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Whitely Castle
Those of you who are fans of Bernard Cornwell will know Whitley castle from his latest book: those of you who know their Roman stuff will know it as Epiacum Fort: and those who really know their stuff will know it’s the most complex set of defences in the Roman world
Crammed between the grass and sky
And what a setting it is: crammed between the grass and the sky, the fortress sits on a high ridge above the Road, imposing itself on the surrounding countryside. The remains of the defences are like green frozen waves rolling out from the walls and the remains of the corner towers are so clear you can practically still see the chilled garrison huddling around the fires, avoiding the chilly winds racing across the bleak beautiful fells.
Lozenge Shape
The location is narrow, and so the fort is less a rectangle and more a lozenge. The overlooking fells were clearly of sufficient worry for the various commanders to keep his lads busy adding to and complicating the banks that run away in rolling damp grassy undulations from the fort, but aside from a few isolated farms and an RAF fighter or 2 we reckoned the builders of this place would easily recognize it today
The only locals in sight were woolly, the only people were us, and the only sound was that of the drone and the wind, and we could have stayed forever. A place we will definitely visit again, and if you haven’t then take my advice. Do.
An edge-torn silver halfgroat of Charles I (1625-49) Group D, London Tower mint under the King. Reverse mint-mark: triangle, dating to c.1639-40. Cf. North (1991) p.162, no.2258.Diameter 15.4mm, thickness 0.5mm, weight 0.7g. [...]
Copper alloy solid spherical object with slightly flattened poles and a median sub-rectangular sectioned perforation tapering from pole to pole. Probably a pommel of a whittle-tang knife, in imitation of similarly shaped but larger pommels found [...]
Post-medieval copper alloy crotal bell with a drilled loop, iron pea, and gadroon ornament engraved on both halves. A founder's mark in low relief, a horseshoe, lies next to the cleft, cf. SUSS-7079FC with a [...]
Post-medieval copper alloy crotal bell with a non-drilled loop and an iron pea. There is no decoration. Weight 23.63g. Diameter 27.1mm. Height 36.3mm. 17th - 18th century.Finder's no. RWBF1 [...]
Post-medieval copper alloy crotal bell with a drilled loop, an iron pea and gadroon ornament on both halves, that on the lower with multiple lateral grooves. Weight 26.55g. Diameter 25mm. Height 33.5mm. Mid 16th - [...]
A Medieval silver voided long cross cut farthing of Henry III (AD 1216-1272), Class 5 not further defined, dating to circa AD 1250-1275. Unclear moneyer and mint. [...]
An incomplete Medieval silver penny of Edward I (AD 1272-1307), Class 9b, dating to circa AD 1300-1302 (N 1037). Mint of Hull. Ref: North 1975: 24. The coin now survives in two halves. [...]
A Medieval silver farthing of Edward II (AD 1307-1327), Withers Type 30-31, dating to circa AD 1210-1217, North Class 10-11. Mint of London. Ref: Withers and Withers 2001: 33-34. [...]
Medieval copper alloy padlock slide key with a circular bow and an H-shaped bit set at a right angle to the shank, of Ian Goodall's Type B (Biddle 1990, 1022, fig. 323, no. 3724). Below the bow [...]
A Medieval silver farthing of Edward I (AD 1272-1307), Withers Type 17, dating to circa AD 1291-1294. Mint of London. Ref: NWithers and Withers 2001: 25. [...]
A Medieval silver long cross farthing of Edward I (AD 1272-1307), Withers Type 12, North Class 3de, dating to circa AD 1280 (N 1054/1). Mint of London. Ref: North 1980: 23; Withers and Withers 2001: [...]
A Medieval silver voided long cross cut farthing of Henry III (AD 1216-1272), Class 5a-g, not further defined, AD 1250-165. Moneyer: Nicole Mint: London/Canterbury. [...]
Medieval iron horseshoe without countersinking or fullering. Only one nail is visible, the rest obscured by rust. There is a calkin on the right-hand branch. Branch width 29mm, narrowing to 9mm at the heel of [...]
A Medieval silver voided short cross cut farthing of John-Henry III, class 6, not further defined, dating to AD 1210-1217. Moneyer: Uncertain; Mint: London. [...]
Medieval standing lead weight, crudely conical with a transverse perforation near the apex. Probably 3.9% underweight for 3 ounces Troy or possibly 5 shillingweights (1440 grains). Weight 1384.2 grains / 2.884oz Troy / 89.71g. Height 34mm. Base [...]
Just under half of a medieval iron horseshoe, the right-hand branch with a calkin. The nails and nail hones are not visible because of rust. There is countersinking or fullering. Clark 2004 type 4. Weight [...]
Post-medieval copper alloy sub-rectangular shoe buckle frame with the ends of an iron spindle embedded in the sides. An enlarged version of Whitehead 2003, no. 662. Weight 14.95g. Length 47mm. Width 39mm. c.1690 - c.1730Finder's [...]
A Medieval silver voided long cross cut halfpenny of Henry III (AD 1216-1272), class 2b-3, not further defined, dating to AD 1248-1250. Moneyer: Nicole; Mint: uncertain. The obverse has been double struck. [...]
