The Roman Wall / A historical, topographical, and descriptive account of the barrier of the lower isthmus, extending from the Tyne to the Solway, deduced from numerous personal surveys

by J. Collingwood Bruce

Immediately after passing the farm house of Carr-hill, an appearance of great interest presents itself. The works of the Vallum are coming boldly forward in company with the Wall, when suddenly, and at a decided angle, they change their course, evidently to avoid mounting a small barrow-like elevation, called Down-hill.[^[77]] The Wall pursues its course straightforward. The view, exhibited on the opposite page, taken from the edge of the hill, looking eastward, shews this arrangement. The road, with the ditch on its north side, is the representative of the Wall. The Vallum and Wall again converge as they approach Hunnum. These appearances strongly corroborate the opinion that all the lines of the Barrier are but parts of one great engineering scheme. If the Vallum had been constructed as an independent defence against a northern foe, and nearly a century before the Wall, we cannot conceive that an elevation, which so entirely commands the Vallum, would have been left open to the enemy; especially as it would have been just as easy to take the Vallum along the north flank of the hill as along the south. Horsley, who advocates the opinion that the north agger is Agricola’s Military Way, that the southern aggers were the work of Hadrian, and that the Wall was not erected till the time of Severus, is rather at a loss to account for these appearances. He says:—

Before we come to Halton-chesters, somewhat appears that is pretty remarkable. Hadrian’s Vallum running full upon a little hill, turns at once round about the skirt of it, leaving the hill on the north, and thereby, one would think, rendering the Vallum itself a weak defence at that part. The north agger goes close to the south side of this hill; so that they were also obliged to carry the Vallum round the hill in order to preserve the parallelism. If the north agger was the Old Military Way, and prior to the Vallum, there was nothing improper in carrying it on the south skirts of the hill; and then when the Vallum came afterwards to be built, (for a defence, or place of retreat) they were under a kind of necessity to form it after this manner.

Since so able a man as Horsley can devise no better defence of his theory, it may well be abandoned altogether. It cannot be conceived that, under a rule so vigorous as Hadrian’s, the builders of the Barrier would be allowed to give the enemy a material advantage, in order to save themselves the trouble of reconstructing the Military Way for a short space.

Down-hill bears marks of having been quarried at some distant period for its limestone. A little to the south of the Vallum are some circular lines, which an experienced observer tells me, are the remains of ‘sow-kilns.’ It would, perhaps, be rash to claim for them a primeval date, though in their appearance there is nothing inconsistent with the supposition.

HALTON RED-HOUSE.

Halton Red-house is next passed on the right hand. It is entirely built of stones taken from the neighbouring station; they have, however, been fresh dressed. In the farm-yard is a rectangular stone trough, which was found in the station, and which its owner describes as a ‘smiddy trow,’ and shews upon the edge the place which had been worn away by the attrition of the blacksmith’s irons. It might, indeed, serve very well for such a purpose, but troughs of this kind are of too frequent occurrence in the buildings along the line to allow us to suppose that this was their usual application. They are generally very rudely carved both outside and in, and not unfrequently are formed of an irregular unsquared block of stone. I think that they were used for domestic and culinary purposes. There is a fragment of one lying in the hypocaust at Chesters, the edge of which is worn down by the sharpening of knives upon it.

We now approach the fifth station of the line,

Hunnum.

HUNNUM.—This ancient abode of Rome’s warriors, with its walls, streets, temples, markets, and aqueducts, is nearly one unbroken sweep of luxuriant vegetation. The traveller may readily pass by it, as Hutton did, without discerning symptoms of Roman occupation. A small, half-ruined hut stands within its area, a fitting emblem of the surrounding desolation. It is almost needless to name a city, which has no existence, but for convenience sake,|HALTON-CHESTERS.| Horsley conferred upon it the style and title of Halton-chesters. The castle of Halton is close by.

The form of the station is peculiar, as is shewn in the plan of it, [Plate II]. The Wall joins the station at about one-third the distance between its northern and southern extremity. The portion of the station which is to the north of the Wall is not so broad as the part to the south of it. The only reason which has been assigned for this is, that, as Horsley observes, 'there is a descent or hollow ground joining to the west side of this part, so that the work could not be carried on any farther that way without much trouble and expense; though, it must be owned, the Romans don't usually seem to have valued either the one or the other'. It is remarkable that in adapting the station to the ground, they have not given to the wall, at the north east corner, a slanting direction, as would have been most convenient, but have, as usual, adhered to the rectangular form.