THE ROMAN BRIDGE AT NEWCASTLE

Timbers believed to be foundations of the Roman bridge were found when the swing bridge was built in 1872. Some of these were actually medieval, from the famous 13th century bridge here – but a Romanperiod radiocarbon date obtained by the WallQuest project from one timber pile now proves that the Roman bridge was on the same site as the medieval and the swing bridges.

The famous medieval Newcastle Bridge, which stood on the same site as its Roman predecessor

Finds found in the river include two matching altars, dedicated to Oceanus and Neptune and a slab recording the arrival of Roman legionaries after a sea voyage from Germany (all in the Great North Museum: Hancock). The altar dedicated to Oceanus was the soldiers’ way of saying they had reached the end of the known world. Alexander the Great dedicated to the same two gods, Oceanus and Poseidon (Neptune) when he reached the mouth of the river Indus (in modern Pakistan) in 325BC. It was long believed that the Roman bridge would have had a timber superstructure, but it is now known that other bridges on Hadrian’s Wall at Chesters and Willowford were built with graceful stone arches. Like that other Pons Aelius in Rome itself, Hadrian’s bridge was probably stone, forming a fitting monument at the original eastern end of Hadrian’s Wall.

Right: Ancient bridge piers found in 1872 when the Swing Bridge was built. The ‘Roman’ timbers on this plan are probably medieval

Below: Altar to Oceanus dedicated by the Sixth legion. Note the anchor - the legion had just completed a sea voyage, having been transferred from Germany

The Roman bridge had an elegant arched structure like this excavated bridge at Chesters, on Hadrian’s Wall