| Summary : The site of Roman temporary camp Haltwhistle Burn 1, south of Hadrian's Wall. It survives as an earthwork. Between the Vallum and the fortlet (NY 76 NW 15) three camps were constructed, one of which was later halved in size. The chronological relationship of the camps to the other features of Roman date in the immediate vicinity is unknown. The area around the fortlet has been disturbed by watercourses and by the tracks and tramways associated with the 19th-century ironstone mines 400 m to the E. The scarps on the E bank of the burn have also been extensively quarried away. Camp 1 lies about 40 m to the N of the outwork around the fortlet (NY 76 NW 15) and occupies the summit and N-facing slopes of a low ridge which extends W towards the Haltwhistle Burn. This siting, at about 190 m above OD and slightly above the level of the fortlet, ensures good all-round visibility and probably dictated the general form and orientation of the camp. The camp faced E and is rectangular in plan, measuring 147 m from E to W and 84 m from N to S. It enclosed an area of 1.0 ha (2.5 acres). Where best preserved, in the SE, the rampart is 0.1 m high internally and has an outer scarp rising 0.7 m above the base of the ditch. The latter, which averages 0.2 m in depth, has been partly destroyed by a hollow-way at the SW angle and scouring from a seasonal watercourse has removed a section of the N side close to the NW angle. Silting has levelled the ditch in the NE, on either side of the public road to Burnhead and Cawfields. |
More information : [NY 71456629] ROMAN CAMP [G.S.] (1)
A Roman temporary camp, in good condition though with east rampart partially destroyed by a modern road, lies 250 ft. north of Haltwhistle Burn fort [NY 76 NW 15]. The camp has a ditch traceable throughout, but its rampart is indistinct on the north and part of the west sides. Overall measurements 458 ft. E-W by 250 ft. N-S. The only gate is situated on the south side, and is covered by a straight traverse. (2)
Generally as described, but in poor condition.
Resurveyed at 1/2500. (3)
Good A.P.'s of site. (4-5)
This camp has been re-assessed in connection with RCHME's survey and publication of Roman Camps in England. The following descriptive account is taken from the published text.
Between the Vallum and the fortlet (NY 76 NW 15) three camps were constructed, one of which was later halved in size. The chronological relationship of the camps to the other features of Roman date in the immediate vicinity is unknown. The area around the fortlet has been disturbed by watercourses and by the tracks and tramways associated with the 19th-century ironstone mines 400 m to the E. The scarps on the E bank of the burn have also been extensively quarried away. Camp 1 lies about 40 m to the N of the outwork around the fortlet (NY 76 NW 15) and occupies the summit and N-facing slopes of a low ridge which extends W towards the Haltwhistle Burn. This siting, at about 190 m above OD and slightly above the level of the fortlet, ensures good all-round visibility and probably dictated the general form and orientation of the camp. The highest point of the interior is in the SE, some 6 m above the NW corner.
The camp faced E and is rectangular in plan, measuring 147 m from E to W and 84 m from N to S. It enclosed an area of 1.0 ha (2.5 acres). Where best preserved, in the SE, the rampart is 0.1 m high internally and has an outer scarp rising 0.7 m above the base of the ditch. The latter, which averages 0.2 m in depth, has been partly destroyed by a hollow-way at the SW angle and scouring from a seasonal watercourse has removed a section of the N side close to the NW angle. Silting has levelled the ditch in the NE, on either side of the public road to Burnhead and Cawfields. Excavations across the SE angle in 1907-8 (Gibson and Simpson 1909, 259-60, pls I and IV) revealed that the ditch was 4 ft (1.2 m) wide and 2 ft (0.6 m) deep, and that its centre line was 8 ft (2.4 m) outside that of the rampart. The two elements may have been seperated by a narrow berm. Turf had been used for the foundation of the rampart and for a forward revetment-more turf, the excavators estimated, than would have been provided by stripping the area of the ditch alone. The body of the rampart, which stood 2 ft 2 in (0.66 m) above the old ground surface, was composed of material upcast from the ditch. Two entrances are readily traceable. That on the W is mutilated by surface quarrying and trackways; the traverse has survived to a height of 0.2 m, although the N half of its ditch has been levelled. The S gate is better preserved: the bank of the traverse is 0.4 m high externally but the ditch has been eroded by a former watercourse. A trench, the line of which is still discernible, cut through this entrance revealed that the bank of the traverse was constructed in the same way as the rampart (Gibson and Simpson 1909, 260 (6a)).
The public road to Burnhead and Cawfields crosses the N and E defences at the points precisely opposite the S and W entrances of the camp. Although there is now nothing to be seen it is likely that, in its original form, the road utilized the former Roman entrances. A short stretch of bank and ditch close to the SE angle is not on the recorded alignment of the excavation trench there, but may be relatively recent in date. Apart from slight traces of modern drainage channels extending down the slope, the interior of the camp is now featureless. The areas of possible cord rig visible on air photographs (CUCAP K17 AB 269-70 (6b); T 80-1) inside and immediately to the E of the SE quarter could not be confirmed on the ground surface. Nevertheless it may be that the groove revealed by excavation in the old ground surface 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) inside the centre-line of the rampart (Gibson and Simpson 1909, 260, pl IV (see auth 6a)) was a furrow forming part of that earlier arable landscape. Full information is included in the NMR Archive. (6)
Published account. (7)
Additional reference. (8)
The camp was recorded at a scale of 1:10000 from aerial photographs as part of the Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site Mapping Project. (Transcribed from CUCAP K17 AB269 ; ref.6b, above).(9)
Located on the English Heritage map of Hadrian's Wall 2010. (10) |