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HALTONCHESTERS

ALTERNATIVE NAME:

ONNVM, HUNNUM, HALTON CHESTERS, ONNUM

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The site of Halton Chesters (ONNUM) Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall. The fort and road are visible as earthworks and parchmarks on air photographs. It was constructed in circa AD 126 and extended in the Severan period which gave it an L-shaped plan. A Hadrianic granary was identified in the south-west part of the fort, and a large building complex immediately to the west. A destructive fire affected an extensive area of the fort, and may be contemporary with the destruction deposit recorded at nearby Corbridge. Excavations also revealed evidence for late 4th century rebuilding on the site.

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[NY 997684] Haltonchesters [T.I.] ONNVM ROMAN FORT [G.S.C.] (1)

The Hadrianic fort, built in the 2nd century measures some 460 ft. north to south, by 410 ft. east to west, and belongs to a secondary stage in the Wall development. A reconstruction, started at the beginning of the 3rd c. included a westward extension, which added half an acre to the original area, and gave the fort its present unique 'L shaped' plan. An internal bath-house, sited to NY 9970 6850 containing at least eleven rooms was discovered in the north east compartment of the fort when it was first ploughed in 1827. (2-5)

Haltonchesters is bisected by a modern road, north of which, the fort's ramparts are represented by indeterminate ground swellings only. No visible remains of the bath house exist. South of the road, the outline of the fort is well-defined though mutilated. The unintelligible remains of internal buildings can also be traced.
Published survey (25") revised.
The Vallum's course past the fort is not visible. (6)

In 1960, excavations at Haltonchesters revealed 4 buildings of the Hadrianic period - a granary next to the headquarters building; next westwards a shorter building with a suspended floor like a granary but no buttresses (this was replaced in the Theodosian period); to the S. a small building of unknown function and a probable workshop on the West. These last two buildings were replaced in the Severan period. Excavations by J.P. Gillam and M.G. Jarrett. (7)

The archaeological history of the Roman fort at Haltonchesters, identified as ONNUM (8a), has been summarized by Birley (2) and Daniels (8b). Excavations undertaken in 1937 (8c) show that the Wall had already been built, at least in part, and the ditch dug before the decision was taken to move the frontier garrison up onto the Wall no later than AD 126. Subsequently the fort was extended to the W to the S of the Wall to form a broad, reversed L-shape, and this extension was found by excavation to be Severan (8d). The fort, reduced to a disturbed earthwork, was examined in 1989 by RCHME Newcastle during the Hadrians Wall Survey, when it was decided to produce a 1:500 survey and detailed textual description of the remains to take advantage of the unusually dry summer which had revealed parchmarks of buried features in the N ploughed-down part of the fort. (8)

The results of the RCHME survey, the plan and the description, were fully published in 1990. (9)

Scheduled (10)

A Roman fort and is visible as earthworks and cropmarks on air photographs at NY 9972 6846. The fort is visible as described above. To the south of the road the fort platform is extant but the interior features are largely unintelligable and were mapped as extents of area only. To the north of the road a slight platform survives. Parchmarks show the northern tower of the west gate as well as other internal features. A road, also visible as a parchmark, exits the fort through the north gate and branches before fading (NY 96 NE 138/ UID 1014457). A possible building is visible to the east of the road.
A broad depression, interpreted as the denuded vallum ditch (NY 96 NE195/ UID 1451435) appears to join the broad southern ditch of the fort. (11-13)

Recent publication of the 1960-1 excavations describes the Hadrianic granary in the south-west part of the fort and a large building complex immediately to the west. A destructive fire affected an extensive area of the fort, and may be contemporary with the destruction deposit recorded at nearby Corbridge. (14-15)

Depiction in the James Irwin Coates archive: 'S.E. Angle: Hunnum. 1879'. (16)

Located on the English Heritage map of Hadrian's Wall 2010. (17)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

1:2500 1962

( 2) by Eric Birley 1961 Research on Hadrian's Wall

Page(s)171

( 3) Archaeologia Aeliana : or miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity

(M.G. Jarrett) 37, 1959 Page(s)177-90

( 4) General reference

History of Northumberland III pt.II 1840 (J. Hodgson) Page(s)317

( 5) Aerial photograph

(CUC D.N.080 9.7.49)

( 6) Field Investigators Comments

F1 ECW 24-FEB-1966

( 7) Society for Promotion of Roman Studies The journal of Roman studies

51, 1961 Page(s)164

( 8) Field Investigators Comments

Keith Blood/14-SEP-1989/RCHME: Haltonchesters Survey

( 8a) by A L F Rivet and Colin Smith 1979 The place-names of Roman Britain

( 8b) by J Collingwood Bruce; edited and enlarged by Charles Daniels 1978 Handbook to the Roman Wall with the Cumbrian coast and outpost forts

( 8c) Archaeologia Aeliana : or miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity

Simpson F G and Richmond I A 'The Fort on Hadrian's Wall at Halton' 14, 1937 Page(s)151-71

( 8d) Archaeologia Aeliana : or miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity

Jarrett M G 'The Defences of the Roman Fort at Halton Chesters' 37, 1959 Page(s)177-90

( 9) by K Blood and M C B Bowden 1990 The Roman fort at Haltonchesters : an analytical field survey

Archaeologia Aeliana : or miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquityFifth series vol 1(1973)- 18 Page(s)55-62

(10) Scheduled Monument Notification

14-JUL-1997

(11) Oblique aerial photograph reference number

NMR NY9968/23 (NMR 17417/4) 13-Jan-2000

(12) Oblique aerial photograph reference number

CUCAP (CLY29) 17-May-1980

(13) Vertical aerial photograph reference number

CUCAP (RC8 HB 226) 30-Jul-1984

(14) N Hodgson 2009 Hadrian's Wall 1999-2009

Page(s)95-97

(15) J N Dore 2009 Excavations directed by J P Gillam at the Roman fort of Haltonchesters, 1960-61

(16) Tony Wilmott (Ed) 2009 Hadrian's Wall: archaeological research by English Heritage 1976-2000

Page(s)16

(17) English Heritage 2010 An Archaeological Map of Hadrian's Wall, 1:25,000 scale

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