Part VI Miscellaneous Antiquities Found on the Line of the Wall
Most apposite is the remark of Dr. Johnson, that ‘Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses; whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future predominate over the present, advances us in the dignity of thinking beings.’ Few things are so well calculated to produce this effect, as the altars and lettered tablets that have been left on our soil by the Romans. When we but glance at them, who is not moved at the reflection, that they were chiselled by hands which for so many centuries have mouldered nerveless in the dust!
Still on its march, unnoticed and unfelt
Moves on our being. We do live and breathe,
And we are gone! The spoiler heeds us not;
We have our spring-time and our rottenness;
And as we fall, another race succeeds
To perish likewise.
Kirke White.
On proceeding to decipher the antique records, our emotions are more varied and more intense. The old Roman seems to arise from the tomb, and to reveal his modes of thought and principles of action. His breast heaves; his heart is laid bare. In lines which his own fingers have carved, the gods before whom he trembled are declared. Looking on the very altar at which he knelt, we almost seem to see ‘the mean man bowing down, and the great man humbling himself.’
LETTERED STONES.
The region of the Wall has yielded more inscribed stones of the Roman period than any other portion of the kingdom. Many of them have already been presented to the reader; a few others will here be described. The lettered stones of the mural line may be divided into three classes—altars, funereal slabs, and centurial stones.
Altars
PARTS OF AN ALTAR.
The offering of such sacrifices as were supposed to be acceptable to their deities, formed an essential part of the religion of the Greeks and Romans. Very numerous are the altars which have been discovered on the line of the Wall. Many of them are small, some not larger than the palm of the hand, rough in the workmanship, and without any inscription; others are of large size, and of ornate character. The usual form of them is shewn in the annexed cut. The inscription is on the face of the altar; the base and upper portion project a little beyond the sides. A small cavity on the top called the focus, or hearth, received the offering. The sides of the altar were frequently adorned with carvings representing the victims, the implements used in sacrifice, and insignia of the god. On the altar137 before us, we have represented the præfericulum, or pitcher, which contained the wine for the offering; the patera, a round, shallow dish, generally with a handle, which was used in throwing a small portion of the wine upon the altar; the securis, or axe, with which the animal was slain; and the culter, or knife, used in flaying or dividing it. In the Chesterholm altar, figured p. 240, the sacrificial ox is represented; and on the sides of the altar to Jupiter, which is shewn on page 290, the thunder-bolt of the god, and the wheel of Nemesis— the emblem of swift vengeance—are given. The small size of the focus proves that the offerings presented to the deities occupied a very small bulk. When an animal was slain, a portion of the entrails was often all that fell to the lot of the god.
Idibus in magni castus Jovis æde sacerdos
Semimaris flammis viscera libat ovis.138
Ovid’s Fasti, i. 587.
NATURE OF THE OFFERINGS.
Frequently the offering consisted of a little barley-meal, some fruit, some frankincense, or chips of fragrant wood, with wine or milk. Occasions of sacrifice were often times of merry-making. The slain victim and the dedicated wine formed the ready materials of a feast. Ovid sarcastically represents an old woman performing the rites due to the goddess of Silence; upon her offering (three grains of incense) she allows a few drops of wine to fall, and assisted by her companions, though needing little help, she drinks up the remainder, departing from her devotions tipsy, and anything but taciturn.
Ecce anus... annosa,
Et digitis tria thura tribus sub limine ponit
Vina quoque instillat. Vini, quodcumque relictum est,
Aut ipsa, aut comites, plus tamen ipsa, bibit.
... ebriaque exit anus.
Fasti, ii. 571.
ALTAR TO JUPITER.
As might be expected, many altars are dedicated to Jupiter, the king and father, as he was styled, of gods and men. The wood-cut represents a very fine one, which was found in the station at Chesterholm, and is now preserved under the piazza of the House.
I[OVI] O[PTIMO] M[AXIMO]
CETERISQUE
DIIS IMMORT[ALIBVS]
ET GEN[IO] PRAETOR[II]
Q[VINTVS] PETRONIVS
Q[VINTI] F[ILIVS] FAB[IA] VRBICVS
PRAEF[ECTVS] COH[ORTIS] IIII
GALLORUM
EX ITALIA
DOMO BRIXIA
VOTVM SOLVIT
PRO SE
AC SVIS
To Jupiter, best and greatest,
And to the rest of the
Immortal gods,
And the genius of the pretorium,
Quintus Petronius
Son of Quintus, of the Fabian family, surnamed Urbicus.
Prefect of the Fourth cohort
Of the Gauls,
From Italy, and
Of a house of Brixia,
Performed a vow
For himself
And family.
Two lines have been purposely erased, perhaps in consequence of some error committed by the sculptor. The town of Brixia, the modern Brescia, is situated on a feeder of the Po. Petronius, it would appear, still remembered, and doubtless with affection, his former home in sunny Italy. Storks adorn both sides of the altar; the object of their introduction is rather doubtful. In the Risingham slab, now at Cambridge, to which reference has already been made (p. 332), a cock is associated with the figure of Mars, and a stork with that of Victory. Can the stork have been the emblem of victory, as the cock was of the god of war? The powerful wing and stately motions of this bird render it a fitting emblem of the goddess whose favours Petronius must often have sought. The inscription is distinct, and strikingly displays the polytheism of the Romans. Petronius associates with Jupiter, not only all the immortal gods, but the genius of the pretorium also.
POLYTHEISM OF ROME.
Not only were the superior deities and invisible genii blended in one invocation, but mortal men were not unfrequently associated with the greatest of the gods on the same altar. This is the case in one already described (p. 63). Quintus Verius, on an altar found at Housesteads, calls upon Jupiter, the best and greatest, together with ‘the deities of Augustus.’ The emperor himself is probably intended by this phrase, not the gods whom the emperor worshipped. The use of the noun in the plural number, numina, is not opposed to this view. Horsley remarks that numina is frequently, in classical writers, applied to a particular deity; thus we have numina Dianæ in Horace, and numina Phœbi in Virgil. The emperors, we know, were frequently worshipped as gods. The Mantuan bard, addressing Augustus, has no doubt of his divinity, though he knows not what region to assign to his especial care;
... urbesne invisere, Cæsar,
Terrarumque velis curam;...
An deus immensi venias maris, ac tua nautæ
Numina sola colant....
Georg. I. 25.
MARYPORT ALTAR.
An altar, which is not less remarkable for the ornate character of its decorations, than for the striking display which it affords of the polytheism of the Romans, was found in the camp at Maryport, and is now in the possession of the earl of Lonsdale, at Whitehaven Castle. An accurate representation is given of it in the preceding engraving.
GENIO LOCI
FORTVNÆ REDVCI
ROMÆ AETERNÆ
ET FATO BONO
G[AIVS] CORNELIVS
PEREGRINVS
TRIB[VNVS] COHOR[TIS]
EX PROVINCIA
MAVR[ITANIÆ] CÆSA[RIENSIS]
DOMOS E...
.....
To the Genius of the place,
To returning Fortune,
To eternal Rome,
And to propitious fate,
Gaius Cornelius
Peregrinus,
Tribune of a cohort,
From the province of
Mauritania Cæsariensis,
The lower lines of the inscription of this altar are much injured; they probably refer to the restoration of some buildings. The upper portion is sufficiently plain. Peregrinus addresses first the deity of the place over which his arms had triumphed; lest the local god should not smile benignantly, he resorts to Fortune, who had conducted him safely to the land of his adoption; if this deity should fail him, he thinks to find a refuge in the genius of the eternal city; but driven from this resource, there is nothing for it, but to trust to fate or chance.
On the back of this altar (which as it is at present placed at Whitehaven Castle, cannot be seen), are inscribed the words, VOLANTI VIVAS. This was probably the expression of the good wishes of some party for his friend, inscribed for greater efficacy on the sacred stone; and may be translated, Volantius, long may you live!
ALTARS TO MARS.
Mars is occasionally addressed, though not so frequently as we might expect in a chain of mural garrisons. Two small altars dedicated to him have already been introduced. On several altars, chiefly found in Cumberland, he is addressed by the name of Cocidius. One which was found at Bank’s-head, and is now preserved at Lanercost Priory, is here introduced. An altar found at Lancaster bearing the inscription, DEO SANCTO MARTI COCIDIO, is the authority for supposing that Cocidius was a name of Mars. The altar before us has been dedicated by the soldiers of the twentieth legion, surnamed the Valiant and Victorious; the boar, the badge of the legion, is at the bottom of the altar. It appears also that Mars was sometimes styled Belatucadrus, the expression DEO MARTI BELATUCADRO being found upon some altars; the altars to Belatucadrus are, however, confined to Cumberland. One of them is here given. It was found at Walton Castlesteads, where it still remains. The letters are rudely carved, and the last two lines not very intelligible. The name Belatucadrus or Belatucader is derived from the words Baal and Cadir; and probably means—The invincible or omnipotent Baal. The fact that Baal, the great idol of the east, found votaries in Britain shews how easy it is to propagate error.
It was the practice of the Romans to adopt the deities of the countries which they subdued, and they may be supposed to have sought to amalgamate with their own god of war, the corresponding divinity worshipped in that part of Britain where these altars were reared.
MINERVA.
The worship of Minerva was not neglected by the soldiers of the Wall. The wood-cut exhibits an altar to the virgin goddess, which was found in the station at Rochester; it is now at Alnwick Castle. Several others exist. Science is required in the arts of war as well as peace. The victory which mere daring achieved, was by the Greeks and Romans ascribed to the intervention of Mars; that which was the result of skilful strategy to the influence of Minerva. This altar was consecrated by Julius Carantus.
FORTUNA.
Fortune was one of the favourite deities of Rome. The great confidence which the Romans placed in her is expressed in the story related by Plutarch, that on entering Rome she put off her wings and shoes, and threw away her globe, as she intended to take up her permanent abode among the Romans. Several altars addressed to Fortune have been found on the line of the Wall. One of the most remarkable is shewn in the annexed cut. It was found in a building in the south-east corner of the station at Risingham, and is now in the Museum of Antiquities, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The great peculiarity of it is, that the projecting base of the altar is provided with a focus, and that on the projection the inscription is repeated. It reads—
FORTVNAE
SACRVM
VALERIVS
LONGINVS
TRIB[VNVS]
To Fortune
Sacred
Valerius
Longinus
Tribune.
The altar, when in its original position, was raised by means of two courses of masonry considerably above the level of the ground. The object of the second focus is a matter of conjecture. According to the grammarians, altare (alta ara, high altar) was dedicated only to the gods above, whilst the ara was both lower, and employed in sacrificing to the gods below as well as those above. Can Fortune have been viewed in the double capacity of a superior and inferior divinity, and can the tribune, Valerius Longinus, have sought to secure the favour of the powerful deity both in this life and the one to come!
MITHRAS.
Several of the altars found on the line of the Wall are dedicated to the god Mithras. Mitra, it appears, is one of the names for the sun in Sanscrit; and that Mithras was, by the Romans, identified with the sun, is clearly proved by many of the inscriptions on the altars of that deity. One, found in the Mithraic cave at Housesteads, and which is now at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, is figured on the former page. The inscription upon it may be read thus;—
DEO
SOLI INVI
CTO MYTRÆ
SAECVLARI
LITORIVS
PACATIANVS
B[ENE]F[ICIARIVS] COS. PRO
SE ET SVIS V[OTVM] S[OLVIT]
L[IBENS] M[ERITO]
To the god
The Sun the in-
vincible Mithras
The Lord of ages
Litorius
Pacatianus
A consular beneficiary; for himself and family discharges a vow
Willingly and deservedly.
WORSHIP OF THE SUN.
Another small and roughly-cut altar procured from the same place, and also now at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, has a figure of the sun on its capital: Hodgson reads the inscription in this manner—Hieronymus, performing a vow, freely and duly dedicates this to the sun.
When we contemplate the powerful and beneficial influence of the sun, we cannot be surprised that the worship of this luminary, especially in the east, constituted the first form of idolatry—
To solemnize this day, the glorious sun
Stays in his course, and plays the alchemist;
Turning, with splendour of his precious eye,
The meagre cloddy earth to glittering gold.
