Mrs Epiacum !!

This Roman Lady watched over proceedings at the official Epic Epiacum Launch on 22nd May, 2012.
Judith.

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A walk "Off the Fort" with Stewart Ainsworth - First Friends of Epiacum event.

On Saturday, 21^st July, twenty-seven Friends of Epiacum gathered together to enjoy a guided walk lead by Stewart Ainsworth which took us “Off the Fort”. 

We explored areas around the Fort and looked at clues provided by the landscape as to what was there pre-Roman times and discussed why the Roman’s would have chosen that particular place to settle.  We learned about Bronze and Iron Age enclosures and could clearly see the outlines of Round Houses.  Looking at the area it was clear to see how suitable these places were as they were not only close to water sources but had access to main thoroughfares including the Maiden Way and the old Alston to Carlisle route which remained in use until the 18^th century.

Approaching the Fort we saw how the land was separated into paddocks and closer to the Fort how the Vicus would have been laid out.  Stewart explained all the different activities which would have gone on at Epaicum in Roman times.

One final point looked at was the layout of the Fort which is not oblong as most would expect but in fact lozenge shape and this is a unique example of its kind.

A very interesting and informative few hours were spent on and “off” Whitley Castle and everyone appreciated Stewart’s ability to “bring it all to life”.  It was dry and breezy and we even saw some sunshine.

Judith

The Maiden Way Roman Road at Whitley Castle

In July 2011, over a period of nine days, a group of keen Altogether Archaeology volunteers excavated three sections of the Maiden Way Roman Road which lies immediately to the south-east of Whitley Castle Roman Fort near Alston in Cumbria, under the supervision of NP Archaeology Ltd in consultation with the AONB and English Heritage.

The three trenches were located on unscheduled land and therefore were not subject to Ancient Monument consent.

A great time was had by all despite the fact that it rained and rained almost relentlessly.  On occasions it was necessary to pump water out of the trenches each morning before the dig could continue but spirits certainly weren’t dampened as everyone was keen to see what was to be found.

All three trenches contained archaeological features in the form of metalled road surfaces on the line of the Maiden Way.  It was revealed that there were different forms of road construction in various states of preservation.  The road in Trench 2 had the remains of an earth bank and a large ditch on its western edge.  Crossing the ditch and cutting through the bank was a stone delineated track way.  No Roman material culture was recovered from the evaluation, all the finds being ascribed to a post medieval date, which could relate to the later re-use of the road.

It is hoped that as more funding becomes available there may be further opportunity to continue the work on The Maiden Way but in the meantime it can be said that this was a very interesting nine days which was enjoyed by all who took part.

Judith

Epiacum on radio 4

Spent a couple of hours today out on the farm with the Radio 4 team, recording a programme called "On your Farm" which will be broadcast on sunday morning at 6.30am.........hmm, listening in later on iplayer might be an option!!!
Paul Frodsham and Dave Went (English heritage) joined me in talking about farming around the "best preserved roman fort in the UK", the impact it has on the mangement of the farm and our plans for the future development of the site.
 Avoiding any complicated and technical farming questions, we chatted about the significance of the site and how we had set about promoting Epiacum. Described as the "hidden gem of the North Pennines", our task to date has been to increase knowledge, access and understanding of the site and our project will continue to build on this through a range of events.
Looking forward to planning a busy Summer and, like everyone else, hoping for some sun!

Elaine

Project BBQ

On Sunday all the project group and friends got together for a bbq in the Bastle house next to the Roman Fort. The steering group have been meeting for over 3 months and have gradually put together some events and planned a lot more. This time it was nice to meet socially with no agenda or minutes or action points to go through!

The weather, for once this Summer, was kind and we all ritually stood round the bbq and blackened our burgers and sausages. We just need to move Epiacum about 1500 miles south so that we could have enjoyed a Mediterranean bbq in our shorts.

The Bastle house looked nice with candles on all the ledges and we were wonderfully entertained with some impromptu folk songs. As someone who drinks lots (and I do mean LOTS) of black coffee I really enjoyed the c-c-c-c-coffee song.

Then it was up to Epiacum itself, where Alistair did a great job of guiding for those of us who were unfamiliar with the layout of the Roman Fort. We kicked over a few molehills but failed to find any Roman treasure - not even a piece of broken pottery!

Thank you to everyone who was there and to those who had worked to make the evening so enjoyable.

Paul