Rainy days

In case you had not heard, England is having it's rainiest summer on record...of course. Although the Brits joke that this is said every year! If you caught any of Wimbledon last week, you'll already know this. Thank goodness for the roof over Centre Court!

When it's wet up at the dig site, a quick walk up the hill behind my guest house, a decision is made by the project managers if a.) the site is unsafe for the excavators and b.) too destructive to the site. On Friday, after a night of rain, it was deemed both of these. We had four good days of digging, though, which is more than can be said for the team before us. They got very little digging in. Typically, you'd take a rainy day to clean and process all the finds, but we hadn't found enough to keep four of us busy for an afternoon. Our supervisor, Nick, decided we would spend the morning touring some of the reconstructed buildings and then, after lunch, travel to the fort at the easternmost end of the wall, Segedunum, at Wallsend.

First off, before the rain started again, we took the requisite team photo. Stephen, my dig partner, was finishing up his time with us and headed off to travel a bit before returning to Australia.

 

Dave, Nick, me, Stephen, Terry (in the back), Maggie and Keith.

 

Next we toured the reconstructed barracks, commanding officer's house, and headquarters. They are quite impressive and give you a good idea of what life was like for all involved.

Reconstructed barracks

 

Costumed re-enactors exploring what would have been home for them.

 

Outside the commanding officer's house

 

 

 

The courtyard

 

 

Dave posing with some of his handiwork. He's a very talented artist!

After lunch we drove inland, stopping just short of Newcastle, to Wallsend (it's obvious where the name comes from!), and toured the fort, Segedunum. It sure makes it interesting when your supervisor and tour guide was one of the primary excavators on the site!

This wonderful observation tower provides an amazing view of the fort's layout and proximity to the Tyne to the south.

 

 

Just like at Arbeia, school children, in their final days before their summer holidays, enjoyed the remains on a class trip.

 

This is the most amazing drain system at the remains of the hospital. Water was channeled off the roof, into the collection basin, and drained away. I wish the drainage system around my foundation was this sturdy! Leave it to the Romans.

 

One of the highlights of Segedunum (meaning strong fort) is the gorgeous reconstructed bath house, which has the ability to be fully functioning.

 

 

Here's a sneak peek at the under-floor heating system.

 

 

Fancy a dip? There are warm, hot and cold baths, in addition to steam rooms. You could get a massage, be scraped to remove dirt from your skin (Boy, does that sound like fun!), and play board games.

The beginning of the wall can be seen to the northwest of the fort.

The wall on the left is a small-scale reconstruction.

 

Next up: The highlights from our trip out to hike stretches of the wall in the countryside.

 

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