A road leads from the vicinity of the mile-castle to the town of Haltwhistle, in the sheltered valley of the Tyne, whither, should the shades of evening be approaching, the way-worn antiquary may be glad to bend his steps. At the point where the path joins the modern military road, a Roman camp will be observed. On the sides which are most exposed, double and triple lines of earth-works have been raised. The rock on the western face of the ground where the camp stands, has been wrought by the Romans for stones, and the camp has given them temporary protection. It was here that the inscription on the face of the rock, LEG. VI. V., was discovered in 1847, as already mentioned, page 81. The quarry, not being required for the use of the district, was shortly afterwards closed.
HALTWHISTLE.
The Castle-hill at Haltwhistle is, apparently, a diluvial deposit; ramparts, still quite distinct, run round the margin of its summit. Several peel-houses in the town and its vicinity, will interest the antiquary.[[113]]
To those who cherish the religious views of the early Anglican reformers, it will be interesting to remember, that this is the native district of Nicholas Ridley, bishop and martyr. Willimoteswick-castle, his reputed birth-place, is on the south bank of the Tyne, about three miles below Haltwhistle.[[114]]
HALTWHISTLE-BURN-HEAD.
Rejoining the Wall, Haltwhistle-burn-head is the first object of interest that we meet with in our course westward. The burn, to which important reference will presently be made, is derived from the overflowings of Greenlee-lough. Between its source, and the gap by which it passes the ridge on which the Wall stands, it is called the Caw-burn; below that point it bears the name of Haltwhistle-burn.
As the width of the defile, and the passage of the stream, render this a weak point in the barrier, the two lines of fortification approach very near to each other; they afterwards again diverge.
Westward of Burn-head farm-house, the fosse is boldly developed, but the Wall is traceable only in the ruins of its foundation. As we proceed onwards to Great Chesters, the foundations of a mile-castle which has stood half to the north of the Wall, and half within it, may be, though not without careful scrutiny, observed. The tower which formerly stood at Portgate is the only other known example of a similar arrangement.
GREAT CHESTERS.
ÆSICA, or Great Chesters, is the tenth stationary camp on the line of the Wall. Its superficial contents are 3 acres, 35 poles. The ramparts and fosse are clearly defined. The southern gateway may be traced; it is nearer the eastern than the western side. A double rampart of earth seems to have given additional security to the western side, which, by situation, is the weakest. A vaulted room in the centre of the camp still answers very correctly to the description given of it in 1800 by Dr. Lingard, (quoted by Hodgson, II. iii. 203.)