Roman Frontier Seminar in Hexham

Hexham Abbey

On Wednesday, 22 October, there was a Northern Roman Frontier Seminar (NRFS) meeting in Hexham. I became aware of this just a few days before the seminar, and am grateful to the organizers that I was allowed to attend on such short notice. The meeting was held at the amazingly beautiful Hexham Abbey, in Hexham, Northumberland, England. Approximately 35 people were in attendance, most of these well-established scholars of the Hadrian’s Wall Roman frontier in northern Britain. Among the key attendees were: David Breeze (author of THE book on Hadrian’s Wall and important scholar of both Hadrian’s and the Antonine walls), Paul Bidwell (head of Archaeology for Tyne and Wear Museums), Paul Austen (retiring Heritage and Outreach Manager for English Heritage), Jim Crow (Professor of Classical Archaeology & Head of Archaeology at University of Edinburgh), and Bill Hanson (Professor of Roman Archaeology at University of Glasgow), among others.

The seminar schedule was roughly as follows:

Corbridge as a legionary base and town c.160-260: Nick Hodgson
Coins from Corbridge: Richard Brigstock
Finds from Corbridge: Rob Collins
Corbridge from 350 to 700: continuities and discontinuities:  Paul Bidwell
New inscriptions from Vindolanda: Tony Birley
Geophysics on Hadrian’s Wall: Alan Biggins
The National Mapping programme: Peter Horn
Surveying the Antonine Wall: John Poulter

During lunch, there was a scheduled visit of the Abbey, along with guided tour of the ancient crypt below the abbey by Paul Bidwell. It was an excellent and informative day, and a true pleasure to meet all these important scholars of Rome’s frontier in northern Britain.

For more photos, check out my Flickr set on Hadrian’s Wall Scholars and Events and Hexham.

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