Military hospitals in Britain

[Epictetus]

This article in the Guardian is claiming that Britain's earliest "hospital" has been discovered, dating to 960 - 1030 AD. This might be a problem with definitions, but is the valetudinarium considered a hospital? And haven't archeologists identified such sites in Chester and Housesteads?

I see that the Cambridge History of Medicine lists a "Roman hospital" at Chester in its index, but this paper questions its identification.

What's the prevailing opinion?

[D B Campbell]

What's the prevailing opinion?

Briefly, the Anglo-Saxon hospital at Winchester may well be the first civilian hospital in Britain, but it is generally agreed that the Roman army had a sophisticated medical service, part of which seems to have been the provision of military hospitals. The only clear evidence of this is Hyginus (De mun. castr. 4), who mentions the hospital tent in a marching camp, but much of his evidence can be transferred to the big legionary fortresses.

The Baker paper which you've found is a good, solid review of the evidence -- the author wrote her PhD on the subject (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 2000). Basically, there was probably a hospital in each of the legionary fortresses: large, square buildings with corridors of cubicles surrounding an open courtyard have generally been identified as hospitals, largely on analogy with the example from Neuss, where a few medical instruments were found. The identification seems likely, but is not proven.

The situation in the small auxiliary forts is even less clear, although auxiliary units frequently had medical staff on the books. Usually, if there's a building that seems to be divided into cubicles and receives a supply of running water (e.g. Housesteads, where a military doctor is attested), it might be the hospital!