Sending a Package in Roman Britain?
Peter Dewart
When the Romans withdrew from Britain they left evidence of their occupation over most of the island, not just the roads and buildings but also coins and other small artefacts of every day use.
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Seal boxes are amongst the more intriguing and interesting of these smaller items. At its simplest, the seal box is a small bronze box, rarely more than 35mm in length, up to 7mm deep and with a hinged lid. The base of the box has up to four holes pierced through and there are two slots in the sides of the box opposite each other.
No one is exactly sure how seal boxes were used, but there are some fairly convincing clues. It is thought that they were sewn to bales or pouches using the holes in the base. A cord would then be passed tightly round the bale and knotted so that the cord entered the two side slots in the box, with the know lying within the box. Sealing wax was then run into the box and a seal applied. The lid, when closed, protected the seal. At least one box has been found with traces of wax inside.
Seal boxes come in a variety of shapes, square, round, oblong and oval, also lozenge shaped and piriform (pear shaped). Metal detectorists find usually only the box or the lid. An unusual lid on offer by a dealer this year was described as Pelta Shaped, from the small shield used by both the Greeks and the Romans, known as a Pelta.
Lids can be very attractive with complicated mouldings, enamel inlays, or with decorative mounts riveted to them. Another lid on a dealer's lists this year had a mount attached in the shape of an eagle, in high relief, with wings spread. This suggests a military connection and dates from the second century, a time of high military activity. Most seal boxes date from the second century.
One possible use for a seal box would be to protect sensitive information sent from one military commander to another. The message (on wax tablets?) would be placed in a leather pouch, the cord and seal box attached and the pouch entrusted to a courier. Any tampering would be apparent to the recipient.
Another possible use could be in protecting the personal effects of troops being posted. Bundles could follow on later, after the troops were moved, either by boat or by pack animals. On their arrival, each soldier could identify his bundle by his seal box and the "quarter master" could check his claim by matching the soldier's seal to his seal matrix.
It has been suggested that seal boxes could be nailed to crates, but if so it would have to be very light tacking to avoid damaging the seal box when it was removed.
Some are so small and attractive that they could easily be thought of as jewellery, but none have been found in silver or gold, although one or two have been found with remnants of gilding. Sometimes one turns up with an extra hole in the hinge arrangement, which suggests that it could have been suspended from a cord threaded through the hole. However, if they were worn on a cord around the neck, it would probably be just for safe keeping when not in use.
A problem with seal boxes was that the hinge arrangement was slack and the lid could easily flip open. Again, only on some seal boxes a cone and hole arrangement was used to keep the lid lined up over the box. All it would take to keep the lid fastened down would be to take the two loose ends of the knotted cord as they came out of the box, pass them under the box then up and over to be knotted over the lid.
At its peak, seal box design saw close fitting flanged lids, spouts instead of slots in the sides, even Millefiori glass inserts in the lids, but seal box use died out early in the third century. Perhaps as the country became more settled, literacy increased even among the foreign conscripts, so the seal box was replaced by a wooden address label similar to the writings on wood found at Vindolanda. Who Knows?
By Tom Wright.
When the Romans arrived at the place we now call Bath, near Bristol, they found a lake of black mud with several springs of hot water bubbling up through the murk and running off to the river Avon. Although the Romans were skilled in the techniques of building in stone and the art of warfare, they had no knowledge of geology or some of the forces of nature. To the Romans, this hot water supply could only be from the power of some god in the under world. They would believe that the springs must be connected to the world below. As we now know they attributed the hot water supply to the goddess Sullis Minerva, and later, they erected a temple in her honour adjoining the site.
