Northumberland Yesterday and To-dayTerry, Jean F. (Jean Finlay)
History
Northumberland Yesterday and To-day
Terry, Jean F. (Jean Finlay)
Northumberland (England) -- Guidebooks; Northumberland (England) -- History
Westward from this mile-castle the Wall climbs Burnhead Crag, on
which the foundations of a building, similar to the turrets, were
exposed a few years ago; then it dips down again to Haltwhistle
Burn, which comes from Greenlee Lough, and is called, until it
reaches the Wall, the Caw Burn. From the burn a winding watercourse
supplied the Roman station of AEsica (Great Chesters) with water.
Just here the Wall is in a very ruinous condition; and of the
station of AEsica but little masonry remains, though the outlines
of it can he clearly traced. Beyond AEsica, however, is a splendid
portion of the Wall, standing some seven or eight courses high.
Here it climbs again to the top of the crags which once more
appear, bold and rugged, to culminate in the “Nine Nicks of
Thirlwall,” so called from the number of separate heights into
which the crags divide, and over which the Wall takes its way.
At Walltown, on this part of its course, is to be seen an old well,
in which Paulinus is said to have baptised King Edwin; but the
local name for it is King Arthur’s Well. Now the Wall descends to a
level and pastoral country, leaving behind it the wild moorland and
craggy heights across which it has travelled so long; but
unfortunately much of it has been destroyed by the quarrying
operations at Greenhead. Of the station of Magna (Caervoran) little
can be seen at the present day. This station and Aesica are nearer
to each other than are any other two stations on the Wall, and a
line of camps, five in number, stand south of the Wall and Vallum,
from Magna to Amboglanna, showing that a third line of defence was
deemed necessary where the natural defences of moorland ridge,
lough or crag were absent.
The Roman way called the Stanegate comes from the eastward almost
up to the station of Magna, which stands a little to the south of
both Wall and Vallum, between them and Wade’s road, which here
approaches nearer to the Wall than it has done for many miles.
Another Roman road, the Maiden Way, comes from the South closely up
to the Vallum, quite near to Thirlwall castle. The name “Thirlwals”
was supposed to commemorate the “thirling” (drilling or piercing)
of the Wall at this point by the barbarians, but this is extremely
doubtful; though the difficulty of defending the wall on this level
tract lends an air of likelihood to this supposition. Near here the
little river Tipalt flows across the line of the Wall on its way
southward to join the North Tyne.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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