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Housesteads Roman Fort by Carole Raddato from

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Housesteads Roman Fort

The most famous of the many Roman sites along the length of Hadrian’s Wall is Housesteads Roman Fort, also known as “Vercovicium” by those who worked and lived there for nearly 300 years. 

This is owing in part to the tremendous quantity of excavation that has occurred here and the knowledge that has been gathered as a result.  However, Housesteads’ legendary position is mostly attributable to its location, which is high on an exposed ridge with stunning views to the north (and, for that matter, to the south).

Here are 10 interesting facts that you need to know about Housesteads:

1. It was known as the “place of the able fighters”

Housesteads Roman Fort by Carole Raddato from

The term “Vercovicium,” which translates to “place of the able fighters,” appears to have been coined by the local Celts to describe Housesteads. The First Cohort of Tungrians, an auxiliary force established in the Tonges region of what is now Belgium, garrisoned Housesteads throughout the majority of its extremely long active life. This unit consisted of 1,000 men. These warriors had unmistakably shown themselves via their skill in combat, earning the respect of the locals.

2. Hadrian’s Wall construction started in AD122

Hadrian’s Wall by Steven Fruitsmaak from

In AD122, construction on Hadrian’s Wall started. According to the original plans, the large military battalions that would provide the wall’s garrison should be stationed a little to its rear. That meant at Vindolanda, two miles to the southwest, in this section.

The decision to base troops in forts along the wall’s actual line, however, swiftly caused the plans to shift, and it appears that changes to the wall’s design were made while it was still being built in order to make room for the forts. The presence of “Turret 36b” foundations and an associated stretch of wall within the fort’s northern wall at Housesteads is the principal indicator of this.

3. The homesteads were built in a unique way to collect water

Housesteads Roman Fort by Carole Raddato from

The Housesteads fort was unique in a number of respects. Providing a water supply was one of the challenges the builders confronted. Building forts in areas with ready access to fresh water was standard practice.

At Housesteads, where the fort was built on a ridgetop, rainwater had to be gathered to supply the fort’s needs. Collection tanks can still be seen throughout the fort’s perimeter, most prominently in the area near the latrines in the southeast corner.

4. Researchers have discovered some intriguing remains

The museum currently has some intriguing artefacts that were discovered by archaeologists on exhibit. Around the gates, there was a little community of people. A few tiny cottages were dug up, and several remains were discovered under the floor of one of them, indicating heinous acts.

The cooking utensils and flat-bottomed ceramics found at the site are of Frisian (German) origin and demonstrate that cavalry from Western Europe was stationed here, most likely in the third century.

5. Beginning in the fourth century, the fort was abandoned

The fort was abandoned starting in the 4th century after the Romans left Britain.
Before English Heritage opened it up as a distant but intriguing destination with stunning views of the Tyne Valley and the Scottish borders, corn mills had been constructed on the site when brigands used it in the 17th century, but otherwise, it had been abandoned.

6. In 1604 Hugh Nixon, “Stealer of cattle and receiver of stolen goods”, became the tenant of Housesteads farm

The Armstrongs, a notorious Border Reiver family, resided in Housesteads starting in 1663. After purchasing the property in 1692, Nicholas Armstrong was forced to sell it once more, this time for £485 to Thomas Gibson of Hexham. Tenants they still are. They were a notorious gang of cattle rustlers and horse thieves who kept their looted animals and horses in the old fort.

They engaged in the trade all the way down in the south of England and Aberdeen. A “broken man,” technically declared illegal by English or Scottish authorities, was once claimed to describe every male member of the family. His brothers emigrated to America when Nicholas was hanged in 1704. A typical 16th-century family was the Armstrongs.

7. There used to be a Syrian military base there

The Housesteads Roman Fort along Hadrian’s Wall once housed soldiers from as far away as Syria. There were also additional soldiers stationed there, mostly from Spain and Northern Europe.

8. Housesteads were farmed by a single-tenant farming family for the majority of the 18th century

As a result, the tenure is fixed because Hodgson noted William Magnay’s occupancy throughout that time. For instance, it was established that William had actually built the well, which was supposed to be Roman and had been used as a bath by the family. In the 19th century, interest in the fort grew, especially when the property was bought by the amateur historian John Clayton in 1838 so that he could add it to his collection of farms along the Roman Wall.

Clayton removed any later structures from the Roman site before starting to build the current farmhouse in 1860. The fort was put up for auction in 1929 by John Maurice Clayton. Given to the National Trust in 1930 because it failed to meet its reserve. Eventually, the Trevelyan’s purchased the farm.

9. Two inscriptions provide proof of the Tungrians’ earliest appearance

Tungrian by George MacDonald from

Two inscriptions provide additional proof of the Tungrians’ ancestors’ existence in prehistoric times. One of these is a little building stone with the initials of the cohort that was used in the bottom wall of the granaries, one of the original structures of the Hadrianic fort and one that underwent significant reconstruction in AD 205–8.

The second is a dedication made by the first cohort of Tungrians to “the gods and goddesses” in accordance with an oracle of Apollo in Claros, which is now in western Turkey. Around AD 165, ten manuscripts with a similar structure that are known from various parts of the empire were all linked.

10. At Housesteads, there is not much proof of pre-Roman activity

At Housesteads, there is not much proof of pre-Roman activity. A turret, one of a regular network of towers and little forts (known as milecastles) along the line of the Wall, and the broad foundation of Hadrian’s Wall, which runs along the north face of the escarpment, are clear indications of the early Roman presence. Now, the tower is enclosed by the fort’s walls.

Before Milecastle 37 to the west or the Wall at Housesteads was finished, the fort was being built. The existence of a cremation burial in the fort’s northwest corner shows that there may have been more than a year between the two construction phases. Roman funerals were always performed outside of forts and villages, therefore this cremation must have taken place before the fort was built. Once the fort walls were finished, work on the Wall at Housesteads, which had a smaller gauge, was resumed.

It is the most comprehensive representation of a Roman fort in Britain and the greatest location to view many of the authentic components of a Roman Fort.  This is also the most ideal place to have a relaxing picnic with your loved ones as it is quite scenic and refreshing.