Housesteads Roman Fort
Housesteads Roman Fort on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland is the finest and most completely preserved Roman fort in Britain, a cavalry fort of the second century AD that has been comprehensively excavated to reveal the complete layout of a Roman garrison including the headquarters building, the granaries, the barracks, the hospital and the remarkably complete latrine block in a state of preservation unequalled at any other fort on the Wall. English Heritage manages the fort and the combination of the site quality and the dramatic Wall scenery on the Whin Sill escarpment creates the most complete Roman military heritage experience available in Britain.
The fort's layout, clearly legible from the surviving foundations and partial wall remains, provides one of the most instructive plans of a Roman military installation available anywhere in the Empire. The granaries with their underfloor ventilation systems, the headquarters building with its strongroom beneath the floor, the hospital with its wards and operating facilities and the latrine block with its continuous bench seating over a constant water flush create a picture of organised, hygienic and efficiently managed military life that challenges assumptions about Roman civilisation in the British provinces.
The Wall section immediately adjacent to Housesteads, including the well-preserved section toward Cuddy's Crags to the east and the dramatic approach from Steel Rigg to the west, provides some of the finest walking on the entire Wall route and the combination of the fort visit with the Wall walking creates one of the most completely satisfying half-day heritage experiences in northern England.