So that's it, folks, for another 10 years!
It's been quite a week! There have been typical Northumberland hectic squalls and sweeping rain, but the pilgrims have enjoyed quite a lot of splendid sunshine, too. Kind hospitality (lunches, receptions, dinners) has added a rich quality to the whole event; and there have been unforgettable 'archaeological moments': seeing the three enamelled vessels, and also the fine bust of Hadrian; taking in the panorama of the Tyne valley at Corbridge with the bold feature that is the reconstructed Roman bridge approach in the foreground; admiring the magnificent recently-discovered Jupiter altar at Vindolanda, still in situ. Just fancy being the digger who found that!
All this and opportunities to acquire a wide range of the newest and older publications have made for an enriching experience. It now is appropriate to say a warm and deep-felt 'thank you', to all those who put the arrangements in place, have kept an eye on them as the week has gone by, and now will be facing quite an aftermath; and to those whose ongoing kindnesses made the 13th Pilgrimage of Hadrian's Wall such a success.
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From Pilgrimage to Congress Once the Hadrian's Wall Pilgrimage had come to an end, Dr David Breeze, OBE, Chief Pilgrim and one of the CWAAS Vice-Presidents, went on to pastures new.....or rather, Hadrian's Wall piloted him to considerations of several other, and different, frontiers. He joined the twenty-first Limes Congress, which ran from August 17th-23rd, 2009, and was based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Members of the Society might recall that the event was advertised in the Newsletter (Summer issue 2008, No. 58) and Paul Bidwell was a main organiser. Now that the Congress has ended, photographs are beginning to be posted on the specially-created Flickr site. The photo seen here is an example. Posted by Indianabec, it shows David involved in a bit of serious communication..... Margaret Edwards |
Chief Pilgrim, David Breeze, with Dr Ernst Kunzl on the occasion of his lecture to 200 Pilgrims about the enamelled metal vessels depicting Hadrian's Wall
Matt Symonds and Nick Hodgson describing the remains of Milefortlet 21 at Swarthy Hill on the Cumberland Coast
Examining the highest surviving stretch of Hadrian's Wall at Hare Hill
Lunch being served at Birdoswald by the Pilgrimage caterer, Annette Gibbons of Cumbria on a Plate
David McGlade explaining some of the problems involved in managing the Hadrian's Wall footpath
Walking to Willowford in the rain
Andrew Birley describing the newly discovered Temple of Jupiter Dolichenus at Vindolanda
Kim Bibby-Wilson entertaining Pilgrims on the Northumbrian pipes during lunch at Corbridge Roman site
Richard Newman, CWAAS President, giving a welcome address to the Pilgrims at a reception hosted by the Society
Patricia Birley welcoming the Pilgrims to Vindolanda
Professor Jim Crow of Edinburgh University explaining some of the complexities of Housesteads fort
Brunton Turret (T26b) with Emeritus Professor Val Maxfield of Exeter University talking about its significance for our understanding the construction of the Wall
The Claude Gibb halls of residence of the University of Northumbria: not everyone appreciated this reminder of their student days
Breakfasts were a delight with every taste catered for
It is now customary for Pilgrims to honour the memory of John Collingwood Bruce, the first Pilgrim, at his memorial in Newcastle Cathedral
Pilgrims were received by the University of Newcastle at the newly opened Great North Museum where the pro-Vice Chancellor sang a Geordie dialect ballad giving an alternative explanation for the building of the Wall
A stretch of Hadrian's Wall laid out in Byker with Paul Bidwell, chief archaeologist of Tyne and Wear Museums Service, standing on it
The view from the tower at Segedunum of the fort at Wallsend with one of the Pilgrims' coaches in the foreground
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