Cilurnum

Cilurnum was a Roman cavalry fort built c. AD 124 on Hadrian's Wall near the village of Walwick, Northumberland. It housed approximately 500 horsemen, first the ala Augusta ob virtutem appellata, later replaced c. AD 178-84 by the ala II Asturum from northern Spain, who remained until the Roman withdrawal in the early 5th century. The fort guarded Chesters Bridge over the River North Tyne and is considered the best-preserved Roman cavalry fort in Britain. Between the fort and the river lie the finest military bathhouse remains in Britain. John Clayton conducted pioneering excavations from 1843, shaping the visible ruins today, and English Heritage has managed the site since 1954.