Onnum

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Halton Chester Castle
Alternative name a) Onnum ,
b) Onno ,
c) Hunnum ,
d) Hunno
limes Britain
section Hadrian's Wall
Dating (occupancy) Hadrianic ,
2nd to early 5th centuries AD
Type Alenkastell
unit a) Legio VI (Bau vexillation ),
b) Legio II Augusta (Bau vexillation ),
c) Ala I Pannoniorum Sabiniana
size a) 1.75 ha (Hadrianic),
b) 2.8 ha (Severan)
Construction Stone construction
State of preservation square complex with rounded corners and western annex, not visible above ground
place Whittington
Geographical location 55 ° 0 '36 "  N , 2 ° 0' 21.6"  W Coordinates: 55 ° 0 '36 "  N , 2 ° 0' 21.6"  W. hf
Previous Vindobala Castle (east)
Subsequently Fort Cilurnum (west)
Upstream Habitancum Fort (outpost) (northwest)
Fortresses North Great Britain.png
Coin portrait of Hadrian
Sketch of the fort by William Hutton, 1802
Findings sketch of the fort
The entrance to Halton Castle marks the location of the north gate of the Roman fort. On the left the B6318 which runs directly over Hadrian's Wall. In the background the hills of Down Hill.
The moat in front of the south wall of the fort
South-eastern part of the fort area
Shield boss from Halton Chesters
Sketch of the camp thermal bath, drawing from the 19th century
Roman cavalryman
Bronze hand from a temple inventory

Onnum or Hunnum was a Roman equestrian fort of the auxiliary troops in Parish Whittington, Hamlet Halton Chesters, a district north of Halton , Northumbria , in the north-east of England .

It belonged to the chain of fortresses of Hadrian's Wall ( per lineam valli ) consisting of a total of 16 forts and secured its eastern section. The camp was used by the military for about 300 years, probably from 126 to 400 AD. A remarkable structural detail of the fort is the subsequent enlargement of its southern half to the west, which dates back to the 3rd century AD. The archaeological site has also become known nationwide for the unusually large camp bath discovered in the early 19th century.

Surname

The place name " Onnum / Hunnum " comes from the Celtic and could mean "watercourse", "tree" or "rock". The former could be derived from the Fence Burn , which flows in a deep gorge west of the fortress. The latter may refer to the Down Hill elevation east of the camp. In the cosmography of the geographer of Ravenna , the place is called " Onno ". It is more likely, however, that Hunno's H was originally a C, and that this was omitted from its entry in the Ravenna Cosmography, as in a number of other cases. The original place name could therefore have been Condo , which means "steep hill" or Convo "steep slope".

location

Halton Chesters is the fifth link in the fortress chain of Hadrian's Wall ( vallum aelium ). It was located twelve kilometers west of Vindobala (Rudchester) and four kilometers north of Coriosopitum ( Corbridge ) on a small plateau. The ground monument is marked by a group of trees and a few stone gates in the pasture fences south of the B6318 (so-called military road). From there you have a wide view to the north, as the ground rises only slightly. To the south you can see up to two kilometers as far as the river valley of the Tyne ( Tinea ), along the course of the wall (Fences Field). To the east, the view is restricted by the Down Hill, only 800 meters away. The fort area is now cut in the middle by the B6318, which runs exactly over the remains of Hadrian's Wall on this section. It is unclear why the warehouse was built at this - not necessarily optimal - location. It was nearly a kilometer from Portgate to the west , the place where Dere Street intersected with Hadrian's Wall. From 212/213 the region around Onnum belonged to the province of Britannia inferior , from the 4th century to the province of Britannia secunda .

Research history

In the course of time, a number of investigations and excavations have been carried out on the area of ​​the fort. In 1803 a gold signet ring with an engraving and a blue gemstone was found in the northern area of ​​the fort. In the back wall of the 15th century mansion of Halton Castle, a fragment of a Roman tombstone is walled in, which shows a figure in an arched recess. In the wall to the west of the south-west corner of the castle tower is another grave relief, on which a man is shown resting on a couch. The castle tower is also partly built from Roman stones, which presumably come from Hadrian's Wall and the fort. A small Roman consecration altar was discovered in the garden and an inscription plaque was discovered by the stable yard in 1868. The excavations of 1937 showed that Hadrian's Wall and the southern moat were already (maybe only partially) completed before the fort. From 1960 to 1961 JP Gillam and MG Jarrett carried out excavations in the fort, during which new knowledge about the interior structure could be gained. The last dig was carried out by archaeologists from RCHME Newcastle (Royal Commission of Historic Monuments in England) in the unusually dry summer of 1989. The results of these excavations were summarized in 1990 by Charles Daniels and Eric Birley.

development

In 122 Emperor Hadrian ordered a barrier wall to be built in northern Britain, reinforced by watchtowers and forts, from the Tyne to the Solway Firth, to protect the British provinces from the constant incursions of the Picts from the north. Most of the wall was built by soldiers from the three legions stationed in Britain and seamen from the Classis Britannica .

