Roman Binchester

Tags

Archaeology, Auckland castle, Binchester, Bishop Auckland, Britain, Café, England, English heritage, Heritage, History, Landscapes, Libraries, Nature, Roman Archaeology, Roman Binchester, Roman Britannia, Roman Empire, Shovelbum

Hello, people of the world wide web! Predictably, I have been unable to update this blog regularly. I do however have a legit excuse this time: since the beginning of the month I have been working on an archaeological dig in Bishop Auckland. I am currently taking part in the last season of excavation at Binchester Roman Fort, which has been renamed ‘the Pompeii of the North’ (or something along those lines) because of the beauty of its well preserved walls. I am unsure on how much I can publicly state about the dig itself and our finds, but I will tell you that I am handling a lot of animal remains (which is brilliant for an osteoarchaeology enthusiast such as myself). I do however invite you to take a look at the official excavation blog if you’re keen to find out more about the dig. So far it’s been a lot of fun, albeit very hard work indeed. I am starting to think that pretty much everyone else believes I am some sort of weirdo, since I am by far the one who takes the most interest in bones by photographing each and every one of them, and punctually take out my mammalian osteology book in order to identify the fragments. Regardless of my personal fortunes (or misfortunes), I would like to share with you some pictures I took on my way to the dig one day, as it truly is a beautiful bit of countryside just outside Bishop Auckland.   The other day, I decided to stop by Bishop Auckland on my way back from the dig, and took the time to visit Auckland Castle once more. They are currently hosting an exhibition on the local football team, which might be interesting to those of you who are into football. However, I was mostly keen on spending time at their lovely café, which looks like the ideal place for you to pop in with a book and sip on a cup of coffee while enjoying these lovely interiors. I shall now leave you with a ‘humorous’ daily account of my archaeology experience at Binchester. Enjoy!

• Binchester, day one: I’m not lazy, I’m ‘in situ’
• Binchester, day two: ‘I am a glorified builder with a shovel in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other, searching for 2,000 year old rubbish’.
• Binchester, day three: ‘How I learned to stop worrying and love cobbles’.
• Binchester, day four: ‘This is my shovel. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My shovel is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my shovel is useless. Without my shovel, I am useless’.
• Binchester, day five: ‘I love the smell of clay in the morning…smells like victory’.
• Binchester, day six: ‘I dug. I dug until my muscles burned and my veins pumped battery acid. Then I dug some more’.
• Binchester, day seven: ‘I have come here to chew bubble gum and dig. And I’m all out of bubble gum’.
• Binchester, day eight: ‘This is Binchester. I mean, if you don’t have a shovel in your hand, you might as well be wearing a dress’.
• Binchester, day nine: ‘You had me at <let me help you fill in those context sheets>’.

The day I walked through Ragpath Wood

Tags

animals, county Durham, England, foal, hiking, horses, Landscapes, Nature, nature walk, nort east, ponies, streams

After exploring pretty much every hiking trail south of Durham, we decided to set sail for the West. Following a pretty uneventful walk in Langley Park, my partner and I decided to discover Ragpath Wood, which was supposed to be a nice little trail which is frequently used by locals and nature lovers alike. We decided to access the trail from Ushaw, which gave us the chance to explore the lovely 19th century (yet very medieval looking) university college and its fluffy residents before we headed towards our access point.

It is known: if I see any sort of animal, I will stop and I will pet it. Which makes me wonder what kind of danger I would put myself into, was I ever to walk in the woods somewhere in the United States, where large carnivores are still a reality *mental imagery of myself running after a pack of wolves to pet them all

While heading towards our access point, we also befriended this unusual, moustache-bearing horse. Ever seen a stallion with a moustache? Is it a normal thing? If so, please do leave a comment down below.

