Last Day Along the Wall

We move now from the rolling green hills of the Northumbrian countryside to the modern concrete and steel cityscape of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. This is will be our final full day in the “Toon” - how Geordies lovingly refer to their home. Can I just say that not all English is easy to understand? I had a better time communicating in Edinburgh than I did in parts of Newcastle - click here to see what I’m talking about. With the gannin’ and the divvin’ and the who knows what’s really being said - it took some time to pick up the local lingo (and I can’t say I really ever did but master a few words). No bother, the Queen’s English is still understood - even when it has an American accent. At least they call soda “pop” like they do back in Rochester!

Rugby?! Yes, but not until September when Newcastle hosts the Rugby World Cup. Rats!

Anyway, I digress. Our first stop was the Great North Museum, chock full of artifacts collected from along the whole of Hadrian’s Wall. Apparently we arrived on a particularly busy school visit day. At my school, outings are called “field studies” and kids go with a purpose and usually bring along clipboards for notes and work and more often then not, their manners. Not so much here. Was pretty shocked - except for one group from George Washington Primary School. The kids were enthusiastic, asked great questions and had chaperons that kept them engaged. Hard to not see the world through a teacher’s eyes - even on summer break! Letting it go...

Halt, you, you...iPhone-texting, selfie-taking, self-absorbed tweens!

The Great North Museum has a rich collection of Roman artifacts - many of them similar to what I’ve seen at other sites along the wall, but they have a superb collection of grave markers and monuments. The other area that piqued my interest was their look at religion, especially the fusion of traditional Roman religions and Eastern beliefs, like Mithraism.

Mithras is a Persian deity adopted by Roman soldiers - and evolved into a cult of sorts. The neat thing about these religious mash-ups is that here is evidence that the zodiac - an Eastern religious feature - is being incorporated by a Western civilization (see cosmic egg monument below). The worship of Mithras lasted for three hundred years until Christianity was fully adopted by the Empire (although one has to wonder if a secret society continued the traditions of the cult!).

Our next stop was Segedunum, a Roman Fort along the banks of the River Tyne.

Segedunum Roman Museum (and its wacky tower).

There is very little left of the site itself, but the outline of where the barracks and other structures stood. The best place to see this is from the observation tower’s ninth floor. The museum is great for primary school groups - lots of role play, dress up and interactives. Didn’t learn a whole lot more than I have seen in other museums along the wall, but it gave me some terrific ideas about role-play with students and how to immerse them in the Roman world.

Mural of sea life on the bathhouse.

Toilets in the bathhouse.

Segedunum from ground level.

Segedunum from above.

After Newcastle, we headed south to London. I won’t recount the horrors of the train travel (we’re 1-3 on no-hassle train trips) or the heatwave in London (melt-worthy!). Or the throngs of clueless tourists (and they weren’t Americans...). Will update blog when sleep has been had and heat has diminished! :)