WORSHIP OF MITHRAS.
The various ceremonies which were observed in the worship of Mithras, are supposed to have been emblematic of the different influences exercised by the sun upon vegetable and animal life. The notices which we have of the meaning of these emblems are, however, a mass of mysticism and absurdity. The god is commonly represented as a youth wearing the Phrygian cap and attire, and kneeling on a bull thrown on the ground, the throat of which he is cutting. He is usually accompanied by two attendants, the one bearing an uplifted torch, representing the sun in the vernal equinox, ascending to the zenith of his power, the other, an extinguished torch, resting on the ground, emblematic of the orb of day, when hastening to the winter solstice. The wood-cut here introduced exhibits one of these figures (now at Newcastle-upon-Tyne), which was found in the cave at Housesteads.
The Mithraic worship was introduced into the western world, from Persia, about the time of Julius Cæsar, and speedily spread over all parts of the empire. It appears to have outlived other forms of idolatry in Europe. Its favourers seem to have abandoned polytheism; on the line of the Wall at least, the name of Mithras is not combined with that of any other deity. This circumstance, together with the laborious, though vain, researches of its philosophical supporters, recommended it to those who rejected the pure and simple truths of Christianity.
MITHRAIC CAVE.
Another of the Housesteads altars to Mithras is here figured. It is inscribed—
D[EO] O[PTIMO] M[AXIMO]
INVICTO MYT
RÆ SAECVLARI
PVBL[IVS] PROCVLI
NYS C[ENTVRIO] PRO SE
ET PROCVLO FIL[IO]
SVO V. S. L. M.
D.D. (dominis) N.N. (nostris) GALLO ET
VOLVSINO CO[N]S[VLIBVS]
CC
To the god best and greatest
The invincible Mith-
ras, lord of ages,
Publius Proculinus,
Centurion, for himself
And Proculus his son, his vow freely and deservedly pays.
Our lords Gallus and
Volusinus being consuls.
The temples of Mithras generally consisted of a cave, or a small building from which the light was excluded. A cave was adopted, ‘because,’ says Porphyry, ‘a cave is the image and symbol of the world,’ and it was dark, ‘because the essence of the virtues is obscure.’ All who sought the favour of this god were subjected to a long course of painful initiatory discipline. Nonnius, a Greek poet, says—
MITHRAIC RITES.
No one can be admitted into his mysteries, unless he has previously undergone all the punishments, the number of which they say is eighty, some of them of the gentler sort, others more severe. The milder are undergone first, then the severer; and after the whole course is gone through, they are initiated. Fire and water are the sorts of punishment which they endure. These torments are said to be inflicted to produce examples of piety and greatness of mind under sufferings. After they have been many days in water, they cast themselves into fire; then live in desert places, and there subdue the cravings of hunger; and thus, as we have said, the aspirant goes through the whole course of eighty torments; which if he survive, then he is initiated into the mysteries of Mithras.
Human sacrifices seem to have been used in the worship of Mithras. Photius, in his life of Athanasius, asserts that there was a Greek temple in Alexandria, in which, in ancient times, the Greeks performed sacred rites to Mithras, sacrificing men, women, and children, and auguring from their entrails. Pliny tells us that in the year of Rome 657, a decree of the senate was passed, forbidding the immolation of man; for till that time monstrous solemnities were openly celebrated.139 The emperor Heliogabalus, a native of Syria, styled himself high priest of Mithras. His assassination is partly ascribed to the horror with which the people listened to the tales of magic rites in which he was concerned, and of human victims secretly slaughtered.140
MITHRAIC CAVE.
The cave at Housesteads in which the Mithraic sculptures were found, was situated in the valley to the south of the station. It was discovered in 1822 by the tenant of the farm in which it stood, who fixed upon the spot as one likely to yield him the material which he required for building a stone fence hard by. The building was square; its sides faced the cardinal points. It had been originally, as was usually the case in a Mithraic temple, permeated by a small stream. Hodgson, who saw it as soon as it was laid bare, says, ‘The cave itself seems to have been a low contemptible hovel, dug out of a hill side, lined with dry walls, and covered with earth or straw.’ Though the building has been entirely removed, a small hollow is left which marks the spot where it stood. All the sculptured stones have happily been placed in the custody of the Society of Antiquaries, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Amongst them, besides the altars already given, and some which it has not been thought necessary here to engrave, is the curious stone shewn in the wood-cut. It represents Mithras, surrounded by the zodiac. The signs of cancer and libra are omitted. The zodiacal tablet assumes an egg-like form, probably to symbolize the principle of generation. The god holds a sword in his right hand, and a peculiar spiral object in his left. It more nearly resembles an ear of corn than the flame of a torch. We are reminded by it of the ornaments resembling pine apples, which are frequently found on the line of the Wall; and were probably connected with the worship of this deity. The example here figured, as well as the small altar which accompanies it, was found at Housesteads; both are now preserved at Chesters.
MITHRAIC SYMBOLS.
The accompanying wood-cut represents a subject which is supposed to be connected with the mysteries of Mithraic worship. The slab was found at Cilurnum, and is now at Alnwick Castle. Though not satisfied with Hodgson’s description of it, I am unable to supply a better. He says;—
The sculpture is in two compartments: that on the left seems to contain a lion, statant, raising the head of a naked and dead man: that on the right, a figure of Mithras seated on a bench, and having a flag in one hand, a wand in the other, and on its head the Persian tiara.(?) I would hazard a conjecture that the whole relates to the Mithraic rites called Leontica; for the lion, in the zodiac of the ancient heathens, stood for Mithras, or the sun, which threw its greatest heat upon the earth during its course through the constellation Leo.
ALTAR TO APOLLO.
Numerous as are the altars on the line of the Wall to the Persian god, only one has been found dedicated to Apollo, the Grecian representative of the luminary of day. It was discovered in the summer of 1850, lying near a spring in the vicinity of the Cawfield mile-castle, about midway between the Wall and the Vallum, and is now preserved in the collection of antiquities at Chesters. The following reading must be regarded as, in a great measure, conjectural; no doubt, however, can exist as to the deity to which it is dedicated.
DEO APOL
INI ET O[MNIBVS] N[VMINIBV]S
SINIS[TRA] EXPL[ORATORVM]
CVI PR[AEEST] SVLP[ICIVS]
VOTVM S[OLVIT]
L.L. (libentissime) M[ERITO]
To the God Apol-
lo and the other deities,
The left wing of guides
Commanded by Sulpicius,
In discharge of a vow
Most willingly and deservedly.
It is believed that this is the only inscription to Apollo yet discovered in England, though one at least has been found in Scotland. The Roman soldiers in Britain were probably not much given to the study of the belles lettres, which were under the peculiar patronage of the god of the silver bow.
The next is an inscription of unusual importance.
Ultima Cumaei venit jam carminis aetas;
Magnus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo.
Jam redit et Virgo.
INSCRIPTION TO THE SYRIAN GODDESS.
A slab was found at Carvoran in 1816, and is now in the castle of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, which contains an exposition in iambic verse of the creed of a Roman tribune respecting the mother of the gods. Faber remarks, that Ceres, Cybele, Venus, the Syrian goddess Derceto, the Phœnician Astarte, and the Egyptian Isis, were all one and the same deity. The inscription, which is an unusually long one, is here arranged in lines of the length which the scansion requires—
IMMINET LEONI VIRGO CÆLESTI SITU
SPICIFERA, JUSTI INVENTRIX, URBIUM CONDITRIX,
EX QUIS MUNERIBUS NOSSE CONTIGIT DEOS
ERGO EADEM MATER DIVUM, PAX, VIRTUS, CERES,
DEA SYRIA; LANCE VITAM ET JURA PENSITANS.
IN CÆLO VISUM SYRIA SIDUS EDIDIT,
LYBIÆ COLENDUM INDE CUNCTI DIDICIMUS,
ITA INTELLEXIT, NUMINE INDUCTUS TUO
MARCUS CÆCILIUS DONATINUS, MILITANS
TRIBUNUS IN PRÆFECTO DONO PRINCIPIS.
The Virgin in her celestial seat overhangs the Lion,
Producer of corn, Inventress of right, Foundress of cities,
By which functions it has been our good fortune to know the deities;
Therefore the same Virgin is the Mother of the gods, is Peace, is Virtue, is Ceres,
Is the Syrian Goddess poising life and laws in a balance,
The constellation beheld in the sky hath Syria sent forth
To Lybia to be worshipped, thence have all of us learnt it,
Thus hath understood, overspread by thy protecting influence,
Marcus Cæcilius Donatinus, a warfaring
Tribune in the office of prefect, by the bounty of the emperor.
Cæcilius probably prepared this exposition of his faith on being admitted into the mysteries of Ceres. However unintelligible, we cannot but admire the humility and teachable disposition of the tribune.
Their judge was conscience, and her rule their law,
That rule, pursued with reverence, and with awe,
Led them, however faltering, faint and slow,
From what they knew, to what they wished to know.
But let not him that shares a brighter day,
Traduce the splendour of a noontide ray,
Prefer the twilight of a darker time,
And deem his base stupidity no crime!
MINOR DEITIES.
A glance at some of the minor, and local deities must conclude our review of the gods of the Barrier.
The deities of Greece and Rome were without number. Every fountain and river, every hill and forest, had its tutelary deity; every product of earth, air, or sea, its guardian; every place its genius; every household its penates. The antiquities found on the Wall furnish us with numerous illustrations of this fact. The engraving represents an altar which was found at Birdoswald, and is now at Lanercost.
DEO SANCTO
SILVANO VE
NATORES
BANNE S.S. (sacraverunt)
To the holy god
Silvanus,
The hunters of
Banna
Have consecrated this.
THE NYMPHS.
Silvanus seems to have presided over woods and boundaries. Several altars have been erected to him along the line. Forests must at that time have covered a great portion of the country, and given shelter to beasts of chase worthy of the martial prowess of the occupants of the Isthmus.
A host of female forms, denominated nymphs, haunted mountain, valley, and stream.
When in the Iliad, the father of the gods calls together his council,
Nor of the Floods was any absent thence
Oceanus except, or of the Nymphs
Who haunt the pleasant groves, or dwell beside
Stream-feeding fountains, or in meadows green.
An interesting altar, dedicated to these deities, was found by the side of a spring overlooking the station of Habitancum. It is now in the garden of Spencer Trevelyan, esq., of Long Witton.
SOMNIO PRAE
MONITVS
MILES HANC
PONERE IVS
SIT
ARAM QVAE
FABIO NVP
TA EST NYM
PHIS VENE
RANDIS.
The inscription is roughly cut, but quite legible, no contraction is used in it, and no ligature is admitted, even in the case of diphthongs. The construction of the sentence is peculiar, and admits of two renderings. Taking nupta est to signify dedicated, a peculiar use of the word, suggested perhaps by its etymological relationship with the one which it governs, nymphis, the inscription will read—
A soldier, warned in a dream, directed the erection of this altar, which is dedicated by Fabius to the nymphs to whom worship is due.
The other method of rendering it is the following,—
A soldier, warned in a dream, directed her (eam supplied) who is married to Fabius to erect this altar to the nymphs to whom worship is due.
THE GODS OF THE MOUNTAINS.
According to either interpretation the altar was erected to the sylphs of the fountain, in consequence of a dream. The lively imagination of the Roman has invested the humble spring where it originally stood with such an air of romance, as to render it a matter of regret that the altar does not still grace the spot.
The adjoining wood-cut represents a small altar found at Rutchester, Vindobala, and now in the Castle of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The inscription reads—To the gods of the mountains, Julius Firminus, the decurion,141 erected this. Epona, to whom the next altar is dedicated, was the protectress of horses; images of her were to be seen in most stables. Juvenal’s dandy jockey swore by her alone. This altar was found at Carvoran, and is now in the High School of Edinburgh. The accompanying example is not the only instance of a toad being represented on an altar. This was found at Chesters, Cilurnum, where it is still preserved. Did the Romans stoop so low as to worship reptiles? If so, the superstitious practice has probably been derived from the east. Dr. Kitto remarks, ‘The importance attached to the frog, in some parts of Egypt, is shewn by its being embalmed, and honoured with sepulture in the tombs of Thebes. In the Egyptian mythology, the frog was an emblem of man in embryo.’
