ROMAN REMAINS IN BRITAIN.
Two Varieties of Masonry--Dover Castle--Richborough
Castle--Newport Gate, Lincoln--Hadrian's Wall--Its Direction and
Construction--Outworks--Ornamental Detail--Roman Roads and Camps.
The remains of Roman architecture in Britain, though numerous, do not
exhibit any perfect buildings, and the workmanship in general is not
equal to that of the Continental remains. The buildings seem to have
been inferior and of smaller dimensions, and there is very little of
ornamental detail to be found, except the tesselated pavements, of
which many fine examples yet remain in the Roman villas which have been
discovered from time to time in various parts of the kingdom.
The principal places where Roman remains are now to be seen are Lincoln,
Dover Castle, St. Albans, Richborough Castle, Porchester, York,
Cirencester, Leicester, and Colchester. But in all these there is little
ornamentation or detail left, the remains consisting chiefly of plain
walls, the masonry of which has peculiarities of character which mark
its date. Of the masonry there are two principal varieties; the first,
and that which is most readily recognised, consists of alternate layers
or bands of pebbles, or small stones embedded in mortar, and tiles or
flat stones. These bands consisted of three or four courses of tiles
or stones laid through the wall, and were placed at two or three feet
from each other, the intermediate spaces being raised with a sort of
cement composed of mortar and pebbles, or sometimes rag-stones, or such
materials as the country afforded. In this manner are built the Mint
wall at Lincoln, the Jewry wall at Leicester, and the walls at Verulam
(St. Albans), Porchester, Richborough, York, Pevensey, Chesterford,
Colchester, Wroxeter, and Silchester.
The other variety consists of walls formed of square stones or ashlar, as
the Roman wall in Northumberland. These are sometimes very large, as in
the north gate (or Newport gate), Lincoln. Smaller kinds of ashlar, of
almost cubical blocks, occur in the multangular tower and other buildings
at York. The mortar used in all these walls is in general mixed with
pounded brick.
It will not be necessary here to go into a description of all these
buildings, but a few of the most remarkable may be mentioned; one of
the most curious and interesting of these is the Pharos in the Castle
of Dover, though it has undergone much alteration, particularly in the
fifteenth century. "Wherever the outer casing is worn away, or has been
removed by violence, the walls exhibit the usual mode of Roman building
with the material of the districts; in this case with tufa or stalactite,
brought perhaps from the opposite coast of France, and flint, with layers
of large flat Roman bricks, some of them two feet long, each layer two
courses deep, placed regularly and horizontally in the walls at equal
intervals, or nearly so. No less than eight of these layers of brickwork
are visible on the south-east side; other layers are apparently concealed
by the external and subsequent casing of flint and stone, and where the
casing of flint is perfect, quoins of stone appear at the angles. This
tower is externally octagonal in form; internally the space enclosed
forms a square. The doorway, recently blocked, is on the south side,
and the arch, turned and faced with a single row of large Roman bricks,
springs from a kind of rude impost moulding, somewhat resembling that
of the Roman gateway at Lincoln; but this is not now visible. In the
interior, the constructive features of the original Roman work were,
before the entrance was closed up, far more visible and perfect than on
the exterior, and the facing of the bricks was quite smooth; yet the
effect of the alterations is here also plainly apparent, and the original
windows, the arches of which are turned with Roman brick, have been
filled up with flint masonry. Both the external as well as the internal
facings of the entrance doorway on the south side were, a few years back,
when the interior could be readily examined, far from perfect. Over
this doorway were two windows, one above the other, each arched with
brickwork. On the east side of the tower is a rather lofty arch faced
with stone, the soffit of which, however, appears to have been turned
with brick; this probably communicated with some building adjoining. Over
this arch is a window now blocked up."
Richborough Castle, in Kent, is another of the most important of the
Roman remains in England. It is a large parallelogram, including within
it an area of five acres. The walls to the height of six feet are more
than eleven feet thick, and above that ten feet eight inches; and the
masonry is thus described by the Rev. C. H. Hartshorne:--"At Richborough,
commencing at the ground, there are on the north side, where the masonry
is displayed in its most perfect state, first of all, four courses of
flint in their natural form, then three courses dressed; to these succeed
two courses of binding tile, and then they rise above each other in the
following order: seven courses of ashlar and two of tile; seven courses
of ashlar and two of tile; seven courses of ashlar and two of tile;
again, seven courses of ashlar and two of tile; eight courses of ashlar
and two of tile; nine courses of ashlar. The extreme height of this wall
is twenty-three feet two inches, and its thickness ten feet eight inches."
[Illustration: COINS OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC AND THE EMPIRE.]
