Our last day on the wall was short on walking and long on looking. We backtracked for a few miles to the cutoff to Lanercost Priory and its beautiful parish church (Anglican) and the ruined abbey (Catholic). Not surprisingly, this was the fifth or sixth St. Mary's we've come across. It was also a great example of what went on here during the religious troubles of the late Tudor period. We had a great look around, then caught the AD 122 bus to the immense fort and archeological dig at Vindolanda. Their museum is excellent, entirely filled with items from the site and well interpreted, to give a vibrant picture of daily life in a Roman outpost. Town, really - in addition to the legions, there was a substantial civilian presence there. Our favorite parts were standing on the full-size replica wall and shouting insults at sheep, learning about the many uses of hair moss, marveling at the preserved leather goods and silver ear cleaners, and playing find-the-phallus in all the engraved stones. Romans had dirty minds, I'm here to say. Now we're back in Ponteland, resting up for a day driving north with Simon tomorrow.
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1 comment:
Happy Anniversary - and one to always remember.
Momj
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