VITERES.
Many altars have been found on the line dedicated to gods unknown to Rome’s Pantheon, and supposed to have a purely local celebrity. The engraving exhibits one of a numerous class.142 It was discovered near Thirlwall Castle about 1757, in the course of the formation of the military road, and shortly after presented to the Society of Antiquaries. Vitres, or Viteres, or Veteres, is a god whose name is confined to the north of Britain. Hodgson remarks, that Vithris was a name of Odin, as we find in the death-song of Lodbroc—‘I will approach the courts of Vithris, with the faltering voice of fear.’ If Viteres and the Scandinavian Odin be identical, we are thus furnished with evidence of the early settlement of the Teutonic tribes in England. The altar given on page 395 is also dedicated to Viteres. The occurrence of the name of this god in a plural form, as in the annexed example, which was found at Condercum, and is now at Somerset-house, has suggested the idea, that Viteres is not the proper name of a god, but that diis veteribus—the ancient gods—is the inscription intended. Most probably, however, Viteres was the name of a local deity.
LOCAL DEITIES.
The next altar is also dedicated to a local goddess; at least it is not easy to give any more satisfactory account of the Dea Hamia. The altar was found near Thirlwall castle, and belongs to the Society of Antiquaries, London.
DEÆ MATRES.
We now proceed to an important group of altars and sculptures, which, if not strictly local, are yet chiefly found in those regions of Europe which were swept by the Teutonic wave in its progress westward. They have been met with in England, the Netherlands, along the banks of the Rhine and other parts of Germany, and in France. These deities, when sculptured, are represented as triple, generally seated, clothed in long flowing drapery, and bearing in their laps baskets of fruit. A slab, of which a drawing has already been given (p. 140), is inscribed MATRIBUS CAMPESTRIBUS, to the mothers of the plains; it probably refers to the deities in question. An altar found in the same station, Condercum, and now in the vaults of Somerset-house, is inscribed LAMIIS TRIBUS, to the three Lamiæ. The wood-cut accurately represents it. In Rich’s companion to the Latin Dictionary, the Lamiæ are represented as ‘Vampires; believed to be malignant spirits of the female sex, who wandered about at night in the guise of old hags, sucking blood, and devouring the flesh of human beings. This superstition,’ continues the writer, ‘originated in Egypt.’ In corroboration of the Egyptian origin of this class of demons, it may be stated that small images, arranged in triplets, are of common occurrence among the antiquities of Egypt. The cuts here introduced exhibit two groups of this class of idols, selected from a large number of similar sets, in the possession of his Grace the duke of Northumberland, at Alnwick Castle. Their resemblance to some of those found upon the line of the Wall is striking. The foreign origin of these mother-deities is further proved by their being denominated in inscriptions MATRES TRAMARINÆ, Transmarine Mothers. The altar here figured is an example of this kind; it was found at Habitancum, and is now preserved at Alnwick Castle. The inscription records, that Julius Victor dedicated it in discharge of a vow freely and deservedly to the Transmarine Mothers. This Victor, it appears by another inscription, was a tribune of the first cohort of the Vangiones, a Germanic tribe. On none of these altars are the deities distinguished by a proper name. This would seem to be in conformity with the superstitious feelings of the middle ages in England and Germany, where it was thought unlucky to call the fairies and elves by any other denominations than the respectful titles of ‘the ladies,’ or ‘the good people.’ Several sculptures representing, as is supposed, the mother-goddesses, have been found on the line of the Wall. One group, found at Housesteads, and now in the castle of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, is drawn (fig. 4) on Plate XI. When seen by Horsley, this slab had in the upper part of it two fishes and a sea-goat in relief. Two other sets got at the same place, are figured in the Britannia Romana. In one of them, the central or chief figure is represented as bound by the legs. The ancients, in order to prevent a deity, whose favour they coveted, taking his departure against their will, not unfrequently used the unwarrantable liberty of securing him by chains. At Netherby, there are three sculptures belonging to this class. One of them, shewn in the wood-cut, is in a perfect condition. The figures are standing, an ample covering envelopes their heads, and a short tunic scantily invests their bodies. Another group, here engraved, has met with the usual fate of Roman sculptures in the north of England—they have suffered decapitation; the ample folds of the garments by which they are clothed have happily not been disturbed, and the central or chief personage holds a basket of fruit. The third sculpture is of larger size and has suffered more extensive injury; the left hand figure of the group only remains; she is seated, and holds fruit in her lap. The Byzantine character of the drapery will be noticed. At Nether-hall another fragment of a group, procured from the neighbouring station, is preserved—the left hand figure has been broken off; the two remaining ladies wear the same cowl-like head-dress as the Netherby mothers; shewn on the former page. Mr. Thomas Wright, speaking of these mythic personages, says—
The ancient mythology of the Germanic race was not entirely eradicated by Christianity; and it is interesting to trace it as reflected in the popular superstitions of the present day. The reverence for the three goddesses who presided over the woods and fields, pre-arranged the fates of individuals, and dispensed the blessings of Providence to mankind, may thus be traced down to a comparatively late period, both in Germany and in England. They are sometimes regarded as the three Fates—the Norni of the north, the wælcyrian of the Anglo-Saxons (the weird sisters, transformed in Shakespeare into three witches), disposing of the fates of individuals, and dealing out death and life. But they are also found distributing rewards and punishments, giving wealth and prosperity, and conferring fruitfulness. They are the three fairies who are often introduced in the fairy legends of a later period, with these same characteristics.143
INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY.
After so long a companionship with the heathen relics found on the line of the Wall, the reader will naturally ask—Have no Christian remains been found?—Does no memorial record the name of Jehovah, the living God? A negative reply must be given to the inquiry. There is, however, abundant evidence to prove, that Christianity was extensively diffused through the world long before the Romans departed from Britain. Tacitus tells us, that in his day there was a great multitude of Christians at Rome itself. The younger Pliny, in the second century, addressing the emperor, complains that the heathen temples were almost deserted. Justin Martyr says, there is not a nation in which prayers and thanksgivings are not offered up in the name of the crucified Jesus; and Tertullian, the most ancient of the Latin fathers, appealing to the magistrates, says, ‘We are but of yesterday, yet we have filled every place, your cities, garrisons, and free towns, your camps, senate, and forum; we have left nothing empty but your temples.’ Britain early received the glad tidings. ‘The concurrent voice of antiquity,’ says Mr. Thackeray, ‘although it has not designated the individuals who were the immediate instruments of Providence in enlightening Britain, assigns the year 60 as about the period when the Christian religion was introduced into this island.’ At this time there were not fewer than 48,000 Roman soldiers, including their auxiliaries, in this country, some of whom must have been well acquainted with the name of Christ. In the army there would be some centurions like Cornelius, some deputies like Sergius Paulus, who, not content with knowing the truth themselves, endeavoured to communicate it to others, and yet these Christian soldiers have, along the line of the Wall, left no memorial of their faith. The God whom they served required not the erection of an altar of stone, or an offering of frankincense. Their ‘inscription’ was, a holy life, ‘seen and read of all men.’ Notwithstanding the example and teaching of such men, it is a lamentable fact, that heathenism continued to rear its head in Britain until near the close of the period of Roman occupation, as several of the altars found on the line of the Wall clearly testify.
CHRISTIAN SYMBOL.
Brand conceived that an altar discovered at Rutchester, and now in the museum at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, exhibited the Christian symbol. It may well be doubted whether the rude carving to which he refers, is any thing more than a partially obliterated letter. There are other letters, evidently of modern fabrication, carved on this altar.
Fas est ab hoste doceri. An obvious remark clothed in Horsley’s own language, and extracted from a work that is now scarce, will form a suitable conclusion to this section. Speaking of vows in sickness he says—
There is one thing in these pagan votive altars that may be a shame and reproach to a great many who call themselves Christians; and that is, the willingness and cheerfulness with which they paid, or pretended to pay, the vows they had made. Such as have any acquaintance with those things, know how commonly these letters V. S. L. M. or V. S. L. L. M., are added at the end of inscriptions that are on such altars, whereby they signified how willingly and cheerfully, as well as deservedly, they performed the vows they had made, viz., votum solvit libens merito, or votum solvit libens, lubens (or lætus) merito. Much more deservedly, and therefore more willingly and cheerfully, should the vows made to the Most High, to the true and living God, be paid or performed to him, and particularly the vows made in trouble.144
Sepulchral Inscriptions
MONUMENTAL SLABS.
Extreme importance was attached by both Greeks and Romans to the due discharge of the rites of sepulture. Until earth had been three times sprinkled over the body of the departed, his spirit was conceived to be denied admission into the Elysian fields. The practice of burning the dead became common at Rome about the latter period of the republic. The inconvenience and expense of the process would necessarily restrict it to persons of some wealth. After the pile was consumed, the ashes of the deceased were gathered up by the nearest relative, and deposited in an urn. There are numerous instances in Britain of the Romans having buried their dead entire. Skeletons have been found in London, which Mr. Charles Roach Smith considers must have been deposited in the higher empire. As Christianity gained ground, the custom of burning the dead fell into disuse; the early Christians were unwilling to do needless violence to the dust of a fellow disciple, and resolved to discontinue the superstitious ceremonies which usually attended cremation.
Whether the body was previously reduced to ashes, or deposited in the ground unburnt, it was usual to raise a mound over the spot.
Ergo instauramus Polydoro funus: et ingens
Aggeritur tumulo tellus.
Æn. III. 62.
FUNERAL URN.
Sometimes, instead of a mound of earth, a monument of stone covered the place where the sepulchral urn was deposited. This was the case at Bremenium, as already described (p. 326). With the ashes or body of the deceased, it was usual to deposit a small brass coin to answer the demands of Charon. ‘This custom of burying valuables and coins with the dead is by no means extinct; the humbler Irish will pawn their clothes to provide fresh pieces of money to throw into the coffins of their departed friends.’145 The Romans, as formerly observed, did not usually deposit either the unburnt bodies of the dead, or their ashes, within the walls of towns or stations. A curious exception to this practice has lately been noticed. In the month of October last (1850), a funereal urn was discovered within the station of Borcovicus, near the north-west corner. It was sunk in the earth, and was covered by an oblong flat stone, without inscription. The vase, which was of earthen-ware, and altogether devoid of ornament, was globular in its form, and of large dimensions. It measured two feet in diameter, and two feet in height. It contained ashes, amongst which was found a solitary silver coin of Hadrian. This urn is preserved at Chesters. On the slab covering the remains of the deceased person, the name and age were not unfrequently inscribed. The carving, which sometimes includes an effigy of the individual, is often very rude; the back of the stone is, for the most part, undressed. The inscriptions on these ‘frail memorials’ which in the mural region have come down to our times, and ‘implore the passing tribute of a sigh,’ almost uniformly commence |DII MANES.| with the letters D. M.—diis manibus. The shades or departed spirits are, probably, themselves intended in this address, though much confusion exists upon the subject in the works of the ancient writers. In the following lines, Ovid represents the manes as being objects of worship:—
Est honor et tumulis: animas placate paternas;
Parvaque in extinctas munera ferte pyras.
Parva petunt MANES: pietas pro divite grata est
Munere: non avidos Styx habet ima Deos.
Tegula projectis satis est velata coronis;
Et sparsæ fruges, parcaque mica salis.
Some of the ceremonies here referred to by the Latin poet, are still in use, as all know who have visited the cemetery of Père la Chaise, in Paris. On the sepulchral slab, death is rarely mentioned; but the number of years, months, and days, that the deceased lived, is recorded with great particularity. The altar, of which an engraving is here introduced, was found at Cilurnum, and is now in the Library of the Dean and Chapter at Durham. It bears the following inscription—
D[IIS] M[ANIBVS] S[ACRVM]
FABIÆ HONOR
ATÆ FABIVS HON
ORATIVS TRIBVN[VS]
COH[ORTIS] I. VANGION[VM]
ET AVRELIA EGLIC
IANE FECER
VNT FILIÆ DVLCISSIMÆ
Sacred to the divine Manes of
Fabia Honorata.
