| Piercebridge Roman Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Piercebridge Roman Bridge | |
| Location | Cliffe, North Yorkshire, England |
| Coordinates | 54°32′10″N1°40′16″W / 54.536°N 1.671°W |
| OS grid reference | NZ213156 |
  Location in North Yorkshire | |
Piercebridge Roman Bridge is the ruin of a Roman bridge over the River Tees, northern England. It is near the villages of Cliffe (North Yorkshire) and Piercebridge, County Durham.
The most recent excavations were by Channel 4's Time Team in 2009. [1]
The bridge carried the Roman road Dere Street across the river. [2]
Piercebridge Roman Fort guarded the bridge. [3]
The first bridge was built around 90 AD, but this may have been replaced by a second bridge after it was washed away. The Tees has narrowed and changed its course over the centuries and as a result the remains lie in a field around 90 metres (300 ft) south of the current course of the river, and about 450 metres (1,480 ft) east of Piercebridge. [4] [5]
What remains of the bridge are massive masonry blocks that formed at least five piers. [6] The lower courses of one of the abutments still stand, partially complete, and it is possible to see the holes into which the wooden structure of the bridge would have fitted. [7] All of the timber has disappeared in the nearly 16 centuries since the end of the Roman occupation. [8] The remains were discovered in 1972 during gravel quarrying. [4] The stone blocks are up to 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) long and the total bridge structure was 123 metres (404 ft) long. [9] [10] Artefacts from the excavation of the bridge and fort are held in the Bowes Museum. [2] [11]
Whilst the majority opinion among archaeologists is that the structure is a bridge, an alternative interpretation has been proposed by archaeologist Raymond Selkirk, who contends that the structure is a navigation dam with an overspill channel. From this, and other evidence he argues that the Romans made far greater use of river transport than is generally recognised. His views are set out in his books The Piercebridge Formula (1983), On the Trail of the Legions (1995) and Chester-le-Street & Its Place in History (2000). [12] [13]
Barnard Castle is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automaton exhibit and paintings by Goya and El Greco.
There are many Roman sites in Great Britain that are open to the public. There are also many sites that do not require special access, including Roman roads, and sites that have not been uncovered.
The River Tees, in England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for 85 miles (137 km) to reach the North Sea in the North East of England. The modern day history of the river has been tied with the industries on Teesside in its lower reaches, where it has provided the means of import and export of goods to and from the North East England. The need for water further downstream also meant that reservoirs were built in the extreme upper reaches, such as Cow Green.
County Durham, officially simply Durham (/ˈdʌrəm/), is a ceremonial county in North East England. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne and Wear to the north, the North Sea to the east, North Yorkshire to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The largest settlement is Darlington, and the county town is the city of Durham.
Piercebridge is a village and civil parish in the borough of Darlington and the ceremonial county of Durham, England. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 113. It is situated a few miles west of the town of Darlington. It is on the site of a Roman fort of AD 260–270, which was built at the point where Dere Street crossed the River Tees. Part of the fort is under the village green. The village is sited where the York-Newstead Roman road known as Dere Street crosses the River Tees.
Sockburn is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Neasham, in the Darlington district, in the ceremonial county of Durham, England. It is situated at the apex of a meander of the River Tees, to the south of Darlington, known locally as the Sockburn Peninsula. Today, all that remains of the village is an early nineteenth-century mansion, a ruined church and a farmhouse built in the late eighteenth century.
Dere Street or Deere Street is a modern designation of a Roman road which ran north from Eboracum (York), crossing the Stanegate at Corbridge and continuing beyond into what is now Scotland, later at least as far as the Antonine Wall. It was the Romans' major route for communications and supplies to the north and to Scotland. Portions of its route are still followed by modern roads, including the A1(M), the B6275 road through Piercebridge, where Dere Street crosses the River Tees, and the A68 north of Corbridge in Northumberland.
Legs Cross is an Anglo-Saxon cross in the parish of Bolam, County Durham, England, about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Piercebridge on the Pilgrims' Way. It is a Grade II* listed structure, and a scheduled monument.
Hurworth Place is a village in County Durham, in England. It lies south of Darlington on the northern bank of the River Tees, opposite the village of Croft-on-Tees in North Yorkshire to which it is linked by Croft Bridge, a Grade I listed structure dating from the 14th century, which marks the county boundary. It is part of the civil parish of Hurworth.
Stanwick Iron Age Fortifications, a huge Iron Age hill fort, sometimes but not always considered an oppidum, comprising over 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) of ditches and ramparts enclosing approximately 300 hectares of land, are situated in Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, England. Whether Stanwick was the stronghold of Venutius or Cartimandua, or perhaps of them both for a brief time before their acrimonious split some time after 51 AD, it is certain that this settlement was one of the most important in Brigantia, the Brigantes kingdom during the early stages of the Roman occupation of Britain. The site is a scheduled monument.
The Borough of Darlington is a unitary authority area with borough status in County Durham, England. It is named after the town of Darlington and in the Tees Valley mayoral area. The area borders three local authority areas; the County Durham district is to the north and west, Stockton-on-Tees to the east and North Yorkshire to the south, the River Tees forming the border for the latter. In 2011, the borough had a population of 106,000.
Cliffe is a small village and civil parish in Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. A stream called the Glen runs through the village to the Tees. It is in the Teesdale and Yorkshire Dales national park. It is about 6 miles (10 km) west of Darlington, 10 miles (16 km) north of Richmond and near Piercebridge.
Piercebridge Roman Fort is a scheduled ancient monument situated in the village of Piercebridge on the banks of the River Tees in modern-day County Durham, England. There were Romans here from about AD 70 until at least the early 5th century. There was an associated vicus and bath house at Piercebridge, and another vicus and a villa south of the river at Cliffe. The Victorians used carved stones from this site when they built St Mary's church at Gainford. Part of the site is under Piercebridge village green.
Cade's Road is a Roman Road in north-east England. It is named after John Cade of Durham, an 18th-century antiquarian who in 1785 proposed its existence and possible course from the Humber Estuary northwards to the River Tyne, a distance of about 100 miles (160 km). The road's Roman name is unknown. Although evidence exists for such a road on some parts of the proposed route, there is still some doubt regarding its exact course.
Vinovia or Vinovium was a Roman fort and settlement situated just over 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north of the town of Bishop Auckland on the banks of the River Wear in County Durham, England. The fort was the site of a hamlet until the late Middle Ages, but the modern-day village of Binchester is about 2 miles (3 km) to the east, near Spennymoor. The ruins are now known as the Binchester Roman Fort.
Vindomora was an auxiliary fort on Dere Street, in the province of Lower Britain. Its ruins, now known as Ebchester Roman Fort, are situated at Ebchester in the English county of Durham, to the north of Consett and 12 miles (19 km) west-south-west from Newcastle upon Tyne.
Concangis was an auxiliary castra in the Roman province of Lower Britain. Its ruins are located in Chester-le-Street, Durham, in England, and are now known as Chester-le-Street Roman Fort. It is situated 6 miles (10 km) north of Durham and 8 miles (13 km) south of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Derventio, sometimes described as Derventio Brigantium in order to distinguish it from other places called Derventio, was a Roman fort and settlement located beneath the modern town of Malton in North Yorkshire, England. The fort is positioned 18 miles north-east of Eboracum on the River Derwent.
Edward Wooler was a solicitor, author, councillor, alderman and antiquarian from Darlington.
