The June Landscape Archaeology Masterclass is now full – however if you are interested in future events and masterclasses please fill in this form and you will be the first in the queue our next events:

We were meant to be keeping this secret but the Cumberland Star and Alston Daily Herald ran a piece last night so the Trustees have decided to do a press release about this latest find…

A radar drone study has found a Roman Wine Cellar complete with drinkable wine under Epiacum Roman Fort. The study by Professor Hugh Mustby-Jhokin of the North Cumbria University Department of Antiquity and Technology, using ground breaking non-invasive technology and spectral analysis, first found a hidden room under what would have been the Commandants House known as a Praetorium.

Using the latest non-invasive technology the team of archaeologists were able to probe the hidden structure and to their amazement found stacks of amphora or roman earthenware storage containers.

“When we did a full spectrum vinum-analysis, which is a kind of radar for seeing inside things like amphora, we found that they still contained wine and some of it is still palatable if a little dry after all these years”

Elaine Edgar, on whose farm Epiacum Roman fort stands has found herself with almost 100 bottles of ancient Roman wine. “Well we are putting up a new tea room in the car park at Epiacum this year and we plan on selling small amounts of the wine. It’s more for fun and interest than anything else” Elaine explains. “The wine is quite dry and you wouldn’t want to swallow too much of it”.

As the site is protected by law there won’t be a proper excavation of the wine cellar, which is thought to be unique in the roman world, but the scientists have found a way to syphon off the wine without disturbing the site.

Just so there is no misunderstanding this was an April Fools Joke – It isn’t real folks… I keep getting messages…

Well, where do I start?  So much to tell you!  When the last Diary went out, we had completed about half of the wall removal.  And Oh!  The finds!  Some amazing pieces of stone and other items will keep our Finds Gurus busy for quite some time.  Our Chair, Dave Wilkinson, has been posting a mostly-daily blog, detailing all the finds, which you can read all about on the Blog page at the Epiacum website (https://epiacumheritage.org/blog/)

So — the wall comes down.  Now we are about 3/4 of the way done, as per the plan:

Not too shabby, eh?  Nice to be ahead of schedule.

But the wall coming down isn’t the only event happening at Epiacum right now, no siree — we also have a wall going UP!  All the Roman and medieval stones have been set aside for a more thorough evaluation; the rest have been returned to the farmer.  Since we have so many willing hands on site, the Edgars have taken advantage and have asked the team to make some repairs.   Wall going up looks very similar to wall coming down — but with a straight edge-string for guidance!

The other Really Big Thing this past weekend was the return of the Master — Professor Stewart Ainsworth not only came back to check on our progress, he also completed his most recent course at Epiacum!  He and his students visited 9 local sites in an advanced Landscape Archaeology-type training session, and the 9th site was right here.  It’s a natural sequel to his Intro to Landscape Archaeology Masterclass, which was held at Epiacum last May.  For those of you who have ever wanted to learn more about “reading” the landscape and practice non-destructive archaeology, this Intro weekend class is ideal.  Stewart takes you all over the fort (better keep your gym membership up!) and shows you the history of the site — bronze age, Roman, medieval, and modern — all without turning over a single blade of grass or clump of dirt.  It’s truly amazing what can be seen just by knowing where and how to look.

Stewart’s students and the Second Nervians all met in the pub — but you knew that!

Today’s favourite find was a big quern stone — the grooves cut into it are very clear.  You can see the channels where the newly-ground flour would be pushed to the outside edge of the stone.  Early milling on a very personal scale!  Here’s Al Oswald proudly showing the quern:

If you have ever been to Epiacum, or the North Pennines, then you know about the weather.  Mist, rain, wind, and beautiful sunshine — all possible in September.  Well, we’ve had our share of all that during Operation Jericho!

The last big tent standing — an old US Army tent (probably from M*A*S*H!), used for storing tools.  It was taken down shortly after the photo was taken to be sure it didn’t cause damage or injury.

Don’t blow away, Fenella!

But for the most part, we’ve worked through it and brought the wall down…

We celebrated in true British style with fish & chips!  (and mayo!  Ummm.. Okay?)

However — we got more than the usual weather, which has sadly stopped play.  Torrential downpours and ultra-high winds have destroyed the campsite and have made the ground unsafe.  Two of the big tents have actually blown away.  So sadly, the decision was made to close the fort to volunteers and visitors, in the interest of everyone’s safety.  The remaining part of the wall will be brought down by the core Epiacum team when it’s safe, so the project will be completed without any risk to the archaeology (or themselves).  Disappointing, but the job will be done and that’s the best part.

We hope to have a final Diary, giving you all the final details of just what we found and how the site looks now, so please be on the lookout for that.  Your support is what has made this project happen, and we are so grateful for you and your contributions, likes, shares, and comments.  Three sheers for the Second Nervians!