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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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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. |