A PROJECT is planned to involve hundreds of people in the discovery of a world heritage site on their doorsteps.
Organised by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (TWAM), what could be the biggest community archaeology project to take place in the region would see more than 500 people taking part in excavations, events and research into the eastern section of Hadrian’s Wall.
This would cover the Wall from its starting point in Wallsend in North Tyneside to the Tyne Valley in Northumberland. The scheme has been awarded an initial £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund so that a detailed plan can be worked up. TWAM is seeking £410,000 from the HLF towards the £550,000 project.
It would involve people, especially in urban areas, researching information on the Wall in their area, geophysical surveys, excavations and field walking for clues in more rural parts leading to exhibitions, booklets and interpretation panels.
Paul Bidwell, project executive and senior manager at TWAM Archaeology, said: “It is well known that the Wall begins at Wallsend and stretches for 73 miles to the west. But how many people know that there are the remains of a Roman fort in Benwell, or that Newcastle’s Westgate Road follows the route which Hadrian’s Wall once took?
“There is enormous public interest in archaeology and we want to tap into that. We hope that people will be able to develop new skills, take part in excavations and research, and ultimately find out more about one of our region’s most important historic sites.
“The eastern section of the wall is an under-exploited resource and there has been very little involvement by local communities with the Wall.
“Through this project, we want to get people from the region involved in finding out more about the history of Hadrian’s Wall in the North East, and how it shaped the region as we know it today.”
Main areas of interest will be the surrounds of the Roman forts at Wallsend and Benwell, and also the search for where the Roman Stanegate road from Corbridge to Carlisle crossed the North Tyne.
Excavations and holes dug for road, utility and development works have found the Wall along the Fossway, Shields Road in Byker and Throckley in Newcastle, where Roman defensive pits which contained sharpened wooden entanglements were discovered.
From Byker the Wall crossed the Ouseburn and has been found in Melbourne Street near the Quayside, and has recently been located under the Cooper’s building at the foot of Westgate Road.
It then runs along what is Westgate Road and West Road.
Ivor Crowther, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in the North East, said: “There is still work to be done in developing the project but we will be offering our full support in taking their application further.”
Locations such as Arbeia Roman Fort & Museum in South Shields, Segedunum Roman Fort, Baths & Museum in Wallsend and the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle will play host to a range of talks and events.
