ISSUE 14        11TH JANUARY 2000

 

 

Inside this Newsletter

 

 

SAND BAR?  WHAT SAND BAR?

 

By Fred Mitchinson

 

With the publication of  “The Piercebridge Formula” in 1984, it was evident that the Romans used our rivers as transport highways.  Some archaeologists, however, have continued to deny this and have said that the River Wear could not have been used at all because in Roman times, a sand bar blocked the river entrance.  As there are no Roman records to take this information from, it would seem that there has been some confusion between recent history and ancient history.

 

1737 map of River Wear entrance

 

In 1558, Queen Elizabeth appointed a commission to enquire into the state of the ports on the northeast coast.  It reported, among other things, that the Wear was a “creek of Newcastle and little frequented or haunted with traffic of merchants or merchandise”.  They also managed to count only thirty houses and a few fishing boats.  It would seem then, that the river mouth at that time was as the Romans, Saxons and Vikings had found it and left it, in it’s natural state and with no substantial alterations such as quays or piers which could have altered the tidal flow.

 

 

1719 plan of the river mouth

 

 

Trade increased after this because Elizabeth “discouraged alien merchants from trading to the detriment of the home trader” and in 1609 the Bishop of Durham leased to John Rand the rights to all river dues including the conveyancing away of ballast

 

This very rural state of affairs continued until the English Civil War, when Sunderland supported Parliament and Newcastle declared for the King.  As London, which was in the lands of the parliamentary forces, was the chief importer of coals from Newcastle, an alternative supply of coal had to be found, and Sunderland, with its river reaching into the Durham coalfield was the only alternative.

 

The result was an ecological disaster for the Wear, with any Royal Warrants now useless, the customs officers gone, the church isolated, and any of the “gentlemen” who normally exerted authority now fighting in the war and the Brethren of Trinity House blockaded in Newcastle, control over shipping was non-existent.

 

Hundreds of colliers and others flooded in, with each captain was able to secure the stability of his vessel by retaining his ballast until he was safely over the bar, and then dumped overboard.  Any ballast that was taken ashore was simply piled up on the edge of the river to be washed back in with the tide.  Every small craft would be pressed into service for the lucrative coal trade and would not have time to carry ballast.

 

Three years later in 1645 a letter from Westminster to Customs Officers complained that ships were casting ballast into the river, and granting the powers to impose penalties, but it is not until 1669 that we find out what the scramble for coal had cost. 

 

In that year King Charles the second granted letters patent to Edward Andrew Esquire to build a pier, erect lighthouses and raise contribution for that purpose.  It is uncertain what Edward Andrew managed to achieve, but his letters patent still survive.

While the document is too long to reproduce here, some sentences stand out, viz: -  “the harbour, which is of late very much gorged, stopped up and choaked – is rendered almost innavigable so the said harbour which in late years did receive and secure 400 sayle of shippes at one time, loaden with coals and other goods cannot now receive any ship of considerable burthen without hazard”.

 

The document goes on to complain that large ships must now lie off the port to load under dangerous conditions, and smaller draught vessels lie for long periods in the harbour because the choked up river makes it difficult to bring down the coal, and once loaded they must wait for spring tides and fair winds to take them to sea.

 

An Act of George the first notes that loaded keels may only pass at high tide.

 

The obvious question to ask at this point is: What would be the point of loading four hundred ships with coal and other goods if they could only pass over the sand bar in an unloaded condition?

 

That there was a sand bar is not in question, but the plain fact is that the river having insufficient "scour" down a central channel caused it, it’s force being dissipated into many channels through the dumped ballast. 

 

Taylor Potts, the Sunderland keelboatmen and historian who was born in 1820 was a witness to the condition of the river before and after the introduction of efficient steam powered dredgers.

 

He writes “By dredging from the lower to the upper reaches of the river, the influx of water has been so great that the out scour of the river over the bar seems to have swept away the sand to a depth unknown before – practically speaking, the bar has ceased to be”.

 

It now becomes possible to speculate that the Romans, far from being shut out of the river, were able, with their known use of an oared galley as a tugboat, to negotiate the entrance more easily that our immediate ancestors.

