Housesteads Roman Fort is the remains of an auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall. Its ruins are at Housesteads in the civil parish of Bardon Mill in Northumberland, England, south of Broomlee Lough. The fort was built in stone around AD 124, soon after the construction of the wall began in AD 122 when the area was part of the Roman province of Britannia.
Its name has been variously given as Vercovicium, Borcovicus, Borcovicium, and Velurtion. The name of the 18th-century farmhouse of Housesteads gives the modern name.
The site is owned by the National Trust and is in the care of English Heritage. Finds can be seen in the site museum, in the museum at Chesters, and in the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Hadrian's Wall was begun in AD 122. A fort was built in stone at the Housesteads Roman Fort site around AD 124 overlying the original Broad Wall foundation and Turret 36B. The fort was repaired and rebuilt several times, its northern defences being particularly prone to collapse. A substantial civil settlement (vicus) existed to the south, outside the fort, and some of the stone foundations can still be seen, including the so-called "Murder House", where two skeletons were found beneath an apparently newly-laid floor when excavated.
In the 2nd century AD, the garrison consisted of an unknown double-sized auxiliary infantry cohort and a detachment of legionaries from Legio II Augusta. In the 3rd century, it comprised Cohors I Tungrorum, augmented by the numerus Hnaudifridi and the Cuneus Frisiorum, a Frisian cavalry unit, cuneus referring to a wedge formation. The Tungrians were still there in the 4th century, according to the Notitia Dignitatum. By 409 AD the Romans had withdrawn.
Most other early forts straddle the Wall and therefore protrude into barbarian territory. It is also unusual for Britain in that it has no running water supply and is dependent upon rainwater collection (for which purpose there is a series of large stone-lined tanks around the periphery of the defences). It also has one of the best-preserved stone latrines in Roman Britain.
The fourth century saw substantial changes to Housesteads Fort. The vicus was abandoned around AD 320 and elements of it seem to have moved within the fort's perimeter. Some of the barrack blocks were adapted into 'chalets' and probably served as accommodation for soldier's families. The defences of the fort were also substantially enhanced suggesting a deterioration in the security situation enjoyed during much of the third century AD.
Housesteads was occupied until the end of Roman Britain in the early fifth century AD. However, once the connections with Rome were severed it is likely the population departed soon after as the fort's remote location made it unsuitable for supporting large settlements.
There is no evidence of the site remaining occupied during the Dark Ages or Medieval period with the nearest manors being Sewingshields Castle and Bradley Hall. The abandoned fort became a shelter for the thieves and raiders who plagued the lawless border region - the so-called Border Reivers. This continued into the seventeenth century when the notorious Armstrongs occupied the site. However, following the Union of the Crowns in 1603 efforts were made to suppress lawless activity and it ended completely following the construction of the military roads in the early eighteenth century effectively making the site easily accessible to the authorities.
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenfitzpatrick/albums/72157713334982556
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/housesteads-roman-fort-hadrians-wall/
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