Birdoswald (from the East). Lithographed by J. S. Kell for Kell Bros., Castle Street, Holborn (no artist indicated). 5 1/4 x 7 1/2 inches. Source: Bruce, facing p. 253. Note the placement of a contemporary spectator in the center forground and two people in the middle distance as a means of leading the spectator's eye into the scene. Scanned image and text by George P. Landow from a copy in Rockefeller Library, Brown University. [This image may be used without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose.]
The camp of Birdoswald occupies a position naturally strong and very beautiful. It stands upon a cliff (represented in the centre of the lithographic view here introduced), at the base of which the river Irthing flows. Rendered thus unassailable on its southern side, its northern is made nearly equally strong by a bold chasm, through which a streamlet flows from the Midgeholm Moss. The view which is obtained from a point within a few yards of the southern gateway of the camp, in the opinion of the late Earl of Carlisle, strongly resembles the aspect of what he considered to be the site of Troy." [p. 253]
Related Material
- Hadrian's Wall, several views including one near Birdoswald, Cumbria, in early spring (modern photographs)
Sources
Bruce, John Collingwood. The Roman Wall: A Description of the Mural Barrier of the North of England. 3rd ed. London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, 1867.
Last modified 8 August 2006