A Roman Fort - Animation

[D B Campbell]

When was the last time you stood on the Roman Dam at Bywell and just what exactly is the lack of evidence you refer to for it not being a dam, then as far as no Roman remains being found at Bywell would show that you are not familiar with the excavations carried out by the late Archaeologist Raymond Selkirk.

To be honest, Brian, I wasn't aware that Raymond Selkirk had excavated there. Perhaps his work was published in a difficult-to-obtain journal? (I once tried to get an article of his from a CBA newsletter, only to be told that it would cost £16 + postage! I think CBA were trying to discourage any interest.)

There is certainly a dam at Bywell, Brian. But I'm not sure how -- in the absence of diagnostic ceramic/numismatic finds -- you would distinguish a Roman dam from a medieval one. It doesn't appear to be particularly Roman (it doesn't show the weathering that, for example, the Chesters bridge abutments show). A good case can be made for the medieval community using a dam here -- it appears on early maps as a "salmon lock" --, but there is no good reason to suggest that it is Roman.

I can't remember what Bidwell & Holbrook say (it's a looong time since I read that book), but Binnie (Early Dam Building in Britain, 1987) considered Bywell to be a 14thC fish-weir (based on a study of original medieval documents relating to fishing in the area).

Roman ruins in the immediate vicinity would certainly add weight to the Roman argument. Did Raymond Selkirk actually find some?