In the first instance the Romans brought to bear their great expertise: controlling the flow of water. First they dug a deep channel down to the river Avon and diverted the flow of hot water into it to reduce the water level and wash away the mud and silt. The water level thus reduced, the Romans proceeded to enclose the area with a ring of oak piles to contain the springs and probably use as a working platform. Then, at least two metres of mud were removed from around the spring during which time the waters from the spring would be draining away via their temporary channel. The next stage was to dig a foundation trench outside the ring of oak piles on which to lay the foundations for the wall of the reservoir. [Probably more oak piles.] A large outlet about 3Ocm square was left through the encircling wall to allow the water to drain away while the superstructure was built. In this massive stone wall the Romans built a vertical sluice slot, which was connected to a stone-built, drain channel, big enough for a man to walk through. This drain still functions today. The Romans would have realised that silt would accumulate in the drain and men would have to be sent down to clear it out periodically. When the wall containing the well was completed it was lined with lead, soldered at the joints, which remained there unknown until its discovery in 1879.
The Romans eventually built a large bath complex of magnificent buildings around the springs including a temple to Sullis Minerva with a large precinct and the swimming bath, which is there to see today. After the Romans departed the buildings crumbled; but the springs would be gushing forth through the ruins covering them with silt. The next time we hear of the baths is in the 17th Century, when the spring site was cleared, and on top of the roman wall a structure was built to produce a spa bath above the springs. The spa became very popular during the 17th and 18th centuries when new buildings were erected and the spring became known as the “KINGS BATH,” probably because of the frequent visits of King Charles. A pump room, where the populace could ‘Take the waters”, was built over the site of the temple and its precinct although the builders did not know of it’s existence at the time. Many carved stones from the temple pediment where uncovered during the building process.
The water was thought to have medicinal properties, which has been disproved; but the warmth of the water must have therapeutic effects. Modem science has enabled us to learn a lot about the hot springs. The water is atmospheric, which means that it originally fell as rain, but where?. If the spring were allowed to rise in a column, i.e. (a hollow tube.) it would reach a height of 25 to 30 metres above the valley floor, the latter being 16 meters above sea level. Therefore we must look a lot higher than the valley for the waters origin, which is probably the Welsh hills or the Mendips. The rainwater from these hills falls through permeable rock until it reaches depths where it becomes heated. The water would normally be forced upwards by the head of water from the hills of its origin, but is prevented from doing so by layers of clay rocks and coal measure clays. However, at Bath there are faults and fissures in the rock that allow the water to rise at a good flow. This also occurs at Hot-Wells in Bristol but the water is only half the temperature as that at Bath.
The temperature of the water depends on the depth that it rose from. The Earths normal surface temperature is 10 deg. Centigrade and for every 400 metres of depth the temperature increases by 10 deg. Centigrade; therefore the water at Bath, flowing at a steady 46.5 deg. Centigrade must come from a great depth in the Earth. The water contains a number of dissolved salts such as sulphate, calcium, sodium, potassium, iodide and arsenate. Some salts will only dissolve at a higher temperature than 46.5 deg. Centigrade and proves that the water must have reached a temperature of 80 deg Centigrade. This means that the water at Bath must rise from a depth of nearly a Mile and there must be a vast reservoir to flow at the rate of 12000 gallons per hour.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE ROMAN BATH REMAINS.
In 1897 the Kings Bath was leaking and causing problems on the adjacent land. The City Engineer, Named Major Davis, removed about 2 metres of sand and rubble filling from the upper part of the reservoir chamber and for the first time in 1500 years, exposed the lead lined massive masonry of the Roman enclosure wall. Major Davis was not interested in the archaeology of the site but he removed all the lead to help pay for the repairs. He then built the foundation for his new concrete floor on the rubble and sand that filled the spring reservoir but this foundation was severely undermined in later years. However the Major’s Chief Engineer, named Richard Mann, must have been very interested in the site for he produced detailed drawings, including the swimming baths that were discovered during his excavations. These drawings were to prove very useful during later archaeological excavations that took place in the early 20th Century.
In 1979 the baths were contaminated with a virulent amoeba, which meant that the spring's reservoir had to be pumped out and decontaminated. This was an excellent opportunity to carry out an archaeological dig, which was carried out under the supervision of Barry Cunliffe.
