A ROMAN MURDER MYSTERY ====================== PRECIS ------ THE HISTORICAL SETTING ---------------------- THE TIME : 305 AD. THE PLACE : Present day Housesteads Fort, on Hadrian's Wall. Its name in Roman times may have been VERCOVICIUM. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND : In 284 AD the Emperor Diocletian had ordered Carausius to deal with the Saxon and Frankish pirates and raiders that were terrorising the south coast of England. The Classis Brittanicus - the British Fleet - was formed and put under his control. Work began on a string of 'Saxon Shore Forts'' that were to protect the coast. There was a suspicion that Carausius was orchestrating many of the pirate raids for his own rewards. The Emperor Maximian ordered his arrest and execution. The result - Carausius declared himself Emperor and seized control of Britain and Gaul. It is not known what effect this had on northern Britain or what what support Carausius had there - coins bearing his name have been found at South Shields and Corbridge (both supplied goods to the Wall region) and a milestone with his name on it has been discovered at Carlisle. In 294 AD Carausius was murdered by Allectus, a member of his military retinue and quite possibly his finance minister. In 296 AD the Emperor Constantius invaded from Gaul and Allectus was defeated and killed. In 296 AD there were attacks along the northern frontier of Britain from enemy tribes. It is not known if this was a concerted, organised attack, or individual tribes merely taking advantage of Rome's difficulties. Hadrian's Wall may have been undermanned at this point, with soldiers being drawn south to fight. On the other hand, if the Wall region had been peaceful anyway, it may not have required large numbers of soldiers. From 297 AD onwards there was extensive building at Housesteads Fort and along the Wall. The Knag Burn Gateway to the east of the fort was constructed around 300 AD. In 306 AD Constantius began his campaign in the north against the Picts (this is the first time that this name is used by Roman authors). THE ACTION : The action in the story/game/programme centres around an archaeological mystery. Outside the walls of Housesteads Fort lies the VICUS or civilian settlement. It is here that wives and children lived (soldiers were originally not allowed to marry and kept their women and families here). By 305 AD soldiers were being housed here, due to lack of space in the fort. In a shop in the vicus - known now as the MURDER HOUSE - two skeletons were discovered in 1933, below the clay floor of the building. They were the skeletons of a middle aged man and woman. The man had a broken sword embedded in his ribs. In the main story/game/programme pupils need to collect evidence and 'pose solutions to the crime'. - who were the murdered couple ? - what was the motive for murder ? - who was the murderer, etc. FACT OR FICTION : Although the evidence in the detective quest is fictional, its background is based firmly on historical evidence. Through the story/website pupils will build up a knowledge of life on the Roman frontier in the early 4th century and an understanding of the skills required and methods available to the historian. The story can also provide a basis for project work on certain aspects of Roman live. e.g. slavery - the social make up of the Empire. the army - army life; army conquests. religion - beliefs. All these aspects appear in the story and a class/pupil investigation of them will lead to a better understanding of the detective quest. HADRIAN'S WALL -------------- Jupiter says : I set upon the Romans bounds neither of space nor of time; I have bestowed on them empire without limit. THE POET VIRGIL Go and announce to the Romans ... that the gods desire my city of Rome shall be the capital of all the countries of the world. To that end they shall cultivate the arts of war ... so that no human power shall be able to resist the military might of Rome. LIVY And so Hadrian set out for Britain. There he corrected many faults and was the first to build a wall, 80 miles long, to separate the Romans and the barbarians. In the one hundred years after Julius Caesar's so called invasion of Britain, the Romans had attempted to control most of the island, with military excursions into Scotland. By 105 AD the conquests in Scotland had been abandoned and Rome's northern frontier was set up on a line extending from Carlisle to Corbridge, along the Roman Road called the Stangate. A number of forts were set up along this route. In the year 118 AD the tribes of northern England and southern Scotland formed an alliance and rebelled against Rome rule. In 122 AD the Emperor Hadrian visited Britain and gave orders for the Wall to be built. The original plan of the wall involved the