 

 

       

The Roman North

Part VI

By Tom Wright

 

Marcus Aurelius died in AD180 but unfortunately his choice of successor, his son Commodus, was disastrous. Commodus had little interest in governing an Empire and spent his time in leisure pursuits.

 

Cassius Dio, a Roman historian, tells us in AD184 that Commodus had several wars to cope with, the worst being in Britain. He writes, "The tribes crossed the wall which separated them from Roman territory and caused much damage, also killing a Roman General at the head of his troops"

 

 

Commodus despatched a tough General, Ulpius Marcellus, to deal with the situation. Ulpius was an honest but hardhearted and stern man who needed very little sleep and ate basic soldier's rations. Unfortunately, he thought that his officers should be the same and would instruct a junior officer to deliver to them pre-written despatches at various times through the night to keep them alert and appear that he was awake.

 

It must have been the Antonine Wall, presumably repaired after the last disaster, which the barbarians crossed and damaged severely. However Ulpius Marcellus was merciless in his crushing of the invading barbarians, but the Forth/Clyde wall was not rebuilt and was abandoned. It is fair to guess that by now the tribes to south of this wall preferred the Pax Romano and evidence is coming to light that the Romans may have used the tribes as a buffer state between Hadrian's Wall and the more northerly tribes of the Caledones, the Maeatae and the Venicones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next problem in Britain came not from native tribesmen but from the army itself. Marcellus cannot have been a likeable leader and the soldiers became disgruntled and rebellious. Apparently Commodus as usual, had left major decisions to his chief minister - Perennis, who had disgusted the army with some of his promotions, involving deposing senatorial commanders and replacing them with men of equestrian rank. The army in Britain sent a large delegation to Rome to confront Commodus who met them outside the city. After hearing the army reports, Commodus handed over Perennis to them as a lawbreaker and he was hacked to pieces.

 

The Emperor now sent a new governor to Britain, named Pertinax, who quickly stamped out all signs of mutiny in the army. However, there was a legion (unnamed) that rebelled against Pertinax and he nearly lost his life. Eventually he asked Commodus to be excused from his governorship, saying the legions detested his strict discipline. In AD193 Commodus was assassinated and Pertinax became emperor, but within three months he also was assassinated and the position of emperor was auctioned by the army; Rome was clearly in decline and being controlled by the military. An old senator called Julian was next on the throne but he too was removed after three months. Then came a bid for the throne by three men: Septimus Severus, who had the support of 16 legions on the Danube and the Rhine; Clodius Albinus, governor of Britain; and Prescennius Niger, who was in Syria. Severus won the race to Rome and declared himself Augustus. To keep Albinus happy he gave him the title of Caesar and poor Prescennius was killed. However, within a year, Severus was not satisfied with the situation, he wanted his sons to be his successors and was not pleased about Albinus' popularity with the Senate. To resolve this, Severus resorted to treachery. He sent some trusted couriers with a letter to Albinus, offering him to share the throne, but instructed them to ask to speak to him in private, where he would be murdered with daggers hidden under their cloaks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The treachery failed however, Albinus became suspicious and had the couriers tortured until they confessed their instructions from Severus.

 

The only answer to this was for Albinus to take an army to Rome and do battle with Severus and his legions to decide who would be emperor. This meant taking his legions with him from Britain with the obvious danger of exposing Britain to attack from barbarians. What steps Albinus took to preserve Britain is not known but perhaps this was the time when a rampart and ditch were built around British towns, no source can tell us for certain.

 

In August AD196, Albinus and his legions sailed from Britain to land in Gaul - it would be over a thousand years before Gaul (France) would see another invader from Britain. On landing in Gaul Albinus declared himself Augustus and encouraged some legions to join him. With a huge army, he advanced against Severus and his Generals with success at first, but eventually a stalemate was reached between the two armies. A worried Severus consulted fortunetellers who told him that Albinus would fall into his hands neither living nor dead. In the final encounter Severus and his army were victorious and Albinus fled. There are many reports on how he met his death, whether it was by his own hand or by his own soldiers, to win favour with Severus, but the prophecy came true.

 

 

 

 

 

By now it was AD197 and during the Roman army's absence from Britain the northern tribes had swarmed south, doing their worst. Some other tribes joined in, including some of the Brigantes. Much burning, killing and destruction occurred and Severus immediately after settling the Albinus affair sent a new governor, Virius Lupus, to recover the province of Britain. 

