An Archaeological Investigation of the Whitley Castle Roman Fort and its Setting

138 Pages·2010·18.96 MB·English

RESEARCH DEPARTMENT REPORT SERIES no. 89-2009 ISSN 1749-8775
WHITLEY CASTLE,
TYNEDALE, NORTHuMbERLAND
AN ARCHAEOLOgICAL INvESTIgATION Of
THE ROMAN fORT AND ITS SETTINg
Dave Went and Stewart Ainsworth

Research Department Report Series 89- 2009
WHITLEY CASTLE
TYNEDALE, NORTHUMBERLAND
An archaeological investigation of the Roman fort
and its setting
Dave Went and Stewart Ainsworth
NGR: NY 6949 4868
© English Heritage
ISSN 1749-8775
The Research Department Report Series incorporates reports from all the specialist teams within the English
Heritage Research Department: Archaeological Science; Archaeological Archives; Historic Interiors Research and
Conservation; Archaeological Projects; Aerial Survey and Investigation; Archaeological Survey and Investigation;
Architectural Investigation; Imaging, Graphics and Survey, and the Survey of London. It replaces the former
Centre for Archaeology Reports Series, the Archaeological Investigation Report Series and the Architectural
Investigation Report Series.
Many of these are interim reports which make available the results of specialist investigations in advance of full
publication. They are not usually subject to external refereeing, and their conclusions may sometimes have to be
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© ENGLISH HERITAGE 89- 2009
© ENGLISH HERITAGE 89- 2009
Frontispiece. Surveying the south-western defences in January 2008. The view is from the
south, looking northwards toward the fort's western tower and beyond, to the Tyne Gap
and the Borders
© ENGLISH HERITAGE 89- 2009
SUMMARY
Between November 2007 and July 2008 English Heritage's Archaeological Survey
and Investigation team completed a detailed landscape survey of Whitley Castle in
Northumberland: a unique, lozenge-shaped Roman fort on a prominent knoll overlooking
the South Tyne valley about 3km north of Alston. The fort, perhaps the Epiacum of Ptolemy’s
Geography, stands on the Maiden Way about half-way between Magna on Hadrian's Wall
and Bravoniacum beyond Stainmore. It is notable for an extensive array of outer defences
- four lines of banks and ditches to the north and east, and seven to the south-west - and
for an exceptional degree of preservation. Analytical earthwork survey, combined with
geophysical survey undertaken by Durham University between January and May 2009,
has considerably advanced our understanding of the fort and its surroundings. Whitley
Castle, the highest stone-built fort in Britain, was almost certainly positioned to control the
production and shipment of lead and silver from the Alston ore-fields. Its curious shape,
suited to the limitations and advantages of a natural knoll, enabled, in a slanted fashion, the
accommodation of six barracks to the rear of the principia and four to the front, within an
area of barely 1.25ha. Extra-mural settlement has been recorded to the west and north
of the fort, and a swathe of ground to the south has been tentatively interpreted as a
parade ground. Post-Roman activity is evident from the medieval cultivation patterns and
minor settlement remains which override the defences, and in traces of two bastle-like
houses and an 18th-century farmhouse, Castle Nook Farm, located within the fort itself. By
this time the remains of the fort had come to be known as Whitley Castle, having acquired
the name from the surrounding Manor of Whitlaw.
CONTRIBUTORS
The field survey was carried out by Stewart Ainsworth and Dave Went of English Heritage’s
Archaeological Survey and Investigation team, with assistance from Trevor Pearson, Head
of Technical Survey and Graphics. The archaeological background and historical sources
were researched by the principal author, Dave Went. The text was edited by Al Oswald.
Earthwork plans and other illustrations were drawn by Philip Sinton (Figures 1-3, 18, 19, 23,
25 and 43) Trevor Pearson (Figure 34) and Dave Went (Figures 21, 26 and 42).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, the authors would like to express their gratitude to John and Elaine
Edgar of Castle Nook Farm, for allowing access to their property and for their hospitality
throughout the project. We would also like to thank Alastair Robertson, local historian
and author, for sharing his knowledge of the site and the locality, and for his permission to
reproduce the results of the geophysical surveys undertaken in 2003 and 2006. Thanks
are due to Paul Frodsham, Historic Environment Advisor for the North Pennines AONB
Partnership, for administering the main geophysical survey contract in 2009, and for other
assistance and advice. We are also pleased to acknowledge Natural England’s contribution
in support of the 2009 resistivity survey which was arranged by their regional archaeologist,
Tom Gledhill, under the terms of a Higher Level Stewardship Scheme. Duncan Hale and
the team from Durham University are to be congratulated for the quality of the geophysical
surveys cited in this report, which were carried out to suit the authors’ timetable in
extremely challenging winter conditions.
The authors gratefully acknowledge permission from the Cumberland and Westmorland
Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, acting on behalf of the original authors, to reproduce
© ENGLISH HERITAGE 89- 2009
Figures 11 & 24 in this report. Other copyright limitations and relevant permissions are
cited alongside the individual images.
ARCHIVE LOCATION
The site archive and copies of this report have been deposited in the English Heritage
archive and library at the National Monuments Record Centre (NMRC), Kemble Drive,
Swindon SN2 2GZ (ref NY 64 NE 1). Copies of this report have also been deposited with
the Northumberland Historic Environment Record (County Hall, Morpeth, NE61 2EF) and
the British Library.
DATE OF SURVEY
Field survey: November 2007 – July 2008
Geophysical survey: January-May 2009
CONTACT DETAILS
Dave Went Tel. [phone]. Email: [email protected]
Stewart Ainsworth Tel. [phone]. Email: [email protected]
English Heritage, 37 Tanner Row, York, YO1 6WP

© ENGLISH HERITAGE 89- 2009
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY AND CURRENT LAND-USE 5
3. PREVIOUS DISCOVERIES AND RESEARCH 8
4. DESCRIPTION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE FIELD REMAINS 21
4.1 The Roman Fort and its surroundings 21
4.1.1 The principal Roman roads 21
4.1.2 The fort’s defences 24
4.1.3 Interior Structures 36
4.1.4 Extra-mural activity 43
4.2 Post Roman settlement and agriculture 56
4.2.1 Cultivation 56
4.2.2 Bastles, farmsteads and sheepfolds 59
4.2.3 The ‘Old Inclosed lands’ 66
4.2.4 Post-Roman roads and tracks 69
5. DISCUSSION 76
6. CONCLUSION 94
7. SURVEY METHODOLOGY 96
8. REFERENCES 97
APPENDIX 1. ALTARS, STONES AND INSCRIPTIONS 105
APPENDIX 2. CONCORDANCE AND ARCHIVE 117
APPENDIX 3. PERMANENTLY-MARKED SURVEY STATIONS 118
© ENGLISH HERITAGE 89- 2009
© ENGLISH HERITAGE 89- 2009