NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE (Pons Aelius)		Quality of Remains
		Ease of Access
		Atmosphere & Setting

History:

During the first phase of building on Hadrian's new frontier, a bridge was constructed at Newcastle to carry the road from Chester-le-Street over the Tyne. Named for Hadrian's family, the bridge was called the Pons Aelius and as soon after a fort was constructed on the north bank to protect the bridge and serve as the original eastern end of the wall, this fort also took on the name Pons Aelius. However, before the wall was even half completed toward the west, a decision was made for an eastern extension and the fort at Wallsend was constructed, removing Newcastle's status as the wall's terminus. Though there is nothing to be seen of the great Aelian bridge, its location was confirmed in the 19th century when the piers were found beneath the new bridge they were constructing. Due to the lack of visible evidence of the fort, not a great deal is known of its history, but it might be assumed that it followed the same life-cycle of the other wall forts from the border's construction onwards.

Occupation:

The Sixth Legion were responsible for the construction of the original fort, though the details of the original occupying garrison remain unknown. By around 213 AD the garrison of Pons Aelius was the 1st Cohort of Cugerni. How long they remained stationed here is unknown, though by the late 4th century the fort was garrisoned by the 1st Cohort of Cornovii, the only known unit serving in Britain to have been drawn from the British population.

Remains and Visit:

The actual fort of Pons Aelius is hardly worth a side trip unless the visitor happens to be in the castle area of central Newcastle anyway. Sections of the headquarters building, commanding officer's house and granary were found in the grounds around the castle keep relatively recently and, while they have been backfilled, their outlines have been marked on the street and beneath the railway bridge. The reason for any Roman devotee to visit Newcastle itself is to take a trip to Newcastle University's Museum of Antquities, which is one of the best Roman collections in the north of England. There is a full model of Hadrian's wall, cases full of artefacts, walls lined with inscriptions and altars (including two fine examples found at the site of Pons Aelius), and a reconstruction of a Mithraeum which is one of the best reconstructions I have ever seen.

Images:

Headquarters building	Granary	Commander's house	Altars from Pons Aelius
Altars in the museum	Reconstructed Mithraeum	Aerial view (c/o Google Earth)