Northumberland Yesterday And To Day, Jean F. Terry [learn to read activity book .txt] 📗
- Author: Jean F. Terry
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Persian Sun-God, Found In A Cave Near The Camp, Evidently Constructed
For The Celebration Of The Rites Connected With The Worship Of Mithras.
The Altar Shows The God Coming Out Of An Egg, And Surrounded By An Oval
On Which Are Carved The Signs Of The Zodiac.
The Teutonic Element In The Garrison Is Represented By The Altars To
Mars Thingsus, The Discovery Of Which Caused Great Interest In Germany,
And By The Altars To The Deae Matres--The Mother-Goddesses, Whose Carved
Figures Are Shown Seated, Fully Draped, And Holding Baskets Of Fruits On
Their Knees. They Are Generally Found In Sets Of Three; But
Unfortunately They Have Been Much Mutilated, And All The Examples
Remaining Are Headless. The Deae Matres Would Seem To Correspond In Some
Degree To The Roman Ceres And The Greek Demeter, The Bountiful Givers Of
The Fruits Of The Earth. The Majority Of The Altars Found Are, As Was To
Be Expected, Dedicated To The Deities Of Rome; Chiefly, As Shown By The
Constantly Recurring I.O.M.--_Jovi Optimo Maximo_--To "Jupiter, The Best
And Greatest." The Varying Inscriptions Which Follow As Reasons For
Their Erection As Votive Offerings Give Us Glimpses Of The Life In These
Communities Clearer Than Those Afforded By Anything Else. And As Most,
If Not All, Of Our Knowledge Concerning The Details Of The Roman
Occupation Of The North-Country Has To Be Obtained From The Inscriptions
Which The Garrisons Left Behind Them, The Inscribed Stones As Well As
The Altars Are Of The Greatest Possible Interest And Value. One Such
Stone, Found At The Borcovicus Mile-Castle, States That "The Second
Legion, The August (Erected This At The Command Of) Aulus Platorius
Nepos, Legate And Propraetor, In Honour Of The Emperor Cæsar Trajanus
Hadrianus Augustus."
At "Cuddy's" (Cuthbert's) Crag Near Borcovicus Is One Of The Most
Picturesque Bits Of Scenery To Be Found On The Whole Course Of The Wall.
My First Acquaintance With It Was Made On A Day Of Grey Mist And
Drizzling Rain, Which Completely Hid Any View Of The Surrounding
Country, And Of Necessity Confined Our Attention To The Stones (And Wet
Grass!) Immediately Beneath Our Feet. But Another Visit Was On A Day Of
Wind And Sunshine, And In The Company Of A Group Of Light-Hearted
Students. We Explored The Ruins Of Borcovicus, Walked Along The Broad
And Broken Top Of The Wall, And Climbed Up Hill And Down Dale With It
Under The Pleasantest Conditions, If A Trifle Breezy On The Heights.
June Was At Her Traditional Best, Which She Does Not Often Vouchsafe To
Show Us; Flowers Waved All Around, Amongst The Grass And In The Crannies
Between The Stones, And More Than Once The Lines At The Head Of This
Chapter Were Quoted By One To Another. Again And Again Our Progress Was
Stayed While We Admired The Glorious View Spread Out All Around, But
Especially Was This The Case At Cuddy's Crag. We Looked Westward Over
Crag Lough, Its Usually Dark Waters Flashing In The Afternoon Sun; The
Three Loughs Were All Within View; Away To The Southward, Beyond
Barcombe Hill, And The Site Of Vindolana, Langley Castle Could Be Seen,
"Standing Four-Square To All The Winds That Blew"; And Further Away
Again, Beyond The Valley Of The South Tyne, To The Southwest The Faint
Outlines Of Crossfell And Skiddaw. Northward It Was Quite Easy To
Imagine Oneself Looking Out Over The Picts' Country Still, So Far Do
The Moorlands Stretch, And So Few Are The Signs Of Habitation. Rolling
Ridges Stretch Northward, Wave Upon Wave, Clothed With Grass And
Heather, Amongst Which Parnesius And Pertinax Went Hunting With Little
Allo The Pict; To The Northeast The Heights Of Simonside Showed; And Far
Beyond Them, Though More To The Westward, The Rounded Summits Of The
Cheviots Lay On The Horizon.
A Short Distance Westward From The Crag Is Hot Bank Farmhouse, A Place
Which Most Visitors To The Wall Remember With Grateful Feelings; For
What Is More Refreshing, After A Long Tramp, Than A Farmhouse Cup Of Tea
Accompanied By That Most Appetising Of Northumbrian Dainties, Hot Girdle
Cakes! The Visitors' Book At Hot Bank Is A "Civil List" Of All The Most
Learned And Noted Names In Great Britain, And Many Outside Its Shores,
Together With Legions Of Humbler Folk. In This It Resembles The One At
Cilurnum, Which Is The Only Other Considerable Station Along The Line Of
The Wall In Northumberland.