First, the concrete floor of the king's bath was removed to reveal the massive masonry wall enclosing the Roman reservoir and Major Davis's foundations were removed (these were now undermined). At the top of the reservoir were silt, rubbish and hundreds of box tiles, which had formed the vaulted roof. The roof had obviously collapsed into the reservoir. Underneath these layers of box tiles the excavators began digging in the silt and finding thousands of coin offerings to the goddess. Among these were many small rolls of lead sheeting, which (when unrolled) were found to have requests to the Goddess written on them; some were curses on people who had robbed them and promises of expensive offerings if the request or curse was fulfilled. Between six and eight thousand coins were recovered. The earliest of these being minted late in the reign of Nero, placing the building of the baths in the 70's AD. Coin offerings were plentiful for the rest of the Roman occupation, but there were also many other objects thrown into the waters. There were six Paterae (Roman saucepans), some in pewter and some in silver, some with inscribed handles reading, DEAE SUL MIN (Goddess Sulis Minerva). A penannular brooch of 6th Century date was also discovered in the excavation, proving that the walls of the Roman spring were still standing in early Saxon times.
Can Ancient Roads Cause Modern Accidents
By
Brenda R Ludvigsen
An article under the above heading written by myself was printed in the NAG Adversaria in September 2000. It concerned unexplained motor accidents occurring at two particular points on the A690: at the top of Houghton Cut and at the junction with the A19 on the outskirts of Sunderland. I had previously dowsed Roman roads crossing under the modern road at those two spots and my theory was that some drivers were unknowingly picking up the imprints of the Roman roads making them to involuntarily move the steering wheel thus causing the accident. At the A19 junction, where many cars ended up rolling down an embankment into a field, the farmer had stopped repairing his fence. Since then a metal barrier has been erected but this has not stopped the accidents. My husband passes both spots daily, driving to work, and sees regularly different coloured paint scrapes on the dented barriers and headlight glass on the road.
An article printed in our evening paper, the Sunderland Echo, on 3 May advised of a peculiar incident at this junction but this time on the A19, which goes under the roundabout. I give below the exact wording:-
“Police on Wearside carried out a fruitless search on the A19 after a lorry driver reported he might have struck a pedestrian. The drama began at about 10.30pm last night when the West Yorkshire trucker contacted police motor patrols believing his lorry had hit what he described as a “dark shadow” on the carriageway near the slip road to the A690 Houghton turn-off.
Inspector Tony Hoy said: “We combed the area thoroughly, but we were unable to find anything. The lorry driver was quite upset and worried about the incident. The vehicle was examined and there was no sign of any noticeable damage”.
I would mention that the ancient cursus from Hastings Hill also crosses this point heading towards Copt Hill where there is a burial mound.
Strange happenings in this area.
May 2002
By
Brenda R Ludvigsen
In early March 2002, on a cold wet afternoon, it was with some concern that I drove to Newcastle Airport with my husband and son to begin the trip to Israel for the marriage of our daughter. Firstly, I had not flown for ten years and secondly the violence in that country. Friends and relations could not believe that we would even contemplate going but I had to show the English spirit, stiff upper lip and all that, and in any case no one was going to stop me going to my daughter’s wedding.
We stepped of the plane at
Tel Aviv next day, after a comfortable journey care of British Airways, to an
unexpectedly hot morning of 30 degrees. The bridal couple drove us to our hotel
near to the sea through the rush hour of 7am, sweltering in our English
woollies. Tel Aviv is a modern vibrant city with several skyscrapers and good
shops. In particular two glass towers stand together, one being round and the
other triangular, and both were spectacular when we later saw them lit up at
night. There were many soldiers on the streets but an army barracks is in the
city so it was not an unusual sight. Israeli soldiers have to carry their guns
with them at all times and it was strange seeing the girls with a gun on one
shoulder and shoulder bag on the other. We were told that women play an
important part in the forces, flying F15s and also driving tanks. Tel Aviv came
into being as a suburb of Jaffa in 1909 but now the roles are reversed and the
area has a population of over 1 million.
