[Name centred NY 97966461] Roman Bridge (Site of). (1)

The remains of the Roman bridge that carried Dere Street over the Tyne are still to be seen in the bed of the river. Excavations were carried out in 1906.
The foundations of the southern abutment consist of a parallelogram of large stones embedded in the gravel which forms the river bed, its dimensions being 39ft 6ins on the river face by 22ft 0ins. The south east corner just cuts the present south bank of the river and at this point three courses of masonry are visible. The south west corner is about 30ft from the bank into the river. Some masonry representing the site of the north abutment is situated in the bank just below the hedge of the 'turnip field'.
Between the abutments it is conjectured that there were ten piers. Traces of the five most southerly were found, the sixth must be in the river bed and covered with gravel. The remaining four would be buried in the plantation on the north bank of the river, near the mouth of the burn. The piers were 15ft 4ins wide and about 29ft 0ins long including the pointed nose of the western upstream end. The waterway between the piers was about 22ft 4ins.
The length of the bridge would be about 154 yards. The piers are wide enough to carry a road 20ft 0ins wide.
Although there is much debris from the bridge in the river no traces of arch stones have been found. (2)

The bridge was noticed by Leland in 1540. In 1840 many of the stones were removed by the agent of the Greenwich Hospital Estate to build a water wheel at Dilston Mill. The foundations of the south abutment and of two piers are visible in dry weather.
The stones of the piers and abutments appear to have been tied by iron and lead cramps. (3)

NY 97956457 The remains of the south abutment of the bridge consisting of two large blocks of stone, standing on rectangular flat dressed stones and submerged in the river approx 2m below the present level of the river bank. The large blocks show no form of cramping or mortaring, a portion of a dressed slab may also be seen in a sand cutting in the bank to the south of the abutment.
Adjacent to the abutment and scattered in the river are many dressed stones.
No surface remains were found of the north abutment, and - despite the present low water level (June 1956) - no traces were visible of the interval piers. See Illustrations Card. (4)

The river bank has fallen over the slabs forming part of the abutment of the Bridge, and only a small protruding portion of two of them can now be seen - not surveyable. (5)

Correctly described above. (6)

Survey of visible remains of the Roman bridge at Corbridge in the summers of 1963, 1964, 1965, and Boxing Day 1966. The bridge lies c.1100yds upstream of the present bridge, and 300yds south west of the Roman site. It is on a north east/south west axis. Only a few stones of the south abutment appear above water. During periods of drought the abutment and remains of several piers can be seen at or near the surface.
Attempt made to reconstruct a plan of the bridge - 10 piers. No evidence for location of north abutment. (7)

In 1995 an evaluation was carried out because of the effect of river erosion on the site. The southern end of the Roman bridge comprises the remains of an abutment now lying in shallow water, with further masonry visible on the river bank. The line of the bridge is marked by the remains of six stone piers on the river bed, but the position of the northern abutment has not been identified.
Limited excavation revealed the remains of a ramp which carried Dere Street on to the bridge. The core of the ramp was mainly of rubble, but included large worked stone blocks. A retaining wall at the south east side was stepped up into the bank and ran roughly at right angles to the line of the bridge. Four course of worked stone blocks survived but the base of the revetting had been undermined by erosion, causing masonry to slide forward. Amongst the fallen masonry were two large moulded blocks with slots in their upper faces, probably to carry a balustrade and an octagonal moulded plinth interpreted as the support for statue base.
This masonry appears to have belonged to a massive and elaborately decorated bridge. It has close similarities with the 2nd century bridge at Chesters (NY 97 SW 4). The remains of the bridge abutment revealed so far suggests that much more masonry remains in situ than at Chesters. (8)

In 1888 Tomlinson reports that within living memory of older inhabitants of Corbridge portions of the pillars on which the Roman bridge rested stood to a height of three or feet on the south side of the river. They were demolished by an agent of the Greenwich Hospital for the sake of chiselled stones. One stone covers the mouth of a culvert further down river. The surface stones between the base of each pillar were secured with iron cramps covered with lead. The southern bridge abutment is thought to lie in a plantation. (9)

Further work in the area of the Roman bridge was undertaken in 2005. A coursed stone wall was recorded and is thought a revetment wall for a road ramp towards the bridge superstructure level. The wall materials are of similar blocks to those of the bridge components, though slightly smaller. The wall in this location, east of the line of the bridge, is different to that to the west, and so not so substantial to prevent riverine scouring of the bank and ramp. A single stone find is suggested to indicate that a Roman aqueduct crossed the Tyne by the bridge, though this need not be the aqueduct noted earlier in Corbridge Roman site excavations. If the interpretation is accepted then this also implies a second road to the bridge, underlining the significance of both the crossing point and also the settlements north of the River. (10)

The site of the Roman bridge (south abutment) across the River Tyne south of Corbridge. The threat of erosion led to a joint project between Tyne and Wear Museums and English Heritage, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, to record, dismantle, and reassemble the remains of the bridge. The road ramp was excavated in 2004 and over 300 blocks were reassembled a short distance from the current river bank. The Roman bridge consisted of as many as 11 stone arches, standing to a possible 9 metres above the river. The ramp was built to take Dere Street across the bridge by a gentle gradient. The road approached the bridge at right angles from the east. The north side of the ramp was formed by a massive wall along the river bank made of stone blocks (an example of opus quadratum ' a Roman technique of fitting blocks together with very narrow joints and no mortar). The road ramp had been rebuilt during the Roman period, probably following a flood. The blocks were all reused in the revetting wall. The details of the parapet were very similar to those at Chesters, and they may have been built at the same time by the same masons or architect. No evidence for a pre- mid-Antonine river crossing was discovered. A mortared wall previously identified as late-Roman on the south side of the river, now seems to be post-medieval strengthening of the river bank rather than a secondary ramp. The bridge was probably built following the re-routing of the Stanegate to the north when its original line along the bank to the north end of the river bridge was destroyed by flooding, indicating resources were still being expended in keeping the main routes open in the last quarter of the fourth century. A horizontal-wheeled watermill of Anglo-Saxon date extensively reused stone blocks from the bridge in its construction, and lies on the north side of the river, downstream from the north abutment. (11a)

Located on the English Heritage map of Hadrian's Wall 2010. (11b)

General association with HER 9002 (Corbridge Roman Town) (11)