Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

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February 2012

Permanent Collections & Galleries


Segedunum is once again the gateway to Hadrian's Wall; it is the most excavated fort along the Wall with a large interactive museum and a 35m high viewing tower providing outstanding views across this World Heritage Site. Please read our 'Making a Visit' section to check our Winter opening and closure times.




Strong Place

New for 2011!


This new display reveals the unusual story of the landscape at Segedunum. Over nearly 2,000 years the site has been shaped by huge changes. Romans, coal mining and shipbuilding

have all left their mark on this land and created the mix we see today. Visual displays, interactives and

audio points explore the fascinating story of this landscape, its value and its use.



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.


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.