Tyne & Wear Museums, Segedunum, What is there to see?

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What is there to see?

Segedunum Roman Fort combines the excavated remains of the Fort with spectacular reconstructions and exciting, hands-on museum displays to show what life was like in Roman Britain.

The Museum displays more than 700 finds excavated from the Fort and uses the latest technology to show what life was like for the soldiers who lived there. The history of the site after the decline of the Roman Empire is also explored.

Segedunum contains a number of permanent galleries and exhibitions. To find out more about our temporary exhibitions and events, please visit our what's on section.

Permanent Galleries

The Roman Gallery

Discover what life at the Fort was like for the soldiers who lived there and explore the methods that archaeologists have used to uncover Segedunum's secrets.

The centre of the Roman gallery is remodelled on the courtyard of the original Fort's headquarters building. It contains a superbly detailed model of Segedunum and an interactive virtual tour of the Fort which allows individual buildings to be explored in more detail. The gallery also has a reconstruction of a cavalry barrack, and displays focusing on the Commanding Officer's house, the granary and the hospital.

Industry Gallery

Come and trace the history of the site after the Roman occupation with a look at the shipbuilding and coal mining industries which Wallsend became famous for.

The shipbuilding display details the history of Swan Hunter and the impact that the company had all over the world. Exhibits include ship models and a computer-generated virtual tour of the first class section of the Mauretania, the most famous passenger liner to be built on the Tyne.

The coal mining section tells the story of Wallsend Colliery, which produced the highest quality household coal in the world from the 1780s until about 1831. Exhibits include original miner's lamps and replica tools which were used to mine some of the best coal ever to be produced in this country.

The Viewing Tower

The centrepiece of Segedunum is a 35 metre high viewing tower, which gives stunning views of the excavated Fort and the surrounding area. Set against this dramatic backdrop, watch 2,000 years of history unfold as an amazing computer generated story chronicles the changes at Wallsend from Roman times and the building of the Fort to the growth of heavy industry on the River Tyne.

The Roman Baths

The Roman Baths is the only one of its kind in the country. The Baths are a full sized reconstruction based on original remains discovered at Chesters Roman Fort in the central sector of Hadrian's Wall.

Although Chesters baths is one of the best preserved Roman buildings in the country, a huge amount of research was undertaken before the exact form of the reconstruction could be decided.

The Baths feature authentic frescoed walls, hot and cold plunge baths and replica Roman toilets. It gives a good impression of what Roman relaxation would have been like.

Excavated Remains

The remains at Segedunum represent one of the most completely excavated forts anywhere in the Roman Empire. The ground plan shows the Fort as it would have been laid out in AD 200. The walls and gateways, granary stores, soldiers' barrack blocks, Commanding Officer's house and headquarters, and more unusually a hospital, have been consolidated. The entire plan of the Fort has been laid out so that visitors can walk around it with ease and those looking down on it from the viewing tower can fully appreciate the Fort's layout.

Hadrian's Wall

An 80-metre section of original remains of Hadrian's Wall, standing eight courses high in places, can also be seen to the west of Segedunum. A reconstructed section of the wall, which gives an impression of how it may have looked 1,800 years ago, stands beside the actual line of the original Wall.

Archaeologists working on the remains were surprised to find that the world famous Wall had collapsed, in spectacular fashion, during the Roman period. The collapse was most likely to have been caused by the washing away or the slumping of the ground beneath it. The section of the Wall is unique, as it is the highest surviving section of Hadrian's Wall on view to the public in Tyneside.

Audio Guide Tours

New audio guides are now available in Dutch, German, Norwegian and English. The tours are designed to give an insight into the history of Segedunum and to lead you on a fascinating tour through the Fort and across to the remains of Hadrian's Wall.

£2 per audio guide

£6 for family (2 adults & 2 children)

Roman Radio Show

A special fun audio guide designed as a Roman Radio Show is also available for children - please ask at the Museum reception. Please note that this is only available in English.