It is believed that the fortress was built between 122 and 126, after the rampart was completed. A building inscription found on the west gate reports that it was built by soldiers of Legio VI Victrix . The inscription also names the governor of Britain, Aulus Platorius Nepos , who held the office from 122 to 126. Later work on the fort was probably carried out under Antoninus Pius of the Legio II Augusta . The crew monitored a section of Hadrian's Wall and Dere Street , which crossed the Wallzone in a valley west of the fort ( Portgate ). It connected Corbridge with the outpost forts in the Lowlands ( Risingham and High Rochester). For civil border traffic there were only three border crossings on Hadrian's Wall, the one at Onnum , the others in Banna (Birdoswald) and Uxelodunum (Stanwix). However, some researchers believe that monitoring the road was not the main task of the fort crew. After the completion of Hadrian's Wall, the land in the north (until the Antonine Wall was built ) was no man's land. Dere Street would therefore no longer have had such great importance as a connecting route between the tribal areas of the Picts and Roman North Britain at that time. The chronicler Cassius Dio reported for the reign of Commodus (180-192) of heavy fighting with the northern British tribes. Also Onnum was seriously damaged. In the early 3rd century the fort was enlarged a little. After that, it was largely destroyed by fire , probably at the same time as the nearby Coriosopidum . Presumably rebuilt in the 4th century, it was finally abandoned by the military in the early 5th century.

Fort

As with the neighboring Vindobala , no rising masonry has been preserved from this fort. Its last remains are now completely buried underground. Not even an information board at its location reminds of the Roman camp. A slight elevation can be seen north of the B6318. To the south of it, the outlines of the walls and the interior buildings are still faintly visible. The multi-phase fortress (Fort I: Hadrianic, Fort II: Severan) originally had a long rectangular floor plan with rounded corners (playing card shape), measured 134 meters (north to south) and 122 meters (east to west) and claimed an area of ​​1.75 ha. As usual with the cavalry fort on the Wall, the northern half ( praetentura ) protruded over Hadrian's Wall.

Enclosure

The fort had four standard main gates ( portae principales ) with two passageways, divided by two pillars ( spina ) and two square side towers each. Like the neighboring forts, the camp also had a side gate on the west and east walls ( portae quintanae ). In front of the north gate ( porta Praetoria ), traces of the access road could be observed. To the east of this street one came across the remains of a building. At the west and east gates, the camp wall was a little deeper. In 1936 an inscription from the Legio VI was found at the west gate . The corners of the fort were reinforced by towers. The southern moat ( vallum ) passed the fort at a short distance and could be crossed on a road that led from the south gate ( porta decumana ) towards the camp village ( vicus ) and Dere Street. Fort I was also surrounded by a double moat.

Annex: In the early 3rd century, in the southern half ( raetentura ) under Septimius Severus, an additional 1250 square meter area between Hadrian's Wall and the southwest corner tower was included in the defense (so-called annex ). In 1959 it was determined that part of the western wall of Fort I was removed for this purpose. In return, the south wall was extended to 170 meters, which gave the camp an angular floor plan. A tower at the northwest corner of the annex was found. The fort now covered an area of ​​2.8 hectares. After the completion of Fort II, the double trenches were leveled and replaced by a single - much deeper - trench. Some of the gateways were blocked, the west gate ( porta principalis sinistra ) was completely walled up.

Interior development

The outlines of numerous buildings and streets in the interior could be seen in the aerial photographs. The archaeologists were able to uncover four buildings from the middle of the 2nd century during the excavations in the 1960s. Remnants of the wall in the southwestern part of the fortress could be identified as granary ( horreum ). The Hadrianic warehouse did not have the typical outer pillars that were supposed to support the walls. These were only added when the fort was rebuilt in the 4th century. Immediately to the west was the staff building ( principia ). Opposite it stood a large hall, which perhaps served as a parade hall for the riders stationed in the fort ( basilica equester exercitatoria ). Such hall structures are otherwise only known from the forts Netherby and Birdoswald . To the south stood a small building with an unknown function and to the west of it presumably a workshop ( fabrica ). The latter were torn down in the Severan period and replaced by new buildings. The course of the main camp road running from west to east ( via Principalis ) is also known.