This Station Of Cilurnum, Or Chesters, Is A Little Over Five Acres In
Extent, And Is Quite Near To Chollerford Station On The North British
Railway. To Describe Cilurnum In Detail, And The Interesting Museum
Connected With It, Filled With A Wonderful Collection Of Objects Found
On The Line Of The Wall, Would Require A Book To Deal With That Alone.
The General Plan Is The Same As That Which We Have Already Seen At
Borcovicus, With The Same Rounded Corners, And Double Gateway With
Guard-Chambers At Each Side; The Western And Eastern Walls At Chesters,
However, Have Each An Additional Single Gateway To The South Of The
Larger Portals. We Must Content Ourselves With A Short Survey Of The
Camp, With Its Two Wide Streets At Right Angles To Each Other As At
Borcovicus, And The Rest Of Them Very Narrow--Indeed, Little More Than
Two Feet In Width; The Remains Of Its Forum And Market, Its Barracks
And Houses, Its Open Shops And Colonnades, The Bases Of The Pillars Yet
In Position; Its Baths, With Pipes, Cistern, And Flues; And A Vaulted
Chamber Which Was Thought, On Its Being First Excavated, To Lead To
Underground Stables, For A Local Tradition Held That Such Were In
Existence, And Would Be Found, With A Troop Of Five Hundred Horses. The
Vault, However, Did Not Lead Further, So That The Tradition Remained
Unproven. Notwithstanding This, There Was A Grain Of Fact In It; For
Chesters Was A Cavalry Station, And Five Hundred Was The Full Complement
Of The _Ala_, Or Troop (_Ala_ Being A "Wing," And Cavalry Forming The
"Wing" Of An Army In Position).
Outside The Walls Of Cilurnum Are Traces Of The Usual Suburban
Dwellings; And Here, Near The River, Stood The Villa Of The Officer In
Command Of The Station. The Excavation Of All These Buildings And Many
Others Took Place In The Forties And Fifties Of Last Century, And Were
Due To The Energy Of Mr. John Clayton, The Learned And Zealous
Antiquary, In The Possession Of Whose Family The Estate Still Remains.
To Mr. N.G. Clayton We Owe The Museum At The Lodge Gate, Which He Built
For The Reception Of The Notable Collection It Contains Of Antiquities
Gathered From All The Various Stations In Northumberland. A Very Fine
Altar Brought From Vindolana At Once Strikes The Eye, And May Be Taken
As A Type Of Many Others, Though Not Many Are So Perfect. The Gravestone
Of A Standard-Bearer, From The Neighbouring Station Of Procolitia, Shows
A Full-Length Carving Of The Dead Warrior. Other Inscribed Stones Are Of
Great Interest, Though Unfortunately Most Of Them Are But Fragments;
Still These Fragments Not Infrequently Contain A Few Words Which Enable
Students Of Them To Confirm A Date Or A Fact Concerning The Garrisons,
Which Must Otherwise Have Been A Matter Of Pure Conjecture. For
Instance, It Might Seem Very Improbable That The Same Regiments Should
Have Been Quartered In Certain Stations For Over Two Hundred Years; Yet
One Of The Inscribed Stones Proves That Such Was The Case At Cilurnum.
The Inscription States That The Second _Ala_ Of The Asturians Repaired
The Temple During The Consulate Of Certain Persons, Which Is Found To Be
About The Year 221. In The _Notitia_, Which Was Not Compiled Until The
Beginning Of The Fifth Century, The Second _Ala_ Of The Asturians Is
Given As The Garrison Of Cilurnum.
Another Thing Which Strikes The Imagination Is The Sight, After The
Lapse Of So Many Centuries, Of The Erasures On Various Inscribed
Stones--Erasures Of Some Emperor's Or Caesar's Name After His Death By
The Chisel Of A Soldier In One Of His Legions On This Far-Away Post Of
His Empire. It Is One Thing To Read One's Gibbon, And Learn Of The
Murder Of Geta, Son Of Severus, By Order Of His Brother Caracalla, And
Another To See The Youth's Name Roughly Scratched Out On A Stone In
Hexham Abbey Crypt; And To Read Of The Assassination Of Elagabalus Does
Not Move Us One Whit, But To See His Name Erased From A Stone In
Chesters Museum Brings The Tumultuous Happenings In Ancient Rome Very
Closely Home To Us.
Here Are Also Several Roman Milestones, With Their Lengthy And Sonorous
Inscriptions, From Various Points On The Wall; And A Miscellaneous And
Deeply Interesting Collection Of Smaller Articles, Such As Ornaments Of
Bronze, Jet, Or Gold, Fibulae (Brooches Or Clasps), Coins Of Many
Reigns, Samian-Ware, Terra-Cotta And Glass, Parts Of Harness, Etc., Etc.