 

More in part VII.

 

 

       

 

 

STAWARD CAMP

By

Brenda R Ludvigsen

 

Early in 1999 members of the N.A.G. were invited by Colonel Bell of Staward Manor to investigate a feature going through his land.   Excavations revealed a Roman road with cobbled surface and two parallel grooves, believed to have been caused by ox-wagon wheels.  This road is on the 255-frontier line in use before Hadrian’s Wall was constructed. 

 

Whilst the chaps were digging I decided to take my dowsing rods and explore the road westwards to see where it would take me.   The road was easy to follow beside the wall, showing as a green path.   Where the wall turned slightly to the right the Roman road divided, the right fork going towards the ruined building of Gingle Pot. I continued on Colonel Bell’s road until it reached the public path, going north towards Staward Peel – I think this path, which runs beside a dry stone wall, may also be Roman. Looking over the wall to my left, I could see the raised agger of another possible Roman road going westward down the field towards the woods overlooking the river.

 

 

 

 

Cross-section of the Staward Road

 

A slightly lower agger of another road could be seen on the right going at an angle up the field towards Gingle Pot.   I turned left and continued south along the public path until I came to a water trough at the bottom of the hill.  This trough was well constructed with shaped stones, too grand to be merely for cattle, and wondered whether it could also be of Roman origin.   Still facing south, looking up the hill towards the main road, I could see the rectangular outline of what looked like a camp – the public path to the west of it seeming to consist of earthworks running down the side of the camp.   I decided this needed further investigation at another time and returned to Gingle Pot, where I met up with my colleagues who had also discovered the division of Colonel Bell’s road.   We followed the agger, which passed north of the ruined farm, again going west and disappearing through a gate towards the river.   We returned to the dig.

 

I was also curious to see where the road went to the east of our excavations and followed it behind Staward Manor. It divided at the culvert over the stream at the rear of the house. One section going east through the trees to the top of the bank overlooking the stream, the other crossing the culvert and passing in front of the manor through the lawn, in a south-east direction towards, the main road.   Incidentally, I think Colonel Bell was checking on our dowsing ability as he had three of us spread out in line on his front lawn dowsing his water drains.  We found them, and also two he had no knowledge of – I’ve never been involved in synchronised dowsing before.

 

On the following day I returned to the Gingle Pot area with my husband, who had been involved with the excavation and had not seen my discoveries.   On closer inspection the suspected camp looked promising, the embankments were not farm ditches and had rounded corners, possibly a temporary camp, and the north wall seemed to have two entrances.   The east and west walls disappeared under the modern road with modern buildings on the southern part of the camp.  A drain through the centre of the camp joined a ditch at the bottom of the field, which also drained the trough, passing under the public path via a culvert, and going down towards the river.  My husband followed the agger of the road going westwards down the field towards the river and managed to make his way through the undergrowth, where the road could be seen as a hollow-way going down the bank.   There is a public path to the river but unfortunately it was closed at the time for repair owing to winter erosion.  We reported our findings to the Group and hoped we would be able to obtain permission to excavate.

 

 

 

Staward waterfall

 

In August 1999 members of the Group returned to Staward Manor, Colonel Bell being kind enough to obtain permission from the farmer to excavate.   However, before we proceeded to the camp we investigated the stream to the east of the house where it drops over a 20ft waterfall to see whether there was any trace of Roman worship of water deities.   The banks of the stream were very steep but at the bottom of the waterfall we came upon a flat area of ground.   We dowsed the imprint of a building and after digging a small trench, approximately two feet down, uncovered a length of wall beside which we found pieces of Roman pottery.  On returning to the house via the west bank of the stream my rods picked up the Roman road from the top of the waterfall, which could be seen as a raised path along the water’s edge, and followed it to the bottom of the hill where I had traced it on my previous visit.

 

 

 

Digging at the southern entrance to the Staward Camp.

 

The diggers finally arrived at the camp and after further dowsing and spiking decided to put a trench across the northwest entrance.   The cobbles of a Roman road were soon exposed going into the camp, which would make it more permanent than first thought.   This is just the start of our discoveries and we hope to return as soon as possible.

