The Roman Wall: A historical, topographical, and descriptive account of the barrier of the lower isthmus, extending from the Tyne to the Solway, deduced from numerous personal surveysBruce, J. Collingwood (John Collingwood)
History
The Roman Wall: A historical, topographical, and descriptive account of the barrier of the lower isthmus, extending from the Tyne to the Solway, deduced from numerous personal surveys
Bruce, J. Collingwood (John Collingwood)
Great Britain -- Antiquities, Roman; Walls, Roman -- Great Britain
Carlisle contains two interesting structures of the mediæval period—the
castle and the cathedral. The keep of the castle is a good specimen of
the Norman donjon, though some parts of it have been modernized. On the
walls and door of one of its chambers, used as a prison in the ‘Fifteen’
and the ‘Forty-five,’ are to be seen the coats of arms, the devices, and
marks of the ‘sorrowful sighings,’ of the unhappy rebels, who beguiled
their wretched hours in carving them. The cathedral exhibits some
interesting specimens of the Norman as well as later styles. Its east
window, which is of the decorated period, is the finest in the kingdom,
with the exception, perhaps, of the west window at York.
About a quarter of a mile beyond the canal basin, and nearly midway
between the canal and the river, the track of the Wall may again be
discerned. Owing to the difficulty of entirely uprooting it, its
foundations have been suffered to remain; they form a cart-road which is
used for farm purposes. A little farther on, the plough has won the day,
and a uniform green sward or luxuriant harvest baffles our research.
[Illustration: Altar—ob res trans vallum prospere gestas]
[Sidenote: KIRK-ANDREWS.]
A turf-covered mound on the east side of the church of Kirk-andrews, is
occasioned by a portion of the ruins of the Wall. In the village is
preserved the altar of which the wood-cut gives a representation. It was
found at Kirk-steads, about a mile south of the Wall, and bears marks of
having been cut down to suit the purpose of some comparatively modern
builder. The focus of the altar is unusually large; the boldness of the
lettering indicates an early date. It may be read—
L[VCIVS] IVNIVS VIC-
TORINVS ET (?)
C[AIVS] AELIANVS LEG[ATI]
AUG[VSTALES] LEG[IONIS] VI VIC[TRICIS]
P[IÆ] F[IDELIS] OB RES TRANS
VALLVM PRO-
SPERE GESTAS.
Lucius Junius Vic-
torinus, and
Caius Ælianus, Augustal legates
Of the sixth legion, victorious,
Pious, and faithful, on account of achievements beyond
The Wall pros-
perously performed.
This is a vivid memorial of deeds of common occurrence during the period
of Roman occupation. The original possessors of the isthmus, driven from
their homes, and forced to seek an asylum in the hills to the north of
the Wall, would be accounted the lawful prey of the aggressor.
The gates of mercy shall be all shut up;
And the fleshed soldier,—rough and hard of heart,—
In liberty of bloody hand, shall range
With conscience wide as hell; mowing like grass
Your fresh fair virgins and your flowering infants.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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