- Archaeologists have discovered a 2,000-year-old water
main built by the Romans - which is still working.
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- The find has amazed experts at the Vindolanda Roman fort
in Northumberland.
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- During ongoing excavations at the site, workers discovered
a 100ft stretch of wooden mains, which at one time fed the fort with water
from nearby springs.
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- The pipes were constructed by drilling large lengths
of alder, which were joined together by oak pegs.
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- They were found under the floor of what is thought to
have been an area used as a hospital in about 100AD.
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- Experts believe the network of pipes fed spring water
to individual buildings within the fort.
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- A spokesman for the Vindolanda site said: "The fact
that they were still working is quite incredible, but it was also a nuisance
because they flooded the excavation trenches which had to be pumped out
every day.
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- Women and children
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- "The finest of the surviving timber was the wooden
water main, which ran across the site, being associated with the earliest
occupation there.
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- "Large alder trunks, with bark remaining, had been
bored through with an augur, to create a 5cms pipe for the water and the
individual lengths were connected with rectangular oak slabs, without any
use of iron or lead fittings.
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- "The source of the water was probably the major
spring at the western edge of the Vindolanda site."
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- The dig has also uncovered a total of 238 boots and shoes
- and half of them belonged to women and children.
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- Vindolanda become famous through the discovery of about
1,700 examples of writing tablets, which give a remarkable insight into
life on the Roman frontier.
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- Now, with the backing of the Heritage Lottery Fund, the
Vindolanda Trust has bought 15 acres of farmland adjoining the fort.
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- The new land doubles the area available for excavation.
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- About 800 people lived on the site for 350 years and
it is thought the original 13-acre site will take another 150 years to
excavate.
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- © BBC MMIV
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- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/wear/3464861.stm
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