Of Carven Figures There Are Several Besides The Standard Bearer Already
Mentioned. The Best Is A Figure Of Cybele, With Elaborate Draperies,
But Unfortunately Headless; Another, Of Victory, Holds A Palm Branch In
The Left Hand, But The Right Arm Is Missing. A Soldier Is Shown With
Spear, Shield, And Ornate Head-Piece; And A Representation Of A
River-God, The Genius Of The Tyne, Is Worthy Of Notice. He Is A Bearded
Figure, After The Style Of The Figures Of Nilus, Or The Representations
In Old Prints Of Father Thames. From Procolitia Comes An Altar To The
Goddess Coventina, A Name Not Met With Elsewhere, The Presiding Genius
Of The Well In That Station. She Is Shown Reclining On A Water-Lily
Leaf, Holding In One Hand A Water-Plant, And In The Other A Goblet From
Which A Stream Of Water Runs. An Elaborate Carving Of Three Water
Nymphs, Most Probably Meant To Be In Attendance On The Goddess, Is One
Of The Few Pieces Of Sculpture That Are Not Greatly Mutilated.
Centurial Stones Are Numerous, Having Been Put Up At All Parts Of The
Wall To Record The Building Of Such And Such Parts By Various Centurions
And Their Companies. The Mark >, Which Dr. Hodgkin Supposes To Be A
Representation Of The Vine Rod, A Centurion's Symbol Of Authority, And
The Sign C Or Q, Are Used To Signify A Century. Thus A Stone Inscribed Q
Val. Maxi. States That The Century Of Valerius Maximus Built That Part
Of The Wall. Two Or Three Small Altars Are Inscribed Dibvs
Veteribvs--"To The Old Gods"; And Mars Thingsus Is Well Represented.
A Very Important Relic Of Roman Times Found At Cilurnum Was A Bronze
Tablet Of Citizenship, Giving This Coveted Privilege To A Number Of
Soldiers Who Had Served In Twenty-Five Campaigns And Received Honourable
Discharge. There Have Been Only Three Specimens Of This Diploma Found In
Britain, And All Are Preserved In The British Museum. There Are Many
Memorial Tablets Erected By Wives To Their Husbands, And Husbands To
Their Wives, Which Leads To Much Speculation As To How These Ladies,
High-Born Roman, Native Briton, Or Freed-Woman, Liked Their Sojourn In A
Small Garrison Town On The Breezy Heights Of A Northumbrian Moorland.
Those Ladies Who Dwelt At Cilurnum, However, Had Not So Much Cause To
Complain, For Such Natural Advantages As Were To Be Had Were Certainly
Theirs, In That Sheltered Spot. The Scenery Round About Cilurnum Is
Quiet, Peaceful And Pastoral, Altogether Different From The Wild Beauty
Of Cuddy's Crag, Limestone Corner, Or Whinshields.
Having Now Noticed The Two Chief Stations On The Line Of The Wall, It
Will Be Interesting To Follow The Course Of The Rampart Itself
Throughout Its Journey Across Northumberland, Though To Do So In Detail
Is Impossible Within The Limits Of So Small A Volume As The Present One.
Neither Would It Be Necessary, Or Desirable, For The Last Word In
Detailed Description Has Been Said Long Ago In The Two Wonderfully
Exhaustive Treatises On The Subject By Dr. Bruce.
A List Of Roman Officials, Civil And Military, Throughout The Empire Has
Come Down To Us; In This List--_Notitia Dignitatem Et Administratem, Tam
Civilium Quam Militarium In Partibus Orientis Et Occidentis_--The
Portion Which Relates To The Wall Is Headed, _Item Per Lineam
Valli_--"Also Along The Line Of The Wall." The Following Is A Copy Of
This Portion, As Given By Dr. Bruce In His _Handbook To The Roman Wall_.
The Tribune Of The Fourth Cohort Of The Lingones At Segedunum.
The Tribune Of The First Cohort Of Cornovii At Pons Aelii.
The Prefect Of The First _Ala_ Of The Asturians At Condercum. The
Tribune Of The First Cohort Of The Frixagi (Frisii) At Vindobala.
The Prefect Of The Savinian _Ala_ At Hunnum.
The Prefect Of The Second _Ala_ Of The Asturians At Cilurnum.
The Tribune Of The First Cohort Of The Batavians At Procolitia.
The Tribune Of The First Cohort Of The Tungrians At Borcovicus.
The Tribune Of The Fourth Cohort Of The Gauls At Vindolana.
The Tribune Of The First Cohort Of Asturians At Aesica.
The Tribune Of The Second Cohort
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