Raphael Kessler

Housesteads is the site of the former Roman fort of Vercovicium which is the best excavated and known along Hadrian's Wall. The wall stretched from coast to coast and delineated the edge of the Roman empire. North of the wall was reckoned not to be worth the expense and effort of conquering, so was left to its own devices, whereas south of the wall life in Brittania was dominated by the Romans. This fort was a garrison to ensure that the local population stayed in the right places and to preserve the power of the region.