Workingtons Roman Fort
| CUMBRIAN archaeologist, Professor Clifford 'Indiana' Jones gets very angry at the neglect of the site of Workington's Roman fort. Where once Roman soldiers used to keep watch over the River Derwent estuary and the harbour now lies partly beneath a disused railway area and close to Dunmail Park shopping centre. |  |
In true Time Team style, the professor wants the history of the Roman fort known as Burrow Walls excavated and researched. He says: "It is time to stir the earth and see what wonders lie beneath, to inspire future generations by our discoveries."
The Workington Roman fort was part of the chain of forts that made up the world famous Hadrian's Wall between Newcastle and Cumbria. Contrary to the school text book view professor Jones thinks the wall was less of a military barrier and more aimed at tax and customs collection for the Roman Empire. He says; "It a frontier built for taxation and prevention of cattle rustling."
This fort along with another at Moresby are part of the Hadrianic frontier, therefore they are part of the World Heritage site. He adds: "I can think of no more forgotten a piece of heritage than Burrow Walls. Its treatment is nothing short of a disgrace."
"The "Walls" of Burrow Walls belong to a medieval hall, the builders of which took full advantage of the free quarry provided on the spot by the once grand Roman fort that looked immediately out onto the confluence of the Derwent and the sea; protecting the harbour facility, now lost under the wood pulping works. The sea and river have moved further away and as if an accident of history and time the site of the harbour has become invisible."
He is saddened that Hadrian's Wall Heritage Limited, (the company responsible for the Hadrianic frontier from Ravenglass to Wallsend) don't record the Workington site on their guides, yet there is public access and the site was proven as long ago as the mid-nineteenth century and formally excavated in the nineteen fifties, with further investigation in the late twentieth century.
Professor Jones says: "It is time to put Burrow Walls on the map. Its Roman name is still lost, various speculative attempts have been attached, but it remains elusive - a major excavation would assist in establishing its true significance as a means of defending the estuary mouth and commerce nearby. I strongly suspect that there is more than one fort on the site and an early one, much earlier than the Hadrianic period.
"Community archaeology is the thing - getting the local population involved in their history - this site is as much there site, indeed mores so than the archaeologists and academics. The occupants of the housing estate that sits next Burrow Walls are probably unaware that they reside next to an archaeological site that directly connects to them, not only to the rest of the Hadrianic system in Britain but to a frontier that encompassed the entire Roman Empire. Yet this wonderful gift of a portal into the past and potentially an educational and commercial boost for the community is simply forgotten; a pile of stones in a field."
"As a professional archaeologist working in west Cumbria I have spent many years building up a volunteer workforce, there being no point in suggesting excavation without personnel to carry it out. The use of volunteers is vital to archaeology and community involvement at all levels; protecting the past is a matter of personal and community pride when the history is seen as part of the individuals past. There is the opportunity to train the community to field walk and survey and recent highly technical resistivity and magnatometry work was undertaken by volunteers after a weeks intensive training course with all age and backgrounds involved. Such background work is essential before any excavation could be considered. More importantly the site is an English Heritage site and nothing can be done without there approval. But as, Hadrian's Wall Heritage Limited is funded by English Heritage it would undoubtedly be in their interest to assist a community based project on the site, that would boost visitor numbers and thus assist the local population.
"If the Burrow Walls site was excavated and presented to the public I believe it would both add to our knowledge of the past and benefit the present and future, attracting people to view the site would aid the economy and give a sense of pride to the locals that have been involved in the work."