My daughter and her husband, who is an Israeli Jew, were married in London about 3 years ago but a civil ceremony is not recognised in Israel, so after careful thought she took conversion lessons and became Jewish in December. Her husband’s family live in Israel, which was the reason for the religious ceremony taking place there. On the Saturday before the wedding a special service was held in the village synagogue where the immediate family live. It was a small whitewashed building, not unlike a village chapel at home, with a curtained partition at the rear where the women sit. At one point in the service the net curtains were opened and we were given sweets to throw at the bridegroom. Afterwards there was a small buffet held outside the building for all members of the congregation.
We then walked through the village to lunch in the garden trying to find shade from the hot sun under the palm trees. We had been told of a Roman mausoleum outside the village so later in the afternoon when it had cooled down somewhat we were driven to the building. It was a quite substantial square building with the remains of fine Corinthian decorated columns. I had left my dowsing rods at home in case they caused security problems, but wire was found and I dowsed the small lane passing the building as being on the site of the Roman road. Later in the evening we were driven to Jerusalem for a quick tour passing Arab towns on the way where the Muslim, Christians and Jewish population live together, without problems. The minarets of the mosques could be seen in the distance. We were told later that the Muslim citizens have the same benefits as the rest of the population, pay the same taxes and also have to join the army. We did not drive into the Old City as this part is in the control of the Palestinians and my son in law did not want to take any risks as he could be identified by the number plates on the car – yellow for Israeli and blue for Palestinian. The next day we saw on television that a suicide bomber had killed people in a restaurant in Jerusalem but the city is so large we heard and saw nothing.
The evening before the wedding my daughter had to attend the mikveh in the village, which is a ritual bath Jewish women take every month and on the eve of their wedding. I went with my son-in-law’s mother to the small spotlessly clean white tiled building. We sat in a small waiting room with other women from the village, who thought it unusual for English women to be there. I was allowed to look into the room where the mikveh is situate and saw it was a small room containing a deep pool with steps going down into it. My daughter disappeared behind locked doors to a changing room to be showered and then totally submerged in the pool where suitable prayers were said. When she reappeared, fully clothed and hair dried it was her turn to have sweets thrown at her.
The Hilton Hotel is very grand, overlooking the sea, and they certainly put on a good show. The reception room was beautifully decorated with wonderful flower arrangements and lighting effects. A piano and violin played Jewish music, similar to Fiddler on the Roof, while we met the guests. There was a comprehensive buffet and drinks to keep everyone happy while waiting for the actual ceremony. I noticed a safe with an opening in the top in which the quests inserted envelopes containing cash. I thought it was a very good idea, not only because gifts would have been impossible to carry on the plane London, but it also stopped the couple receiving six kettles and three toasters.
The ceremony took place at the other end of the reception room, under a chuppa (hoopa) which was a canopy standing on four supports. I suppose it would have originally been a tent when the people were wandering in the desert. I’ve never seen one before but I was told it was one of the best anyone had ever seen. White clear glass supports with the canopy of blue metallic materials but the special lighting and flowers made it look fantastic. A white carpet scattered with rose petals went to the canopy with flower arrangements on pedestals either side. The seats for the guests had white satin slipcovers over them. The groom walked down the isle first with his mother, who was a widow, and the bride followed with myself and her father walking by her side, the piano and violin still playing. The five of us stood under the canopy with the rabbi, and at one point I had to lift her veil to give her some wine and then at the end the groom stamped on a glass to seal the ceremony. Afterwards the bridal couple, my husband and main male members of the groom’s family went into another room to sign registers etc. Everyone else proceeded to the adjacent ballroom for more food, drinks and to be entertained by an excellent band, which included singers and dancers. It was a first class show. Later in the festivities the couple were seated on chairs, lifted high and transported around the room. I had thought my daughter would have married in the ancient church in Houghton-le-Spring where she had been baptised. I never dreamt she would end up with such an exotic affair.
