Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Penrith and The Border, visited Birdoswald Roman Fort where work has started on a new season of excavations to unearth fresh insights about life on Hadrian’s Wall.
Led by Historic England and Newcastle University, the 2023 summer season will see the largest area of Birdoswald under excavation in more than 20 years. Investigating a range of structures and artefacts from inside the fort and into the settlements beyond, the ‘big picture’ approach is designed to give researchers a glimpse of daily life along the Roman frontier in all its forms.
Work will continue excavating the well-preserved bathhouse to the East, but this year never-before excavated areas to the West and immediately north of Hadrian’s Wall will be systematically analysed. Already discovering extensive industrial and domestic areas beyond the fortifications, researchers are excited to explore the well-planned settlements that contained everyday life for citizens.
Dr Hudson was invited back to look more closely at their finds which ranged from jewellery and seals to shoes and pottery. He particularly enjoyed a recently unearthed ring with a carved red gemstone depicting the god Mars.
With the visitor sector representing a crucial portion of Penrith and The Border’s economy, Dr Hudson was keen to champion the important work being done at the World Heritage Site to boost tourism numbers and benefit local businesses. People can still book guided tours of the excavation until Friday 7th July via the English Heritage website here: www.bit.ly/excavation-tours-23.
Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Penrith and The Border, said:
“What an incredible privilege it is to have such a globally significant site right on our doorstep. I must thank the Birdoswald team for inviting me back to the fort and educating me on their important work, having seen the start of this work a couple of years back. I really enjoyed understanding more about their holistic excavations which are uncovering a great deal about regular citizens who lived alongside the military site.
“Beyond the academic significance of the site, it provides a great boost to our local economy with people visiting from across the world and spending their money in B&Bs, pubs and all manner of other businesses.”
Tony Wilmott, Historic England Senior Archaeologist and project co-director said:
“It was great to have Neil back at Birdoswald to see the significant progress that has been made together with our partners at Newcastle University since he last visited us. This year’s student archaeologists have seized this opportunity with enormous enthusiasm and we’re delighted to see their skills develop so rapidly.”
Ian Haynes, Professor of Archaeology at Newcastle University and project co-director said:
“This cutting-edge collaboration with Historic England’s Archaeological Projects team is taking our understanding of life on the frontier of Roman Britain to the next level. This year’s excavations are building our understanding of the variety of buildings, spaces and people who lived around the fort.”
Michael Williams, English Heritage said:
“We’ve seen a lot of interest in this year’s excavations, with visitors hailing from the local area, as well as coming from right across the country and overseas too – people have really enjoyed the rare chance to meet expert archaeologists as such a major project unfolds. English Heritage has been delighted to support this initiative to connect people with this important local heritage site and a small exhibition highlighting some of the finds from the recent excavations will remain available for visitors until the autumn.”
The site is also pivotal in training the next generation of archaeologists. Partnered with Newcastle University, the dig will have been joined by more than 200 students over its course ensuring graduates have the right tools to progress in the profession.
