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Housesteads Tour near our Hadrian's Wall Accommodation

I visited Housesteads last week as part of the programme organised by Hadrian’s Wall Heritage “Know your Hadrian’s Wall”. This was a good day. The first part was a tour was by the English Heritage guide. She made the tour quite personnel by introducing some of the Roman characters who lived there. This was a great way of presenting the information and really helped to bring the place alive. The Romans were brilliant militarists and sited the Wall on the top of the Whin Sill crags but their plan was for the forts, mile castles and turrets at regular intervals as multiples of the Roman mile. So Housesteads ended up being built on the steep side of a hill.

Housesteads Roman Fort on Hadrian's Wall

Obviously the first place to visit was the Latrines. These are well preserved and the poster is well known. The rest of the tour looked at the East Gate, the South Gate, the barrack blocks, the headquarters buildings and the hospital. After all, if you look after the soldier’s stomachs and their health, you are more likely to keep them in order!

The post lunch lectures were given by two Archaeologists from Durham University. These concentrated on the post Roman information and it is often referred to as Picts Wall. Hadrian's Wall is even shown on a C1200 map! The other lecture was on where Archaeology is going in the future and what information is missing from the Archaeologists knowledge now. For example, it is not even know exactly where in parts the Wall is located and when it was built.

Visit Housesteads from Tantallon House Bed and Breakfast Accommodation on Hadrian's Wall

Housesteads is a huge site and is very worthwhile visiting. There is loads of information published on the Fort and this is well worth reading to get a fuller understanding of the complex. Our bed and breakfast is on Hadrian's Wall and is the perfect place to stay to visit all the amazing sites on Hadrian's Wall