We now had time for site seeing and booked a trip to the Dead Sea and Masada. Our guide was also a Roman archaeologist whose family came from Iraq. He said the troubles were ruining the tourist industry, as there are three tour firms in Israel with usually a total of 600 visitors each day, but the three groups were combined in our mini-bus of seven people. I told him that our tourism had also suffered owing to foot and mouth disease. We had to drive into the West Bank to get to the Dead Sea and passed through a checkpoint without any problems. It’s about 500 meters below sea level and our ears kept popping as we drove down onto the plain. We passed Bedouin tents near to the roadside looking like shantytowns made of plastic and sacking. Small boys looked after goats spreading over the hillsides. When we came to the flat plain beside the Sea we could see Jericho in the distance but no chance to visit. We turned south beside the water and could see the mountains of Jordan on the other side through the heat haze. The frontier passes north/south through the middle of the Sea. The edge of the lake was encrusted with salt. The Judaean Mountains were on our right, high brown and arid but we passed plantations of palm trees where the Palestinians grew dates. We called at Qumran for a short break, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found but we did not have enough time to see the ruins of the settlement or the caves. I recalled the lecture given to NAG by Dr Stuffenbruck a couple of years ago.
We carried on south and then in the distance appeared the mountain of Masada standing slightly away from the main range with it distinctive flat top. We could see the winding Snake Path going to the top but this path is only for the very brave who have energy and not afraid of heights. Unfortunately I am neither and we all took the cable car to the top. Just beside the carpark were the remains of one of the Roman camps that encircle the mountain, but no time to look at it. King Herod, who had his palace built on top of the mountain was a friend of Rome, similar to our client kings, but not popular with his people. We were told he only came twice to this palace. The palace was built on three terraces on the north face of the mountain to catch any cooling breeze. It had a fantastic view over the plain and the Dead Sea and we were told that travellers could be seen five days’ journey away. A Roman bath-house had been restored and we could see the painted plaster, hypercaust and also the tubular heating tiles, very similar to those we had excavated at Piercebridge. The Israeli archaeologists have to distinguish the original masonry from any reconstruction with a blue line. It’s a pity the same isn’t done at South Shields fort. Huge cisterns had been dug out of the rock holding enough water to last for 10 years. I asked where the water came from and was told that the clouds coming west from the Mediterranean rose up over the Judaean Mountains dropped the rain, which was channelled into aqueducts running to the cisterns. Apparently sections of the aqueduct can still be seen in the mountains.
Unfortunately the Jewish
Revolt started in AD68 and some of the warriors fled to Masada away from the
Romans who were determined to punish them to stop other uprisings. The Romans
built a wall encircling the mountain to prevent any help arriving and also
anyone trying to leave, together with seven camps, all of which can still be
seen from the top of the mountain. One of the largest camps still has the
clavicula entrances showing. A further fort is built on top of the adjacent
mountain enabling the Army to look down into the Jewish stronghold and signal
the activities to the forts below. The ramp built by the Roman Army to enable
it to reach the top is on the other side of the mountain from the cable car so
we were unable to see it from below and the view from the top does not help you
to realise its size. It took the Romans three years to build the ramp, which
must have been a terrifying period for the people on the top. Eventually as the
Romans were getting nearer the Jewish people decided they did not wish to be
made slaves and drew lots as to who was going to kill their families and then
commit suicide. When the Romans arrived all were dead, except for a woman and
child who had remained hidden and lived to tell the tale. It was shortly after
that the Diaspora took place and the majority of Jews had to leave Judaea.
