Photograph of a stretch of wall, two or three metres in height, running from the right foreground to the left middle distance, with grass in front. A tree stands at the left of frame, on this side of the wall. In its closest section, the upper two thirds of the wall are of original roman construction, comprising rectangular purple stones of volcanic origin (Rougemont Trap) laid in regular courses. The lower section represents later underpinning (the ground level having been lowered) in a red coloured stone (Heavitree Stone) and is of a much rougher and more irregular construction. Further away, closer to the tree, the roman work has been replaced or patched with medieval masonry comprising a rather random assemblage of smaller stones.
Bit of a cheat for #RomanFortThursday this time, with a section of wall from Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter). Built around CE 200, the city wall shown here encloses a rather larger area than the original wooden-walled legionary fortress of CE 55. #Archaeology #RomanWall #RomanBritain #Exeter #Photography