Fabius Hon-
oratius the tribune of the
First cohort of Vangiones,146
And Aurelia Eglic-
iane erected this
To their most sweet daughter.
MORTALITY OF THE GARRISON.
‘Tender souls!’ exclaims Hodgson, ‘your last act of piety to a beloved daughter has not been forgotten: the altar that bears the memorial of your affection still exists, though it has been banished from the custody of the ashes which were committed to its care.’ Though painful, it is yet pleasant to notice the heavings of natural affection in the martial bosom of a Roman soldier. This stone differs from most of the sepulchral monuments, in being an altar instead of a slab, and in not mentioning the age of the deceased. It has been remarked that the larger proportion of the tomb-stones of the mural region record the deaths of young persons. The climate of the north of England, particularly of the exposed district of the Barrier, must have told with fearful severity upon the constitutions of those who had been reared under the sunny skies of Italy and Spain.
SEPULCHRAL SLAB.
The large slab which is here figured, was found at Carvoran, and is now in the castle of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It reads—
D[IIS] M[ANIBVS]
AVRE[LIAE] FAIAE
D[OMO] SALONAS
AVRE[LIVS] MARCVS
Ↄ (centurio) OBSEQ[IO] CON-
IVG[IS] SANCTIS-
SIMAE QVAE VI-
XIT ANNIS XXXIII.
SINE VLLA MACVLA
To the divine Manes of
Aurelia Faia,
Of a house of Salona,
Aurelius Marcus
A centurion, out of affection
For his most holy wife
Who lived
Thirty three years,
Without any stain, erected this.
MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS.
It is not unnatural that a soldier while bemoaning the loss of a beloved wife in a land of strangers, should so dwell upon her virtues as to conceive that hers was a faultless character. Gruter gives an inscription which nearly resembles this. It was erected by Marcus Aurelius Paullus—
CONIVGI INCOMPARABILI
CVM QVA VIXIT ANNIS XXVII
SINE VLLA QVERELA
To his incomparable wife, with whom he had lived twenty-seven years without having had a single squabble.
‘This couple,’ says Mr. Akerman, ‘must for ever throw into the shade all the candidates for the Dunmow flitch.’
At Chesterholm is a slab which, though suffering from exposure to the weather, is still distinct:—
DIIS MANIBVS
CORN[ELIVS] VICTOR S. C. (Sibi Constitvit)
MIL[ES] ANN[OS] XXVI CIV[IS]
PANN[ONIAE] FIL[IVS] SATVRNI-
NI P.P VIX[IT] ANN[OS] LV. D[IES] XI
CONIVX PROCVRAVI
To the divine Manes; Cornelius Victor ordered this to be erected over himself. He was a soldier twenty-six years, a citizen of Pannonia, and the very dutiful (P.P. pientissime) son of Saturninus. He lived fifty-five years and eleven days. I, his wife, saw his order executed.
The tomb-stone to a young physician has already been given, page 227.
CENTURIAL STONES.
CENTURIAL STONES.
The only other class of inscribed stones to which reference will now be made, is that of centurial stones. The centurions seem to have been in the habit of placing a common stone, inscribed with the name of their century—company or troop, in that section of the Wall which they had built. The letters are usually very rudely cut; sometimes they are enclosed in a border, as in the annexed example, which, probably found in the vicinity of Cilurnum, is now at Alnwick Castle.
COH[ORS] V
> (centuria) CAECILI[I]
PROCVLI
The fifth cohort.
The century of Cæcilius
Proculus.
More frequently, however, the stone is entirely unadorned, as in this example, which, along with the former, was removed from Walwick Chesters to Alnwick Castle. The letter C, reversed thus Ↄ, or more frequently an angular mark resembling the letter V, laid upon its side thus >, is the sign usually adopted for centuria, century. Two centurial stones are shewn in the wood-cut introduced in page 190. The upper one, that of Valerius Maximus, was described, a century ago, by Horsley, who found it near Haltwhistle-burn. Afterwards it was built up in a gable of the Cawfield farm-house, against which a coal-shed was formed. Here, though sadly begrimed, it was protected from further injury, until rescued by the present owner of the farm, and safely deposited in the museum of antiquities at Chesters.
Coins
NUMISMATIC REMAINS.
Next in importance to the inscribed stones found on the line of the Wall, the student of history will reckon the coins which the spade and plough of the husbandman turn up in considerable numbers in the mural region. In a rude state of society the commercial transactions of the residents of a district are almost entirely confined to an interchange of the commodities produced by each. A body of soldiery, however, liable to be removed from place to place, and compelled to expend their energies in unproductive industry, are necessarily obliged to resort to the use of money. It is chiefly in the stations where the Roman legions lodged, or on the roads which they traversed, that the imperial coin is found. These metallic pieces, bearing the insignia of Rome, thus become exceedingly important in tracking the march of Roman armies. As works of art, the design and execution of many of them are truly admirable. The copper coins of Hadrian are especially worthy of study. The custom which prevailed during the best periods of the empire, of rendering the circulating medium of the market-place the means of commemorating the leading events of the day, gives them increased value. Were all the other records of Roman story destroyed, its most stirring incidents might be recovered by a careful examination of the coins which the cabinets of the antiquary contain.
COINS.
Ample use has already been made of this source of information in the first Part of this work. Why is it that Britain neglects this means of rousing the spirit of her people, of communicating information, and of securing an almost imperishable memorial of her mighty acts? Had she recorded upon her coinage the events of the last half-century, she would have transmitted to posterity the memory of a series of warlike achievements and peaceful triumphs unparalleled in extent and unequalled in glory. As it is, our metallic currency has little value beyond its commercial worth, and generation after generation is compelled to contemplate, with what complacency they may, the same lady sitting immoveably upon the same enduring rock, and the same mounted knight making his interminable attempt to slay the same deathless dragon. The immense number of the coins found upon the line of the Wall, and the extension of the series from the earliest periods down to the time of Honorius, prove incontestibly the length of time that the Romans maintained their hold of this isthmus. The accidental loss of pieces of money will not, alone, account for the large quantity which has been found. In times of danger the possessors of treasure seem to have been in the habit of concealing it in the earth; the secret of their having done so must often have perished with them. In excavating that portion of the station of Cilurnum which was opened in 1843, not fewer than seventy Roman coins were found. In 1833, near the west gateway of Vindolana, three hundred small brass coins, mostly of Constantius and Mangentius, were found, not in a heap or vessel, but dispersed among the soil. The Rev. John Walton, who, about a century ago was vicar of Corbridge, made a considerable collection of Roman coins, by purchasing such as were turned up in the neighbouring station of Corchester. The following circumstance is related concerning him. A party of Jews having established in the neighbourhood a prussian-blue manufactory, felt disposed to enter the market with the vicar. Mr. Walton, unwilling to compete with them by offering a larger price, had the fields where the coins were found, strewed with imitations of the genuine pieces. These, on being picked up, were freely bought by the Jews, who, soon finding the trade a losing one, abandoned it altogether.
The station, notwithstanding such systematic gleaning, is not yet deprived of its treasures. Not long ago, a rustic eked out a livelihood by searching for its coins, and disposing of them to occasional customers. The other day a plough-boy being asked if he had found any lately, produced straight-way from his pocket not less than thirty, most of them, indeed, highly corroded.
The coinage of Rome seems to have continued in circulation in the north of England for a very short time after the departure of the Roman forces from Britain. Saxon money is found in Northumberland of a date coeval with the arrival of that people, but is never mingled with the Roman coinage. The coins of the Romans, on the other hand, are never accompanied by those of their successors. Within about forty years after the departure of the Romans, the circulation of the imperial coinage seems to have ceased. This circumstance proves incontestibly that a mighty political revolution had taken place in the interval. The present appearance of the stations corroborates the idea. The walls have been forcibly thrown down, the statues and other objects within them purposely mutilated, and the whole inclosure rendered, as far as possible unfit for human habitation.
THORNGRAFTON COINS.
To attempt a description of even the principal coins that can still be ascertained to have been procured from the district of the Wall, would be to compose a treatise upon numismatics. It will perhaps be sufficient to lay before the reader a brief account of the hoard which was discovered in 1837, in an ancient quarry near Thorngrafton. The coins, sixty-five in number, were contained in a small skiff-shaped receptacle with a circular handle. The vessel represented in the adjoining wood-cut is about six inches long; the lid has a hinge at one end, and fastens with a spring at the other. The coins are at present in the possession of the brother of the quarryman who discovered them, and he holds them with such tenacity, that my artist was refused permission to see even the case which contained them, though he had taken a journey of thirty miles for the purpose of drawing them. Mr. Fairless, of Hexham, was more fortunate, and obtained leave to take sealing-wax impressions of the coins, from which the wood-cuts have been prepared. I am indebted to Mr. Fairless for the description of the coins, which he took from the pieces themselves.
GOLD.
Obv. TI. CLAVD. CAESAR. AVG. GERM. P.M. TRIB.POT. P.P.
Rev. NERO CLAVD. CAES. DRVSVS. GERM. PRINC. IVVENT.
Obv. NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS.
Rev. SALVS.
Obv. IMP. CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG.
Rev. A Victory holding a garland over the head of a Roman soldier, and in the exergue, COS. VIII.
SILVER.
1. Obv. IMP. NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS.
Rev. SALVS. Device same as in gold above.
2. Obv. IMP. SER. GALBA CAESAR AVG.
Rev. DIVA AVGVSTA.
3. Obv. IMP. SER. GALBA CAESAR AVG.
Rev. S.P.Q.R. OB. C.S. (Within a wreath.)
4. Obv. SER. GALBA AVG. Rev. Same as last.
5. Obv. OTHO CAESAR AVG.
Rev. PONT. MAX.
6. Obv. IMP. CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG.
Rev. IMP. XIX. A basket filled with corn or bread.
7. Obv. CAES. VESP. AVG. P.M. COS. III.
Rev. CONCORDIA AVGVSTI.
8. 9. 10. Obv. IMP. CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG.
Rev. PON. MAX. TR.P. COS. VI.
11. Obv. IMP. CAES. VESP. AVG. CENS.
Rev. PONTIF. MAXIM.
12. Obv. DIVV. AVGVSTVS VESPASIANVS.
Rev. No inscription. A figure standing.
13. Obv. IMP. VESP. AVG. P. M. COS. VIII.
Rev. VES (figure) TA.
14. Obv. IMP. CAES. VESPASIANVS AVG.
Rev. COS. ITER.—(figure)—TR. POT.
15. Obv. Same as last.
Rev. COS.—(an eagle standing on cippus)—VII.
16. Obv. Inscription same as last.
Rev. Reversed goats’ heads, bearing a shield.
17. Obv. Inscription same as last.
Rev. COS. ITER. TR. POT.
18. Obv. Inscription same as last.
Rev. GENIVM—(figure)—P.R.
19. Obv. IMP. CAES. DOMITIANVS AVG. P.M.
Rev. TR. POT. II. COS. VIIII. DES. X. P.P.
20. 21. Obv. Same as last.
Rev. IMP. XXI. COS. XVI. CENS.P. P.P.
22. 23. Obv. CAESAR AVG. DOMITIANVS.
Rev. COS. IIII. Pegasus.
24. Obv. CAES. DOMIT. AVG. GERM. P.M. T.R.P.
Rev. IMP. XIIII. COS. XIII. CENS. P. P. P.
25. Rev. IMP. XXII. COS. XVI. CENS.P. P. P.
26. Obv. IMP. CAES. DOMITIANVS AVG. P. M
Rev. TR. POT. II. COS. VIIII. DES. XII.
27. Obv. CAES. AVG. DOMIT. COS. III.
Rev. PRINCEPS IVVENTVT.
28. Obv. IMP. NERVA. CAES. AVG. P.M. TR.P. COS. III. P.R.
Rev. FORTVNA P.R.
