Remains of the bathhouse of at Chesters fort

Cilurnum or Cilurvum was a fort on Hadrian's Wall mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum, now identified with the fort found at Chesters, also known as Walwick Chesters to distinguish it from other sites named Chesters in the vicinity. This page is on buildings used for Roman bathing For the activity in general see Ancient Roman bathing. Hadrian's Wall ( Latin: perhaps Vallum Aelium, "the Aelian wall" is a stone and turf Fortification built by the Roman The Notitia Dignitatum is a unique document of the Roman imperial chanceries Cilurnum or Cilurvum was a fort on Hadrian's Wall mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum, now identified with the fort found at Chesters, also known It was built in 123 AD, just after the Wall's completion; Cilurnum is considered the best preserved Roman cavalry fort along Hadrian's Wall, and was dedicated to the goddess Disciplina (per stone inscription) and was manned by the first cohort of the Germanic Vangiones tribe for a time. Auxiliaries (from Latin: auxilia = "supports" formed the standing non-citizen corps of the Roman army of the Principate (30 BC&ndash284 AD The Vangiones appear first in history as an ancient Germanic tribe of unknown provenience ^[1] There is also a museum on the site housing finds from all along the Wall.

Construction

The site guarded a bridge carrying the military road behind the wall across the River North Tyne at this point, whose abutments survive. The River Tyne is a River in England. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers the North Tyne and the South Tyne. It was a cavalry fort at its foundation, for retaliatory raids into barbarian areas north of the wall, then given over to infantry later. Hadrian himself encouraged the "Cult of Disciplina" amongst legions stationed at the wall, and an early inscription on an altar dedicated to Disciplina, found in 1978, indicates the earliest known military presence was a wing of cavalry, ala Augusta ob virtutem appellata ("named Augusta because of its valour"). In Roman mythology, Disciplina was a minor Deity and the personification of discipline Inscriptions have also been found showing the First Cohort of Dalmatians and the First Cohort of Vangiones from Upper Rhineland in Germany were also stationed here. The Vangiones appear first in history as an ancient Germanic tribe of unknown provenience

Barracks

Excavation

In the early 1800s Nathaniel Clayton, owner of Chesters House and Estate, moved hundreds of tons of earth to cover over the last remains of the fort as part of his parkland landscaping, thereby creating a smooth uninterrupted grassland slope down to the River Tyne; he collected, before they disappeared, a number of Roman artefacts which he preserved in the family. However his son John Clayton, a noted antiquarian, removed all his father's work, exposing the fort, excavating, and establishing a small museum for his finds. John Clayton ( 10 June 1792 - 14 July 1890) was an Antiquarian and Town clerk of Newcastle upon Tyne, England An antiquarian or antiquary is one concerned with Antiquities or things of the past John Clayton also made excavations at Housesteads Fort, Carrawburgh Mithraic Temple, and Carvoran, amongst others. Vercovicium (or Housesteads Roman Fort) was an auxiliary Castra on Hadrian's Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia. Carrawburgh is a village in Northumberland. In Roman times it was the site of a 3½ acre (1 Mithraeum is a place of worship for the followers of the Mystery religion of Mithraism. Magnis (or Carvoran Roman Fort) was a fort on Hadrian's Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia.

Museum

The museum was commissioned in 1895 and opened in 1903. It is a grade II* listed building and was designed by Richard Norman Shaw. A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural historical or cultural significance Richard Norman Shaw RA ( Edinburgh, 7 May 1831 &ndash London, 17 November 1912) was the most influential British architect It displays part of John Clayton's collection of Roman finds. ^[2]

Sources

• Roman Britain
• English Heritage
• Images of England — details from listed building database (239983) - museum, grade II* listed

References