Housesteads Roman Fort – Vercovicium – English Heritage Site

Housesteads Roman Fort, known in Latin as Vercovicium, is one of the most famous and well-preserved Roman forts along Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, England. Managed by English Heritage, this site offers a fascinating glimpse into Roman military life on the northern frontier of the Roman Empire.

The fort was built around AD 124, soon after the construction of Hadrian’s Wall began. Housesteads is strategically positioned on a high escarpment, providing commanding views over the surrounding landscape, which made it an ideal location for monitoring the movements of both the Roman military and local tribes.

The fort was home to a garrison of around 800 soldiers, mostly auxiliary troops from the Roman provinces, rather than Roman citizens. These soldiers lived in barracks within the fort, which also contained a hospital, granaries, workshops, and a commanding officer’s house. The remains of these structures are still visible today, offering visitors a clear layout of a typical Roman fort.

One of the most remarkable features of Housesteads is its well-preserved latrines, which are considered among the best surviving examples of Roman sanitation. The site also includes a well-preserved section of Hadrian’s Wall, giving visitors a vivid sense of the scale and ambition of this vast frontier defense system.

Housesteads was occupied and used by the Romans until the early 5th century, after which the fort fell into ruin. Despite this, the site remained significant throughout history, with its ruins drawing the attention of antiquarians and archaeologists.