted more details on the altar stones this time, and took a few more photographs. Having just re-read Pastscape 1013363, "Replicas of the internal fittings have been fitted in cast stone", which came as a bit of a surprise!

Carrawburgh Roman Fort

Trip No.140  Entry No.4  Date Added: 23rd Jun 2019
Site Type: Stone Fort or Dun Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 23rd Jun 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Access 4

Log Text: Carrawburgh Roman Fort/Brocolitia: When I last came here in 2014 there was a £4 charge for the car park which allowed you to also park at Housesteads and at other car parks at locations along the wall. Today, the machine has been upgraded and it is £1 for up to one hour. Other charges apply beyond that time. Having been to the Sill and paid to park there, we thought that charge covered this car park as well, but we had no receipt to leave in the car, so we paid our £1 again.

The sign at the entrance to the fort reads: “Carrawburgh (Procolitia) AD 134-383.
Garrisoned successively by the Aquitani, Cugerni and, in the third century, the Batavi; infantry units 500 strong. This was the last fort to be added to Hadrian’s Wall and obliterates the vallum. / Permissable access to the fort. No access to the trail. Please do not leave litter or disturb the cattle and sheep. Dogs to be kept on a lead. J. du Cane. Freeholder.”

The earthworks are nowhere near as impressive as the remains of Great Chesters Rman fort, further to the west, but it is a sizeable fort. We walked around the eastern, southern and western sides of the earthworks; some remains of the ramparts on the western side remains. We needed to walk back to the south eastern corner to go through the gate to the path down to the Temple of Mithras.

On our way back, Andrew went off the track to try and find a tumulus nearby. This had all but disappeared and we were unable to locate it, but we came across a spring, marked by a wooden post (as Robin Hood’s Well in Chollerton), with large stones and boulders piled up around a drinking trough. The spring is marked on the HE map of the area but no formal records of it (for photos see my separate entry below).

Aesica Vallum Round Barrow

Trip No.140  Entry No.2  Date Added: 25th Jun 2019
Site Type: Round Barrow(s) Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 23rd Jun 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Aesica Vallum Tumulus: This tumulus is marked on the OS map and recorded in Pastcape. As we were nearby, and the tumulus was a simple walk along the metalled road, we walked along to take a look. The field had just been harvested, so we popped in to take a quick look.

Just to the south of the tumulus is the course of the vallum, parts of which are visible to the south west of the tumulus, between the tumulus and the dry stone wall, running west. At first, we thought this was the barrow, as it is much more obvious in the field, but looking closely at the map on our phones, we realised it was indeed the vallum and the barrow was further north.

Aescia Roman Fort

Trip No.140  Entry No.1  Date Added: 25th Jun 2019
Site Type: Stone Fort or Dun Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 23rd Jun 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Aesica (Great Chesters) Roman Fort: In a repeat of our last visit in November 2016 (when we came here to see where the Roman aqueduct finished) we parked just off the small, gated road at NY 70421 66432, by the track leading up to Modern Farm and the Hadrian’s Wall Path.

Whilst I was photographing the inside of the fort, Andrew hopped over the stile at NY 70443 66807 and walked down the slope. As well as seeing a large stone with carved edging embedded in the dry stone wall, he identified the site of the bath house, previously earthed over by English Heritage to preserve it, as some stone were sticking out of the dry earth. Just down the slope was a piped spring which emerged into a modern cattle trough. Was this the spring that served the bath house?

The bath house, visible on UK Grid Finder, is centred on NY 70473 66733; the spring emerges at NY 70473 66698.