Roman defense of Arbeia fort, South Shields
Who Fought
History & Significance
Arbeia was a large Roman fort in South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England, now ruined and partially reconstructed. It was first excavated in the 1870s. All modern buildings on the site were cleared in the 1970s. It is managed by North East Museums as Arbeia, South Shields Roman Fort.
The name Arbeia comes from the Notitia Dignitatum, the only ancient source to feature the name. The entry in Notitia Dignitatum for Arbeia was originally associated with the town of Ireby, Cumbria as early as 1587, but this has since been dismissed as a superficial resemblance. In the early 1900s the name began to be associated with the South Shields site alongside Ireby as well as Moresby, Cumbria.
The name entered widespread use as the probable name for the South Shields fort in 1953, supported by research from Ian Richmond.
Arbeia may mean the "fort of the Arab troops", referring to the fact that part of its garrison at one time was a squadron of Mesopotamian boatmen from the Tigris, following Emperor Septimius Severus securing the city of Singara in 197. However, this is purely speculative and hinges on the similarity of the words 'Arab' and 'Arbeia'.
Alternatively, it could mean "(fort by a) stream noted for wild turnips".
The fort was built in 129 AD as a small cohort fort, a few years later than most of the Hadrian's Wall forts, on the Lawe Top overlooking the mouth of the River Tyne and four miles beyond the eastern end of Hadrian’s wall, from where it guarded the flank and main sea supply route to the Wall and the small port on the south of the Tyne.
Its garrison was reduced during the occupation of Scotland in the reign of Antoninus Pius. Early in Marcus Aurelius' reign (161 to 180) it was reoccupied and from 198 it was considerably altered in plan and usage. A dividing wall between the northern and southern halves of the fort allowed the north part to store supplies from sea-going ships, whilst the southern part remained a garrison. The modifications are associated with Septimius Severus' Roman invasion of Caledonia (208–211), a series of campaigns against the troublesome Caledonian tribes, in which the fort may have served as his headquarters.
From 220-235 a new principia (headquarters) and new barracks were built in the southern part of the fort, probably to house the new garrison of Cohors V Gallorum of double size (nominally 1000 men) while the original principia were converted to a granary and nine more granaries were built in the southern part of the fort, bringing the total to 24. Most forts had two granaries but Arbeia had up to 24, indicating that it supplied more than its own troops. It shows that Arbeia became the main supply base for the whole of Hadrian’s Wall rather than obtaining its supplies from the local region by purchase, taxation or requisition, which was the usual assumption.
The ground they fought on
The site of Roman defense of Arbeia fort, South Shields lies on Pennine Middle Coal Measures Formation And South Wales Middle Coal Measures Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Moscovian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.
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