View source for Segedunum

{{Short description|Roman fort in Tyne and Wear, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox castrum
|image                               = Segedunum Roman Fort and Baths - geograph.org.uk - 37360.jpg
|caption                             = Segedunum Roman Fort
|name                                = Segedunum
|alt_names                           = 
|known_as                            = 
|built_during_reign_of               = 
|founded                             = {{circa|122 AD}}
|abandoned                           = {{circa|400 AD}}
|attested_by                         = ''[[Notitia Dignitatum]]''
|previous_fortification              = 
|type                                = 
|robust_struct_material              = Stone
|robust_struct_built_during_reign_of = 
|robust_struct_built                 = 
|robust_struct_abandoned             = 
|robust_struct_dim1                  = 138
|robust_struct_dim2                  = 120
|robust_struct_area                  = 1.65
|robust_struct_shape                 = 
|robust_struct_thickness             = 
|robust_struct_technique             = 
|robust_struct_towers                = 
|weak_struct_material                = 
|weak_struct_built_during_reign_of   = 
|weak_struct_built                   = 
|weak_struct_abandoned               = 
|weak_struct_dim1                    = 
|weak_struct_dim2                    = 
|weak_struct_area                    = 
|weak_struct_shape                   = 
|weak_struct_thickness               = 
|weak_struct_technique               = 
|weak_struct_towers                  = 
|commanders                          = 
|legions                             = 
|cohorts                             = 
*[[Cohors II Augusta Brittonum Nerviana|II Augusta Brittonum Nerviana]] ?
*[[Cohors IV Lingonum|IV Lingonum]]
|alae                                = 
|classis                             = 
|numberi                             = 
|events                              = 
|province                            = [[Britannia]]
|capital_of                          = 
|admin_unit_1                        = 
|admin_unit_2                        = 
|limes                               = 
|nearby_water                        = River Tyne
|links                               = 
|coordinates                         = {{coord|54.98791|-1.53231|display=inline,title}}
|altitude_m                          = 
|altitude_ref                        = 
|map                                 = United Kingdom Tyne and Wear
|map_alt                             = <!-- Alternative text for map, see WP:ALT for details -->
|map_caption                         = Location in [[Tyne and Wear]]
|map_size                            = <!-- Width of map image, overrides default of 250 -->
|map_relief                          = <!-- Any non-blank value to display relief map, if available -->
|place_name                          = 
|location_town                       = [[Wallsend]]
|location_county                     = Tyne and Wear
|location_state                      = 
|location_country                    = England
|ref:UK:OSNG                         = NZ301660
|ref:RO:LMI                          = 
|ref:RO:RAN                          = 
|ref:UNESCO                          = 
|coins_found                         = 
|discovery_year = 
|condition                           = 
|controlled_by                       = 
|excavations                         = 
|archaeologists                      = 
|exhibitions                         = 
|website                             = {{url|https://www.northeastmuseums.org.uk/segedunum}}
|notes                               = 
}}
[[File:Wallsend 2.jpg|thumb|300px|Wallsend fort at top right (1964 OS map)]]
[[File:Kastell Wallsend BP 3. Jhdt..png|thumb|Wallsend fort plan (3rd century)]]

'''Segedunum''' was a [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] [[castra|fort]] at modern-day [[Wallsend]], [[North Tyneside]] in [[North East England]]. The fort lay at the eastern end of [[Hadrian's Wall]] near the banks of the [[River Tyne]]. It was in use for approximately 300{{nbsp}}years from around 122{{nbsp}}AD to almost 400. Today Segedunum is the most thoroughly excavated fort along Hadrian's Wall, and is operated as '''Segedunum Roman Fort, Baths and Museum'''. It forms part of the [[Hadrian's Wall]] [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]].

