16th Century Bastle House

16th Century Bastle House. . , 16th Century Bastle House , Ruined buildings were adapted and new ones built at Housesteads in the centuries after the Romans left, when the land around became an upland farm. In the 16th century a local family built a fortified house onto the ruined south gate as a refuge against raiding. , During the Middle Ages and into the 17tlh century, families on both sides of the border with Scotland were involved in raiding. The purpose was to steal cattle, horses and to destroy the property of rivals. , Bastle houses like this one were built to resist such attacks. They were made in stone with thick walls and very few, tiny windows so that they could not be destroyed by burning. The ground floor was to shelter animals in safety while the upper floor, reached only by a ladder, was for living and refuge. , In the safer times of the 18th century, a corn-drying kiln was inserted into this bastle. , ( photo caption ) , Above: The bastle house in the late 16th century. The left-hand part incorporated the ruins of the Roman south gate. Reconstruction by Philip Corke