We also had a chance to spot a lovely foal and his/her mummy. After spending a ridiculous amount of time going ‘awww’ at all these new friends of ours (and some dangerous walking on the side of a country road), we finally located our access points, and off to Ragpath we go. The walk was unfortunately not as nice as I had anticipated, which has probably something to do with the fact that all the trees had been put down during WW2 and a current project is now seeking to restore the woods’ old glory. Towards the end of the path, we did however get to a nice little place full of little streams. *Pictures below*

Wildlings? White Walkers? – A day beyond The Wall

Tags

Archaeology, England, English heritage, Game of Thrones, Hadrian's Wall, Heritage, History, Landscapes, Military History, Nature, Roman history, Romans, Ruins, snow, the Wall, Winter

After weeks spent reading and analysing EU-Russia relations, it was time to take a break. I thus set off for a journey back in time, when fierce Roman legions watched over Britannia. What best place to start, than with Hadrian’s Wall itself?

A journey back in time was indeed, as the further you get away from big northern cities, the more lack of decent transportation becomes noticeable. In my quest to reach Housesteads Roman Fort and Hadrian’s Wall, I had to take a train to Newcastle, to then change to the tiniest local train I had ever seen, which dropped us off at a place that I shall just call bamblefuck (if you’ll pardon my French). From there, we managed to get a decent deal off a cab driver, who kindly dropped us off at the Roman Fort. Let me tell you though, the Tolkienian journey was well worth it. We arrived to a magnificent plain field covered in white beauty.

…and already made some new, fluffy friends!

After a brief visit at the small museum located just by the fort, we wandered through the remains of the barrack blocks and the commandant’s house, imagined how life used to be like when 800 Roman soldiers were stationed here, battling the bitter Northern cold and hostile populations.

As we approached the fort, I turned into my kid-in-a-candy-shop pirouette-mode, and I have been spotted jumping up and down in the snow, hiding behind corners and examine the ruins from up close. That has much to do with my passion for ancient and medieval history, but this one time it also had a lot to do with the fact that I had never seen this much snow in my life before. The white, fluffy beauty reached my knees (which admittedly might not be saying much as I’m 5’4 tall) and I had an amazing time climbing and playing with the snow.

So what’s Beyond the Wall? Turns out it’s just cattle.

A white Sicilian New Year

Tags

Beach, Christmas, Italy, Landscapes, New Year, seaside, Sicily, snow, Snowy beach

Good afternoon from a very windy Britain, I hope you’ve all had a joyous holiday season! I decided to take some time off to unwind and work on my EU enlargement paper. This time I was to predict the prospectives for further EU enlargement given the current internal legitimacy crisis. In case you care to know, I argued that the EU should solve its internal challenges before it accepts any new members, as the very survival of the EU institutions is paramount. Back to more lighthearted topics, it was with much bafflement that I woke up on the morning of December 31st, only to find my Sunny Sicily covered in snow. There has been no snow in this part of the island for around 15 years, so you may understand how this could come as surprising and utterly flabbergasting.

Tons of people were coming down into the streets in their pyjamas, taking pictures of the snow. While snow might be very common (if not very frustrating for those who have jobs to go to in the morning) in England and North America, Sicilians are not used to seeing the snow. However, we can all agree that seeing a Mediterranean beach covered in snow is a pretty amazing sight. These shots were taken just five minutes drive from Messina’s city centre, on the eastern coast of Sicily.

So just like all those surprised Sicilians, I decided to come down and take a few shots myself. It wasn’t quite the holiday season you would expect when you book a flight to Sicily, but I felt very lucky to witness something this rare and special. Oddly enough, I came back to a very windy yet not snowy County Durham, which is mildly disappointing. I can just close my eyes and imagine how majestic our Cathedral would look covered in snow.

I hope you enjoyed these pictures, despite this being a very late post. Next time I will probably tell you a bit more about my trip to York and its hidden secrets. Enjoy!

The Northern Sagas goes South

Tags

Etna, Holidays, Italy, Landscapes, Sicily, Volcano

By the time you read this post, I will be sitting on a balcony wearing shorts and sipping Zibbibo wine. This Christmas, The Northern Sagas has decided to take a trip down south in the land of oranges, mandolins and mafia: Sicily. I have decided to share with you a nice shot I took from the plane and one of my drive back to my family’s place.

Wishing you a joyous holiday season!