Hadrians Wall

[D B Campbell]

Beg to differ, m'lud. Vindolanda Trust don't allow photography at either of their sites now.

You're right, of course. Just as well I'm not writing a guide book! :wink:

Yeah, Chesters was a complete oversight on my part... but it is certainly the most old fashioned of the museums.

But that's its charm! It has always been my favourite, by a long way.
[attachment=4644]ChestersMuseum01.jpg[/attachment]

[Kegluneq]

I suppose it is now pretty unique in its style of presentation, in the context of Hadrian's Wall!

I do like/prefer the presentation of the replica Mithraic altars outdoors at Carrawburgh, although they can be a swine to get to when it has been raining as heavily as it has (I assume they are still there!). The originals used to be lit from behind at the Museum of Antiquities, but are not in the Great North Museum.

[PhilusEstilius]

What upsets me about Procolitia (Carrawburgh) is Coventina's Well for when visitors asked me about it I would look over the shop counter at their footwear and tell them they could not get near it.
I think it a disgrace that English Heritage even have the gall to advertise it in the state it is.
This is the only Romano/Celtic shrine in Britain to have a western door and it needs to be re-excavated and even a little further westwards that might explain why it has a western door indeed it may predate Hadrian's Wall.

[Semisalis Abruna]

Hi Everyone

Thanks for all the info!

We went to Arbeia (loved it!) and Segedunum today. Weather is windy & the odd bit of drizzle, so some the best this summer has offered

We will be adding Chesters to our plans on your recommendation. I like older style museums which tend to have more 'stuff' and less 'space'.

Somewhere I have an old photo of me sat in that roman saddle at Tullie House.

[PhilusEstilius]

Nick.
When you go to Chesters Fort you will see the best example of a Roman bath house in Britain, however when you have viewed the baths come back up the steps and turn right and go to the river bank turn right again and view the bath house from the river bank.
What you will see as a foundation are very large butresses but if you keep looking right you will see that these butresses continue under the Severan bridge ramp.
Then you must ask yourself just why do they do this and the answer is that this Severan bath house is indeed built upon a Hadrianic Grannery, this may sound very strange for here we have a fort on Hadrian's Wall that has an external grannery by a river bank.

[Kegluneq]

I've missed that every time I've been... Thanks Brian!

[mcbishop]

Beg to differ, m'lud. Vindolanda Trust don't allow photography at either of their sites now.

You're right, of course. Just as well I'm not writing a guide book! :wink:

Very easy to get your lefts and rights confused, I believe. :???: Luckily all visitors have the newly refreshed Per Lineam Valli website to turn to for quality Hadrian's Wall archaeological information and resources. Not that I'd be inclined to plug it, of course. :lol:

Mike Bishop

[MPoole]

Robert.
It is correct what you say about Chesters being a bit old fashioned but then the board of Trustees for the Clayton Collection tend to keep it that way.
I did work at Chesters some years back and have to say that being a little old fashioned myself I enjoyed all of that.

Chesters is our favourite, too. The old-fashioned display gives it a charm that the new trend for interactive museum displays loses. Being able to look closely at an item is as important as any video display that works half the time and has a lowest common denominator sort of presentation.

We're also very happy that the Vindolanda soldier is wearing a bead. ;-)

[PhilusEstilius]

Mike and Su
That is very true what you say for Chesters does have that old world charm about it and it was my introduction to Roman history way back in 1948 when I first ever made a visit there.
I went there from school at Belingham by train to Chollerford and that was in the days when the museum still had the two coal burning fires working in both galleries and of course the brown hard wearing lino on the floors oh happy days!!
I never at that time thought that one day after so many years of traveling the world I would come all the way back and work there, in fact I know Chesters like the back of my own hand.
It does indeed hold so many secrets that would amaze such as not just the Severan bath house built ontop of a Hadrianic Grannery, but the fact that it may even have three bath houses with one of them being north of the wall.

[Kegluneq]

Being able to look closely at an item is as important as any video display that works half the time and has a lowest common denominator sort of presentation.

Okay, this I can definitely agree with. Why some museums/galleries insist on using touch screens, I do not know - any more than a few years old rarely work. I'm pretty sure even Tullie House had a few defunct displays and that gallery only opened last year.

Appealing to the 'lowest common denominator' is still a pretty important task for any museum though, and museums along Hadrian's Wall should be applauded for the care and consideration they have put into providing good context for their displays.

[PhilusEstilius]

Robert.
That is very true and the other very old world type of museum in such a wonderfull setting as Vindolanda has indeed achieved this better than most, for its education system for children has been and still is one of the best in the country.

[Kegluneq]

Robert.
That is very true and the other very old world type of museum in such a wonderfull setting as Vindolanda has indeed achieved this better than most, for its education system for children has been and still is one of the best in the country.

Is Vindolanda's museum really 'old world' now? It has changed a bit in the last few years.

It is certainly excellent though. My aunt, who knew essentially nothing about Hadrian's Wall and was largely apathetic about even visiting the site despite living relatively locally, was completely enthralled with what she found when my parents took her recently.

[mcbishop]

Is Vindolanda's museum really 'old world' now? It has changed a bit in the last few years.

Definitely not. Its recent makeover has managed to mix a fresh look with a good display. Tullie House, on the other hand, is in danger of appearing a massive fail. It's like Nouvelle Quisine: there's very little there, dumped on a large plate and drizzled with trendy stuff. To be fair, the upstairs Borders gallery is better than the downstairs Frontier thing (which didn't even have any of the armguards on display last time I was there). When I take groups along the Wall Vindolanda and Chesters consistently score highly but TH does not.

Mike Bishop

[PhilusEstilius]

What I was refering to as old world with Vindolanda museum is the charm of its setting with the old house and such pleasant gardens that one can wonder through after viewing the museum on the way to the fort and excavations.
In having said that anyone who knows the place well should be aware that I like to visit Vindolanda starting from east to west with the museum first of course.

[Kegluneq]

It's like Nouvelle Quisine: there's very little there, dumped on a large plate and drizzled with trendy stuff. To be fair, the upstairs Borders gallery is better than the downstairs Frontier thing (which didn't even have any of the armguards on display last time I was there).

I generally think of the two galleries as working together, but I take your point. The features I like downstairs would have worked equally well upstairs, so the Frontiers section does seem a bit redundant.

(Grr, I hadn't realised the arm guards were supposed to be on display! I didn't see them either. That is disappointing.)

Do you take people to the Great North Museum at all? I find that extremely disappointing as I said, so Tullie House probably benefits more in my estimation by comparison...

In having said that anyone who knows the place well should be aware that I like to visit Vindolanda starting from east to west with the museum first of course.

You do get the better view of both the fort and house by coming in from the west in my opinion, but then you do have to walk all the way back uphill afterwards!