5126 x 3417 px | 43,4 x 28,9 cm | 17,1 x 11,4 inches | 300dpi
Data acquisizione:
4 gennaio 2009
Altre informazioni:
the site of Cawfields quarry cuts through a fine stretch of Hadrian's Wall on a steep slope near milecastle 42, probably built by the Second Legion. Every Roman mile, is based on 1000 double paces (approximately 1620 yards compared with 1760 yards – the English mile), the soldiers built a milecastle, which could hold up to 20 men. The milecastle can be viewed from the Milecastle Inn near the centre of the Wall. This milecastle, specifically built by the XX legion, is one of the best preserved and unusually built at a jaunty angle on the edge of The Great Whin Sill, a dramatic long escarpment of very hard rock formed by volcanoes 200 million years ago. One of the main reasons the Romans chose this line for the Wall using the edge of naturally formed defence, the steep faced crag. The value of the very hard stone is apparent with evidence of quarrying at Cawfields Quarry just beside the milecastle creating a spectacular raised point where this milecastle is situated. Cawfields Quarry, named from the calls of nearby colonies of black Crows and Rooks, an area within and run by Northumberland National Park, for parking and easy access to Britain’s newest and popular national footpath, the Hadrian’s Wall Trail, opened 2003.