preservation of the forts on the Stangate Road and the making of a frontier by a wall and a ditch. The Wall was to run from Newcastle to Bowness. East to west, the first half was to be built in stone - the western end was to be of turf, with a wooden rampart on top (limestone was scarce in the west). The wall was to be 10 feet thick and 20 feet high. The ditch was to be 9 feet deep and 27 feet wide. Fortlets, called milecastles, were to be built on the wall at every Roman mile, with 2 turrets between each. The wall was built by the legions stationed in Britain. In 124 AD the plans were altered : the widths were changed the wall was extended to present day Wallsend the fighting forts were moved to positions on the wall a VALLUM was to be constructed to the south of the wall The vallum was to be 10 feet deep, 20 feet wide at the top and 8 feet at the bottom. Why ? There was hostility to Rome south of the Wall. The vallum effectively created a zone between itself and the Wall that could be controlled by the military. The main purpose of the Wall was to create a fixed frontier to the Roman province of Britain and to separate two sets of potential trouble makers - those tribes directly to the north and south of the Wall. The wall was finished by 128 AD. In 139/140 AD the Antonine Wall in Scotland was was completed and Hadrian's Wall abandoned. In 155 the Antonine Wall was abandoned and in 157 Hadrian's Wall recommissioned for use. In 159/160 the Antonine Wall was retaken and refurbished - Hadrian's Wall taking on a caretaking role. In 163 Hadrian's Wall was fully regarrisoned and its turf wall replaced by stone. What about the Wall in 305 AD, at the time of our study ? In 296 there may have been an attack on the Wall. Reconstruction and rebuilding work was taking place at Housesteads from 296 onwards. The Knag Burn Gateway was being constructed at Housesteads from about 300 AD. The VALLUM was not in use and there were VICUS buildings in it. The gates in the milecastles were being narrowed. Not all of the wall turrets were in use. Preparations were underway for an expedition north in 306. At Vindolanda, not far from Housesteads, the vicus was being abandoned and its people were moving within the walls of the fort. ROMAN TRIVIA Soldiers enlisted for a period of 25 years - initially they were not allowed to marry and kept an unofficial family in the vicus outside the fort walls. From a soldiers pay, money would be kept back for savings (held in chests in the garrison shrine in the HQ building), for his uniform, food, camp feasts and burial club. There were 6,000 men in a legion (including 120 horsemen). Every legion had a name, a number and its own silver eagle. A century contained 100 men, each led by one of 60 centurians. 6 centuries = a cohort. 10 cohorts = a legion. The commander of a legion was helped by 6 officers, called military tribunes. Auxiliaries were recruited from conquered lands. They served for 25 years, after which they became Roman citizens. The training of soldiers involved a route march of 30km a week - drill once or twice a day - instruction in swimming, stone slinging and horse riding. Roman coins included : asses - bronze and smaller than a 1p. sestertii - the size of a 2p. denarii - silver, mixed with copper. aureus - gold coin. The Notitia is a 5th century document that records military establishments in Britain - it is one source that is used for Roman place names, etc. The Antonine itinerary was similar, but produced by the army for its officers. There were 3 legions stationed in Britain - at Chesters, York and Caerleon. The Romans used South Shields as a supply base for the Wall. Bath houses were normally built outside fort walls because of the risk of fire. The wall was overrun 3 times in its history. Almost all the history of Hadrian's Wall is the history of peace. There were 15,000 soldiers stationed on and around the Wall. Coventina's Well at Brocolita Roman Fort was opened in 1876 and 13,487 Roman coins discovered. In the commanding officers private latrine at Housesteads, a gold ring was found, trapped in a crack in the sewer. There must have been at least 40,000 people living along the Wall. Celtic languages were spoken in the vicus and no doubt became the everyday language of most inhabitants - except the Latin speaking officers and upper class. Mansiones were not public inns - they were used by people travelling on official/army/government business. Roman men had 3 names : a forename - praenomen - used at home. a surname - nomen - the gens or family name. cognomen - additional name. In practice men were normally called by their nomen or cognomen alone. Women were often known by their nomina alone. (surname) Slaves had a single name, but if freed, might take over their former master's name.