{"id":2233,"date":"2020-12-05T19:09:40","date_gmt":"2020-12-05T19:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/?p=2233"},"modified":"2021-03-11T19:24:50","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T19:24:50","slug":"outpost-of-the-roman-empire-housesteads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/outpost-of-the-roman-empire-housesteads\/","title":{"rendered":"Outpost of the Roman Empire, Housesteads"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Imagine this. You were born by the shores of the Mediterranean. Your childhood summers were hot and your winters temperate. But now you are grown, and you are a soldier, posted to the furthest reaches of the Empire where icy winds blow down from the north and snow falls in the winter months. You have probably never seen snow before<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vercovicium<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Your posting is to Vercovicium, the fort that today we know as Housesteads. Vercovicium means \u2018the place of the effective fighters\u2019 and you are here to defend the empire. Unlike most of the forts which straddle the great wall which was built at the command of your emperor Hadrian, this one lies just to its south. You are one of around 800 soldiers based here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the heather the wet wind blows,<\/p>

I\u2019ve lice in my tunic and a cold in my nose.<\/p>

The rain comes pattering out of the sky,<\/p>

I\u2019m a Wall soldier, I don\u2019t know why.<\/p>

The mist creeps over the hard grey stone,<\/p>

My girl\u2019s in Tungria; I sleep alone.<\/p>From \u2018Roman Wall Blues\u2019 by W H Auden<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Fast-forward to the 21st<\/sup> century<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Relatively little remains of the fort today; but there is enough for us to be able to trace the layout of the buildings and learn something of how those soldiers would have lived. Although the environment would have seemed harsh to many of them, especially in winter, they were relatively well-housed and were self-sufficient. The ordinary soldiers lived in barracks and the remains of some of these can be seen here today. These barracks were where they slept and also relaxed when off duty. They ate bread and other food that was cooked in the ovens on one side of the fort. The supplies for these meals were stored in granaries, with stone pillars that supported a raised floor to keep the food dry and free from rats and mice.<\/p>\n\n\n