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Epiacum
This is a place on the map of Britain that was created by Ptolemy what we now find is that a group of people have made the assumption that it is the Roman fort of Whitley Castle, I find this to be a very bold statement indeed and would ask just what evidence they have to have come up with to prove that this is correct.
This fort is also claimed by this group to be the best preserved Roman fort in Britain which again is in fact yet another very bold statement for there are other forts that might be claimed to be even better and more important.
Then where we go to the English Heritage Web site we find that these particular people who are responsible for all the ancient monuments of England don't even know where it is for they have it listed in the wrong county.
I would find it of great interest to hear other opinions of just where this place of Epiacum might be for I cannot agree that this latest idea of it being this fort.
Brian Stobbs
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Funny you should mention it as I've been looking for info on Whitley Castle myself as an antiquarian* reported on some roman shoes found there in the early 19th cent and I would dearly love to find some decent pics of them...
At the Time Antony Hedley* calls Whitley Castle the "
Roman Alione" though this seems to have been disproved a little later....
This link may be of some interest: "Old Cumbria Gazetteer"
http://www.geog.port.ac.uk/webmap/thelak...k27151.htm
I think the report by EH says only that it may be Epiacum? rather then without a doubt.... but then Epiacum does seem to have wondered round the map a bit...
Whitley Report 2009:
http://research.english-heritage.org.uk/report/?14825
Ivor
"And the four bare walls stand on the seashore. a wreck a skeleton a monument of that instability and vicissitude to which all things human are subject. Not a dwelling within sight, and the farm labourer, and curious traveller, are the only persons that ever visit the scene where once so many thousands were congregated." T.Lewin 1867
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Ivor.
I do think there was a mention of these shoes being found near the bath house at a dunghill however it has been said that a local farmer scattered this rubbish over his land and there was much leather work amongst it.
Brian Stobbs
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Hi Brian I found the sources for that and there were other shoes that survived and collected, I believe that these remains found their way to a museum in Newcastle but couldn't find a record after that....
On the Whitley Castle Website you can see some illustrations and their brochure has similar illustrations of I believe the shoes in questions, there is also an illustration in a history of the region that I traced...
Antony Hedley wrote an article on some shoes found in Carlisle, in it he mentions examining the shoes from Whitley including the prussic acid on the hobnails brought to him by a Mr Henderson
Please remove this post
Ivor
"And the four bare walls stand on the seashore. a wreck a skeleton a monument of that instability and vicissitude to which all things human are subject. Not a dwelling within sight, and the farm labourer, and curious traveller, are the only persons that ever visit the scene where once so many thousands were congregated." T.Lewin 1867
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Hi Brian I found the sources for that and there were other shoes that survived and collected, I believe that these remains found their way to a museum in Newcastle but couldn't find a record after that....
On the Whitley Castle Website you can see some illustrations and their brochure has similar illustrations of I believe the shoes in questions...
Antony Hedley wrote an article on some shoes found in Whitley in connects with some others found at Carlisle, in it he mentions examining the shoes from Whitley including the bright blue of the prussic acid on the hobnails, brought to him by a Mr Henderson "who undertook some excavations on the site".....
see: Archaeologia Aeliana Vol 2 pg 205
and
A History of Northumberland Hodgeson 1840 pg76
Ivor
"And the four bare walls stand on the seashore. a wreck a skeleton a monument of that instability and vicissitude to which all things human are subject. Not a dwelling within sight, and the farm labourer, and curious traveller, are the only persons that ever visit the scene where once so many thousands were congregated." T.Lewin 1867
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Ivor.
I have managed to get hold of the archaeological report of Noel Shaw 1957 - 1958 and it only has a small mention of shoes so it might be worth a chase up with Newcastle on this or indeed Carlisle.
Brian Stobbs
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Yes I have that artical as well
I think they may have been in the old society museum in Newcastle at one point....
Ivor
"And the four bare walls stand on the seashore. a wreck a skeleton a monument of that instability and vicissitude to which all things human are subject. Not a dwelling within sight, and the farm labourer, and curious traveller, are the only persons that ever visit the scene where once so many thousands were congregated." T.Lewin 1867
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The curator of the old Antiquities Museum is an old friend of mine and in recent time I have got to know the PAS FLO for the north east area here at Newcastle could have a look in some time in the future see just what Newcastle might still have.
Brian Stobbs
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That would great
I've just checked to be sure and they were deposited in the Society Museum in Newcastle but that was a long long time ago....
Ivor
"And the four bare walls stand on the seashore. a wreck a skeleton a monument of that instability and vicissitude to which all things human are subject. Not a dwelling within sight, and the farm labourer, and curious traveller, are the only persons that ever visit the scene where once so many thousands were congregated." T.Lewin 1867
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Where the question of Epiacum has been mentioned we find that below the Selgovae and Otadini tribes we have the Brigantes that extened to both seas amongst which are towns of.
Epiacum
Vinovium
Caturactonium
Calutum
Isurium
Rigadunum
Olicana
Eboracum ( Legio VI Victrix )
Therefore Epiacum has to be a much more substantial place than just a Roman Fort such as Whitley Castle where someone has just come up with such an assumption, in fact a very good friend of mine the late Raymond Selkirk did consider that this place could well be the Modern town of Hexham in the Tyne Valley where there is a possible fort and a bigger Roman establishment that was the garrison town of the Alla Petriana who have been wrongly considered as being stationed in Corbridge where in fact there is no evidence for them, all the evidence for this regiment in this area has indeed come from Hexham which should be mentioned is on another frontier line that runs from east to west coast and pre-dates Hadrians Wall known as the 255 line discovered by the late Raymond Selkirk.
Brian Stobbs
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I think Hexham seems to have been a very early contender, check out this map from "Britannia Antiqua, by Johanne Horsley, 1732" where Whitley is
Alione and Hexham is
Epiacum......
http://www.geog.port.ac.uk/webmap/thelak...hor1cm.htm
Ivor
"And the four bare walls stand on the seashore. a wreck a skeleton a monument of that instability and vicissitude to which all things human are subject. Not a dwelling within sight, and the farm labourer, and curious traveller, are the only persons that ever visit the scene where once so many thousands were congregated." T.Lewin 1867
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Thank you Ivor that is an interesting one in fact these are the kind of maps and old references that my friend the late Raymond Selkirk would use when making searches for other Roman places, in fact there are so many Roman forts and indeed hundreds of miles of Roman roads that he found all over the north of England including his 255 line along with its mile forts that Hadrian copied to build his wall.
Brian Stobbs