Whitley Castle

Although its English name is Whitley Castle, the Romans knew the fort as Epiacum. It is named in Ptolemy's Geography as the first town in the lands of Brigantes tribe in northeastern England. Its Latin name probably comes from a local British name *Epiakon "the property, or estate of Epios", Latinised as Epius. Epios may have been a local leader or chieftain of the Brigantes tribe. ==Location==

Whitley Castle is about above sea level in the Pennine hills on the southern edge of Northumberland near its border with Cumbria. It lies to the west of the modern A689 road beside the Pennine Way long-distance footpath. During the Roman era, Epiacum was situated about south of Hadrian's Wall and north of the main road which ran between Luguvalium (Carlisle) in the northwest and Eboracum (York) in the southeast. Whitley Castle is one of the most isolated Roman sites in Britain, which may help to explain both why it remains largely unexcavated as of 2018 and why so much of it has survived. The site is a lozenge-shaped spur of high ground on Castle Nook hill farm, The Roman fort itself covers about ; outside it is a system of concentric defensive ditches. The fort may have been sited to exert control over the area near Alston and its lead mines, as well as to provide support for Hadrian's Wall. ==History==

Epiacum was built early in the 2nd century AD. It was at least partly demolished and rebuilt around AD200; the destruction coincides with an uprising of the northern tribes in 196. The fort was modified or wholly rebuilt about the year 300. It appears to have been preceded by an Iron Age fort, followed by a Roman camp before the permanent fort was constructed. Inscriptions on some of the altars found at Epiacum provide evidence of the Roman army units garrisoning the fort. One of these is inscribed "DEO HERCVLI C VITELLIVS ATTICIANVS > LEG VI V P F" ("To the god Hercules, Gaius Vitellius Atticianus, Centurion of the Legio VI Victrix, Loyal and Faithful, [erected this].") This was a regular army legion based at York. Another altar is inscribed "DEO APOLLINI G...IVS ... ...COH II NER ..." ("To the god Apollo, Gaius Julius Marcius, [commander] of the 2nd Cohort of Nervians, [fulfilled his vow]."). This and two other inscriptions also naming the 2nd Nervians, auxiliaries from the lower Rhine, date to 213–221 AD. The altar was in a socket of a big stone slab supported by four columns, each topped by a coin; one of these was dated to 141–161 AD. ==Archaeology==

Little archaeological research has taken place at Whitley Castle. The geologist Thomas Sopwith surveyed the fort, describing it, its baths and the midden (waste heap) in 1833 as follows: The fort was surveyed by R. G. Collingwood and described by him in his Archaeology of Roman Britain, 1930, where he noted the fort's uniquely skewed shape and extraordinary set of defensive ramparts on the western, uphill side. It is the highest stone-built Roman fort in Britain. Pottery excavated in the 1950s suggested that the fort was constructed in 122 AD, at the same time as Hadrian's Wall. In 2012, the University of Durham carried out a geophysics survey. In the absence of a full excavation, archaeologists have exploited the diggings of moles to uncover Roman artefacts by sifting earth thrown up by the animals in their molehills. Finds include fragments of terra sigillata (Samian ware, Roman table pottery); rim fragments of serving bowls and earthenware pots; a bead made of jet; some iron nails; and a bronze dolphin from the bath house, most likely the handle of an instrument like a strigil or razor. File:Whitley Castle Bruce 1853.jpg|Plan of Whitley Castle by Thomas Sopwith, 1853. The Victorian Enclosure walls shown within the Roman fort were largely removed by volunteers in 2018. File:Plan of Epiacum Roman fort.gif|Plan, made by R. G. Collingwood in 1930, shows the unique skewing of the playing-card shape of Roman forts, and the similarly extraordinary set of ramparts outside the fort's wall. File:WHITLEY CASTLE (Epiacum Roman Fort) near Alston in Northumberland England.jpg|A lidar view ==Conservation and access==

The site is on the privately owned Castle Nook Farm, and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. In 2012 the not-for-profit company Epiacum Heritage Ltd. secured a grant of £49,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund The new permissive access route starts at the South Tyne Trail. The Roman fort can be visited for free during daylight hours. There is a new car park and café below the fort on the west side of the A689 road. Visitors should note that the large sign for the site reads 'Epiacum' and not 'Whitley Castle'. ==Notes==