==Etymology==
Five places named ''[[Segodunum|Segedunum]]'' are known to have existed in the Roman empire, one each in Britain and Germany and three in [[Gaul]].<ref name="koch131">Koch, John T. (2020). [https://www.wales.ac.uk/Resources/Documents/Centre/2020/Celto-Germanic2020.pdf CELTO-GERMANIC Later Prehistory and Post-Proto-Indo-European vocabulary in the North and West], p. 131</ref>

The name ''Segedunum'' is known from the ''[[Notitia Dignitatum]]'' of the 4th century,<ref>[http://www.hadrians-wall.info/hadrianswall/segedunum/history.htm "Segedunum: History"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070213025718/http://hadrians-wall.info/hadrianswall/segedunum/history.htm |date=2007-02-13 }}, ''Hadrian's Wall'' website</ref> but there is no consensus on its meaning. The various conjectures include "derived from the Celtic for 'powerful' or 'victorious'",<ref>Chamberlin, R., "Hadrian’s Wallsend", ''History Today'', Volume: 50 Issue: 8, August 2000</ref> "derived from the [Celtic] words ''sego'' ('strength') and ''dunum'' ('fortified place')",<ref>[https://www.roman-britain.co.uk/places/segedunum.htm "Segedunum"], roman-britain.co.uk</ref> "Romano-British ''Segedunum'' 'Strong-fort'",<ref>Koch, J.T., ''Celtic Culture'', 2006, {{ISBN|1-85109-440-7}}</ref> and "Celtic ''sechdun'' or 'dry hill'".<ref>Wainwright M., "[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/jun/13/martinwainwright Togas and hot tubs on the Roman way]", ''The Guardian'', 13 June 2000</ref>

The first element of the name is attested widely in Gaul, Spain, Germany and Italy, and derives from the [[Indo-European root]] ''segh-'', which is reflected in various later European languages with similar meanings: [[Irish Gaelic|Irish]] ''seg-'', ''segh-'' 'strength, vigour', [[Welsh language|Welsh]] ''hy'' 'daring, bold', [[German language|German]] ''Sieg'' 'victory', and so on. As applied to place names, it appears to have had the meaning of "place of strength" or "place of victory". The second element, ''-dunum'', is a Celtic term widely attested across Britain and Gaul and typically meant a fort. Thus ''Segedunum'' probably had the meaning of "strong fort" or "victory fort".<ref name="koch131"/><ref>The Place-Names of Roman Britain, pp. 452-3. A.L.F. Rivet & Colin Smith (1979). Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|0-691-03953-4}}</ref>

==History==
The Roman wall originally terminated at the fort of [[Pons Aelius]] ([[Newcastle upon Tyne]]) begun in 122{{nbsp}}AD. Subsequently, in about 127{{nbsp}}AD, the wall was extended further east by {{cvt|4|mi|0}}, possibly to protect the river crossing at Pons Aelius, passing through present-day [[Byker]] to the new fort of Segedunum. The new section of wall was narrower than those previously built, being {{convert|7|ft|6|in|m}} wide on a foundation of {{convert|8|ft|m}}. Unlike the rest of the wall, the extension had no [[Vallum (Hadrian's Wall)|Vallum]] ditch and embankment on the south side. It was apparently not needed here because its role was performed by the [[River Tyne]].<ref name="graham">Frank Graham, Roman Wall, Comprehensive History and Guide (1979), Frank Graham, {{ISBN|0-85983-177-9}}</ref>

The fort of Segedunum measured {{convert|453|ft|m}} from north to south and {{convert|393|ft|m}} from east to west, covering an area of {{convert|4.1|acre|m2}}. A wide ditch and an earth embankment surrounded the fort on all sides. It had four double gates with the east, west and north gates opening outside the wall and only the south gate opening within the wall. The wall joined to the west wall of the fort just south of the west gate. From the southeast angle of the fort, a {{convert|6|ft|6|in|m|0}} wide wall ran down to the riverbank and extended at least as far as the low water level.<ref name="graham" />

There is evidence that there was an extensive [[Vicus (Rome)|vicus]], or village surrounding the fort, including the area to the north of the wall.<ref name="graham" />

==Garrison==
[[File:BLW Armour.jpg|thumb|right|Fragments of armour found at Segedunum]]
The original garrison of Segedunum is unknown, but in the 2nd century [[Cohors II Nerviorum]] was stationed there. In the 3rd and 4th centuries the part-mounted Fourth Cohort of the Lingones occupied the fort, as recorded in the ''Notitia Dignitatum''. Both units were 600 strong, consisting of 120 cavalry and 480 infantry.