Lagertherme: In 1827 the storage bath was discovered in a field north of the B6318 (field name Brunt-ha-penny). It was a row-type building, had all the relevant functional rooms (see plan of findings from 1827) and extended from the northwest corner to the west gate. The bathers could u. a. have a hot bath, a warm and cold bath as well as a changing room and fitness room. Compared to the other Roman baths examined on Hadrian's Wall, the building was unusually large with up to eleven rooms and was located inside the fort. Perhaps - as in Housesteads - it replaced a bathroom outside the enclosure ( extra muros ). It was probably not built until the late 4th century. No remains of this building can be seen today.

Hadrian's Wall

The section of wall between Rudchester and Halton Chester was almost completely destroyed by stone robbery during the construction of the B6318 military road. Remnants of the wall could be observed 20 meters from the fortress. The course of the wall on the east and west side of the fortress essentially coincides with the B6318. An exploratory excavation on its west side showed that the wall was connected to the fort at the southern flank towers of the west and east gates. On the aerial photos, the southern moat can be seen as a mark on the ground west of the fort. He ran over the hill to the Fence Burn, then his tracks disappear before the southwest corner of the Severan annex. The moat could also be observed inside the fort, which proved that it was only created after the completion of Hadrian's Wall. On the east side of the camp, the moat is still visible over a length of 50 meters. Its course south of the fort has not yet been clearly confirmed archaeologically.

garrison

The soldiers of Legio VI and Legio II are likely to have been among the first occupation units of the fort as part of their work as building vexillations . However, it is unlikely that after its completion, legionaries were stationed here for a long time. The construction of a stone fort always required specialized craftsmen, who were usually only to be found among the legions and not among the auxiliaries who were later to be garrisoned here. Legionaries were used to build most of the empire's military structures. The fort was then occupied by a 500 man strong and probably partly mounted cohort of auxiliary troops ( cohors quingenaria equitata ), unknown by name . Under the rule of the Severi, it was replaced by the Pannonian horsemen.

The following auxiliary units are known as crew for Onnum / Hunnum or may have been there for a limited time:

Time position Troop name description
2nd century AD Legio sextae Victrix Pia Fidelis (the sixth legion, the victorious, pious and faithful) According to a building inscription from the west gate, soldiers of the Legio VI built the camp. The Legion's headquarters were in Eburacum (York).
2nd century AD Legio secunda Augusta (the second legion of Augustus) A building inscription discovered in Halton in 1760 (now lost) also named the Legio II Augusta , which was probably also stationed here for building work. Their headquarters was Isca Silurum (Caerleon).
2nd century AD Cohors quingenaria equitata (a partially mounted auxiliary troop cohort, 500 strong) Such an auxiliary troop unit, whose name is not known due to a lack of written sources, presumably provided the first garrison of the fort.
3rd to 4th century AD Ala prima Pannoniorum Sabiniana ("the first Pannonian cavalry squadron of Sabinianus") The cavalry unit was originally set up in the province of Pannonia (present-day Austria and Hungary) and should have comprised around 500 riders at full strength. An inscription from Halton Chesters also names a Noriker who served in the unit. According to a tombstone inscription, she may have been stationed in Aldeia Nova ( Portugal ) before. The unit was eventually posted to Arbeia Castle in Britain , where it remained until the late 2nd century. A brick stamp is from there, stamped lead bars are known from Corbridge and Pittington Farm. The unit may have received its supplies from there. From her nickname derive the thought that her first commander was called "Sabinianus". From Savaria (Szombathely, HU) an inscription is known that names the prefect Titus Cnoris Sabinianus, who commanded a lancer unit there. Perhaps it is the same officer who also led the Halton Chesters horse troops. A claim by the Frenchman Louis Le Roux from 1911, which was refuted in German research by the ancient historian Konrad Kraft (1920-1970) in 1951, that the named commander was T. Pontius Sabinus from the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117-138) been, but holds up to this day.

After the military reforms of Diocletian and Constantine I , the garrisons on the Wall were part of the limitanei . From the western Notitia dignitatum , list of troops of the Dux Britanniarum (originated at the end of the 4th century) is u. a. the rank of their commander, a prefect, is known. Since the troops still appear in this late antique document, they could have stood there until the dissolution of the provincial army in the 5th century.

