This image shows a Roman figure carved in the quarry face that was discovered at Hadrian’s Wall quarry during recording work by Historic England and archaeologists from Newcastle University (Copyright – Jon Allison, Newcastle University)

During two recent guided walks, Jon Allison, Project Officer during the recent Rock of Gelt survey, provided an interesting tour of the gorge, showing participants both the old and newly discovered Roman inscriptions and describing what these inscriptions meant. One of our participants, who has visited the gorge of many occasions wrote a poem about the area a few years ago. Her thoughts on the Gorge are below:

During the recent guided tour of the Written Rock of Gelt, Kerry and I discussed the importance of people “connecting” with their landscape heritage.

It is extremely easy to connect with a place like Gelt Gorge – a deep ravine cut into the red Triassic sandstone layers by an amber-coloured river meandering through ancient woodland. Not surprisingly, people have been drawn to this area for millennia. The Romans saw the gorge primarily as a resource site for quarrying stone for the Wall but workers also carved small altars on the quarry faces, as well as heads and other features, and they inscribed text with details of individuals including name, rank and legion. Clearly, leaving their mark was important, a long-lasting declaration: “We were here!”. Remarkably, evidence of three legions associated with the Wall occurs along the banks of the Gelt. As the centuries passed, these carvings and inscriptions evidently became a source of wonder for others working in or travelling through the area. In 1607, William Camden documented Gelt Gorge as having national significance due to the various ancient inscriptions left behind by the Romans, an accompanying sketch also being published. The Victorians recorded the gorge as one of the most beautiful and romantic places in Cumberland, and many tourists of yesteryear flocked to witness the Roman graffiti on what had become known as the “Written Rock” on the eastern bank and “Pigeon Clint” on the opposite side of the river.

As a biologist, I usually write scientific articles so poetry is quite another path, though one much enjoyed. For scientists and artists alike, the natural world is awe-inspiring and human history fascinating; subject matter is endless. Through poetry, imagination may roam freely which is particularly useful for creating a “minds-eye” view of past situations. Greater awareness and conservation of our natural and historical heritage is a major drive for penning my poems.

Gelt Gorge is a place where nature and history combine to give a truly spectacular and atmospheric setting, with evidence of the Romans etched in rock above the swirling river. It is indeed a very special site and a source of inspiration for many.

Janice M.

The guided walk at Gelt is only one of a series of activities that the WallCAP team have planned for the summer including training sessions, fieldwork, talks and much much more. We are hoping to advertise upcoming events shortly – if you’re interested in taking part, or would like to find out more about the project, please sign up as a volunteer by clicking here.

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(Editor’s note: The survey area lay to the east of the recent section of the wall that was uncovered during development. For more information see this blog post from the Heddon-on-the Wall Local History Society).

April 8^th, 9^th and 10^th 2019, saw more of the WallCAP project’s fieldwork being carried out in the first of three fields situated in Hadrian’s Wall mile 11.

LiDAR image of Vallum earthworks to east of Heddon-on-the-Wall

The survey is concentrating on recording the Vallum in the first field after the upstanding section of Hadrian’s Wall, travelling east towards Throckley. This area has been designated as ‘At risk’ so all of the information gathered will go to assess its current condition and be used for planning the future management of the site. The first field is open pasture and used for grazing livestock. We had the field all to ourselves on the survey days! Lumps, bumps and hollows identify the course of the Vallum earthworks that lay on the south side of Hadrian’s Wall. It is here where WallCAP Volunteers are instructed in the basics of the archaeological topographical and geophysical surveys. This sounds very complicated, but essentially topographical survey is the study of the shape and features of land surfaces and geophysical survey is used to detect the features underground. Comprehensive instruction and practice in all types of equipment used on the day was given by WallCAP staff. Time Team used to show all of the various methods used. It is great to be able to get to use the equipment and be part of providing the valuable data for such a sensitive site along the route of Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland.

The weather in April can be unpredictable; for my day on site it remained dry but chilly and we even had some glimpses of the sun. The day on site began with a walk to the eastern end of the field being surveyed with Paul Frodsham, the WallCAP Community Archaeologist. We had a general talk and discussion about the aims of the survey and information relating to the earthworks of the Vallum. We were then introduced to the various types of survey equipment.

There were four different types of survey methods in operation:

1. Global Navigation Satellite System
2. Leica Builder Total Station
3. Ground Penetrating Radar
4. Earth Resistance

Techniques 1 and 2 were used in the topographical survey of the site (shape and features of site) and Techniques 3 and 4 were used in the geophysical survey of the site (underground features). In the morning, I was instructed in the use of the Leica Builder Total Station to record points, to map out the shape and features of the Vallum. For the afternoon session. I helped carry out an Earth Resistance survey over the earthworks of the Vallum. After instruction, we used the technique to detect the buried features of the Vallum.

WallCAP’s own Kerry Shaw showing them how it’s done

I could only attend one of the scheduled three days of the survey. All of the WallCAP staff make it an interesting and informative day for anyone to come along and ‘have a go’. Thanks to all involved in its organisation and delivery, looking forward to the next projects and surveys. Put in Wallace and Gromit terms ‘A Grand Day Out’.

Ray Purvis (@RaymondPurvis)

Editor’s note: The survey at Heddon will continue later in the year, although we will post some preliminary data on the Results section of our website soon!

The survey work at Heddon is just the first of a series of Heritage at Risk projects that will be undertaken along the line of Hadrian’s Wall in 2019. All events are free and all training is provided so no previous experience is necessary. We are hoping to advertise the next few projects shortly – if you’re interested in taking part, or would like to find out more about the project, please sign up as a volunteer by clicking here and we’ll be in touch.

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