29. Obv. IMP. CAES. NERVA. TRAIAN. AVG. GERM.
Rev. PONT. MAX. TR. POT. COS. II.
30.31. Obv. IMP. CAES. NERVA TRAIAN. AVG.
Rev. P.M. TR.P. COS. VI. P.P. S.P.Q.R.
32. Obv. IMP. TRAIANO AVG. GER. DAC. P. M. TR.P.
Rev. COS. V. P.P. S.P.Q.R. OPTIMO PRINC.
33. 34. 35. Rev. COS. V. P.P. S.P.Q.R. OPTIMO PRINC.
36. Obv. IMP. TRAIANO AVG. GER. DAC. P.M. TR.P. COS. V. P.P.
Rev. S.P.Q.R. OPTIMO PRINCIPI.
37. Obv. Same as last.
Rev. S.P.Q.R. OPTIMO PRINCIPI.
Exergue. FORT.RED.
38. Same as before.
Exergue. PAX.
39. Obv. IMP. TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG. GER. DAC. P.M. TR.P.
Rev. COS. VI. P.P. S.P.Q.R.
40. Obv. IMP. CAES. NERVA TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG. GER. DAC.
Rev. P.M. TR.P. COS. VI. P.P. S.P.Q.R.
41. Obv. IMP. CAES. NERVA TRAIAN. AVG. GERM.
42. 43. Obv. IMP. CAES. NERVA TRAIAN. AVG. GERM.
Rev. P.M. TR. P. COS. II. P.P.
44. Same as 40. with Exergue. TRO—VIO.
45. Obv. IMP. TRAIANO AVG. GER. DAC. P.M. TR.P.
Rev. COS.V. P.P. S.P.Q.R. OPTIMO PRINC.
46. The same as last.
47. Same as last. Seated figure, the right hand extended, holding a Victory.
48. Obv. IMP. CAESAR TRAIAN. HADRIANVS AVG.
Rev. P.M. TR.P. COS. III.
49. Obv. Same as last.
Exergue. FEL. P.R. (doubtful.)
Rev. P.M. TR.P. COS. III.
50. Obv. IMP. CAESAR TRAIAN. HADRIANVS AVG.
Rev. P.M.TR.P. COS. III.
PIE—TAS, in the field.
51. Obv. Same as last.
Rev. P.M.TR.P. COS. III.
CONSULAR AND OTHERS.
This coin symbolizes the peace concluded between the Roman general Scaurus and the Arabian monarch Aretas.
Minerals and Metals
In nearly all the stations of the line, the ashes of mineral fuel have been found; in some, a store of unconsumed coal has been met with, which, though intended to give warmth to the primeval occupants of the isthmus, has been burnt in the grates of the modern English. In several places the source whence the mineral was procured can be pointed out; but the most extensive workings that I have heard of, are in the neighbourhood of Grindon Lough, near Sewingshields. Not long ago, a shaft was sunk, with the view of procuring the coal which was supposed to be below the surface; the projector soon found, that though coal had been there, it was all removed. The ancient workings stretched beneath the bed of the lake.
MINING OPERATIONS.
In Allendale and Alston Moor, numerous masses of ancient scoriæ have been found, which must have resulted from the reduction of lead from its ore. In the station of Corchester, portions of lead pipe have been found; it is an inch and a half in diameter, and has been formed by bending round a flat strip of the metal, and soldering the joint.
Iron has been produced in large quantities. In the neighbourhood of Habitancum masses of iron slag have been found. It is heavier than what proceeds from modern furnaces, in consequence, probably, of the imperfect reduction of the ore. In the neighbourhood of Lanchester, the process seems to have been carried on very extensively. On the division of the common, two large heaps were removed, the one containing about four hundred cart loads of dross, the other six hundred. It was used in the construction of some new roads which were then formed, a purpose for which it was admirably adapted. In the neighbourhood of one of these heaps of scoriæ, the iron tongs represented in Plate XVII. fig. 8, so much resembling those at present used by blacksmiths, were ploughed up. During the operation of bringing this common into cultivation, the method adopted by the Romans of producing |BLAST FURNACE.| the blast necessary to smelt the metal was made apparent. Two tunnels had been formed in the side of a hill; they were wide at one extremity, but tapered off to a narrow bore at the other, where they met in a point. The mouths of the channels opened towards the west, from which quarter a prevalent wind blows in this valley, and sometimes with great violence. The blast received by them would, when the wind was high, be poured with considerable force and effect upon the smelting furnaces at the extremity of the tunnels.
Metallic Implements
Notwithstanding the tendency of iron to oxidize, several weapons made of this material, and used by the Romans, have come down to our day. Their general character and form can be better learnt from an inspection of the drawings which depict them than by verbal description. On Plate X. are shewn two spear or javelin heads, and on Plate XVII. the iron points of some arrows.
Vessels of cast-metal, fitted for domestic use, are occasionally met with. On Plate XVII. fig. 2, is a specimen of a pot or boiler, closely resembling those in modern use; it was found in cutting the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, near Haydon Bridge.
METALLIC IMPLEMENTS.
Bronze vessels are occasionally found. The utensils depicted on Plate XVI. are of this metal. Fig. 1, is a pan, evidently intended for culinary purposes. The use of the other vessel, fig. 2, so nearly resembling a modern coffee-pot, is not so apparent, though several of this form have been found in the Roman stations in the north of England. Is it a decanter—a sort of wine flagon? Both of these vessels were found on the line of the Wall, but at what point I have been unable to learn.
Near to Whitfield, were recently found three camp-kettles, of peculiar make, which are now in the Museum of Antiquities at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. They are formed of bronze, but of exceedingly thin metal; they have evidently seen much service, and are patched in several places. Owing to the thinness of the metal they would very readily feel the fire. In Italy, where during a great part of the year a fire is only lighted when indispensable, similar vessels are still in use. These three vessels vary in size, so as to allow of their being placed one within the other. The smallest of them is shewn on Plate XVII. fig. 3. The strainer, fig. 1, also of bronze, and very finely and tastefully perforated, was found with them.
The boss of a shield, having something of the appearance of the head of a snake, Plate VII. fig. 2, is also of bronze. It is preserved at Chesters.
Fibulæ or clasps, for fastening the loose robes worn by the Romans, are, as may be supposed, of ordinary occurrence. The one represented, of the full size, Plate XIV. fig. 2, was found at Carvoran. It is of bronze, and is of a form of which there are many examples. The tongue is wanting, but the spiral spring to which it was attached, and the groove which caught it, are distinctly observed. The small pair of bronze shears or scissors, which are shewn of their full size, Plate XIV. fig. 1, were also found at Carvoran.
Earthenware and Miscellaneous Articles
ROMAN POTTERY.
Few subjects possess more interest than the pottery of the Romans. Whether we regard the shape of the vessels, the beauty of their ornaments, or the excellence of the material of which they are composed, they are worthy of our admiration. Fortunately for the present writer, so much has recently been published upon the subject, as to justify him in dismissing it with a brief notice.
Among the earthenware vessels found in the mural region are some of coarse structure, such as amphoræ, mortaria, pans for common domestic purposes, and some which have probably been intended for exposure to the fire. The amphoræ are large narrow-necked vessels, capable of containing several gallons, and formed of red clay. In general, they have been furnished with two handles, on one of which the maker’s name is not unfrequently stamped. They were used for holding wine. I am not aware of any having been found on the line of the Wall, in a state at all approaching to completeness.
The mortars are strong shallow vessels, provided with a lip for the convenience of pouring. They are formed of clay, resembling fire-brick in colour. On their inner surface, are frequently imbedded angular fragments of quartz, chert, or iron scoriæ. By this contrivance, the bruising of parched corn or other articles of food would be more easily effected.
Various vessels of common earthenware, such as would be required in every household for holding water, grain, and kindred substances, are discovered, occasionally nearly perfect. At Nether Hall some very fine ones are preserved, which were found in the neighbouring station; one is twelve inches in diameter, and nearly six deep. Another, of globular form, is ten inches in diameter, and nine in depth.
Besides these, fragments of thick vessels are frequently met with, which are of a porous nature, and hence well adapted to withstand the sudden application of heat. In these, when placed upon the fire, we may readily conceive that food was baked or stewed.
Other vessels, for the most part of smaller size, more elegant shape, and composed of finer materials, are of common occurrence. Some are nearly black, others grey or slate-coloured: these are quite plain and unembossed. A species of yellow earthen-ware is found, tinted with a brown pigment, by the partial removal of which, a sort of pattern is given to it. All these are of British manufacture. Many of the potteries in which they were fabricated, have been clearly ascertained. The slate-coloured and grey kinds owe their peculiar hue to the action of what has been called, the smother kiln. During the process of baking the vessels, the vent of the furnace has been closed, so as to fill the kiln with smoke. The unconsumed carbon not only communicated its own hue to the objects exposed to it, but prevented the iron, which usually forms the colouring matter of clay, from being converted into the peroxide, which is of a brick-red colour.147
SAMIAN WARE.
The finest species of earthenware found in Roman camps, is that called Samian. It is of a bright coral-red colour. It can at once be detected by its glaze, which has not yet, in modern times, been successfully imitated. Some vessels are quite plain, but others are very tastefully embossed. Plates IX. and XV. furnish specimens of the more ornamental kind. The large fragment, engraved Plate XV. fig. 1, was found in sinking the shaft of the famous Wallsend pit. No potteries for the manufacture of this species of ware, have been found in Britain; and as the maker’s marks, and the patterns of the embossed varieties correspond with those found on the continent, it is conceived to be of foreign origin. Gaul and Spain have been pointed out as the countries from which the specimens exhumed in Britain were probably procured. The vast quantity of fragments of Samian ware mingled with the rubbish of some of the stations is truly remarkable; and not less worthy of observation is the fact, that not only has the clay of which the broken vessels are composed, undergone no deterioration by being buried for centuries in the damp earth, but even the glaze is, to all appearance, uninjured. That even the plainer kinds of Samian ware have been accounted valuable by their owners, is evident from the circumstance, that marks and names, by which they might be identified, have in numerous instances been scratched upon them. In Plate VII. figs. 9 and 11, are two examples of this kind, found at Cilurnum, and still preserved there. In some cases where a vessel has been fractured, it has been joined by clasps of lead. Fig. 1, Plate VII., is an example of this, also found at Cilurnum. The process of boring the holes to receive the lead must have been one of some labour, and would not have been undertaken unless the vessel had been accounted valuable.
An imitation of the Samian ware seems to have been made in Britain during the continuance of the Roman period. It is not equal to the original in colour, texture, or design. Fig. 2, Plate IX. differs in appearance from true Samian—it may be an imitation.
The lamp shewn on Plate XIV. fig. 4, is of red earthenware, covered with a black pigment; it proves the vast amount of skill and taste which the Romans lavished even upon articles of minor importance.
MINOR ANTIQUITIES.
Mill-stones are among the most frequent of the discoveries made in our Roman stations. Some, found at Cilurnum, are shewn in Plate XIII. fig. 4. They closely resemble the querns which were used in Scotland and the rural districts of Northumberland, within a recent period. Many of the stones consist of the mill-stone grit, basalt, or granite of the district; others are formed of a species of lava which is not procured in any locality nearer than Rhine Prussia. The advantage of these foreign stones is, that, though hard, they are porous, and, as they wear away, still present a continuity of sharp edges to the action of the grain.
The process of grinding the corn by hand-mills must have been a most tedious one. Probably a large proportion of the grain consumed by the soldiers of the Barrier was simply boiled, after being slightly bruised in mortars.
CONCLUSION.
Here a period must be put to this account of the Roman Wall and its antiquities. Many topics worthy of fuller discussion have been but cursorily treated, and some omitted altogether; but it is impossible, in a work of this extent, to do full justice to a subject of such magnitude; we content ourselves with imitating the moderation of Hadrian, who, instead of grasping at universal empire, sought only a dominion which he might reasonably hope to maintain.
