Uncovering Roman Carlisle Story
“I remember this coming up from the trench wet from the rain and covered in red mud… Seeing the print of the toes on that wet clay brought home the human side of the construction of the bathhouse”
The quote above are the words from just one of the hundreds of volunteers who took part in Uncovering Roman Carlisle (URC). URC is an ongoing programme of community archaeology, engagement, and exhibitions, exploring the internationally significant Carlisle Roman Bathhouse on Hadrian’s Wall (HW). This article will explore the background to the project, the archaeological context and significance of the site, and most importantly the impacts that a community heritage and archaeology project has on local heritage and the volunteers who made it possible.
Archaeological investigation for a new flood proof cricket pavilion at Carlisle Cricket Club in 2017 led to the discovery of the bathhouse. Mike Rayson, Carlisle Cricket Club Chairman, told the archaeological director, Frank Giecco; “either find nothing, or find something *flipping* amazing.” Something amazing was certainly found. The remains of a formerly unknown high-ranking imperial Roman bathhouse, and the largest building on Hadrian’s Wall. Funded by what was then Carlisle City Council (reorganised in 2023 into ‘Cumberland Council), archaeologists and volunteers uncovered remains of an underfloor heating system (hypocaust), and vast quantities of pottery, bone, and metal artefacts. Most significantly however was an exceptional engraved stone fragment, seemingly dedicated to the 2nd Century AD empress Julia Domna.
This discovery prompted a successful bid to the National Lottery Heritage Funded (NLHF) in 2021/2022, which became URC. Formed from a partnership of Carlisle Cricket Club, the new Cumberland Council, Wardell Armstrong LLP (the archaeological branch of a local multidisciplinary consultancy), and Tullie (Cumberland’s largest museum and art gallery) and supported by a large un-constituted group of volunteers - The Diggers.
Our aim with URC is for a unique, free to access, urban excavation that could engage new audiences in heritage, enhance wellbeing and skills, and improve Carlisle for residents and visitors.
Carlisle is a small city by population but is one of Britain’s great historic cities. Built on (and out of) Hadrian’s Wall, it has been a border city since the Romans, key to important national events. Hadrian’s Wall was built in AD122 to demark the northernmost boundary of the Roman empire at that time and is part of the international UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site. Carlisle (Luguvalium to the Romans) was a significant city, with a high concentration of soldiers in two forts and Roman settlers from throughout the empire. One fort is beneath the site of Carlisle Castle and Tullie, the other on Hadrian’s Wall in the suburb of Stanwix. Stanwix fort (Petriana/Uxelodunum) is the largest on the Wall, housing the 1000 cavalry of the Ala Petriana, whose commander was third in the line of command in Britannia. The bathhouse is situated a stone’s throw from these forts.
The inscription that was discovered is significant as it appears to have been dedicated to Empress Julia Domna (b.AD160- d.AD217), a Syrian Arab noblewoman, mother of emperors Geta and Caracalla, and the wife of Emperor Severus, who reigned from AD193-AD211. Although, it has been suggested it references another Severan matriarch, most of which are called Julia. Severus was the first North African emperor, founding the Severan Dynasty (AD193-AD235) after the Year of Five Emperors, a fairly self-explanatory name for a brief civil war in AD193. Severus renovated Hadrian’s Wall while campaigning in Scotland between AD208-AD210, dying in York in AD211.
Emperor Severus’ presence in Carlisle is attested in a late Roman source, the Historia Augusta, Life of Septimius Severus. 22.4. This along with the bathhouse’s size, significant finds, the campaign in Scotland, a direct connection to the imperial family via the dedication, all points to a visit by the imperial court. This would have made Carlisle the centre of the Roman empire for a time.