Vicus

The camp village belonging to the fort expanded south and south-east of the fortress. The remains of two buildings are known, but they are only clearly visible in the aerial photographs. The eastern building was 4.5 meters wide and at least twelve meters long, one of its earth walls is still recognizable as a 0.9 meter wide and 0.1 meter high elevation. The other, less well-preserved specimen has only been insufficiently examined. It was about 4.5 meters wide, its other dimensions are unknown. The course of its walls could only be followed by means of foundation trenches. To the southeast of these buildings was a circular depression (1.6 meters in diameter), which was bordered by stones. During excavations and geophysical investigations carried out between 1999 and 2000, further stone foundations could be observed along the southern arterial road, about 240 to 260 meters from the fort.

Quarries

Traces of quarries have been observed in the hills east of the Roman fortress. Sandstone, which is directly on the surface, and other natural stones were mined here. They can be recognized by excavations in the area of ​​Carr Crags and Down Hill and are probably of Roman origin. But they were obviously also exploited in the 18th century.

literature

  • A. L. F. Rivet, Colin Smith: The Place-names of Roman Britain. B. T. Batsford, London 1979.
  • John Collingwood Bruce: Roman Wall. Harold Hill & Son, 1863, pp. 84-89, ISBN 0-900463-32-5 .
  • John Collingwood-Bruce: Handbook to the Roman Wall , 12th Edition, 1966.
  • Ian Alexander Richmond: Handbook to The Roman Wall. Newcastle 1947.
  • Ian Alexander Richmond, OGS Crawford: Ravennas Anonymus, Cosmographia. The British section of the Ravenna cosmography, Archaeologia. XCIII, 1949, pp. 1-50.
  • Frank Graham, The Roman Wall: Comprehensive History and Guide. Frank Graham, 1979, ISBN 0-85983-140-X .
  • Eric Birley: Research on Hadrian's Wall. 1961.
  • M. G. Jarrett: Archaeologia Aeliana: or miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity. No. 37, 1959.
  • J. Hodgson: History of Northumberland III pt.II. 1840.
  • Nick Hodgson: Hadrian's Wall 1999-2009. Pp. 95-97.
  • Frank G. Simpson, Ian A. Richmond: The Fort on Hadrian's Wall at Halton, Archaeologia Aeliana: or miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity. No. 14, 1937, pp. 151-171.
  • MG Jarrett: The Defenses of the Roman Fort at Halton Chesters. Archaeologia Aeliana: or miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity. No. 37, 1959, pp. 177-190.
  • JN Dore: Excavations directed by JP Gillam at the Roman fort of Haltonchesters. 1960–1961, 2009.
  • Tony Wilmott (Ed.): Hadrian's Wall: archaeological research by English Heritage. 1976-2000, 2009, p. 16.
  • K. Blood, MCB Bowden: Archaeologia Aeliana: The Roman Fort at Haltonchesters. An Analytic Field Survey, (1990), pp. 55-62.
  • Eilert Ekwall: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names. Clarendon Press. Fourth Edition, 1936–1980.
  • AD Mills: Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names. Oxford University Press, 1991-2003.
  • HHE Craster: Northumberland County History. Vol. 10, Newcastle-upon-Tyne 1914.
  • Guy de la Bédoyère : Hadrian's Wall: history and guide. Tempus, 1998, ISBN 0-7524-1407-0 .
  • Wolfgang Moschek: The Roman Limes: a history of culture and mentality. BoD - Books on Demand, 2011.

Remarks

  • RIB = Roman inscriptions in Britain
  1. ↑ ALF Rivet, Colin Smith 1979, pp. 431-433, Cos. Rav. 146 (Rav. 43).
  2. ↑ Guy de la Bedoyere, 1997, p. 50
  3. ^ Society for Promotion of Roman Studies. The journal of Roman studies, No. 51, 1961, p. 164, Ian Alexander Richmond 1947, pp. 69-70, HHE Craster, 1914, pp. 395-413, RIB 1436 .
  4. ↑ Guy de la Bedoyere 1997, p. 50, Wolfgang Moschek, 2011, p. 213.
  5. ^ RIB 1427
  6. ↑ J. Hodgson 1840, p. 317, Eric Birley 1961, p. 171, M. G. Jarrett 1959, pp. 177-190, Guy de la Bedoyere 1997, p. 51, J. C. Bruce 1966, p. 72.
  7. ↑ RIB 1430
  8. ↑ RIB 1427 , Guy de la Bedoyere 1997, p. 50.
  9. ^ Konrad Kraft : On the recruitment of ales and cohorts on the Rhine and Danube . Bernae Aedibus A. Francke, Bern 1951, p. 34.
  10. ↑ (Diploma CIL XVI, 69) RIB 1433 , CIL 3,4183 , ND Occ. XL 21: Praefectus alae Sabibianae, Hunno

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