Before we returned to Tel Aviv we stopped at the spa of En Gedi on the shore of the Dead Sea to spend the afternoon. The Dead Sea is getting smaller as the spa, which was built in 1983, is now about half a mile from the water. There are various mineral baths to soak in for various ailments but we made our way to the water’s edge where a small sandy beach had been constructed and metal steps sloped down to the water for easy access. Len walked into the water and his legs just rose up in front of him. He said it was difficult to stand up to get out of the water. We were told not to splash or get water in the eyes, as the salt is painful and could cause damage. I just managed a paddle. Showers were nearby to wash the salt water off. There were also containers of mud to spread over oneself for medicinal purposes and also showers to get clean. It was quite an experience.
Our other guided trip was to the Roman town of Caesarea, which is north of Tel Aviv. A Roman theatre still stands and is still in use for plays and concerts. Outside was an inscribed stone showing the name of Pontius Pilate. It was from here that Pilate left for Jerusalem for the Passover when Jesus was condemned to the cross. There were many Roman columns lying nearby made from various stones and marbles from different parts of the Empire which had been used as ballast in Roman ships. The Roman harbour had silted up and a Crusader fort was constructed on top. The paths were littered with pottery instead of the gravel used on our sites. The remains of the double aqueduct can be seen on the beach but part of it had collapsed in Roman times and another one was built further inland. The arches could be seen going through the countryside as we drove further north to the Lebanese border. The Roman town is still under excavation and I could have stayed there all day but on guided bus trips times are limited. We live on the north east frontier of the Roman Empire, not far from Hadrian’s Wall, and after visiting the south eastern section of the Empire made me realise how large it was. In its hey-day it must have been quite a privilege to be a Roman citizen. The modern town is still expanding as new flats are being built to house the Russian Jews arriving now. They have tax concessions and low rents to encourage them to come to Israel. Apparently out of a population of six million, the Russians make up one million.
We drove passed Haifa and up
to the border where grottoes have been formed into the cliff by the sea and are
worth a visit. We had a picnic whilst the others had lunch in a café about two
yards from the border barrier. I think we must have looked suspicious eating
our sandwiches and watching the military vehicles driving by the barbed wire as
we could see the security cameras moving onto us, four soldiers came to stand
near us and then a jeep with a machine gun parked beside us. I could understand
their wariness as only two days previously civilians and a soldier had been
killed by a sniper about two miles away. If we had known how near to the border
we were we would have changed our eating arrangements. However the military did
not approach us and we continued with our sightseeing. It was an interesting
spot as a railway line had been built through the cliff near to the grottoes, by
the British Army during WW2 to connect Palestine, as it was called then, to
Turkey and then to the rest of Europe. However, it was destroyed by Jewish
terrorists in 1948 to stop any unwelcome visitors coming through the tunnels.
We also called at Acre where the Crusaders had built a Citadel during the wars with Saladin. Several years ago we visited the Dordogne and saw castles built by Richard the Lionheart so it was interesting to see the other end of his travels.
On one of our wanders around Tel Aviv we walked along the promenade to the ancient town of Jaffa, the biblical Joppa where the cedars of Lebanon arrived for the Temple at Jerusalem. Passing a mosque we could hear the muezzin calling the people to prayer. The town centre has been renovated during the last few years and has interesting little alleyways winding around the hilltop. One path brought us to the park on the top of the hill where we came upon the excavated remains of an Egyptian fort of Rameses II. The walls looked very similar to those found at Piercebridge - perhaps we have also found an Egyptian fort in Teesdale. If Ray Selkirk can be controversial so can I.
We enjoyed our trip to Israel immensely and would love to return when the troubles are over. We ran out of time to see Galilee and Nazareth but, unfortunately, a lot of places were off limits including Bethlehem and the Old City.