One of the most perfect and most interesting of Roman remains is the
archway at Lincoln, called Newport Gate, and styled by Dr. Stukely "the
noblest remnant of this sort in Britain." It was the north gate of
the Roman city of Lindum, and from it a military way, called the High
Street, leading to Winteringham, on the Humber, may now be traced. This
still forms the principal entrance into the city from the north. It is
supposed to have had a large central arch, and two smaller ones at the
sides, that on the west having been destroyed, the larger being about
fifteen feet, and the lesser ones seven feet in width. It is built of
squared stone, out as far as the top of the arch, of remarkably large
size. It is without ornament of any kind, but is said by Rickman to have
had architrave and impost mouldings. That of the architrave, if it ever
existed, has entirely disappeared; but there is, or was lately, a small
portion of the impost moulding remaining, on the west side of the large
arch. The masonry, which exhibits none of the usual binds of tiles so
frequent in other buildings, will be best understood by reference to the
engraving on page 21.
There is another piece of Roman work in the neighbourhood of Newport
Gate, which is a piece of wall built with ashlar and binding courses of
tile. It is known as the Mint Wall.
But perhaps the most interesting of all the Roman remains in Britain
is the Roman Wall, which reaches across the narrow part of the island
in Northumberland and Cumberland, commencing at Wallsend, on the Tyne,
running through Newcastle and Carlisle, and terminating at Bowness, in
Cumberland. A most interesting and fully illustrated account of this wall
has been given to the world by the Rev. J. Collingwood Bruce, from whose
work we have (by permission) copied the two illustrations on p. 22.
[Illustration: NEWPORT GATE, LINCOLN. (_From a Photograph by Skill,
Lincoln._)]
Arguments have been brought forward by some antiquaries to show that the
wall and the vallum by which it is accompanied belong to two different
periods; but Dr. Bruce contends that they are both to be considered
as forming part of the great engineering work of Hadrian. It consists
of a stone wall, or _murus_, and a wall of earth, or _vallum_. These
two run always near together, but not always parallel. The vallum is
likewise rather the shorter, terminating at Newcastle on the east, and at
Drumburgh, about three miles from Bowness, the western extremity of the
wall.
"The most striking feature in the plan, both of the murus and the vallum,
is the determinate manner in which they pursue their straightforward
course. The vallum makes fewer deviations from a right line than the
stone wall; but as the wall traverses higher ground, this remarkable
tendency is more easily detected in it than in the other. Shooting over
the country, in its onward course, it only swerves from a straight line
to take in its route the boldest elevations. So far from declining a
hill, it uniformly selects one.
"For nineteen miles out of Newcastle the road to Carlisle runs upon the
foundations of the wall, and during the summer months its dusty surface
contrasts well with the surrounding verdure. Often will the traveller,
after attaining some of the steep acclivities of his path, observe the
road stretching for miles in an undeviating course to the east and the
west of him, resembling, as Hutton expresses it, a white ribbon on a
green ground. But if it never moves from a right line, except to occupy
the highest points, it never fails to seize them as they occur, no matter
how often it is compelled, with this view, to change its direction. It
never bends in a curve, but always at an angle. Hence, along the craggy
precipices between Sewingshields and Thirlwall, it is obliged to pursue
a remarkably zigzag course; for it takes in its range, with the utmost
pertinacity, every projecting rock."
[Illustration: TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE ROMAN WALL.]
Though no part of the wall now retains its full height, it has been
calculated that when entire it was about eighteen or nineteen feet,
including the parapet. Its general thickness is about eight feet, though
it varies in different parts from six feet to ten and a half feet. It is
"throughout the whole of its length accompanied on its northern margin by
a broad and deep fosse, which, by increasing the comparative height of
the wall, added greatly to its strength. This portion of the barrier may
yet be traced, with trifling interruptions, from sea to sea."
[Illustration: LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF THE ROMAN WALL.]
The masonry of the wall is somewhat peculiar; it has none of the binding
courses of tile which are, in many parts of England and on the Continent,
so characteristic of Roman work. No tiles are used in the construction.
The outer face of the wall on both sides is formed of squared blocks of
stone, usually called ashlar, and the interior of rubble, embedded in
mortar. These blocks are about eight or nine inches thick, and ten or
eleven wide; their length is considerably more, sometimes as much as
twenty-two inches, and tapering to the opposite end, which was firmly
bedded into the rubble. The whole rested on a course of large foundation
stones.
On or near the wall were placed, at tolerably regular intervals,
stationary camps, or "stations," about seventeen or eighteen in number;
and at still shorter intervals, that is, about a Roman mile from each
other, were placed smaller towers, called, from this circumstance, "mile
castles." These are in general placed against the south side of the wall,
and had mostly only one entrance, which was from the south; but in the
most perfect of those at Gawfields there are two entrances, one on the
south, and another through the main wall on the north.
[Illustration: CORNICE FROM VENDALANA (CHESTERHOLM).]
More of ornamental detail seems to have been bestowed on the architecture
of these stations and mile castles than on the wall, which was intended
for defence. The walls have moulded basements and cornices, of which
there are woodcuts on this page and the next; the one from Vendalana
(Chesterholm) exhibits also the peculiar ornamentation of the surface of
the stone work, which is produced by cutting lines in various directions,
either lozenge-wise or parallel, horizontal, upright, oblique, or
zigzag-wise, thus producing considerable variety. In the extremely
interesting Saxon crypt at Hexham, which was built out of the ruins of
the Roman Wall, many varieties of this peculiar tooling, or "broaching,"
occur, along with ornamental mouldings, &c., and inscribed slabs, one
of which has been cut to form the semicircular head of a doorway. The
beautiful fragment of a capital also given was found in the station of
Cilurnum (now Walwick Chesters). It has probably belonged to the portico
of a temple. It appears to be a late variety of Corinthian or composite.
