Arbeia

Arbeia is a large ruined Roman fort in South Shields, overlooking the mouth of the River Tyne. It was built in 129 AD as a small cohort fort, four miles beyond the eastern end of Hadrian’s Wall. The fort guarded the flank and main sea supply route to the Wall and the small port on the south of the Tyne. Its name comes from the Notitia Dignitatum, an ancient document that lists Arbeia as a fort of the Arab troops. The fort was first excavated in the 1870s, and all modern buildings on the site were cleared in the 1970s. It is now managed by North East Museums. Arbeia became the main supply base for the whole of Hadrian’s Wall, with up to 24 granaries built to store supplies. The fort was altered in plan and usage during the reign of Septimius Severus, who used it as a headquarters for his campaigns in Caledonia. A new principia and barracks were built in the southern part of the fort to house the Cohors V Gallorum, a regiment of 1,000 men. After a fire in about 300, eight granaries were converted to barracks, and a new praetorium was built. The fort was finally abandoned around 400. Visitors find a reconstructed West Gate, gatehouse, barracks and Commanding Officer’s house on their original foundations. The gatehouse holds displays related to the fort’s history, and its upper levels provide an overview of the archaeological site. The museum contains monuments to Regina, a British woman of the Catuvellauni tribe, and Victor, a former slave of the Moorish nation. The museum also holds an altarpiece to an unknown god and a tablet with the name of Emperor Severus Alexander chiselled off. The praetorium includes an atrium, a colonnaded courtyard with a fountain, and a private thermal bath suite with hypocausts.