Durham E-Theses The vallum reconsidered. Swinbank, Brenda How to cite: Swinbank, Brenda (1954) The vallum reconsidered., Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/6395/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk THE VALLUM RECQNSIDEEED. BY BPvENDA SWIMBAMo A TtlESIS PRESENTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, MY 1954 0 VOLmffi I: TEXT, The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. PREFACE. The present thesis embodies the results of three years' active research per lineam valli. from 1949 to 1952. The project originated in a dissertation presented for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 194S suffimrlsing the problem of the Vallum to tiiat date. This served to deiLonstrate that althoi;^ theories of varying degrees of probability were constantly being postulated, few of these had been put to the test by the spade0 It tabulated a prograMne of research on this and other aspects of the Vallum, some of which had been neglected since 1922o ViOien the writer was awarded a Research Studentship in order to carry out this progranime on the very day on which the Centenary Pilgrimage of Hadrian's fall- 1949 began, circumstances were indeed propitiouso The work received a tremendous impetus from the Pilgrimage of 1949 when interest centred partly on the new "servi.ce-road hypothesis" of Eric •Birley and its implicationso It was with this as a working hypothesis that the writer began her research in 1949. The project h^as necessitated a considerable anount of excavation which ej^serience proves to be at once arduous and slow yet exciting and exasperating. Before the writer could undertake such work alone, the processes entailed in excavation had to be learned. It is in this respect that the writer owes a deep debt of gratitude to Professor I,A.Richmond, Eric Birley, John P. Qillsiii and the Corbridge Summer Training School for their excellent tuition and unfailing guidance. Without this training her research project could not have been undertaken. The Vallim has been reconsidered in many aspects and much new material 'has come to light. But this thesis is not intended to be; exhaustive, and demonstrates what points have still to be solved. The writer has accepted the existence of of the Vallum without atteiipjing to ans-ffer the question of why a Vallum exists in Britain and on no other Roman frontier, for this is a problem far too wide for a thesis of the present scope. Nor does the writer discuss the prehistoric background of the Vallum,' a subject probably intimately connected with the above problem. Little is known of the character and activities of the great Iron Age tribe of the Pennines, the Brigantes, especially in the Wall area. If the results of Dr. Rai St rick's research on the limestone uplands of Craven are chi^racteristic of the rest of Brigatitian territory, here is a people more populous than has hitherto been realised, stubborn in their passionate desire to preserve their independence eind cling on to their own traditions and habits of life. Three .times vathin a century did the Brigantes assert their independence, firstly under the patriot Venutius until his defeat in yif A.D. by Cerialis at Stanwick; again in A.D. 115;when the northern tribes revolted and caused serious havoc among the Romans in the Pennines; finally in A.D. 155 when the Brigantes were able to join with the tribes of south-west Scotland in a simultaneous revolt, such as the constmuction of Hadrian's Wall and Vallum had anticipated and was intended to prevent, tother, no attempt has been made by the writer to discuss the economic implications of the Wall frontier. In the light of the amazing discoveries of Colonel Baradez on the Fossatum Afrlcae. where the frontier line marks the boundary between the uncultivated barbarian territory and the cultivated Roman province, it has become desirable to review the purpose not only of Hadrian's Wall but of Roman frontiers generally, which have largely been regarded from the military, political and psychological points of view. The Vallum may then have economic as well as political significance. With these limitations, the reconsideration of the Vallum is complete. The writer wishes to express her sincerest thanks to the many individuals and bodies who have made this thesis possible; firstly, to the Durham Colleges Research Board, without whose sanction and scholarship her work could not have proceeded; to the Yorkshire Society, for their generous financial assistance enabling her research to continue for a third year; to h^r