It serves to show that there must have been considerable expense bestowed
on these stations, which were, in fact, military cities, in which the
commanders resided. The doorway from the station of Bird-Oswald is
valuable as showing a peculiar form of door-head, cut out of a solid
stone. It forms the entrance to the guard-chamber from the gateway of
the station.
[Illustration: CAPITAL FROM CILURNUM (WALWICK CHESTERS).]
[Illustration: DOORWAY FROM BIRD-OSWALD.]
The Roman altars, sculptured fragments, inscribed stones, coins,
implements of war, articles of personal ornament, and utensils for
domestic use, which have been found along the line of the wall, are
extremely numerous. But far more striking memorials of Agricola and
his great successors in Britain are the Roman roads. Easy means of
communication were, of course, a necessity for the Romans, dwelling,
as they did, as a military garrison among a people notorious for their
propensity to break into wild rebellion at a moment's notice; and hence
the country was traversed by a complete system of roads leading from
station to station. The method of their construction varied, but they
were invariably raised above the surface of the country, and ran in an
almost straight line regardless of hill and valley. The more important
roads were very elaborately constructed with a foundation of hard earth,
a bed of large stones, sometimes two more layers of stones and mortar,
and above all the causeway paved with stones. The four most important
roads were Watling Street, the Foss, Icknield Street, and Ermine Street.
Of these, Watling Street ran from London to Wroxeter (Uriconium), and
thence was continued into Wales, while part of the same system connected
London with Dover. The Foss ran from the sea-coast, at Seaton in
Devonshire, to Lincoln, with a continuation known as the High Street to
the Humber. The Icknield way started from near Bury and ran to Wantage,
and thence to Cirencester and Gloucester. Ermine Street ran through the
Fens from London to Lincoln. These by no means exhaust the Roman roads,
traces of which are to be found in almost every neighbourhood of England,
but they are the "four Roman roads" so frequently mentioned in the
legislation of the Middle Ages.
[Illustration: ROMAN MASONRY AT COLCHESTER.]
[Illustration: BASEMENT OF STATION ON THE ROMAN WALL.]
Equally numerous are the remains of Roman camps, constructed with great
engineering skill. Even when it was necessary to remain stationary for
a very brief period, the Romans were accustomed to surround the space
to be occupied by the soldiers' tents by an earthen rampart with stakes
at the top (_agger_ or _vallum_), which was in turn surrounded by a
fosse or trench (_fossa_), usually nine feet deep and twelve broad. The
spot selected was always one that commended itself from its defensive
capacities, and therefore could not be overlooked, and had a command of
water. The streets were sometimes as much as a hundred feet broad, with
a public meeting-place or _forum_ near the general's tent, which was
usually pitched on the highest ground. There was a vacant space of two
hundred feet between the tents and the ramparts called the _intervallum_.
The shape of the camp in later times varied according to the nature of
the ground, although in the days of the Roman republic it was as a rule
rectangular. Of these temporary camps the most perfect is that situated
near Kirkboddo, five miles to the south-east of Forfar. It was probably
constructed by Agricola; all its six gates exist, and the entrenchment,
even now, seems to have lost but little of its original height. It
is about two thousand two hundred and eighty feet in length, and one
thousand and eighty in breadth; and, apparently because it was necessary
to find lodging for more men than the camp was originally intended to
hold, there is a _procestrium_ or enclosure without the south-east angle
of about one hundred thousand square feet. Permanent camps, which were
smaller than the temporary camps, soon lost their original features and
grew into towns.
The establishment of an infirmary (_valetudinarium_), a farriery
(_veterinarium_), and a forge (_fabrica_) within the rampart were quickly
followed by the settlement of a civilian population, and the birth
of trades and industries. In many of the English towns, which by the
termination _cester_ or _chester_ or the prefix _caer_ betray their Roman
origin, hardly a trace of the original Roman camp is to be found, but
during the period of the Roman occupation of Britain the military element
in them was probably in the ascendant.
[Illustration: ROMAN URNS FOUND IN ENGLAND. (_From the British Museum._)
1. Urn of yellow pottery--height, 12½ in.; greatest diameter, 13
in. 2. Urn of grey pottery found at Colchester--11½ x 9. 3. Urn of
red and grey pottery, found at Littleton Farm--13 x 12. 4. Urn of grey
pottery, found in Huntingdonshire--height, 11½ in.; width at mouth
4¾ in. 5. Urn of yellow pottery, found in the Lea--height, 10½;
greatest diameter, 10.]
[Illustration: GLASTONBURY ABBEY. (_See p._ 31.)]