Journey's End (Segedunum Roman Fort)

Member Name: michaelhudson

Product:	Segedunum Roman Fort
Date:	11/11/02 (181 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Ideal for families, Convenient public transport links, The bath-house

Disadvantages: Maybe a little dumbed-down

From the south shore of the Solway Firth in the west to the banks of the River Tyne in the east, Hadrian's Wall snakes across the high ground of three counties in a 73-mile sweep along the frontier of the Roman Empire. For three hundred years the garrison at Segedunum, strategically positioned on a wide bend in the River Tyne as it swept past the fort at Arbeia and out into the North Sea at the very edge of the Empire, guarded the last outpost of the Wall from the barbarians on the other side.


SEGEDUNUM TODAY

One thousand six hundred years after the Roman withdrawal from Britain, the Segedunum Roman Fort, Baths & Museum now occupies an old canteen building between a sprawling housing estate and Swan Hunter shipyard. Exiting the nearby Metro station, the prominent Job Centre and the idle cranes speak of a more contemporary, though equally devastating, abandonment. The modern visitors' centre, which cost £9 million and was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and local businesses, seems strikingly new against the industrial backdrop leading down to the river. A 35-metre high viewing tower rises from the three-storey museum complex, overlooking the excavated remains of the fort below and a reconstructed stretch of the Wall on the other side of a road now traversed by family estate cars and delivery trucks.

THE MUSEUM

Opened in June 2000, the museum attracted 80,000 visitors in its first year and has since won numerous awards including the Northumbria Family Attraction of the Year. A large, surprisingly well-stocked gift shop occupies the area around the entrance and reception desk, extending to the doorway that leads to the Roman Gallery.

By far the largest of the three galleries with over 700 artefacts, the Roman section was obviously designed with younger visitors in mind. Interactive and colourful, the touch screen games, puzzles, video footage and hands-on exhibits allow visitors to try on Roman clothing, fee
l the weight of ringmail armour, design a Roman wall painting, build an arch and experience life on a simulated archaeological dig. None of this was particularly challenging - indeed some have argued that the emphasis on physical and visual involvement has come at the expense of intellectual stimulation – but then I doubt if bored children ever really learn anything from peering silently into glass.

That said there are some touches that can surely be appreciated by more sophisticated adult minds and traditionalists alike. The central area, built to resemble the original fort, has a number of interesting exhibits including a collection of rounded stones once used as defensive missiles and the only stone toilet seat from Roman Britain. A scale model stands in the centre of the room offering fully narrated virtual reality tours on another of the touch screen computers that are found on almost every wall. Assorted artefacts such as tiles, cooking utensils and coins-all excavated since the 1970s when the adjacent slum housing was cleared-are accompanied by clear descriptions and information cards. To the right of this central room, the Civilian Life exhibits display jewellery, board games, surgical implements and ornaments from the Commanding Officer's House. A large map details the career of Statius Priscus, who commanded the Cohors Lingonum regiment at Segedunum before rising to the post of Governor of Britain, adding a human dimension to what could easily have been a rather dry exhibit.

Directly behind the central display, the Shrine of the Standards exhibits more coins, a small collection of standards and replicas of ornate silver bowls and tableware found in Hildesheim, Germany in the 19th century. To the left, life size models show scenes from the infantry and cavalry barracks accompanied by a variety of sound effects, before a final door leads into a darkened auditorium where a video details life at the fort as seen through the eyes
of one of five characters.

A set of stairs to the right of the room leads up to the Industry and Exhibition Galleries. A nine-minute film entitled 'From Segedunum to Wallsend' details the history of the area, cleverly cutting between historical re-enactments and real-life footage. The shots of Hadrian's Wall are stunning, while an emotive section details the history of the nearby colliery including the 19th century disaster in which 103 miners were killed by an underground explosion. By contrast, the small collection of artefacts outside the film theatre are sadly lacking with only a few safety lamps and a large chain, which the pitmen had to grip for over two minutes as they were lowered down the 186-metre shaft, standing out from a lacklustre and cramped display. Swan Hunter fares even worse, meriting only some scale models of ships built at the yard, some photographs and a large map showing the 40 countries to which completed ships were sold. Not much to commemorate a company that once employed more than ten thousand men.

Next door, the Exhibition Gallery seems similarly claustrophobic. Currently showcasing archaeological finds from the area including an altar, inscribed stone fragments, text and photos of the Wall between Newcastle and Wallsend, the contrast with the roomy, interactive gallery downstairs was immediate, disappointing and complete.

THE TOWER PANORAMA

The distinctive glass-fronted helmet perched atop an air traffic control tower was perhaps the most controversial of all of the museum’s innovations. The view from the top of the tower, which is reached by lift, offers an enlightening view of the excavations below, though it's not quite as spectacular as the tourist literature would have you believe. Complemented by detailed computer models, the 180-degree panorama is among the popular of the museum’s attractions, leading to long waits at peak times.

THE FORT AND THE BATHS
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At the foot of the staircase leading to the upper galleries, a door leads out to the excavated remains of the fort and the reconstructed bath-house beyond. The ruins represent one of the most completely excavated forts in the Roman Empire and comprise the Commanding Officer's House, the headquarters building, granaries, workshops, cavalry and infantry barracks, water tanks, a forehall and what is though to have been a hospital. Most of the stone from these buildings was plundered in the long years between abandonment and excavation but the open plan layout and helpful boards, which detail locations and important finds, help to fill in some of the gaps. Gravel paths lead through the mortared blocks and stone that once housed a garrison of 480 infantry and 120 cavalry.

The highlight of my visit was undoubtedly the reconstructed bath-house. Based on original remains found elsewhere on the Wall and the only one of its kind in the country, the whitewashed, red-tiled building opens for approximately twenty minutes on the stroke of every hour. On the other side of the large changing room, where Roman bathers would undress, exercise and put on a pair of wooden slippers to protect their feet from the heated floors, four baths of varying temperatures could be enjoyed in any order, though it was customary to soak in the cold bath first in order to wash off any surface dirt. Decorated with frescos and left unheated, bathers would quickly progress from this first room into the double glazed warm room, where they could have a massage, or one of the two hot rooms. The basic hot room was used like a sauna, with the bather staying in the water just long enough to scrape dirt, sweat and oil off his skin with a metal scraper. The Hot Dry room served a very similar purpose, though there was absolutely no water or moisture within. A cutaway model in the corner of the room details the Roman underfloor heating system known as hypocaust. Hot air, heated by boilers, circ
ulated under the floor, rising into the hollow tiles that covered the walls and the arched ceiling. Text in each room describes the function of each of the baths and there are plans to admit visitors to the bath-house in order to enjoy an authentic Roman bathing experience. Fascinating.

DETAILS

Tel : 0191 295 5757

Admission : £3.50 adults
£1.95 children
£9 family ticket (two adults and two children)

Opening Hours: Daily 10-5 April –October
Daily 10-3.30 November-March

Segedunum is a minute's walk from Wallsend Metro Station.
Free car parking is available adjacent to the museum.

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