I like Great Chesters fort a huge amount. Why? It is largely untouched and on a working farm above Haltwhistle. I always try and look at lots of different stones when I am walking around and about.
This fort is on the line of Hadrian's Wall. I'll write more about it another time.
Most people will not see this stone as it is in the outer side of the fort and you have to circumnavigate the fort to see it. You also have to be really careful as there is a lot of livestock around - as always take particular care when on a farm and treat the whole area with respect and caution.
I did not know what this stone was. I sent a photo of it to Lindsay Allason-Jones - Roman expert (Reader in Roman Material Culture) and who is still involved at Newcastle University Archaeology Department (she's just retired from there - from her full time post at least!) and is the President of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle (amongst many, many other things). She says that it might be a lintel.
I enjoy all aspects of Hadrian's Wall plus the history before, after, during the life of the Wall...but sometimes chance discoveries and things which catch me off balance and, therefore, make me reassess my current level of knowledge have a special meaning for me...
What do you reckon this stone could be? I'd be interested to hear your suggestions....
5 comments:
Great to see you feeling inspired again and giving us a bit of a challenge. Not savvy enough to hazard a guess about your stone but it does look as though it was decorative and functional in an earlier life.
Looks like a decorative lintel to me too...do you think it is Roman or "borrowed" from a big house nearby? Whatever its origins, it is an ingenious bit of dry stone walling.
Julie x
Thanks Jeneane. I don't know why but I like natural materials like wood and stone...perhaps not surprisingly with my Dad in property renovation and a cousin who's a stonemason...my paternal grandfather was a joiner too. :-) Obviously if I could find an inscription hidden away somewhere so much the better. . .
Hi Julie...it is Roman...the Romans quite often did a bit of "DIY" (Do it Yourself! - Fai Lo Te! (Italian) - fac id te! (Latin))...rearranging the furniture so to speak over the years... C/H x
It certainly looks like it could be a lintel. Is there any lettering on it at all? A x
Hello SJA! How are you doing? Unfortunately I couldn't see any lettering...(very sadly)... :(
Thanks for popping by. Always nice to chat. Hope you are well too. :) Hxx
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