Vindobala (Brytonnic Celtic : windo- ''fair, white'', bala ''place, situation?'', cf. Old Irish bal, bail ''place, situation, condition, good luck'') was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

with the modern name, and in the hamlet of, Rudchester,

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. It was the fourth fort on

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

, and situated about to the west of Condercum (Benwell) fort and 7.5 miles east of

Halton Chesters Hunnum (also known as Onnum, and with the modern name of Halton Chesters) was a Ancient Rome, Roman castra, fort on Hadrian's Wall located north of the modern-day village of Halton, Northumberland in North East England. It was the fifth fort o ...

fort. The site of the fort is bisected by the B6318 Military Road, which runs along the route of the wall at that point.

Description

The fort guards the valley of the March Burn to the west, an ancient route leading to the south towards the Tyne ford at Newburn. To the east the ground drops away to the Rudchester Burn. The fort is oblong, measuring north to south by east to west, and covers about . It projected partially north of the wall, typical of a cavalry fort, to allow quick access to the north. There were four main gates with double portals and two smaller, single-portal gates. There was one main gate on the north wall of the fort, and the east and west main gates opened on the north side of the Roman Wall. This left a single main gate on the south wall of the fort, and two smaller gates which probably gave access to a military way running along the south side of the Wall. There were towers at each corner of the fort, and also on either side of the main gates. It was destroyed by fire and rebuilt on the same plan in the late 2nd/early 3rd century. It became disused by the last quarter of the 3rd century but was re-commissioned c. 370 AD when timber-framed buildings set on stone foundations were erected and occupied till the end of Roman rule. The Vallum passed about south of the fort, and there was a

vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus ...

south and south west of the fort. South of the fort, on the brow of a hill, is a

cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...

, twelve feet long, four and a half feet broad and two feet deep. It was popularly known as the “Giant’s Grave”. Now there is little to be seen on the surface, apart from mounds to the south of the Military Road marking the west and south ramparts. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries stones were systematically removed from the site for local agricultural buildings, and also for the building of the Military Road.

Garrison

It is thought that the fort was built for a cohort, 500 strong and part-mounted. The fort was garrisoned in the later fourth century by the First Cohort of

Frisiavones The Frisiavones (also Frisaevones or Frisaebones) were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people living near the northern border of Gallia Belgica during the early first millennium AD. Little is known about them, but they appear to have resided in the ar ...

according to the ''

Notitia Dignitatum The (Latin for 'List of all dignities and administrations both civil and military') is a document of the Late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very ...

''. These were troops recruited from a coastal tribe of Lower Germany.

Excavations

In 1760 a life-size statue of Hercules was found at the site, which is now in the Great North Museum in nearby

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. Excavations of the site were carried out in 1924 and 1962. Two of the main gateways were excavated, as well as a large

granary A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...

and part of the headquarters. In addition, a

hypocaust A hypocaust () is a system of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air passes. This air can warm the upper floors a ...

belonging to the commandant's house was discovered.

Mithraeum

In 1844, five altars, dedicated to

Mithras Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman Empire, Roman mystery religion focused on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian peoples, Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mit ...

, were discovered near the site, now known as the Rudchester Mithraeum. It is believed that these come from a temple to Mithras, situated to the south east of the fort. It appears that this was built in the third century and was deliberately destroyed in the fourth century. The building was long and wide with a

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

, or vestibule, attached to the front.

Curtain Wall

In 1924, an excavation took place on the wall line 1924 at a point west of the fort. The north face was erected on a foundation course of coarse white stones. The first course was topped by an elaborately moulded plinth (unknown elsewhere). It has been speculated that this was the location of a special inscription stone marking work on the wall, which has not survived.

References

Sources

* Vindobala http://rudchester.org/fort.html * J. Collingwood Bruce, Roman Wall (1863), Harold Hill & Son, * Frank Graham, The Roman Wall, Comprehensive History and Guide (1979), Frank Graham, * http://www.roman-britain.co.uk/places/vindobala/ * http://www.hadrians-wall.info/hadrianswall/vindobala/vindobala.htm

External links

* {{Authority control Roman fortifications in England Roman sites in Northumberland Forts of Hadrian's Wall Former populated places in Northumberland