parents, without whose constant encouragement and support her years of research would have been impossible; to her typists, Ivlisses J. Pettifer, B.A. and P. Wardle, B.A;. to Robert Sutton for his assistance in the duplication of the illustrations; to Ian Kemp, for his aid on the photographic side; to the landowners and tenajits, for their kind permission to excavate and friendly interest; to the Durham Oliver si ty Excavation Committee for sponsoring the excavations; to Thomas Batey for his excellent skill and work o| digging; to Charles Anderson of H.M.Ministry of Works, for his invaluable material assistance; to John P. Gillam M.A. for his constant interest, tuition, and invaluable discussion of the Vallum problems; to Professor I.A.Richmond for his training in the technique of excavation, his helpful criticism and support; above all, to her tutor, Eric Birley M.A.,F.S.A., without whose inspiration the writer may never h8.ve discovered the fascination of archaeology, an^d to whose unfailing encouragement and advice this thesis is largely due. CONTENTS. PREFACE... C Contents.. ....FRONTISPIECE Hadriaj^ic inscription from Horsley. PART I. Introduj3tion: An Plistorical Retrospect. I.'. PART II. The Vallum. A. The Coiii^osition of the Earthwork. 2.1 B. Per lineam valli. 3 C. The Vallum at River Crossings. I n. PAJ<T III. The Vallum and the Wall. A. i. The Vallum and the Wall Fbrts. lii^. ii. Great Chesters. 153. iii. Carvoran. (72.. iv. The Wall Sequence and its Dating. I &8. B. The Vallum at Milecastles. i. In the Turf Wall Sector. ii. In the Stone Wall Sector: milecastle 30. 2oZ. iii. Stanley PlStntation, milecastle 23. Z.Q(Q. iv. General note on the Vallum at milecastles. IZO. C. The course of the Vallum and Wall in general. 2.ZI. PART IV. The Purpose of the Vallum. A. The Problem of the Purpose of the Vallum. IZS. B. Recent Statements concerning the purpose of the 2./f3. Vallum. i. Professor Richmond. ii. E.Birley and the Service-road Hypothesis. 2.^^. iii. MI. John fetorris: "The Vallum Again." 2.Gt. PART V. Later Histoiy of the Vallum. A. Fornatlon of the Crossings. 2.70. B. i. The i/Iarginal Mound Problem. ZKo. ii. The Military Way. 301^.. iii. The Marcan Occupation of the Wall. 301. C. The Disuse of the Vallum at Forts. i. Birdos?ifald. ^iZ. ii. Benwell. Bllf- iii. Hbusesteads. 330. iv. Great ahesters, 331. V. General Conclusions. 331. D. The Disuse of the Vallum at Milecastles. i. In the Turf Wall Sector. 331+. ii. In the Stone Wall Sector. il^-l. iii. Secondary Milecastle Causeways. PART VI. Conclusions. 352.. HADR LECr Am T OMQl frontispiece, "TCRSLEY: Britannia Romana, PART 1. IMTRODUGTION; AN HISTORICAL RETROSPECT "ergo conversis regio more militibus Britanniam petiit, in qua multa correxit, murumque per octaginta milia passuum primus duxit, qui barbaros Romanosque divideret." , Spartianus: Vita Hadriani, 10-11. "Britanniam, quod maximum eius imperii decus est, muro per trans^ersam insulam dueto utrimque ad finem Oceani munivit, unde etiam Britannici nomen accepit." Spartianus: Vita Severi, l8, 2- "post murum apud vallum missum in Britannia". ibid. 22. •'per legatos suos plurima bella gessit. nam et Britan- nos per Lolli'om Urbicum vie it legatum alio muro caespiticio summotis barbaris ducto ... " Gapitolinusi*' Vita Antonini, 5> 4-. "Britanniam, quae ad ea utilis erat, pulsis hostibus muro munivit per transversam insulam ducto utrimque ad finem oceani ..." 3 Aurelius Victor: De Viris Illustribus, 20. "Severus in Britannia vallum per XXXII P.M. a mari ad mare deduxit." ibid.: Epitome, 20. "novissimum bellum in Britannia habuit; utque receptas provincias omni securitati muniret, vallum per XXXII M-P. a mari ad mare deduxit." (Severus) Eutropius: Historiae Romanae, viii,19. "ubi magnis gravibusque proeliis saepe gestis receptam partem insulae a ceteris iiidomitis gentibus vallo distin- guendam putavit. itaque magnam fossam firmissimumque vallum crebris insuper turribus eommunitum, per centum triginta et duo milia passuum a mari ad mare duxit." (Severus) Orosius: Historia, 17- "Severus in Britannos bellum transfert, ubi ut receptas proYincias ab incursione barbarica faceret securioi^es vallum per CXXXII P.M. a mari ad mare duxit." ^ Eusebius-Jerome: Chronicle- -1- -2- Such are the vague, conflicting testimonies and claims which have caused centuries of argument and confusion in the antiquarian world - have snatched the sleepy ruins of earth• work, wall and dyke from their tangled earthy oblivion - and have created the problem of that misnamed victim of controversy, theory, doctrine - the Vallum.