Still, we may reckon on some advantage from the brief communion we have held with the Mighty among the Ancients. We can hardly tarry, even for an hour, in association with the palmy days of the Great Empire, without learning, on the one hand, to emulate the virtues that adorned her prosperity, and on the other, to shun the vices that were punished by her downfall. The sceptre which Rome relinquished, we have taken up. Great is our Honour—great our Responsibility—
... Heavenly wisdom on this ball
Creates, gives birth to, guides, consummates all.
States thrive or wither (as moons wax and wane)
E’en as His will and His decrees ordain;
While Honour, Virtue, Piety, bear sway,
They flourish; and as those decline, decay.
Notes
1. The Plan represents the position of each stone now remaining in the river. It is the result of a series of observations made during the summer of 1850, by Mr. Robert Elliot, of Wall. Most of the stones have luis-holes.
2. This coin is in the possession of Mr. Bell, of the Nook, Irthington, to whose cabinet of coins, chiefly procured from the line of the wall, the author has kindly been allowed free access.
3. This interesting coin is thus described by Akerman:—Obverse—HADRIANUS · AVGustus, COnsul III. [tertium] Pater Patriæ. Laureated bust of Hadrian, with the chlamys buckled over his right shoulder. Reverse—ADVENTVS AVGusti BRITANNIAE. In the exergue—Senatus Consulto. An altar, with the fire kindled, placed between the emperor in his toga, who holds a patera, and a female figure, a victim lying at her feet.
4. Numismatists differ as to the appropriation of the female. The same figure in other coins of this reign being used to personify Rome, it probably does so in this case; and represents the secure possession obtained by the Eternal City, of Albion’s rocky shore. However this may be, the same figure has been placed by many successive generations of mint-masters on the reverse of the copper coinage of Great Britain. Britain in this still bows to Rome!
5. The Roman Eagle.
6. Walsh on Coins.
7. In the collection of Geo. Rippon, Esq., North Shields.
8. Historians differ as to the degree of credibility due to this author. Mr. Wright, in his Biographia Britannica Literaria, says that his is ‘a name of very doubtful authority.’ Sharon Turner thinks that ‘as far as he can be supported, and made intelligible, by others, he is an acceptable companion, but that he cannot be trusted alone;’ and Mr. Stevenson, in the preface to his edition of the original Latin of Gildas, writes ‘We are unable to speak with certainty as to his parentage, his country, or even his name, the period when he lived, or the works of which he was the author.’ Thus much, however, is certain, that he lived before the time of Bede, and is quoted by him.
9. This point is well put by Sir Francis Palgrave, in his History of the Anglo-Saxons. ‘The walls of the cities fortified by the Romans were yet strong and firm. The tactics of the legions were not forgotten. Bright armour was piled in the storehouses, and the serried line of spears might have been presented to the half-naked Scots and Picts, who could never have prevailed against their opponents.’
10. The supposition is not destitute of support. The migratory tendencies of the Gothic tribes have always been conspicuous. From the earliest periods of our history, the inhabitants of Jutland and its neighbouring provinces were in the habit of making descents upon the coasts of Britain. After the departure of the Romans, their attempts were probably more bold and frequent, but they did not then, for the first time, commence. The Norfolk and Suffolk coast was, from its position, peculiarly exposed to these incursions, and as early as the close of the third century, was placed under the command of a military Count called Comes litoris Saxonici. This district was called ‘the Saxon shore,’ as Sir Francis Palgrave observes, not merely because it was open to the incursion of the Saxons, but, most probably, because they had succeeded in fixing themselves in some portion of it. The weak hold which the Romans, at all times, had of Scotland, would render it an easier prey than England to the Franks and Saxons. Tacitus informs us, that the ruddy hair and lusty limbs of the Caledonians indicate a Germanic extraction. Richard of Cirencester tells us, that a little before the coming of Severus, the Picts landed in Scotland; from which we are at least entitled to infer, that the Picts were not the original inhabitants of North Britain; and probably the statement is substantially correct, inasmuch as large reinforcements landed in Scotland at this period, as previously observed. The Scots—the other branch of the people classed under the general term Caledonians—are confessedly of Irish origin. When St. Columba, whose mother tongue was Irish Gaelic, preached to the Picts, he used an interpreter. Fordun, the Father of Scottish History, tells us, ‘The manners of the Scots are various as to their languages; for they use two tongues, the Scottish and the Teutonic. The last is spoken by those on the sea-coasts and in the low countries, while the Scottish is the speech of the mountaineers and the remote islanders.’ The proper Scots, Camden describes as those commonly called Highlandmen; ‘for the rest,’ he adds, ‘more civilized, and inhabiting the eastern part, though comprehended under the name of Scots, are the farthest in the world from being Scots, but are of the same German origin with us English.’ Dr. Jamieson, whose researches in philology are well known, is decidedly of opinion that the Picts and Saxons had a common origin. Upon what other theory, he argues, can the prevalence of the Saxon tongue in the Lowlands of Scotland be accounted for? William the Conqueror could not change the language of South Britain—was it likely that a few Saxon fugitives at the Scottish court could supplant that of their benefactors?
The theory of the Germanic origin of the Picts removes another difficulty. How is the disappearance of the Celtic tongue from England to be accounted for? The Saxons, on seizing the soil, would not exterminate the inhabitants, but retain them as bondsmen. Had the majority of the occupants of England been the original Britons or Romanized Celts, we should have found in our daily speech, and in the names of our towns and villages, a large intermixture of Gaelic and Latin; but such is not the case. Grant that the Picts were a branch of the great Gothic family—and that successive waves of them had, long before the time of Cerdic, poured from the lowlands of Scotland over the plains of England, and the almost entire extermination of the ancient British is easily accounted for.
If the theory here advocated, cannot be sustained, it must at least be allowed, that the population of North Britain was largely leavened with individuals of the Saxon race. These strangers would doubtless obtain that supremacy over the natives which the Franks did in Gaul; so that, even upon this limited view of the question, the influence of the Germanic race in fixing the destinies of Britain, at this critical period, is apparent.
11. The whole of these are accurately figured and described in the “Materials for the History of Britain,” published by the government. It is to be hoped that a work so auspiciously begun will not be strangled in its birth, by a false application of the principles of national economy.
12. Whitaker’s History of Manchester, i. 228.
13. “Politically speaking, Rome is now the city of the dead.”
Times, March 18th, 1850.
14. Hodgson states the mean of nineteen measurements to be one hundred and twenty six yards.—Northumberland, II. iii. 310. This high number is obtained by its including the mountain districts, where the works are widely separated.
15. Harl. MSS. 374,—impr. Hodg. North’d. II. iii. 273.
16. Harl. MSS. 373,—impr. Richardson’s Reprints and Imprints, divis. Miscell.
17. It will be observed here that the erection of this structure has not been always ascribed to Severus.
18. Greater extremes are met with, but they are rare. Hodgson in a note p. 276 says, The foundations in the turnpike-road, just west of Portgate are scarcely seven feet broad; but opposite a plantation a little further west, ten feet and a half. Hutton found the Wall at Brunton only five feet and a half thick.
19. This is particularly the case about Old Wall in Cumberland.
20. Hutton’s Roman Wall, 139.
21. Hodg. North’d. II. iii. 276.
22. Horsley, in the profiles of the barrier which he gives, represents the marginal rampart or agger as being much larger than the south one. The present aspect of the works does not warrant such a delineation.
23. When travelling along the road west of Birdoswald, I have seen a ploughman and his team entirely disappear, on descending into the fosse of the Vallum.
24. An inspection of Horsley’s own sections will at once show this.—Britan. Romana, 158.
25. In corroboration of this statement, it may be mentioned that an intelligent and substantial farmer offered to take, on a twenty-one years’ lease, the Corchester field, in which the station of Corstopitum stood, at the yearly rate of 6l. per acre. It contains twelve acres.
26. The Notitia has Lergorum, but it will be afterwards shewn that this is probably an error for Lingonum.
27. The Notitia has Astorum in this and the subsequent instances, but all the inscriptions hitherto found have Asturum.
28. Brit. Rom. 102.
29. Ibid. 473.
30. This slab is in the possession of his Grace the Duke of Northumberland, and is preserved, along with several other interesting reliques of the Wall, in that noble baronial residence, so worthy of the chiefs of Percy, Alnwick Castle.
31. Now in the Dean and Chapter Library at Durham.
32. According both to Hyginus and Vegetius, the first cohort of a legion, in the times of the lower empire, was called milliaria, from its being stronger than any cohort of the legion, and from its generally consisting of about a thousand men.
Arch. Æl. ii., 83.
33. A correspondent of the author writes ‘Even in my own day it was the custom of the superstitious, on the line of the Wall, especially between Birdoswald and Cambeck Fort to pound the stones, bearing inscriptions, into sand for their kitchens, or bury them in the foundations of houses or walls, for the simple reason that they considered them unlucky—calling them ‘witch stones’. When one was found, the old wives fearing that the butter might not form in the churn, took good care that it should never again make its appearance. Thus down went many a splendid Roman altar, a sacrifice to ignorance and superstition’!
34. The plough has now passed over the station of Watch Cross. The enquiries which I have made on the spot, and in the neighbourhood, are, on the whole, confirmatory of Hodgson’s view.
35. Mounsey’s Account of the occupation of Carlisle in 1745.
36. Ford’s Hand-book of Spain, 1st edition, p. 306.
37. On putting the inquiry pointedly to a person who had ploughed up some portions of the Vallum in the neighbourhood of Wallend, Cumberland, and who was also acquainted with the mode in which the Maiden-way (a Roman road) was formed, I was told that there were no traces of pavement in the Vallum.
38. We must not, however, pronounce a road to be impracticable, because now it would be thought so. A Northumberland farmer, speaking to me upon this subject, said he had seen roads which, in his neighbourhood, were regularly traversed only a century ago, on which no one would venture now-a-days; ‘it was like coming down a crag-side.’ He had driven through mosses in which the horses were commonly enveloped, but had no misgivings so long as he could see the heads of the animals.
39. Hodgson, however, distinctly proves, that the cornage, or castle-guard rent of the North of England—originally a payment in lieu of cattle, and called in English, horngeld and neatgeld, cattle-tax, or ox-lay—has nothing whatever to do with sounding the war-alarm by horns.
40. It must, however, be borne in mind, that even the uneducated labourer, in a highly civilized community, has unconsciously received a considerable amount of mental training, which places him in a situation much superior to that of the mere savage.
41. The remainder of this valuable communication is, in order to avoid repetition, embodied in the subsequent account of the Masonry of the Wall.
42. Hodgson II. ii. 298.
43. It would be described by a modern builder as a rough blocking course.
44. The cuts representing these markings are transferred from my note book, without reference to scale.
45. Concrete contains less lime, and is mixed with a smaller proportion of water than grout. It is chiefly used in large masses, to form an artificial foundation for a building.
46. The almost entire absence of those little white lumps of lime, not properly mixed with sand, which are found in the imperfectly prepared mortar of modern times, shews that the lime must in some way have been crushed by rollers or beaters.
47. Mr. Bell, of Irthington, tells me that in some places the foundation flags of the north side point upwards, at an angle of about twenty degrees, caused apparently by the settling of the ponderous mass. In this circumstance, we have an interesting confirmation of the supposition that the Wall was surmounted with a parapet on its north side. The foundation would have settled equally if both sides had been burdened alike.
48. Part II. v. iii. p. 294.
49. In some parts of the line, the joints of the Wall are at present filled with earthy matter instead of mortar, and it is the opinion of some authorities, and amongst them, the eminent architect and intelligent antiquary, Mr. Dobson, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, that in these places, clay has been originally substituted for mortar. Very loath to suppose that the original builders of the Wall would leave any portion of it in so unsatisfactory a state, I have been in the habit of accounting for the apparent absence of mortar in the following way:—The upper part of the structure having been overthrown by a ruthless enemy, and the lower parts covered with the fallen rubbish, the whole heap would speedily become coated with vegetation. Roman mortar, with all its tenacity, would not be able to resist the powers of vitality; and the constant demands of the ferns and the foxgloves would, in the course of time, abstract the whole of the lime. The roots of the plants, by whose agency the work of abstraction had proceeded, yielding in due time to the process of decay, would themselves, in the form of vegetable earth, supply the place of the lime which they had withdrawn.