==Subsequent history==
Sometime round about 400{{nbsp}}AD the fort was abandoned. For centuries the area remained as open farmland, but in the 18th century, collieries were sunk near the fort and the area gradually became a populous [[pit village]]. Eventually, in 1884, the whole fort disappeared under terraced housing.<ref name="bruce">* J. Collingwood Bruce, Handbook to the Roman Wall (1863), Harold Hill & Son, {{ISBN|0-85983-140-X}}</ref>

In 1929 some excavations were carried out which recorded the outline of the fort. The local authority marked out this outline in white paving stones. In the 1970s the terraced houses covering the site were demolished.<ref name="bruce" />

A section of Hadrian's Wall was excavated and a reconstruction built in the early 1990s. The Segedunum project began in January 1997 with a series of excavations in and around the Fort, as well as the construction of the bath house and the conversion of former Swan Hunter shipyard buildings to house the new museum. Segedunum Roman Fort, Baths & Museum opened to the public in June 2000.<ref name="segedunum2007">[https://www.twmuseums.org.uk/segedunum/ Segedunum official site (2007)]</ref>

==Today==
[[File:Viewing Platform, Segedunum Roman Fort and Baths - geograph.org.uk - 52977.jpg|thumb|right|The viewing platform at the Segedunum Visitor Centre]]

The site of the fort now contains the excavated remains of the buildings' [[foundation (architecture)|foundation]] of the original fort, as well as a reconstructed [[Roman bath|Roman military bathhouse]] based on excavated examples at [[Vindolanda]] and [[Cilurnum|Chesters]] forts. A museum contains items of interest that were found when the site was [[Excavation (archaeology)|excavated]], and a large observation tower overlooks the site. A portion of the original [[Hadrian's Wall|wall]] is visible across the street from the museum, and a reconstruction of what the whole wall might have looked like. The central section of Hadrian's Wall was erected atop the [[Whin Sill]], a geological formation that offers a natural topographic defence against invaders or immigrants from the north. However at the eastern end of the wall, the main topographic defence was the [[River Tyne, England|River Tyne]] itself, and the very final stretch of the wall ran down from Segedunum fort to the river's edge. There may have been a statue or monument to mark the very end of the wall, but if there ever was, it no longer exists.<ref name="hogan2007">C.Michael Hogan (2007) [https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18177 "Hadrian's Wall"], ed. A. Burnham, ''The Megalithic Portal''</ref>

North Tyneside Council provided accommodation in the newly built Battle Hill Estate for the owners of all the houses demolished when the site was cleared. The name [[Wallsend]] comes from Segedunum being at the easternmost end of Hadrian's Wall; the westernmost end is at [[Bowness-on-Solway]].

==See also==
*[[Arbeia]]
*[[Stanegate]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline}}
* [https://www.northeastmuseums.org.uk/segedunum Segedunum Roman Fort, Baths and Museum] - official site
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120216010749/http://www.northeastengland.org/news/segednum-wallsend History of Segedunum]
* [https://www.roman-britain.co.uk/places/segedunum/ ''Segedunum '' at www.Roman-Britain.co.uk]

{{Hadrian's Wall forts}}
{{Roman visitor sites in the UK}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Forts of Hadrian's Wall]]
[[Category:Roman fortifications in England]]
[[Category:Museums sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport]]
[[Category:Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Tyne and Wear]]
[[Category:Museums of ancient Rome in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Archaeological museums in England]]
[[Category:Museums in Tyne and Wear]]
[[Category:Military and war museums in England]]
[[Category:Wallsend]]