The Romans have been greatly underestimated by our modern archaeologists. It seems that there was a huge network of Roman roads in Britain and only about ten percent of them have been discovered. Also, our establishment has underestimated the importance of Roman aqueducts. All Roman military and civilian sites had one or more aqueducts. When one aqueduct was under maintenance another continued essential water supplies. Also the amount of water supplied by aqueducts has been underestimated. Let us take a typical Roman aqueduct. The width of the water channel (specus) was two feet and the depth of water was one foot. The water in the average aqueduct flowed down a gradient of 1 in 250 and this resulted in a water flow of about three miles per hour. This results in a delivery of 31,680 cubic feet per hour, which is 1,977,520 pounds an hour, which is 235,919 gallons an hour, which is 5,662,056 gallons per day. This is a typical amount of supply of a Roman aqueduct so let us not see any more drawings of a Roman bathhouse with its supply of buckets of water from a nearby well.
Many years ago when the Northern Archaeology Group was part of the Sunderland Flying Club, an aircraft was winging its way northwards to carry out an archaeological air survey of the Orkney Islands. The crew on board was Professor Dennis Harding, archaeologist and expedition boss. Flying the aeroplane was pilot Raymond Selkirk, later to qualify as a professional archaeologist. En route to the Orkneys, the Professor exposed dozens of films while Selkirk orbited selected targets. After leaving Scotland behind the Pentland Firth was unusually calm, and the large inland sea of Scapa Flow was like a millpond.
During WW2 a pride of the British Navy was HMS Royal Oak (29,150 tons). She was lying at anchor and a German submarine in October 1939 crept into the flow via one of the many inter-island channels. The German submarine sank the British warship with torpedoes and made good its escape. As Selkirk and the Professor flew in low over the flow the wreck of HMS Royal Oak could be seen quite easily in the crystal clear water. It was the photograph of a lifetime but all the film had been used on archaeological targets during the transit of Scotland. A green conical wreck buoy marked the southwest end of the wreck and the ship lay nearly upside down with only six feet of water over it, six cables southwest of Hemp Stack.
Next morning an attempt to photograph the wreck was made by the archaeological aircrew. Although a plentiful supply of film had been acquired, the surface of Scapa Flow had returned to its normal wind-ruffled state and the grave of hundreds of British sailors was hidden in its obscure watery resting place
Raymond Selkirk & Brenda Ludvigsen – May 2002
A Saxon church at Alnmouth was at a place called Woodchester. This probably referred to the god Woden rather than wood. The dedication of the Saxon church was St Waleric and the later Norman was St John the Baptist. In 1806 the River Aln altered its course at the mouth and the church was washed away. A Roman coast road is suspected in the area and just to the south is the town of Amble, where a Roman inland harbour is suspected. The suspected Roman harbour is at the north end of Amble and the area is known as Gloster Hill. Roman artefacts have been found in this area by metal detectorists.
Coquet Island off shore is mentioned in old records as the place where St Cuthbert met the Abbess of Whitby. An earlier Roman lighthouse is most likely; Roman coins have been found here.
Raymond Selkirk & Brenda Ludvigsen – May 2002
A local Story of Reincarnation
Researched by Tom Wright
In 1973 a boy was born in Middlesbrough and named Carl Edon. From the age of three he had told his parents about past life as a German airman who died in 1942 when his plane was shot down over Middlesbrough. He could describe the place where he had lived and could draw the plane and even its instrument panel. The boy also used to tell his mother that he lost his right leg when the plane crashed.
A local historian did some investigation and discovered a photograph of Oberfeldwebel Heinrich Richter, a Luftwaffe flyer who died in 1942 when his plane crashed in Middlesbrough during a raid. The photograph bore an uncanny resemblance to Carl.
In 1997 during development excavations the plane wreckage was unearthed. A Luftwaffe jacket and skeletal remains were found, including a right leg.
Unfortunately Carl was stabbed to death in 1995 - a few hundred yards from where the plane wreckage was discovered.
Past life memories are normally explained as "hidden memory" where events or characters from history books are recalled without conscious awareness. However, Carl could not read at the time he started telling his parents about his past life and his parents knew nothing about the crashed aircraft.