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Housesteads Roman Fort

Archaeological museums in EnglandFormer populated places in NorthumberlandForts of Hadrian's WallHistory of NorthumberlandMuseums in Northumberland
Museums of ancient Rome in the United KingdomNational Trust properties in NorthumberlandRoman fortifications in EnglandRoman sites in NorthumberlandUse British English from February 2023
Housesteads Roman Fort aerial
Housesteads Roman Fort aerial

Housesteads Roman Fort was an auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall, at Housesteads, Northumberland, England. It is dramatically positioned on the end of the mile-long crag of the Whin Sill over which the Wall runs, overlooking sparsely populated hills. It was called the "grandest station" on the Wall and is one of the best-preserved and extensively displayed forts. It was occupied for almost 300 years. It was located 5.3 miles west from Carrawburgh fort, 6 miles east of Great Chesters fort and about two miles north east of the existing fort at Vindolanda on the Stanegate road. The site is now owned by the National Trust and is currently in the care of English Heritage. Finds from the fort can be seen in the site museum, in the museum at Chesters, and in the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Housesteads Roman Fort (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Housesteads Roman Fort
Military Road,

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 55.013 ° E -2.331 °
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Vercovicium (Housesteads Roman Fort)

Military Road
NE47 6NN , Bardon Mill
England, United Kingdom
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Limes Britannicus
Limes Britannicus

The frontier of the Roman Empire in Britain is sometimes styled Limes Britannicus ("British Limes") by authors for the boundaries, including fortifications and defensive ramparts, that were built to protect Roman Britain (the term Limes is mainly and originally used for the Roman frontier in the Germanic provinces). These defences existed from the 1st to the 5th centuries AD and ran through the territory of present-day England, Scotland and Wales. Britain was one of the most troubled regions in the European part of the Roman Empire and could only be secured by the Roman Army at considerable effort. Despite a rapid victory over the tribes in the south, which Claudius' field commander, Aulus Plautius, achieved in 43 AD for Rome, the resistance of the British was not completely broken for a long time afterwards. Nevertheless, the Romans succeeded in further consolidating their rule in the period that followed, although the troops stationed there were overburdened by having to defend Britain simultaneously on three fronts. The incursions of barbarians from the north of the island repeatedly caused serious problems. To the west and south, the Britannic provinces had to be defended against Hibernian and Germanic attacks. Against all odds, Britain was held for almost three centuries by the Roman Empire. In retrospect, the Roman domination of Britain is generally considered to be positive. For a long time there was peace and prosperity on the island. Behind the protection of Hadrian's Wall and that formed by the natural coastal boundaries to the east, south and west, the region we now know as England was heavily influenced by the achievements of Roman civilisation. Hadrian's Wall and the castra on the Saxon Shore are still the most prominent symbols of Roman rule over Britain.