URC has returned to the site every year since 2021, subsequent discoveries by The Diggers further expanding our knowledge of Roman Britain. Volunteers have been essential in uncovering over 2,000 significant finds. Among these; 550+ Roman coins from centuries of occupation, 300+ hair pins, imperial stamped tiles (tiles literally fit for an emperor), North African style vaulting tubes for roof construction, hundreds of stunning glass beads, gaming pieces, even a rare Roman doll’s foot. Significantly, 70 intaglios have been discovered in the drains. These are magnificently carved gemstones which dropped from Roman signet rings when the glue holding them melted in the bathhouse heat, a common enough occurrence to be mentioned by the Roman Poet Ovid in a poem to a lover, in his Amores, book two, Elegy XV. Speaking about the intaglios discovered on site the leading expert in the UK, Dr Reverend Martin Hennig, (Research Fellow Oxford University) said; “this is the most significant cache… I have studied at all for decades… and perhaps a few more to come” concluding Carlisle had its own school of specialist engravers. It is the largest collection of intaglios from any single context in the UK, discovered by volunteers aged 8 to 80. Most recently in 2023 was the discovery of two monumental carved Roman heads by a volunteer on their first ever dig. These heads are utterly unique, and truly the find of a lifetime.
A heritage project like URC can facilitate opportunities to expand participation beyond those who traditionally partake in heritage. Carlisle faces unique challenges, high levels of deprivation, and limited opportunities to engage in archaeology. 1-in-10 are in the 10% most derived communities. Half are financially stretched or in urban adversity. Child poverty rates are 30%, and average gross weekly pay is lower than national average.
URC made heritage accessible to new and diverse audiences through a wide variety of activity and negating typical barriers to participation. A live urban archaeological site available to be engaged with easily for free, with excellent transport links, and on active travel routes (as well as a visible part of the Wall) did not exist before URC.
Overcoming typical barriers to participation, like accessibility and cost, URC could attract volunteers from areas of high deprivation, particularly younger and older volunteers, those with disabilities and those who have never engaged with a heritage project before. In 2021/22, for 57% it was their first time ever engaging in a heritage project, and of the 373 volunteers in 2022/23, it was 45%. Around half were from the local area, including from areas of high deprivation (30% from the most deprived wards). 8% of participants had a disability and 7% of volunteers were unemployed.
Focus was on economic inequality, however the aims of highlighting the multi-cultural and LGBTQ+ stories linked to Hadrian’s Wall and Carlisle’s Roman heritage were explored in site engagement, and exhibition. URC presented a unique opportunity for representing Carlisle’s diverse heritage to appeal to wider audiences and create personal connection. Emperor Severus and Julia Domna’s backgrounds, the Multi-ethnic Roman army, the first African community in the UK stationed nearby, Emperor Hadrian and lover Antinous as LGBTQ figures. All contributed to make it relevant to more people.
The Tullie led exhibitions drew from volunteer experience. Volunteers created object biographies for the artefacts they had discovered and presented them through interpretation panels and Audio-Visual means. ‘Volunteer Voices’ became an integral part of the exhibition ethos and interpretation.
A legacy of the dig is that volunteers are supportive of further development of Carlisle’s heritage and advocate for its significance, participating in its’ conservation. 10% of volunteers were issued with an archaeological skills passport in 2021 to encourage further learning, a number now work in archaeology and heritage. The excavation shaped perceptions of Carlisle, creating a new attraction. In 2021/22, 100% of volunteers reported knowing more about Carlisle, 88% had improved their heritage and archaeological skills. 74% feeling more pride in their local area.
There have now been;
· 6 excavations.
· 3 exhibitions (one touring 10 venues across the area).
· 2800+ volunteer places.
· 11,000+ site visitors.
· 50+ talks to over 2600.
· 14,500+ visited Tullie’s two temporary exhibitions.
· 6,000+ visited the touring exhibition.
· 4,262 individuals have viewed the digitised artefacts on-line in the UK North-West Virtual Exhibition.
· 2,226 pupils participated in the learning program.
· International visitors from 40 countries visited or participated.
URC has highlighted Carlisle in international media. Most recently in Digging for Britain, with Professor Alice Roberts joining the volunteers. This has allowed wider engagement and further, global appreciation of Carlisle as a visitor destination.
URC is now a recognized heritage asset for Cumberland, featuring in Council branding and adverts for the area. Supported by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and a patchwork of other funders and in-kind support; further exploration in 2024, public art and interpretation, long-term display of the artefacts, and an officially constituted volunteer group are being planned. URC is an example of how heritage and conservation impact diverse lives positively, and continues in the stories, actions, and experience gained by those who continue to make it happen.