50. The only source of information which I have upon the subject of this wall, is a translation of an extract from a pamphlet by Professor Buchner, of Regensburg, in the first volume of the ‘Archæologia Æliana.’ The precise relation which the Pfahl bears to the stone Wall does not very clearly appear from this paper; to all appearance, however, the analogy between the German and English barriers is very close.
51. Hodg. North’d. II. iii. 276.
52. Ibid. 284.
53. Iter Boreale, 67.
54. He who has the heart of a pilgrim ‘per lineam Valli,’ will not fail to accompany the author, while he attempts, at the very commencement of his local peregrination, to pay a tribute of respect to three departed worthies who made the Wall their especial study.
John Horsley was the first and mightiest of the three—is it too much to say that he was the father of the science of Archæology? Born in an unknown locality of this county, receiving his elementary education at Newcastle, his academical at Edinburgh, he spent the greater portion of his life as the pastor of a Presbyterian congregation in Morpeth. His tastes, and great familiarity with the classics, induced him to devote his leisure hours to the study of the antiquities of Northumberland. Had he conceived that the Britannia Romana would have cost him one-third of the time which its execution required, the world would never have seen it. Having embarked in the undertaking, he felt it his duty to make it as good as he could. How severe his toils, how great his pecuniary sacrifices, how ardent his aspirations after emancipation from his self-imposed task, in order that he might entirely devote himself to his sacred calling, who shall tell? The thought that his flock might eventually be no losers, that his family and his own fair fame might gain by the enterprise, buoyed him up in his course. On 2 Jan. 1731-2, he put the finishing stroke to his labours, the dedication of his work bearing that date. Now he might hope to reap the fruits of his toils—the enjoyment of rest, such as the wearied only know, the congratulations of friends, the approbation of the learned, the replenishment of his exhausted means. None of these fruits he enjoyed. He can scarcely have had the satisfaction of casting his eyes upon a completed copy of his work. The ink of his dedication was hardly dry when he was summoned to the unseen world. Respecting him who recorded the mighty doings of the Romans in Britain, the parish clerk of Morpeth made the following entry in the church-yard calendar:—Buried,
‘1731-2, Jan. 15, Mr. John Horsley.’
‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’ As regards the honours or enjoyments of this world, he died an utterly unrequited man. Even of that bubble, posthumous fame, an attempt was made to rob him. Warburton, in his Vallum Romanum, transfers Horsley ‘in bulk’ to his pages—he even copies, without alteration, the opinions which Horsley expresses in the first person. The honest Hutton often quotes the ‘judicious Warburton,’ little knowing whose the feathers are which he so justly admires. The precise spot where his remains rest is unknown. He whose lot it was to interpret, after the lapse of many centuries, the throbbings of natural affection over departed relatives in the heathen breast, had no one to erect over him, though a Christian minister, a memorial that should outlive a single century. Even the parish clerk, in his attachment to the altar and the throne, denies him, in the sepulchral register, the title which courtesy, at least, would have accorded him. Requiescat in pace!
The Rev. Anthony Hedley, was also a native of Northumberland; he was a man of literary tastes, and considerable antiquarian acquirements. He entered public life as curate of Hexham, where his preaching was that of a Boanerges. He subsequently held some temporary appointments at Whelpington, Newcastle, and Whitfield. Having, however, actively espoused the cause of that political body, who, until lord Grey became premier, had no patronage to bestow, it was his lot to sigh in vain for a summons to active occupation in the work which he loved. When the party whom he had long and conscientiously served, came into office, neglect was his portion. One of the original members of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he did much to promote the study of primæval archæology in the fruitful region traversed by the Wall. Biased by his taste for antiquities, he was led to select, as his abode for life’s evening, the beautiful valley of the Chineley Burn. The rural hall arose at his bidding, nearly every stone of which was chiseled by Roman hands. The milliary which told to Hadrian’s soldiers that another mile had been traversed, stood by his barn. The station of Vindolana was in his grounds—many beautiful altars and other important reliques had he dug out of it—he could tell where the prætorium stood, where the standards were deposited, where every soldier slept. Scarcely were all the arrangements for his comfortable residence at Chesterholm made, when death seized him as its victim. Imprudently superintending, whilst somewhat indisposed, the exhumation of an urn in the station, his mortal part was a few days afterwards deposited in the church-yard at Beltingham. He died in 1835, and his beautiful abode has since remained desolate.
Westmoreland has the honour of giving birth to the Rev. John Hodgson, but Northumberland enjoyed the advantage of his youthful and maturer labours. Successively curate of Sedgefield, Lanchester, and Heworth, and afterwards vicar of Kirkwhelpington, he was shortly before his death promoted to the living of Hartburn. He was the chief founder of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and the chief contributor to its transactions. His tastes led him to contemplate, and an honourable desire to make provision for the education and settlement of his family, induced him to begin, a history of Northumberland. Seldom have laudable designs been so signally defeated. He lived but to complete a part of his task; his health failed, and his mind gave way under his excessive labours. His fortunes were not bettered by them; ‘I have lived,’ said he, ‘to see that works of this kind are not suited to the times I live in, perhaps to any time. It is not profitable to me—it is not suited to my profession—I ought to do my duty in my profession—to take up night and day to do it well. Well? no; but as well as good intentions, holy zeal, every thought and faculty of my mind fully exerted, could do it.’ Hodgson paid great attention to the Wall, and its antiquities. The last published portion of his history contains a vast mass of learned information upon the subject. It is perhaps enough for the present author to say, that had not Horsley and Hodgson cleared the way before him, he would never have adventured to write a book upon the Barrier of the Lower Isthmus. Though he cannot be a Horsley or a Hodgson, he hopes he will never prove a Warburton.
55. Brand conceives that Segedunum may be derived from the Saxon secg, a sedge or flag, and dun, which is an Anglo-Saxon, as well as a Celtic word; this would give, as its meaning—the hill of sedge. If we can suppose that any of the Germanic hordes had obtained so complete a settlement here, as to give them the power of forming a local vocabulary in accordance with their own language prior to the Roman occupation of this post, the Saxon origin of the term is by no means improbable. In no part of England was an early settlement more likely to take place than on the eastern coast of Northumberland, but, after all, we must probably assign a later date to the first arrival of our Gothic forefathers. If a Saxon derivation be at all admissible, another might be suggested: sige is the Anglo-Saxon for victory, and tun is town—the town of victory—an appropriate name for a station occupied either by Roman or Saxon forces.
56. This statement I make on the authority of the late Mr. Buddle, who said, as I remember, that in his youth he had seen the stones extending far into the river.
57. This place derived its earlier name from being the property, and perhaps the suburban residence of John Cosyn, a worthy alderman of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the seventeenth century. About 1740, sir Robert Carre, a London knight, and draper, but also, it is thought, a burgess of the northern metropolis, bought Cosyn’s house at Wallsend, and thenceforward designated it Carre-ville. The present mansion is, with some little impropriety, called Carville-hall.
When I began my inquiries at Wallsend, I had much difficulty in ascertaining which was Cousin’s-house. One man told me he had lived all his life in Wallsend—sixty years—and had never heard of it. Our books still continue to copy from Horsley, and to give us the out-of-date information that the Wall began at Cousin’s-house.
58. In districts where the Wall has been levelled with the earth, a foot-path or bridle-road frequently indicates its course. When land was of less value than it is now, the farmers, who appropriated the stones of the Wall to their own use, were not at the trouble to remove its foundation. The stony track, however, afforded a firm road, and when the increased value of the ground rendered it worth while to bring the whole into cultivation, a right of way had, in many instances, been established.
59. Hodgson, II. iii. 169.
60. Horsley’s traditionary account was probably derived from the same source as Leland’s; and therefore may indicate, not the station wall, but the great Wall itself. If, as the excavations made since Horsley’s day seem to prove, the Wall crossed obliquely from the south to the north side of Collingwood-street, it must have passed over the site of St. Nicholas’-church—not to the north of it.
61. So inviting a post would not escape the notice of the ancient British warrior—the appearances Mr. Hodgson describes, are not inconsistent with its having been an Ancient-British strong-hold.
62. Drawn to twice the usual size.
63. The author, as the leader of the pilgrim-band who traversed the Wall in the summer of 1849, used a staff made out of this primeval oak. It is now in the Newcastle collection of antiquities.
64. Tour, iii. 313, quoted by Brand, i. 37.
65. Brand’s Newcastle, i. 37.
66. Jerusalem was called after him Ælia Capitolina, and the games at Pincum, in Mæsia, Ælia Pincensia.
67. Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities.
68. In the possession of the Society of Antiquaries at Somerset-house. The wood-cuts are drawn to twice the usual scale.
69. Baxter, in his glossary, derives it from the ancient British words Pen ual, the head of the Wall. A comparatively modern village would hardly take a Celtic name; besides, although the Roman station has a commanding prospect in a military point of view, it is scarcely so elevated as to be entitled to the epithet of Pen or Ben; the village of Benwell is below it.
70. History of Manchester, i. 224.
71. The cottage is still standing in the neighbourhood of Wylam, in which George Stephenson first saw the light. Aided, in due time, by his son, worthy of such a father, he did more than any other man to elaborate our present railway system. The antiquary who has been revelling in the associations of the past will scarcely fail, as he looks down from his Wall-traversed heights upon the vale which gave birth to such a man, to give for a moment the reins to his imagination, and suffering his mind to penetrate the mists of futurity, ruminate upon the changes which the efforts of the Stephensons are destined to produce, not only in the physical, but in the moral aspect of society.
72. Derived from wall and botle, the Saxon for an abode.
73. Anciently written Throcklow. Low, or Law, is applied either to a low, round-topped eminence, or an artificial mound.
74. Hodgson, II. iii. 178.
75. Britannia Romana, 139.
76. Note in Lappenberg’s Anglo-Saxon Kings, i. 91.
77. The road leaves the Wall here, and keeps to the right of the hill. The north side of the hill is planted with trees, and it is interesting to notice in the summit of the plantation, a dip, corresponding to the depression of the fosse of the Wall.
78. Unable to resist the positive testimony of an intelligent eye-witness, I was, at first, disposed to think that he had included in his measurement some chamber on the inside of the station wall. I am now prepared to receive the statement without deduction. Some recent excavations at Risingham have laid bare a part of the curtain wall which has been built double, the intervening space, or chamber, being filled up with rubble and rubbish run together with lime, so as to form a solid mass of masonry of considerable thickness. The object of this arrangement may have been, to form a solid, elevated platform, for the use of the soldiery.
79. Both Horsley and Lingard had previously noticed it. Horsley says he was told by a countryman that ‘it was what the speaking trumpet was laid in.’
80. The aqueduct was not traced on the Halton side of the valley, so that the precise point where it joined the station is not known; it is now entirely removed.
81. Several of the sculptures at Matfen were sent to Alnwick Castle. Wallis uses the term, ‘centurial stone,’ very loosely, applying it even to the large Milking-gap slab.
82. Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, b. III. ch. ii. Giles’s translation.
83. Although a walk of a few minutes will bring the traveller, who knows exactly whither to bend his steps, to this curious relic, a stranger may fruitlessly spend much time in examining the many low scars which diversify the surface of the fell. It is a deeply interesting object.
84. The cramps seem to have been of various kinds. Some authors speak of iron cramps. One antiquary, I know, spent a livelong summer’s day knee-deep in the water, extracting one which proved to be entirely of lead. A. cramp, of very curious form and structure, taken from this bridge, is preserved in the museum at Chesters, and is figured Plate VII. fig. 1.; it seems to have been triply dove-tailed; the substance of it is iron, but it has been coated all over to the thickness of one-eighth of an inch with lead. The iron would give the instrument tenacity, and the lead protect the more corrosive metal from oxidization; truly the Romans built for perpetuity.
85. History of Northumberland, II. iii. 180.
86. The initial L, page 103, is formed of two of these Roman balusters. The lower one is at Chesters, the upright one at Chesterholm.
87. The section of the hypocaust wall on Plate III is taken from this example, and shews the hanging floor.
88. See an interesting ‘Account of an Excavation recently made within the Roman Station at Cilurnum, by John Clayton, esq.’ in the Archæologia Æliana, iii. 142.
