Aesica (with the modern name of Great Chesters) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

fort, one and a half miles north of the small town of Haltwhistle in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, England. It was the ninth fort on

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...

, between Vercovicium (Housesteads) to the east and

Magnis (Carvoran) Magnis or Magna was a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall in northern Britain. Its ruins are now known as and are located near Carvoran, Northumberland, in northern England. It is thought to have been sited with reference to the Stanegate Roman road, ...

to the west. Its purpose was to guard the Caw Gap, where the

Haltwhistle Burn The Haltwhistle Burn is a river which lies to the east of the Northumbrian town of Haltwhistle. Rising in the peaty uplands below the ridge of the Whin Sill, the burn passes through the Roman Military Zone south of Hadrian's Wall and through a d ...

crosses the Wall. The B6318 Military Road passes about half a mile to the south of the fort.

Description

It is believed that the fort was completed in the year 128 AD. Unlike other wall forts that project beyond the Wall, all of Aesica is south of the Wall. The Wall at this point is narrow gauge, but stands next to foundations that were prepared for the broad wall. There was speculation as to why the foundations for the broad wall had not been used to support the wall at this point. In 1939 it was found that

Milecastle 43 Milecastle 43 (Great Chesters) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (). It was obliterated when the fort at Great Chesters (''Aesica'') was built. Description Milecastle 43 was situated at Great Chesters, and was destroyed when the Aesica fort was ...

had already been built in preparation for the broad wall, and it is thought that it was the presence of this milecastle that prevented the north wall of the fort being built on the original foundations. It appears that the milecastle was demolished once the fort had been completed. The east gate and east wall cannot now be traced. The fort was an oblong, measuring north to south by east to west, occupying a comparatively small area of . The north-east corner of the fort is now occupied by farm buildings, built over the route of the Wall. The fort had only three main gates; south, east and west, with double portals with towers. At some time the west gate was completely blocked up. There were towers at each corner of the fort. The

Military Way Military Way may refer to: * Roman Military Way (Hadrian's Wall) * Roman Military Way (Antonine Wall) on the Antonine Wall * The 18th-century highway, Military Road (Northumberland) The Military Road is a name given locally to part of the B6 ...

entered by the east gate and left by the west gate. A branch road from the Stanegate entered by the south gate. The Vallum passed some short distance south of the fort, and was crossed by a road leading from the south gate to the Stanegate. A

vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus r ...

lay to the south and east of the fort, and several tombstones have been found there. The fort was supplied by water from an aqueduct, which wound six miles (10 km) from the head of the Haltwhistle Burn, north of the Wall.

Garrison

The 2nd-century garrison was the Sixth Cohort of

Nervians The Nervii were one of the most powerful Belgic tribes of northern Gaul at the time of its conquest by Rome. Their territory corresponds to the central part of modern Belgium, including Brussels, and stretched southwards into French Hainault. ...

, followed by the Sixth Cohort of Raetians. The 3rd-century garrison was the Second Cohort of

Asturians Asturians ( ast, asturianos) are a Celtic-Romance ethnic group native to the autonomous community of Asturias, in the North-West of the Iberian Peninsula. Culture and society Heritage Asturians are directly descended from the Astures, who wer ...

with a detachment of Raeti Gaeseti.

Excavations

Excavations were carried out in 1894, during which the ramparts were cleared. The west tower of the south gate was found to contain a hoard of jewellery, which included an enamelled brooch shaped as a hare, a gilded bronze brooch described as a masterpiece of Celtic art, a silver collar with a pendant, a gold ring and a bronze ring with a

Gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...

gem. During this excavation the headquarters building (principia) was partially uncovered, together with its vaulted underground strong room. A barrack block was also found to the south-west of the principia. In 1897 a bathhouse was discovered, to the south, east of the branch road to the Stanegate. It includes a dressing room, latrine, cold room with cold bath, dry-heat room, warm steamy room and hot steamy room.

References

* J. Collingwood Bruce, ''Roman Wall'' (1863), Harold Hill & Son, * Frank Graham, ''The Roman Wall, Comprehensive History and Guide'' (1979), Frank Graham,

External links

AESICA
at www.Roman-Britain.co.uk

Hadrian's Wall as it exists today {{Authority control Roman fortifications in England Roman sites in Northumberland Forts of Hadrian's Wall 128 establishments 120s establishments in the Roman Empire 2nd-century establishments in Roman Britain