Arbeia Roman Fort

The Roman Fort at South Shields

The North Shields Roman Fort was built here in 160AD, on a low hill overlooking the estuary of the Tyne. Its name is derived from” the place of the Arabs”, after a unit of Tigris bargemen which garrisoned the fort in the 3rd century. It was designed for a mixed cohort of 120 cavalry and 480 infantry and covered an area of 4.1 acres (485 by 370ft), very similar to the fort at Wallsend. It was built by the 6th Legion but manned by ancillary units.

It is possible there was an earlier fort built before 130, but no trace has been found, except timber from a civilian settlement outside the walls. The early fort may be under the existing fort and dismantled before the stone fort was started. It is believed that this was the port for the Eastern wall, but again no traces of the port installations have been found.

In 206 major changes were made to the fort, it was extended to the south increasing its area to 5.16 acres (616 by 370ft). A new wall was built dividing the fort in two. In the south was accommodation for the garrison including a new headquarters building, which had a particularly large strong room underneath and in the north were built 13 granaries. Before this scheme was completed, the wall was demolished and the number of granaries was increased to 22. The fort had been converted to a supply base for Emperor Septimius Severus’s campaign in Scotland.

THIS IS A MODEL OF THE FORT WHEN THE CHANGES WERE BEING MADE WITH THE REMOVAL OF THE INTERNAL WALL AS SEEN FROM NORTHGATE AND SOUTHGATE

The supply fort was developed from about 206AD till after 220AD.

WESTGATE RECONSTRUCTION

In 1988 a replica of the Westgate was built on the original site. This was based on the ruins remaining and information on gates at other sites. It consisted of 2 towers with twin gates underneath. There is an earth bank behind the wall on either side of the gates.

It illustrates how impressive these forts were.

NEW HEADQUARTERS BUILDING AND OTHER CHANGES

The supplies for the Wall and for campaigns must have come by sea, but how did they get to the wall probably via Corbridge? No road has been found going west from Arbeia.

Even after the Severian campaign in Scotland following the death of the Emperor in 211, the fort continued to be used as a supply base, presumably to supply the garrisons on the wall.

The headquarters building was demolished and made way for another granary. A smaller headquarters building was built in the south east of the fort.

Following a fire in about 300AD, 8 surviving granaries were converted to barracks; a new larger headquarters building was built on the same site as the first headquarters building and a large commanding officer’s house.

The result was one of the few examples of a 4th century fort in Britain, significantly different than the earlier Wall forts

You will see that the fort’s interior is quite different from the standard model used in the Wall forts. The commanding officer’s house is in the southeast corner of the fort instead of in the middle next to the Headquarters building.

Eight of the granaries were converted to barracks.

The fort was probably refitted as maritime naval power was becoming more critical following seaborn raids, particularly in the 4th century. Interestingly no sign of the docks have been found. They were most likely wooden structures and not easy to identify.

THE COMMANDER’S HOUSE RECONSTRUCTION

This was built about 300AD in the southeast corner of the fort on its original foundations and is the size of the original building.

Although nowadays we keep home and work separately in the Roman world they were usually combined. For a rich and high-ranking man, this meant that his house was often full of visitors, so his house had to reflect his status. These visitors and the constant presence of slaves meant that there was no privacy as in a modern house.

Summer Dining Room

This is the largest room in the house, used for greeting important guests and holding formal banquets. As this room is unheated another (heated) room was used in winter.

The Porter
The porter controlled who could enter the house. Unimportant people stayed in the courtyard, while honoured guests were allowed further into the house.
The Courtyard
All the painted designs come from original Roman designs from Britain, Germany and Italy.
Reception Rooms
Living quarters for the Commanding Officer and his family. These rooms would have been used as bedrooms, dining rooms for small groups of people, studies and places to greet guests. There are four interconnecting rooms forming the suite.
Commanding Officer’s Bedroom
It was common for close friends or important visitors to be invited into the bedroom to work or simply talk in private. Rooms in the Roman house rarely had only one use. Bedrooms were often used as studies and dining rooms couches could often be used as beds at night.

Compared to the accommodation of the commander, that of the soldiers was very basic. A centurion had a bedroom and living room but compared to the soldiers it was luxurious.

Eight soldiers shared similar accommodation to the centurion, with 8 beds in one room.

There was a second room to store their equipment and cook their meals. Their beds were mattresses on bunk beds.

Toilets were built into fort rampart

SUPPLY AND TRANSPORTATION

Granaries

At one point there were 24 granaries. Their outer walls were 1 meter thick and strengthened by a buttress on each side. The floor of stone slabs was supported by a low wall, which allowed air to circulate and stop rats and pests. There were ventilation slits between the buttresses, which allowed air to flow into the underfloor space.

DELIVERY

The question that seems to be unanswered is how the port and this supply base actually delivered supplies to the forts and in particular to Corbridge for the three invasions of Scotland (circa 80,139 & 208 see the brief history of the Wall).In the Servian campaign of 208 sea transport was significant and most would have gone by sea. It has been calculated that granaries held sufficient food for 25,000 for nearly 6 months,

Evidence has been found that the Romans did use river transport, but to what extent? There was a road leading west from Arbeia to the bridge across the Tyne at Newcastle There would have been a need to transport supplies to Corbridge, to use the Stanegate to supply the Wall and Dere Street to supply forces in Southern Scotland. No evidence has been found of the Stanegate extending east of Corbridge.
After 160 it is possible that the Military Way was used, but there is a view that it was never used for wheeled vehicles, as some gradients have been found of up to 1 in3 in the central section. It seems likely that barges were used to carry bulk supplies up the Tyne.

Today the Tyne is tidal till just south of Wylam, if it was similar in Roman times that is just over 2 miles from Rudchester Roman Fort and about 12 down river from Corbridge. One theory put forward (without evidence) is that the Romans built weirs across the Tyne and winched boats up the weirs to Corbridge. It is logical to suggest that if cargo is transshipped into barges they would be shipped as far West as possible before being transferred to carts.

NORTHGATE

This was originally built in 160 as the main gate and as you entered the gate the headquarters building faced it. With the modifications to the fort in 208, the fort faced south and its importance was diminished. The left hand archway was blocked off Traffic and only pedestrian access was possible

SOUTHGATE

This gate was built as part of the changes to the fort in 208; it is unusual as it was built with only one gate, unlike the other gates (and the rest of the wall forts). It became the main gate when it became south facing.

EASTGATE

This remains under houses to the east of the fort.

MUSEUM

These remarkable tombstones were found on site. The tombstones were erected by their original owner, who freed their slaves.

Victor, a Moor from North Africa, was the slave of Numerianus, a cavalry soldier with a unit from Spain. He died at age 30 and was a freeman when he died, and it is interesting,but not unusual that a mere trooper had his own servant. (or partner)

Regina, initially a slave, was a member of the Catuvellauna tribe from Hertfordshire. She was freed and married her former owner, Barates. Barates came from Palmyra in Syria. She is dressed in the most fashioned costume of the day and sitting on a high back wicker chair also fashionable at the time. The tombstone is inscribed in Latin and Aramaic and was probably carved by a Syrian.

Archaeology

The existence of the fort was first known in the sixteenth century, but the site was only unearthed when it was decided to build a housing estate over some of it in 1875. The rest of the fort was converted into a people’s park. Quite recently a statue was found. It was uncovered by the community archaeology project, WallQuest. The museum has revealed that one volunteer may have just discovered a northern goddess. The discovery was made in an aqueduct channel that was filled in about AD 208 to make way for the enlargement of the Roman fort at Arbeia when it became a supply base

There is also a gallery of photographs all with descriptions. Click to see