 

 

 

 

Didn’t they do well?

 

Brenda R Ludvigsen

1 September 1999          (Photographs care of Steve Marchant)

 

 

       

 

 

 

Avebury Stone Circle

In the early 1700’s the antiquarian William Stukeley published a book on the Neolithic stone circle near Avebury in Wiltshire. It included a drawing of two avenues of stones leading away from the circle encompassing the village of Avebury. One of them, Kennet Avenue, was well documented, but Stukeley maintained the existence of the second that he named Beckhampton Avenue. However, historians have always refuted his claims.

 

In August of 1999, archaeologists working near Avebury stone circle uncovered evidence of an avenue of huge monoliths that solves the mystery that has lasted since Stukeley’s day.

 

“This is a very significant and exciting discovery because if forces us to rethink the whole nature of the Avebury complex,” said Joshua Dalend, from the University of Wales and co-director of the excavation.

 

 

       

 

 

 

 

How Many Times has America been discovered?

 

The Sunday Telegraph, 12^th December 1999, carried an article detailing ancient discoveries of America.

 

Evidence suggests that America has long been visited both across the Atlantic and the Pacific. The earliest human remains yet discovered in the New World, the skeleton of a young woman found in Brazil and carbon dated to 11,500 years, shows distinct Australoid features, while the 9,300-year-old Kennewick Man from Washington State most closely resembles Polynesians of the South Pacific.

 

In August Xinhua, the Chinese press agency, reported that similarities between almost 300 markings found on pottery, jade and stone at unspecified ancient native sites in central America closely resemble 3,000-year-old Shang dynasty characters for the sun, sky rain, water, crops, trees and stars. American and Chinese pictographs in 56 matching sets were shown to senior academics at a symposium in Anyang, former capital of the Shang dynasty. These impressive similarities add fuel to theories that Chinese arrived in the Americas before the end of the Shang dynasty in 221BC. Shang legends state that a King led his people on a journey to the east, with some historians believing that he took them across the Bering Strait to North America.

 

The Chinese classic, the Shan Hai King of about 2250BC, contains what seems to be an accurate description of the Grand Canyon. Peanuts and maize have been found at ancient Chinese sites dating back to 3000BC. The orthodox view is that neither of these plants left their native America before their export by European colonists in the 16^th century AD.

 

Then there is the 3,000-year-old pottery found on the Valdivian coast of Ecuador, decorated and incised in exactly the same way as pottery from the Jomon area of Japan, and not preceded in Ecuador by plainer and simpler bowls and urns.

 

An inscription found near Philadelphia and dated to 800-600BC seems to be in basque.

 

Mark McMenamin, a professor of geography and geology at Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, is convinced that the Carthaginians discovered America between 350 and 320BC. In an issue of the Numismatic magazine, and at a meeting of the American Friends of Tunisia Association last May, he interpreted a series of puzzling gold coins of that period as depictions of the known world, which includes a land mass to the west of Spain.

 

Experts on ancient trade routes believe that the Carthaginians reached the coast of brazil; Punic amphorae have been found underwater in a bay near Rio de Janeiro and 4^th century BC Punic coins have been excavated at seven sites in the eastern United States.

 

American archaeological finds offer a riot of anomalies, including ancient coins and many epigraphic puzzles. The Bat Creek Stone from Tennessee bears a Hebrew inscription said to date from about the second century AD.

 

In AD499, a Chinese monk, Hui Shen, returned to China claiming to have spent 40 years in the land of "Fu Sang". He left a record of the country he visited, which has been recorded in official histories - a land thought by some modern scholars to be ancient Mexico.

 

The maverick historian Farley Mowat has just published The Farfarers: Before the Norse, in which he argues that the first Europeans to reach America were "Albans" who set off from the north of Scotland in the 8^th century AD in search of walrus ivory. The 78 year old Canadian author maintains that the remains of long houses far above the tree line in northern Quebec were built by these immigrants. His 36 books on the life, history and ecology of North America have sold 15 million copies, and he shrugs off the scorn of conventional archaeologists.

 

Scandinavians are preparing to celebrate the 1,000 years since Leif Ericsson sailed to the new world from Greenland.