Birdoswald Roman Fort is situated on a plateau north of the River Irthing, about 200 feet above the river.
From the south of the fort, there are magnificent views of the Irthing below and east along the wall. It is just over 3 miles from Carvoran (near the site of the Roman Army Museum) and 7 miles from Great Chester’s to the East. The fort is located about half a mile from the Irthing river crossing and part of its function was to guard the bridge.
New Stone Fort
Sometime after 130AD the Birdoswald Roman Fort was replaced by a larger fort made of stone and had the unusual feature of having a drill hall. It has been assumed that the surrounding land was so boggy that it could not be used for training and exercise.
About the same time, the turf wall was replaced by a stone wall and moved a few hundred feet north and in line with the fort’s north wall. This is the only place the original line of the wall was moved when the turf wall was replaced.
When Hadrian’s Wall was reinstated as the frontier the fort was again renovated and it is roughly the fort we see today.
The fort covers 580 ft. by 400ft and covers 5.3 acres. The fort was garrisoned in the 3rd and 4th centuries by the first cohort of the Dacians, Hadrian’s own’ a 1000 strong unit.
There have been numerous excavations over the years and only a small amount is visible. This site has been occupied consistently since it was abandoned by the Romans 16 centuries ago.
BIRDOSWALD NORTH WEST TOWER
Before entering the fort you can see the remains of the north west tower of the fort, most of the north wall is under the road.., At the entrance, there is a fine visitors centre with a small museum, after walking around the farmhouse built in the north west of the fort, you enter the fort ruins.
The Main Westgate
BIRDOSWALD WESTGATE
As usual the gate consists of 2 towers probably about 40ft high with 2 gates between them. The gates were rebuilt in the 3rd century and the southern was blocked a few years later. The quality of the rebuild was impressive.
Main St
Looking from the Westgate east down the main street towards the Headquarters building on the right you see the Eastgate in the distance. On the left is the farmhouse built in the 17th and 18th Centuries on the remains of the Drill house, the north edge is just visible in front of the farmhouse. This building was maintained throughout the fort’s occupation and measured 140ft by 52 ft.
The Granaries
Immediately after the Westgate on the right are 2 granaries built about 205AD ,2 stories high. The roofs were covered by diamond shaped tile and probably weighed 50 tons each. As is usual the granaries had raised floors and one had a low door, where dogs could be sent in to discourage the rodents. In the fourth century the south granary was converted for an unknown purpose. The roof of the northern granary collapsed after 353AD (a coin was found under the rubble).
Eastgate and the Surrounding Wall
At the end of Main St is Eastgate. This was rebuilt in the fourth century. The curtain wall is well preserved, follow it round to the Southgate. which again had a gate blocked and the space converted to a room. By walking south of the fort you can see how impressive the location is by looking down at the River Irthing.
Later Occupation
Occupation continued after the end of Roman rule and certainly through the fifth century. It is possible that the troops never left and had been self-sufficient for decades before Roman rule ceased. Wooden buildings were erected about 400 AD and further buildings followed and finally the farmhouse.
Vicus (Civil Community)
Geophysical surveys have revealed a large civil community surrounding the fort. It covers an area larger than the fort to the east and west, and surprisingly to the north of the fort. It is largely unexcavated.
Willowford Bridge
The Wall crosses the River Irthing about half a mile east of the fort. This is where in the original plan the stone wall ended and the turf wall began. The eastern abutment .of the bridge is now 72ft from the river, as the river has moved west.
Three bridges were built on this site. The first was built of stone and had a small walkway to cross. It was built with the Wall about 125. Soon after construction, it had to be modified as the foundations were undermined from the beginning. It is believed to have collapsed after 160AD
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The second bridge was probably started soon after the collapse of the first bridge. It had a timber superstructure with a large tower to the east. To strengthen the bridge a platform of masonry was constructed to the north and a retaining wall for the sandy river bank.
The third bridge removed the tower, widened the bridge, and built a ramp by which the military road crossed the river. The stone bridge was built of large blocks of stone held together by iron clamps (you can see the holes for the clamps in the blocks of stone).
Willowford 3rd Roman Bridge
The Wall had 3 major river crossings, the Tyne at Chesters, the Irthing here and the Eden at Carlisle. In addition, there was the bridge at Corbridge, which was the largest of all. All suffered at the hands of the rivers. They were unbreakable in that they were all built of stone unlike most of the Roman Bridges in Britain.
Inscriptions found on this site HERE