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Photographers Comment:
Arbeia is the remains of a large Roman fort in South Shields. It was first
excavated in the 1870s and continues to be and the buildings you see today are a
reconstruction.
The reconstructed Roman Gatehouse
includes a model of what they thought Arbeia would have looked like in its day
and contains a model of the site as well as other artefacts. It not only offers
a good photo opportunity from the ground to give idea of scale, but also if you
take the time to climb it you can get a view of the whole site as well as the
surrounding town. The other
reconstructed buildings include a Barrack block and a Commanding Officers
accommodation and from this you can see the differences on how they lived, with
4 soldiers and their horses having to cram into a small space, whereas the
commanding officers accommodation is more lavish, spacious and highly decorated.
The Roman garden illustrates what types of herbs
and plants that would have grown not only for cooking but also for medicine and
decoration. Behind this is the museum which holds artefacts which have been
found on the site during excavations and a display showing the Life of a Roman
Soldier. There is a lot to
photograph here and a lot of history to learn of how the Romans operated in this
part of the country. The main excavations are totally open and a good weather
day is required for a visit. |
