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AESICA |
| Great news and long
awaited. The owner of Great Chesters farm has signed up for Defra's
Environmental Stewardship Higher Level Scheme, which will result in the
consolidation and preservation of the fort of Aesica and stretches of
Hadrian's Wall on his land, along with preservation of nature in the
area. |
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ARBEIA |
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Part of the Tyne &
Wear Museums corporation, Arbeia (the fort at South Shields) is one of
the largest on the wall and has enjoyed more than 20 years of ongoing
excavation. Archaeologists are at work all year here and the pace of
progress is truly impressive. Moreover there are a number of reconstructions
on site, including the west gate, a barrack block and the commanding
officer's house that have all been done with great care. |
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CORBRIDGE |
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Following trial excavations
in 1995, Tyne and Wear Museums are involved in an ongoing excavation
at the Roman bridge of Corbridge. The bridge here was an impressive affair
and important, as it took Dere Street over the Tyne. Much work has been
done over the last two years (2004/2005 seasons) and now the stonework
has been recorded and removed where it will eventually be reassembled
out of the area of danger from flood damage for visitors to view. |
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LANCHESTER |
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Currently the fort
at Lanchester is on private land and consists visible of the fort walls
only as rubble core. It is of interest only to the die-hard Roman enthusiast,
but there is a plan afoot between a number of groups including the landowner
and the council to run a feasibility study into the possibility of excavating
Longovicium fort and opening it as a tourist attraction. I will update
this any time I hear new info on Lanchester. *** UPDATE *** Due to the
passing of the landowner, that project appears to have been shelved,
but Durham University have expressed an interest in Lanchester's development. |
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SILCHESTER |
| Silchester remains
one of very few locations in Britain with a constant flow of excavation
every season under the University of Reading. The fact that an entire
Roman city exists under fields with no modern settlement atop it means
unprecedented opportunities for archaeologists. The downside is that,
claiming consolidation would be prohibitatively expensive, all excavations
are temporary and later backfilled, leaving nothing visible for the visitor. |
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VINDOLANDA |
| The Vindolanda Trust
are one of the great ongoing excavators in Britain and have been unearthing
more of Vindolanda on a yearly basis. The money they make from the site
and the Roman Army Museum at greenhead is ploughed back into excavation.
The result is impressive as I recently compared the 2004 guide to Vindolanda
with my 1978 one and was astounded at the work done. In the last year,
work has been carried out on the fort's west wall, the early timber forts
and temples. At my 2006 visit, a new area of excavation at the far end
of the Vicus from the fort had been opened up. |
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WALLSEND |
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While the site of
the actual fort at Wallsend has been taken as far as possible, there
is continuing excavation on a stretch of Hadrian's wall that leads west
from the fort itself. A reconstructed section of wall stands alongside
the low remains of the actual structure and currently (at January 07)
a stretch of wall lies under cover waiting for the better weather to
continue excavation and consolidation. |