89. The improved method of making draining-tiles for agricultural uses has suggested the formation of hollow bricks for building purposes. A floor might be paved and side-walls formed of these, so as readily to admit of the circulation of air throughout the whole substance of the apartment, and a handful of coke or charcoal, placed at the entrance of the flue, would effectually warm the whole. Specimens of bricks of this kind, remarkably strong, and ingeniously contrived for securely locking into one another, are before me, for which I am indebted to Robert Rawlinson, esq., after whose design they were formed. The Latin comedy represents the miser begrudging the smoke that escaped from his chimney—well may the benevolent man regret that whilst his poor neighbours are bending under the chills of winter, three-fourths of the heat generated in his parlour-grate is absolutely wasted.
90. Now at Alnwick-castle.
91. The words printed in italics have been supplied from contemporaneous inscriptions; they can scarcely be said to be conjectural readings.
92. Soldiers who by their good conduct had earned a double allowance of corn or pay.
93. Hodgson learnedly explains this inscription—Arch. Æl. i. 128.
94. Preserved in the interesting collection at Chesters.
95. This peculiar term is probably derived from the Saxon Seuch, a furrow or fosse, and Shiel, a hut for those who have the care of cattle, and thus signifies, the cottage by the fosse.
96. It is reported in the neighbourhood, that Mrs. Spearman having dreamt that she found a rich hoard of treasure among the ruins of the castle, made diligent search for it, but without success. When the castle was removed, however, the farmer obtained a valuable deposit of mediæval manure.
97. Pliny’s Natural History, lib. vii. c. 2, q.
98. Hodgson’s Northumberland, II., iii., 287.
99. The country being depopulated, lands once in tillage, again became wastes. The forests being partially destroyed, either by fire or the axe, the streams which used to permeate the low-grounds were arrested in their course by prostrate trunks and branches, and gave rise to extensive morasses. In the bogs of the district we are now considering, immense quantities of large oak and birch timber, as well as of oak leaves and hazel nuts, are continually being found. The Dike would not, of course, originally, be drawn through swampy ground.
100. Many of them are preserved in the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
101. Horsley remarks, ‘I cannot say that Hadrian’s Vallum has made the south rampart of this station at Housesteads, but I think it has passed it not much to the south, and seems to have a small turn just at the brook, in order to come near, if not up to it.’ This looks as if Horsley could not altogether throw off the idea that the works exhibit unity of design. Hutton notices his inconsistency, and, quoting him, (as transferred to the pages of ‘the judicious Warburton,’) writes—‘But can a thing be brought near to what does not exist! Hadrian was dead long before the appearance of this station.’
102. This circumstance, together with the fact, that all the camps of the Barrier abound in stones reddened with fire, is confirmatory of the view, that the buildings supplied with hypocausts were not necessarily baths.
103. The site of the western gateway is marked by a figure in the background of the picture.
104. Pompeii.—Library of Entertaining Knowledge.
105. Two of this number, however, would always be on duty, to the very great comfort of the eight who remained.
106. The initial N, page 43, is formed of three nails from Housesteads, drawn to three-fourths of the actual size.
107. The most satisfactory specimen that I have seen is at Carvoran; it has apparently been rolled, when in a soft state, on a stone table, and presents, from its slightly roughened surface, the degree of opacity which plate-glass has before it is polished.
108. One of them is engraved, on p. 63, the inscription of the other is illegible; both are in the Museum at Newcastle.
109. See also the vignette, page 42. Most of these are still on the ground. They are drawn to the usual scale.
110. Archæologia Æliana, i. 268.
111. Britannia Romana, 125.
112. Hutchinson’s Northumberland, i. 60.
113. A dilapidated building, near the east end of the town, illustrates some of the peculiarities of this species of border fortress. The lower portion of it was devoted to the reception of cattle—the upper was occupied by the family. The floor of the second story consists of stone flags laid upon massive beams of oak, very roughly dressed. The object of this arrangement has probably been to prevent the enemy, who might get possession of the lower part of the building without being able to take the upper part by storm, from applying, with much success at least, fire to the floor. The stone slates of the roof were generally fastened with the bones of sheeps’ trotters—a most durable fastening—instead of wooden pins; but, in this instance, the original roof has been removed.
114. Whilst lying in prison, and cheerfully waiting for the time when he should be offered, his mind reverted to the scenes and companions of his youth. ‘My hope was of late that I should have come among you, and to have brought with me abundance of Christ’s blessed gospel, according to the duty of that office and ministry whereunto among you I was chosen, named, and appointed, by the mouth of that our late peerless prince, king Edward.’ In a letter, in which, as one ‘minding to take a far journey,’ he bids farewell to his loving brothers and sisters, and his well-beloved and worshipful cousins, he specifies many of the well-known localities of this district, then their places of residence.
115. Labbe’s edition of the Notitia Imperii, published at Paris, 1651.
116. It is preserved in the collection of antiquities at Chesters.
117. Arch. Æliana, i. 118.
118. History of the Picts’ or Romano-British Wall, 35.
119. Hodgson, II. iii. 293.
120. History of the Picts’ Wall, 35.
121. The owner of the ground was provoked to obliterate the remains of this ancient city, in consequence of the manner in which curiosity-mongers (not antiquaries) trespassed on his fields, in their way to the station, instead of taking the beaten track.
122. I have been strongly reminded of these circular pedestals by the figures of the columns of the Roman part of Reculver church, given (p. 198) in Mr. C. Roach Smith’s admirable work on Richborough and Reculver. The northern examples are, however, of coarser workmanship than the southern seem to have been; the moulding that encircles the Carvoran specimen resembles straw-ropes rather than carefully fabricated cables.
123. Thirl, from the Saxon thirlian, signifies to pierce, to bore. It is generally supposed, that this stronghold derived its name from the Scots having broken through the Wall here. It may, however, have taken it from the sluice or bridge where the river passed through the Wall; thirl, says Hutchinson, being frequently applied to the opening left in moor fences for sheep to pass through.
124. Can it have been derived from the Saxon bryddes wald or weald, the bird’s forest? The local pronunciation of the name of the place is peculiar and rather favours the proposed etymology.
125. The Wall is at too great a distance from the Vallum to be introduced into the section; it is beyond the extra fosse, on the right hand side of the wood-cut.
126. In this locality, the traveller is apt to lose his reckoning, in consequence of the number of cottages and villages which are denominated ‘Wall.’
127. Some antiquaries have conceived, that in the last two words of the inscription, a reference is made to the emperor Septimius Severus. This cannot be admitted, for—1. The emperor’s name would not be placed after that of the prefect: 2. The term instante implies the discharge of a subordinate duty; for, not to mention other examples, the temple of which the Cilurnum slab records the restoration (p. 186), was built by command of Marius Valerianus, under the superintendence of (instante) Septimius Nilus: 3. That princeps was the designation of a subordinate officer in the army, appears not only from a collation of other inscriptions, but from the following statement of Manutius—‘In a legion there were three kinds of foot soldiers, hastati, principes, and triarii, and in each there were ten centurions, who were called the first hastatus, the second hastatus, the third, and so on, up to the tenth; the first princeps, the second, and so on; but the triarii, the bravest of all, were named in a different manner, for they did not call them first triarius, but primipilus, or primipili centurio.’—Arch. Æl., ii. 88.
Principi is doubtless intended for the more usual form of the ablative, principe.
128. An earthen encampment is cut in two by the Newcastle and Berwick railway, in the second field south of the Netherton station. In the space of three fields, lying east of this camp, three others may be distinctly discerned, varying in size from forty to seventy yards square. At Dove-cote, which is less than a mile west of Netherton station, is a large field covered with the ruins of stone buildings. Excavations in one portion at least of the ground yield large quantities of glazed pottery. The remains are apparently mediæval, but it is remarkable that no record of ruins so extensive is known to exist.
129. Hutchinson says (A.D. 1778), the altar to Hercules is in the possession of the duke of Northumberland; it is not now among those preserved at Alnwick-castle. The altar to Astarte is in the collection at Netherby.
130. The last time I was in the crypt, I was impressed with the idea that some portions of it were actually of Roman workmanship; if so, St. Wilfrid has adapted to his own uses the vaults which he found on the spot. The crypt at Ripon, to which this bears a marked resemblance, is now understood to be Roman.
131. Horsley, near the close of his work, was less opposed to this view than at the beginning. In a note (p. 481), he says—‘I see no reason to change my sentiments concerning any one of these stations; except that I am more inclined to yield to the common opinion, that Bremetenracum is at Brampton, and to think that Olenacum and Virosidum are transposed; so that Olenacum may be Ellenborough, on the river Ellen, and Virosidum, Old Carlisle, on the Wiza. And if the military-way near the Wall, which goes by Watchcross, has led to Brampton, as the country people suppose, this might still make it more probable, that Brampton is Bremetenracum.’
132. Caledonia Romana, 131.
133. Caledonia Romana, 134.
134. Pinkerton’s Inquiry into the History of Scotland, i. 55.
135. I do not, however, find that the Antonine Wall is now known in the district by the name of Severus’ Wall.
136. See chronological tables of Roman History in Smith’s Dictionary of Biography and Mythology.
137. This small altar was found at Benwell, and is now in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries, London—it is drawn to twice the usual scale.
138. On the ides the undefiled priest in the temple of the great Jove offers in the flames the entrails of a wether.
139. Archæologia Æliana, i. 306.
140. Smith’s Dictionary of Biography and Mythology.
141. Decurion, a commander of a troop of ten men.
142. This and the two subsequent cuts are drawn to twice the usual scale.
143. For further information on this interesting subject the reader is referred to two admirable papers by Mr. C. Roach Smith, and Mr. Thomas Wright, in the second volume of the Journal of the British Archæological Association.
144. Vows in Trouble, by John Horsley, A.M. London: Printed for Richard Ford, at the Angel, in the Poultry, near Stocks market. And sold by R. Akenhead, Bookseller, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1729.—At the time Horsley published this book, he was engaged in the preparation of the Britannia Romana.
145. Smith’s Collectanea Antiqua i. 21.
146. The first cohort of the Vangiones were in Britain in the time of Hadrian, from whom some of them, in 132, had a discharge from the army, with the privilege to marry. They were from Belgic Gaul, and were a long time quartered at Risingham, at which station eight of their tribunes have left their names on inscriptions.
Hist. Nor. II. iii. 183.
147. See Remains of Roman Art in Cirencester, 78.
The index entry ‘Fosse of the Wall’ is out of order, and its position has been adjusted.
Errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, and are noted here.
| p. x. | British Archæ[o]logical Association | Added. | |
| p. xx. | 16. Section of Works, near eighteenth mile-stone [25/52] | Transposed. | |
| p. xxiii. | 164. Sc[lu]/ul]pture to the Deæ Matres | Transposed. | |
| p. 8 | f[ri/ir]ths | Transposed. | |
| p. 16 | that ascend from these marshes.[”] | Removed. | |
| p. 50 | T[ih/hi]s portion | Transposed. | |
| p. 62 | wh[i]ch is thus inscribed | Added. | |
| p. 65 | n. 34 | and in the neig[h]bourhood | Added. |
| p. 103 | n. 54 | a native of No[r]thumberland | Added. |
| The mi[l]liary which told to Hadrian’s soldiers | Added. | ||
| p. 134 | suc[c]essor | Added. | |
| p. 150 | so that a [a ]greater portion | Line break repetition. | |
| p. 204 | have bee[e]n widely diffused | Removed. | |
| p. 258 | artific[i]al mound | Added. | |
| Wher[e]ever | line break hyphenation error. | ||
| p. 310 | circu[cu]lar | Removed. | |
| p. 362 | The body of [of] the road | Removed. | |
| p. 380 | n. 135 | is now known in the [p/d]istrict | Corrected. |
| p. 407 | dis[c]ipline | Added. | |
| p. 423 | deserve[r]dly | Removed. | |
| p. 430 | vi[n]cinity | Removed. | |
| p. 447 | f[n/u]rnace | Corrected. |