Roman Bridge Across the Tyne

Roman Bridge Across the Tyne. . , The Roman Bridge across the Tyne at Newcastle , You are standing close to the site of the bridge that gave Newcastle its Roman name – Pons Aelius, meaning ‘the bridge of Hadrian’. , 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 radiocarbon date obtained by the WallQuest community archaeology project from one timber pile now proves that the Roman bridge was on the same site as the medieval and the swing bridges. , 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). , 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. , Did You Know? , The altar from the bridge dedicated to the god Oceanus by the Sixth legion was the soldiers' way of saying they had reached the end of the known world; crossing the bridge was a step into the unknown. 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 325 BC. , ( photo captions ) , - The Roman bridge probably had an elegant arched structure like this excavated bridge at Chesters, on Hadrian’s Wall, but with more arches. – Drawing by Frank Gardiner, © English Heritage , - The 13th century medieval Newcastle Bridge. , - Altar to Oceanus dedicated by the Sixth legion. Note the anchor – the legion had just completed a sea voyage, having been transferred from Germany. Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne and Great Northern Museum , - A plan of one of the bridge piers showing the supposed Roman timbers found in 1872 , - Inscribed slab from the Newcastle bridge recording the arrival of legionary soldiers from Germany, around AD 155 – Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne and Great Northern Museum ,